Consulate Review: London, United Kingdom
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
May 10, 2010 |
| Embassy Review : |
London US Embassy, May 7th 2010
Unlike most people I’m sure. I decided to go down to London and home in the same day rather than heading down and staying in a hotel the night before my interview, firstly because my interview time was 10am rather than stupid early, and secondly because as it happens the airline ticket prices were the same at BA as they were with EasyJet for the first time in history. Easyjet could have got me into Luton about 20mins later than my interview tag on train/tube times and it’s not an option, or the evening before, while BA would get me there about 1hr 40mins early Leaving plenty of time to get to the embassy, (Also BA serves Breakfast on the way down)
I stayed at my brothers the night before my interview so I could get to the airport quicker than if I’d stayed at home, got up at 4:45am, as he had to be at work around 5:30, so he dropped me off at Aberdeen airport (ABZ) around 5:10, the plane was scheduled for take-off at 6:40am so I relaxed for a little, watched the last of the votes come in for the general election that led to our current hung parliament, and drank overpriced airport cherry coke and coffee until 6:20am, passed security, headed to the gate, and got on the plane, right before take-off the cabin crew informed us we had a soft tyre that needed to be changed before we could take off, leaving us about 45mins off our original take off time. Which of course stressed me and a lot of other people who were on a schedule out, we took off as soon as was possible and made up some of that lost time. We arrived in LHR around about 8:55 leaving me very little time to get to the embassy, walked right off the plane into Terminal 5, headed for the underground, bought for my day ticket, and then jumped on the tube.
With the plane being delayed I got into the general area around 10am, when I was supposed to be in the embassy around then, I was stressed out beyond reason. Went by the front of the embassy letter in hand and spoke to the security there and was informed by one very nice guy that the time is more of a guideline because of the nature of the interviews, and as long as I was there before 2pm I’d be let in and interviewed regardless of what it said on my letter. With the knowledge I had time to not stress myself out anymore, and the phone ringing in my pocket, I headed up to Gould’s pharmacy and stored my cell phone, and headed back to the embassy, far less anxious than I’d been all day.
I stepped in line with a few other people waiting to get through the little security office and into the visa centre, it seems I’d left the headset for my phone in my pocket and had to dispose of it, did so and continued through the other side following the very clearly marked visa signs up the stairs and into the building, chatted briefly with the lady at the security desk, got my number and headed in. I was given an “I” number, and having read something about them before was pretty much sitting around for a while as “N” numbers were called forth to the windows in their hundreds.
I had about a 30min wait until I was called to window 14 where behind the glass was a lady who looked I guess a little like a teacher I used to have who disliked me a lot. I was pleasantly surprised she was really very polite and nice and not at all like her doppelganger I gave her a the forms she asked for, got my fingerprints taken then she waited a few minutes for me to go get pictures I forgot to get at Gould’s, thankfully the embassy’s photo booth was working so she wasn’t left waiting for long. She finished up checking everything was in order, then told me to go take a seat again and my number would be called again in a while.
I went and sat back down as droves of people with N numbers were again called until finally I saw my number appear again on the screen, this time I headed to window 16 where I was greeted by a nice man in his 50’s who looks a lot like my future wife’s father, but in a shirt/tie and a haircut, he had me do my fingerprints again, checked over the forms I’d submitted at window 14, asked a couple questions, - How we met, where Sara lives, and when I was going back over, I answered these in more detail than most would have, and he said that’s great, everything seems to be in order except your police certificate. He said I was approved, but would have to obtain another before my visa was issued, he stamped a few things, then he printed off instructions on how to get it, handed me back my the x-rays taken by the Knightsbridge doctors, and a blue form said I had to call the number at the top for the couriers when I have the certificate and have them pick up my passport/certificate and drop it back down to the embassy and they’d attach my visa and send it back to me.
The whole thing took less than 2 hours. Time at the windows was less than 10mins total. Much to my surprise they never asked for any additional proof of a relationship no letters/emails/pictures, nothing.
I took the rest of the day and spent it taking pictures and stuff around London, walked by Westminster, Downing Street, Buckingham palace, and the usual tourist spots until my feet hurt, then went and saw iron man 2 (which I fell asleep through, probably because I’d only gotten about 2-4 hours of sleep) before heading back on the tube to Terminal 5 where I set off the alarms at security with the zip on my trousers and eventually home.
While elated that I’d been approved I was very upset that I have to provide another police certificate as the delay in getting my visa will likely force me to move my flights.
Additional:
The police in Aberdeen said I did not need the certificate from acpo as theirs was more than adequate, they were wrong! (Just in case anyone’s curious about the reason the cert was wrong, I took police advice and they slowed me down) |
| Rating : |
Very Good |
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ver 5.0