Consulate Review: London, United Kingdom
Review Topic: L-1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
September 25, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
The L1 visa is a non-immigrant visa, but the process is pretty much the same apart from the interview questions. My fiancee and I plan to marry in the US later this year, and adjust status there.
My appointment was for 9am on Tuesday 25th September.
First up, a reminder: don't bring anything electronic with you. Mobile phones are the obvious problem, but it also includes electronic car and house keys, and the guy in front of me was turned around at security for his internet banking password card.
You have to queue to get into the embassy. This is out in the open, so if it rains, you get wet. Being Britain, you could get very wet indeed. I joined the queue close to where the path meets the road, and waited for 45 minutes.
Once you reach the front of the queue, security check your forms, which for me was the interview and DS-160 confirmation (DS-160 is for non-immigrant visas) and the (MRV) visa receipt, as paid to the call centre in the UK. Then your passport is checked.
Next, you walk through the baggage check, just like an airport, and once through, you walk round and enter the embassy itself. Here, the receptionist puts a sticker with your queue number onto your appointment confirmation. You then walk up a short flight of stairs to sit down and wait for this number to be called. This wait took about 40 minutes. Numbers are preceded by either N, I or E, which I'm guessing are non-immigrant, immigrant and employment visas. Most people are there for N visas.
The first time your number is called, you go to one of windows 1 to 11, adjacent to the waiting area. Here the consular officer checks your documents are all in order and your visa photo is OK, and takes your fingerprints. Once this is done, you receive a form on coloured paper (mine was blue). This is for delivery details for your visa and passport. At this stage, I had to go to Gould's pharmacy nearby, as my photo background wasn't completely blank so it needed to be re-done. I was allowed to return without queueing, and could wait at the window for the same officer to be available again.
You can fill the delivery form in now, but you should keep it until after you are told the visa is approved at the end of the subsequent interview. There are pens on the courier desk by the entrance if you need one. Wait again, until your number is called for a second time. I was waiting for about an hour.
This time you have the actual interview, at one of windows 12 to 25. My questions were simple, and had some time in between as the officer did things on her terminal: "What job is it you do?"; "Who do you work for?"; "How long have you worked there?"; "Where will you be working?"; "How long have your worked there, again?". Then she said "Thank you, your visa has been approved. Please organise delivery at the courier desk."
This last bit is easy, but you can't pay with cash. Queue at the courier desk, give them the completed delivery form and pay. The cheapest option, delivery for one person's visa before 6pm, is currently £14-60.
I joined the queue at 8-35am, and left the embassy at 11-30am. Not too bad, but make sure you bring a book or magazine. I see complaints about how hot it was in other reviews, but I was cold in the airconditioning, so put my jacket on.
The experience was OK, but could have been less confusing. Firstly, the interview is a two-stage process, with queueing for each part, but you aren't told this until you have completed the first stage. Secondly, the queueing system merges the two stages together, when it would be much easier to listen for your number if the two stages were shown separately. Overall, though, I can't complain. There's enough space and enough seats. There is natural light in the waiting area. The staff are courteous and helpful.
If you've made it this far into the review, it's probably because you're worried. If you're applying in London, remember that it's a low-fraud embassy. They want to approve people. If you're applying for an L1 visa, then the main checks are done in the US, so if you've got as far as the embassy you'll probably be OK. If you're not applying in London or for an L1, you should find a more useful review.
Oh, and one more thing: Good luck.
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| Rating : |
Good |
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ver 5.0