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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on October 31, 2010: |
A&R&Jacob
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Our interview date was Monday, 25th October 2010. When sending all the required documents we requested 26th or 27th October, but the interview was scheduled for 25th... I am not sure if that was a coincidence or they did not want to be "too accommodating". Anyway, we did not receive a reply to the email asking if the interview can be re-arranged and ended up cutting our travel plans short to be in London on 25th.
We (myself, my son and my fiancé (US citizen)) stayed in a hotel just outside London and took a train to the Bond St. station in the morning. On our way we went to the Gould's pharmacy to store our mobile phones and then to a cafe for a quick breakfast. Our appointment was at 9am. We arrived at the Embassy (queue outside) at approximately 9.10am. After about 20 minutes we passed the security and received our I-number. As it later turned out we were the last one that day. We waited till approximately noon before being called to the first window where all our documents were checked (they never asked my fiancé for his employment letter but did ask for tax documents instead). After paying the fee we were told to wait for our number to be called again.
It was probably another hour /hour and a half before we were called. At that point there were no new people coming in and the waiting room was slowly becoming less busy as people started leaving. Based on the numbers that day they had around 18 I-numbers to process.
When we were called to the window the interview turned out to be very brief and informal. I found it really helpful to have fiancé’s support. In fact the first few questions regarded his visit to England. This was followed by just several "standard" questions (how and when we met, how long we knew each other, when we got engaged) and just a couple of questions about my son (also US citizen), one question regarding a photo included in a packet and couple of questions about my previous visits to the USA. Overall, it was a rather pleasant experience and I was delighted to hear "Welcome to America, again!".
I would definitely recommend to have your US fiancé attend the interview, if at all possible. Not only it is good to have some company while waiting and have someone to “hold your hand” (or help telling your right hand from left – important for the finger-print scan  ), but it also provides further evidence of the validity of the relationship.
We paid the courier fee (£14.50 or so - card only) and left the embassy. There is an extra charge for having a visa delivered before 8am (another £20) or 10am (extra £10). Double check the mobile number on the invoice as the courier will text the day before the visa is delivered. Also it appears that the tracking number is valid only after the visa and passport has been processed by the Embassy and received by the courier for delivery.
Good luck to you all!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #6799