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| London, United Kingdom |  Review on July 20, 2006: |
Anyta Holland
Rating:  | Review Topic: Direct Consular Filing
Just thought I wrote about it, as those who have done it helped me a lot when I was preparing....
Our interview was at 10.30am... As we live in Bristol (1 and 1/2 hours away from London) we took the 6am train to London and got there at 7.30am... We took the tube to Bond Street and walked for a bit to ease the nerves.... Then we turned left to the road that leads to the Embassy and sat in a Cafe to calm ourselves down... At 8.40am we decided that the wait had been long enough and decided to head to the Embassy...
Got there, and the little fat beardy guy was there, he asked us why were we there and what time were we supposed to be there, he looked in a big folder with loads of names and found my hubby's, requested both our passports and made fun of our pictures... He also showed them to the couple that were right behind us (it is worth mentioning that they laughed aswell!)... Anyway, he said that we were too early but that he'd let us in anyway... There were no queues or anything...
We went through and walked through a white cabin-sort of thing- where they scan you and your belongings, then you walk around the embassy (there are signs everywhere) and get through another door... There there is this guy who requests the letter that was sent to you, and if you have any electronics on you and also requests that you turn your mobile off.
You then go through some stairs, take a number and take a seat and wait to be called. We were given number 010 and when I looked at the screen they were serving number 004. We soon realised that there was only one window doing the checking of the docs and two doing the interviews. It seemed like ages that we had to wait for 1 hour and 15 minutes to be called, and the lady at the window was very very very nice... She put us at ease by joking and making us laugh a lot...
She requested form DS230 part 2, then she asked for the passport, then she asked for my hubby's birth certificate and copy, then she asked for the marriage certificate (which took me ages to find!) and copy, then she asked for police records and copy, then she asked for the Affidavit I gave her mine with all supporting docs and copies and she gave it all back and said that she only needed 2005 tax returns, at this point I also gave her our co-sponsor's affidavit as well and she just kept the last pay stub, the copy of her passport and the last tax return... She gave us the Xray of the medical and asked to put it in our big luggage when we left to America. She asked us how long we'd been married and I said nearly 2 years, she said I'll give you the Conditional visa. Then she gave a pink piece of paper which we had to fill for the courier, she asked me to go and pay the fee, and to sit down and wait for our number to be called for the interview.
I went to pay for the fee, and came back, I decided to go to the toilet (bad idea) as I went in, my husband popped his head through and yelled that we had been called and that I had to hurry up! So I came out and the window was straight in front of the ladies'. We stood there and this lovely young lady said "Hi"... She then said that they were talking about me, and how impressed they were that I had been so organised and that I had done everything the way they asked, and that they were very happy with this... I smiled and I could feel my husband smiling as well... I gave her the receipt that I got when I paid, and she requested that hubby signed the DS230 part 2 form. She asked us to put our hands up and swear that all that was in there was true, and so we did.... She then asked:
- How we met
- What had I studied in the UK
- If I had met his family
- If he had met mine (and gone to Venezuela)
- If he had been to America before
- Where were we going to live
- What was my husband's occupation
- What was my husband planning to work on in America
I think that was it!
She then went on saying that we needed to go to the courier's desk and pay the fee for the passport to be sent to us, and that we would get a brown envelope with it which we should not open and just give to the officer at the POE. I then said that we were going to Madrid on holiday this Friday and if the passport could be delivered before then, she said she did not want to risk it and she gave us a green piece of paper, where we can arrange for the courier to pick up once we come back... And that was it....
She was very nice and very pleasant.... And I can't believe that we have been APPROVED! 
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #703