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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on August 17, 2010: |
newby2
Rating:  | Review Topic: Direct Consular Filing
Hi
We had our interview last week ad I finally wanted to post a review for everyone still waiting for theirs!
So we had an 8.00 appointment but got there at 6.45 just to make sure. We were the first people there and started queuing. At 7.30 the line was getting longer and they put a small desk out and started checking peoples invitations. My husband (the USC) had to show his passport and they wrote his name on the letter. A security guy then checked the letter ad our passports again before we went into a small building where they did like a security check like at the airport (no cell phones, car keys etc allowed!).
We then went inside and showed the letter again to the receptionist. She then said we should take a seat next to window 1 (we were the first people in). She said the interviews would start at 8.
We were the first people to be called to the window and an Asian lady started taking our documents (birth certificate and marriage certificate). She then took my fingerprints which was a bit of a process, then asked for police certificates and passport pics (she only took 2 of the 3 I brought). Then I think we had to give her the affidavits (turns out you only need 1 copy of those, we had brought 2 so she kept throwing things back at us). We used my husbands mom as a co-sponsor and it turned out that we needed a copy of her passport or birth cert with it, which I wasnt aware of! I started panicking a bit when she said I may have to come back etc but my husband actually knew it was needed and had it on his email. She also asked what we had done to prepare for the move and I showed her a letter to the landlord stating that we were moving out and a statement showing the return of the deposit (all of which I had just printed out last minute the night before!)I dont think she even kept those documents. Then after I paid the fees at a different window (they had just been increased..  ) my husband left the embassy and went to an internet cafe to get the copy off his email and print it which ended up costing 3 pounds for 15 mins..
In the meantime the lady had given me an envelope with a CD with my medical data that she said I would need at immigrations and told me to sit down again and wait for the actual interview which would start at 9.
Luckily, my husband got back in time for it and we handed in the copy to the lady.
A little later they called us to the interview with a different lady. First thing I had to swear an oath that all the info given was correct etc - felt slightly weird but is part of the process I guess! Then she asked when we had gotten married, when I was last in the US, if we had jobs yet, what my husband was planning on doing and when he was moving. I think that was it. Then she looked through the paperwork quickly and told us the visa was approved *yay* so then we went to pay for the courier service and were out by about 9.30 - much quicker than we thought!
I probably forgot some of what happened but thats roughly it and its really not that bad as long as you re prepared. My passport was delivered yesterday and I am flying in 3 weeks time! 
Good luck to everyone who still needs to go through all this!
(updated on August 17, 2010)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #6495