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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on June 11, 2009: |
John and Camie
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Hey ALL!!!
My Visa Interview well and went like this: I got up at 5am in the morning to catch a lift from my friend to the trainstation the interview was at (8:30AM in the morn!) i thought first off thats wAAAY to early but after checking the train times and getting a lift sorted out i could make it from Colchester in Essex if i get the say 6:30am Train. from colchester to London liverpool street it takes an hour but you never can tell because with the rubbish (very basic map that was given to me in Packet 3 it wasn't so easy to find the Medical last month!) Alas, i get into London Liverpool street around 7:15am (i Got a slightly earlier train of 6:15am...the 'all day travelcard' works in all zones in London again learning from Medical last time. From there i got the train to 'Bond Street' and THIS TIME my God finding 'Gosvenor Square' was sOOo EASY! Thanks to 'Nich & Nic' on VJ! You guys are Awesome! Trust me get a PROPER map sorted it will help in the long run...from the help of VJ you made life much easier for me! The map supplid in 'Packet 4' was very basic not mentioning all roads so you can end up wondering if you're even anywhere near the place!
First of:
Goulds Phamacy
(Exactly where it is on the map!)i go inside and explained i'd like to drop off my mobile phone etc, bag for holding for my Visa Interview (Outside the pharmacy it says they do these things aswell as passport photos etc)the guy was VERY thorough asking me what was in my bag (Which helped!)cos i had all kinds of things in other pockets that slipped my mind ie a videocamera battery..which would set the alarms off! So after giving them all my electronic devices they put it all in plastic sealed bag i signed it and paid my £5 (Deposit... he said though you don't get it back damn it! lol!)So i didn't even have to give him my 'Whole' bag i was aloud to take my lil' rucksack along with my flask of tea (casing was even metal) drinks etc and of course ALL the paperwork for Camie and my Interview.
Embassy Security etc
I get to the Embassy in the Square i could see the American Flag flying high and slightly worrying security guards with semiautomatic rifles! Lots of people doing all kinds of visas were all lining up waiting in a queue outside i jumped on security were asking people to put stuff in see thru bags phones keys etc.. after asking me if i had anything else phones,electronic devices etc they said i could keep my keys etc in my own bag...from that queue a lady officer calls one person up at time (still outside) and i could see from afar what they were asking for; Passport, and 'Packet 4's' Interview letter..so i had those on the readay...got called up..no probs a nother lil queue waiting now to go inside a small security room. (This isn't as bad as it sounds this was all in the space of twenty mins)
I put my bag under the X- ray machine and my paperwork in a box to go under the machine aswell.
The Security guy noticed i had drinks he asked me to open them and sip them! I opened my falsk of tea Some tea poured out on the security floor lol!(the lid was was always doing that!) i apologised he was okay with it... next my apple juice in a bottle ..i sipped it..then he asked if he could smell it! (He joked with the ther security guard hoping it had Vodka (and red bull i'm guessing) in it, and he laughed to the other security guy hoping it was gonna kick start his morning!) i smiled it all went fine i went through to the right to go in to the Embassy building.
Interview part 1
I showed my letter to the front desk and she said heres your ticket and sit near desk '1' as its likely that that will be the desk you'll go to be seen to.
I sat down lots of people already sat down and being called up theres '11' desks with 1 Consulate Officer behind each and i could see a sign saying 'Desks 12-25' and a arrow to the left..which i later found out was the 2nd part of the interview.
I made it there by 8:15 not bad :-) after asking the lady behind the counter earliuer what the time was.
So i have my ticket and constantly watching the Big screen with ticket numbers coming up.. my ticket number was '5010' and all i kept seeing was '1000s's but nothing beyond that! But FEAR NOT the ticket numbers are all out of sequence on most part so every once in a while a '5000' something would appear every 20 or so mins i knew it was coming up soon! I sat there for probably about an hour and half...and i wasn't worried up until the last half hour when it dawned on me how important this was! I just kept telling myself previous we've done the hard parts we've worked so hard for it and all the evidence that was needed now its just saying it like it is...just be honest.
Finally the Antisipation was over! and i was called to Desk '1' she was a nice asian older lady and a layer of glass between us... this stage seemed just really relaxed..more like sorting of paperworks before the main interview. I gave to the lady the works; Passport, Police Cert, Birth Cert, Passport photos, Packet 4, Avadavit of Support, and the rest that applies in packet 4 checklist.
She starts typing things on the computer I got my fingers and thumbs x-rayed, between this the lady asked me; who i was Marrying: To which i said Carmella Vann, she said where does she work? I was completly HONEST and said she was working up until June 1st when her company was starting to lay lots of people off... (She was really sympathetic and was sorry to hear) then she asked who 'Presley' the 2nd support is; thats her Father and we had a feeling the way things were going at Cam's work that we should get another support just in case. LUCKILY we did when we sent off the Avadavit because we didn't see it coming!
The calming way it was going i honestly wasn't sure this wasn't part of the interview and lady was just asking me general between taking my paperwork etc.
By the end of it she said go pay your $131 around the corner at the desk and come back i did. No probs i kept a receipt then 2mins later gave the slip the nice lady. She gave kept certain things i and gave her and gave other things back paperworks of mine back (DEFINITELY bring those extra copies and more evidence on hand in different folders theres nothing wrong with having too much than too little!) I was given my 'Knightsbridge medical Xrays' in a cardboard folder and a pink form she said: Fill that in while you sit down and wait for your number to be called up again.
I kept an eye on that Screen i can tell you! After putting my name address etc on this form i read...'Make sure you go to the desk you are appointed to when called failure to do so could end up in the interview getting cancelled or changed to a different day (Prices to London going through my end LOL!) SO again i waited for about 30mins a lady behind me said she didn't get a form to fill in when she sat down for second time (I reassured her you'll probably get yours inthe next part..she said she forgot her 'Avadavit' of support and i turned round wondering if she'd still get her visa or not...)...luckily i did see her later with queueing up in the same line but its TOO risky (Don't forget that triple check everything note to all!)that could of been a step away from being rejected.
So then my number was coming up though previous to my number there was a couple i was sitting next to earlier i noticed had the number before mine..and these although the screen calls out the number in an automated voice... 'IF' a Desk has called another number(Manually) it manually overides the voice on the screen..so watch that screen! Their number came up and i'm happy i knew there number becuase they both had there heads down reading a book/magazines and they didn't see it, i went over to them and said i think you numbers just come up, at desk '16'(2nd part of Interview round corner)the guy said; he's right and they got up. I wonder if they knew how important it was that someone reminded them..the thought of coming all the way there and then having to come back again and rebooking would suck. A thank you would of been nice lol!
On Screens
I think the screen comes up with the number a few times (Once) then another number will show then hopefully again etc..Then i'm guessing if you're lucky the Desk person manually puts it across on speaker...Anyway!
Interview part 2 (The main one!)
Finally my number comes up and i go around the corner and a nice young American lady asks me to put my hand up and swear on what i am saying is true. Again this interview like like the 1st part is behind glass just you kind of wonder if its private enough (for some reason i expected to be sitting in a room lol!) it is though and everyone else is too busy with their own visas lol! So this ladys taken my paperwork and passport looking through while shes typing on the computer and she asks; When did you two first meet? What day did you get engaged? And i believe another question where does she work? And i explained again the situation that i did to the first lady just being completely honest.
There might of been just another basic question, then after seeing me go on about how i'm in Love with my Girl and how we met and everything it was all good she said: Okay Jonathan i'd like to congratulate you in saying you've got your Visa and we'll get that out to you many congratulations. A abundance of emotion filled my eyes i held back, i just *knew* how happy Camie would be and all that we've done and how far we've come. I said: My Camie will be so Happy you've made my day!
She gave me another form for my Visa to be sent to by a courier and to just queue up that little line to the left (pointing) and what a feeling it was that final queue. So Happy.
Courier
I paid for the standard 'anytime' courier to deliver the Visa to to my house *just* in time for my Camie coming to England next week! It all turned out so well!
All in all i was out just after 11am to tell my Wifey the great news!
So less than 3 hours didn't fill like i was being interrogated and was all in all a happy experience! Notes of warning: Bring more evidence than less it doesn't hurt! Watch those screens, Don't worry and be completely honest the worse of it's done!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #4570