Consulate Review: London, United Kingdom
Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
|
| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
May 22, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
After every imaginable bad omen on the way there, DH was approved in what was a very quick, painless process at the Embassy!
Our interview was scheduled for 8 am, so we woke up at 5 and were out the house just gone 6 am. We both work near the Embassy, so are familiar with the route there and anticipated 40-45 minutes total travel time. Unfortunately, however, we just missed an Overground train and had a 10 minute wait for the next (they are usually every 5 mins, but not that early). Then, the Jubilee Line was having severe problems, so we sat on the tube for 10 minutes after first getting on and had an extra 2-5 minutes wait at each station before eventually arriving at Bond Street. We knew we were still plenty early, but the extensive delays did not help calm our nerves!
We left most electronics (Kindles, headphones, etc) at home, but needed our phones and electronic key fobs, which we planned to drop off at Gould's Pharmacy. While DH went to queue, I waited outside the pharmacy until 7:15 or so, when they opened (I think the official opening time is 7:30, but I think they typically open early to accommodate visa applicants). Just as I was about to check our things in, I discovered we also needed to leave our work badges (Oyster cards are ok, but most swipe badges can't be taken in), so dashed back to the Embassy to collect DH's from him. We only needed the smallest storage envelope Gould's offers, which was £3.
Around 7:30 someone came out from the Embassy to start letting people through the queue. Despite having sent a letter 4 weeks, I had not been added to the list. As I was the sponsor and had my US passport with me, the woman let me in without any hassle. Once ok'd, we were checked again by another security guard before going into the little security building, putting bags through the x-ray and walking through the scanner. All ok, so we proceeded right, round the building and into the Embassy.
The printer on reception (which prints out your I or N number and bar codes for your paperwork) was broken. A long queue started forming inside the building before it was fixed. Eventually it was fixed and we were issued I 902 (the N numbers start at 1, and the I numbers appear to start at 901, I guess to avoid confusion).
We got inside and sat down around 7:45. They started calling numbers up bang on 8am. 3 or 4 N numbers were called before I901 (who was called to the 'dragon lady' at #1). About 5 minutes later we were called to #13, which we worried was another bad sign! She took DH's passport, got his file, handed us the envelope with the chest x-rays and asked us to pay ($230) next door at #12 and bring back the receipt. After we paid, she started going through the checklist and asking for our paperwork. First, she wanted originals and copies of DH's birth cert, our marriage cert and the police cert (we also brought my birth cert, but it wasn't needed). Then she asked for his photos, confirmed how recent they were (6 wks), and the I-864 and supporting documents. She thumbed through the stack of paperwork to see my 2011 taxes plus transcripts from 2010 and 2009, which I opted to include, as well as an array of other documents. I offered up that as i didn't have a job in the states, we were using personal assets to cover te I864. She said ok, hole punched everything and put it in the file. She then asked some other questions as she went through the checklist to ensure we didn't need any other forms - had DH been married before, was he adopted, did he have children, had he lived outside the UK, etc - all no, so no other paperwork was needed. For the DS-230 we had not included a US address, and she informed us we would need one (presumably for the Green Card and SSN to be sent to); I wrote my parents address on the form and she confirmed their names. Once she was happy with the file, she asked for DH's fingerprints (right, then left, then thumbs) and gave us the pink courier form to fill out while we waited to be called up for the interview. It felt like the process had taken ages, but when we sat back down, it was only 8:23.
After filling out the form, DH and I shared a chocolate bar from the little snack bar at the back and were then called up to #16. The guy was really friendly, and as we walked up said "You must be the (surname)'s!". He once again took DH's fingerprints, then had him swear an oath that everything was correct to his knowledge, and started thumbing through the file. He had DH sign the DS-230, and while he was signing it said "You must be (middle name)". I said "Actually, that's my middle name, I'm (first name)". He laughed and made a joke that (Middle Name) must be DH's 'other wife'; and we all had a bit of a laugh. Then, he started asking some questions, which he seemed happy for either one of us to answer (ie not targeted at DH specifically):
- When/where did we meet
- Had either of us been married before or had any kids
- When did we get married
- How long had I lived here
- Why we wanted to move
- Where we planned to live
Then, he moved on to the I-864. He reviewed our assets, which included the value of our flat, which is currently under offer. Then he re-confirmed I lived here, and mentioned the 2 restrictions of the I-864 (you must be a citizen and domiciled in the US). He said he was sure I was already aware, but how did I intend to prove domicile in the UK? I said we were planning to rent from my parents when we moved, and that we had included both the rental contract we'd agreed with them, as well as the memorandum of sale from the flat, to illustrate we are winding things up here. He thumbed through the documents, said he was satisfied with that, and in that case there were no other concerns and he would be approving DH's visa. He asked if we had any more questions, and sent us off to pay the courier desk.
There was a bit of a queue at the courier desk, as there were loads of non-immigrant visas (they were already up to 100+ when we were in the courier queue). We opted for the basic (£14.80; any time before 6pm) service. The receipt read 8:52, so we were in and out in under an hour, but a little over 1.5 hrs from when we started queuing.
DH and I proceeded to pick up our things from Gould's, have a coffee, and spend the morning basking in the relief of having everything done. In the end, we had loads more paperwork than we needed, but it helped put my mind at ease. We took along:
- Copies of each of the previous submissions (not needed)
- My UK and US passports (only needed the latter as ID to get in)
- Originals of all documents listed for the interview: birth cert, marriage cert, police cert, photos(also included my birth certificate and deed poll name change, which were not needed).
- Originals of I-864 docs: bank statements, tax returns/transcripts for 3 yrs, property valuation, title deeds (printed from the land registry website), and 'rental agreement' for the US.
- 2 full sets of copies of the interview and I-864 docs (only one set was needed) |
| Rating : |
Very Good |
|
ver 5.0