My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Nov 13th 2017, 1:56 pm
#1
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My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Hi, all!
I wanted to write a little run-down of my experience at the embassy, in case it might appease anyone who might be feeling nervous or curious in the run-up to theirs. I was being interviewed for a CR-1 visa.
My appointment was for 9am, on Tuesday the 7th of November. I arrived in London (Victoria Coach Station) at 6am after catching a night coach, and made my way to Grosvenor Square on foot. It would have been about a 30 minute walk, but I took my time and stopped for a couple of coffees along the way. I reached the embassy at 7.45am and was met with swarms of people and a lot of security - my initial thought was perhaps there was some kind of protest going on - but nope, this is just the embassy!
There are two little gazebos outside, with staff sitting under them to direct/assist you. After telling a lady that I was there for a visa interview at 9am, I was initially told to come back at 8.30am to join the people in the 9am queue (there were two queues formed outside the building), so I did. I sat in the adjacent park in the meantime. Once back at the embassy and in the queue, a lady came over to check a couple of documents (she wanted to see my passport and the DS-260 confirmation) - after glancing at mine, she told me that I didn't need to be in the queue, and to come back ten minutes before my appointment and they would let me straight in. I'm not sure what those queues of people were queuing for, but perhaps they don't have designated appointments yet?
Anyway, I came back at 8.45am, showed my appointment letter to a lady under the gazebo, and was sent straight to the security office.
It's a little airport without the planes, essentially. They let four people in at a time - they scanned our belongings and then they scanned us. Then I gathered up my scanned stuff (a backpack and a jacket - I had overheard people in the queues with more than that, and with laptops, being directed to a shop down the street where there are lockers) and was out of the security office and making my way around the building to the main entrance. Lots of security standing at all points along the way. Once into the building, I handed over my appointment letter again, and my passport, this time to a receptionist that barely acknowledged I was there - she was talking to her colleague about some TV show. She stuck a few stickers on my appointment letter, two of which contained my ID number, handed it back to me, and told me to go and wait in the room up the stairs.
The waiting room is huge, and it reminded me a little bit of a bank, with all the rows of 'windows' along one side with people stood at them, and a member of staff behind each one. There are two enormous screens on the wall at the end of the room, upon which they announce your ID number (along with a cursory 'ding' noise) when it's called and tell you which window to go up to, and rows upon rows of seats facing them. I'd say there must have been close to a hundred people in there at the same time as me. I took a seat (it was about 8.50am) and waited for my ID number to be called. I think I was called at around 9.15am. I made my way to window number two, and was met by a friendly man, who took my interview confirmation letter and my passport, then left to go and "collect my case". When he came back, he asked "Have you had your medical yet?". My heart sank as despite having attended my medical over a month previously, I knew Knightsbridge had only very recently signed it off, and there was a risk that it wouldn't have reached the embassy in time. I answered "yes"; he asked "When was it?"; I answered "October 4th"; he then said "Let me go and check if it arrived today". He went away, and then came back brandishing a large envelope - "It just arrived this morning!" he said. The relief was palpable! And I was quite amazed (and very lucky), considering it was barely past 9am. He opened the envelope and there was a huge 'APPROVED' stamp on the front of my medical documents, which was beautiful to see, considering the complications I'd faced. He gave me the disk with my X-Ray on it, filed the medical documents away in the folder with my case, and then he asked for some more documents.
I gave him the originals of everything asked for:
- Courier confirmation
- Passport and two U.S.-visa-size photographs
- My birth certificate
- My ACRO
- Mine and my husband's marriage certificate
He asked me the following questions:
- Is this your first marriage?
- How long have you been married?
- Have you ever had a U.S. visa before?
My answers were "yes", "just over a year" and "no", respectively.
He took all of my documents one by one, organised them into my case file, kept my passport (I knew this was a good sign for now!) and filed that away, too, and then instructed me to place my fingertips on the little reader so that he could take my prints, in exactly the same way that you do at an airport. I provided these, and was then instructed to take a seat again and wait to be called once more. That entire process took about ten minutes - he was a friendly man, smiley, but offered no chit-chat - it was not an overtly formal experience, but not informal either, and was generally pleasant and easy.
I took a seat and waited again for my ID number to be called. I think I was sat there for about ten minutes, and was called up at around 9.30am. This time I was called to a window around the corner, and was met by a friendly man with an American accent. This was the part of the interview that I suppose was technically more of an 'interrogation' (though was still totally friendly and nothing to be nervous about) - he was quite matter-of-fact in his demeanour, but was also smiley and friendly and actually a pleasure to talk to. I was first asked to raise my right hand and swear an oath to say that the answers I'd given so far, and were about to give, were true to the best of my knowledge. I then had to provide my finger-prints again. Once that was all done, the following conversation ensued (likely paraphrased a bit, but here was the gist of it - you will notice that I suffered from the ill-advised verbal diarrhoea - he was tapping/clicking away at his computer throughout):
- How did you meet your husband?
"We met on a journaling website when we were teenagers."
- How long have you known each other?
"Well... we were about eighteen, so... I'm 32 now, so... about fourteen years?" (I could not maths for the life of me! Nerves!)
- How did your relationship come to be?
"We'd been friends on Facebook for years - I got a cat about four years ago, and he started commenting on pictures of my cat all the time and so I started noticing him more; we struck up a conversation and never stopped talking, and that was that. That was almost four years ago now."
- So you've known each other for four years, but also since you were teenagers?
"We only really got to know each other in the last four years, I'd say."
- So you've met in person?
"Yes."
- Was that in the United States?
"The first time, yes."
- How many times have you been to the United States?
"Five times."
- Has he ever come here?
"Yes."
- How many times has he come here?
"Once."
- Why does he not come over here more often?
"His mother was ill, unfortunately, so it wasn't easy for him to travel."
- Have you met his mother?
"Yes."
- Is she doing better?
"She just passed away, sadly."
- I'm sorry to hear that.
"Thank you."
- Has your husband met any of your family?
"Yes."
- Where did you get married?
"In the United States."
- Did any of your family join you?
"Yes - both of my parents, one of my siblings, and an aunt and a cousin."
At this point, he smiled at me and said "Well, I'm very happy to say that I'm going to approve your visa" - he then scribbled and stamped something onto the front of my paperwork - and then he said "You should receive your documents back within one to two weeks", and that was it! I was in an utter daze and I don't recall my response, but I hope I at least had the decency to thank him. His questions were asked in quick succession and were presumably done in such a way to enable a picture to be built promptly and accurately. I actually found the experience almost enjoyable - he seemed to be genuinely interested (whether he actually was or not!) in mine and my husband's relationship, and his manner was very friendly.
I then left the building - I was back out on the street at 9.40am, so between entering and exiting the building, I was there for about 50 minutes. I called both of my parents and my sister, and then took myself on a stroll around the city for a few hours before heading home (and getting stuck on the M5 until 9pm due to there being a "herd of cows loose on the motorway" - you can take the girl out of Somerset...)
I was not asked to provide any of the following documents, which I'd packed as per instruction: copy of I-864EZ, copies of my husband's W2s and tax returns, copies of my husband's birth certificate and passport; photographs of my husband and I together (and with family members, especially). I can therefore assume these documents only become required if there appears to be any reason to question them. I had also brought some medical-related notes/documents with me to back me up if necessary, and copies of all other forms submitted to the USCIS and NVC, just in case they might be helpful, but nothing else was required of me.
Overall, the interview was the least daunting element of this process for me. Even less so than all the endless forms and fees. Those who know me on this forum will know that the medical shook me up good and proper, but the interview never concerned me and it needn't have done. It was a breeze, and I credit that to meticulous organisation (I will post a picture of my folder of documents - the time spent creating that thing was time very well spent indeed!), to a general ability to read (the instructions sent in emails and on the travel.state.gov website are vitally important), and to hours spent trawling this website. Thank you to everybody who posts details of their experiences - it has been immeasurably helpful and reassuring to me, and I hope this post can offer the same to anybody else.
I wanted to write a little run-down of my experience at the embassy, in case it might appease anyone who might be feeling nervous or curious in the run-up to theirs. I was being interviewed for a CR-1 visa.
My appointment was for 9am, on Tuesday the 7th of November. I arrived in London (Victoria Coach Station) at 6am after catching a night coach, and made my way to Grosvenor Square on foot. It would have been about a 30 minute walk, but I took my time and stopped for a couple of coffees along the way. I reached the embassy at 7.45am and was met with swarms of people and a lot of security - my initial thought was perhaps there was some kind of protest going on - but nope, this is just the embassy!
There are two little gazebos outside, with staff sitting under them to direct/assist you. After telling a lady that I was there for a visa interview at 9am, I was initially told to come back at 8.30am to join the people in the 9am queue (there were two queues formed outside the building), so I did. I sat in the adjacent park in the meantime. Once back at the embassy and in the queue, a lady came over to check a couple of documents (she wanted to see my passport and the DS-260 confirmation) - after glancing at mine, she told me that I didn't need to be in the queue, and to come back ten minutes before my appointment and they would let me straight in. I'm not sure what those queues of people were queuing for, but perhaps they don't have designated appointments yet?
Anyway, I came back at 8.45am, showed my appointment letter to a lady under the gazebo, and was sent straight to the security office.
It's a little airport without the planes, essentially. They let four people in at a time - they scanned our belongings and then they scanned us. Then I gathered up my scanned stuff (a backpack and a jacket - I had overheard people in the queues with more than that, and with laptops, being directed to a shop down the street where there are lockers) and was out of the security office and making my way around the building to the main entrance. Lots of security standing at all points along the way. Once into the building, I handed over my appointment letter again, and my passport, this time to a receptionist that barely acknowledged I was there - she was talking to her colleague about some TV show. She stuck a few stickers on my appointment letter, two of which contained my ID number, handed it back to me, and told me to go and wait in the room up the stairs.
The waiting room is huge, and it reminded me a little bit of a bank, with all the rows of 'windows' along one side with people stood at them, and a member of staff behind each one. There are two enormous screens on the wall at the end of the room, upon which they announce your ID number (along with a cursory 'ding' noise) when it's called and tell you which window to go up to, and rows upon rows of seats facing them. I'd say there must have been close to a hundred people in there at the same time as me. I took a seat (it was about 8.50am) and waited for my ID number to be called. I think I was called at around 9.15am. I made my way to window number two, and was met by a friendly man, who took my interview confirmation letter and my passport, then left to go and "collect my case". When he came back, he asked "Have you had your medical yet?". My heart sank as despite having attended my medical over a month previously, I knew Knightsbridge had only very recently signed it off, and there was a risk that it wouldn't have reached the embassy in time. I answered "yes"; he asked "When was it?"; I answered "October 4th"; he then said "Let me go and check if it arrived today". He went away, and then came back brandishing a large envelope - "It just arrived this morning!" he said. The relief was palpable! And I was quite amazed (and very lucky), considering it was barely past 9am. He opened the envelope and there was a huge 'APPROVED' stamp on the front of my medical documents, which was beautiful to see, considering the complications I'd faced. He gave me the disk with my X-Ray on it, filed the medical documents away in the folder with my case, and then he asked for some more documents.
I gave him the originals of everything asked for:
- Courier confirmation
- Passport and two U.S.-visa-size photographs
- My birth certificate
- My ACRO
- Mine and my husband's marriage certificate
He asked me the following questions:
- Is this your first marriage?
- How long have you been married?
- Have you ever had a U.S. visa before?
My answers were "yes", "just over a year" and "no", respectively.
He took all of my documents one by one, organised them into my case file, kept my passport (I knew this was a good sign for now!) and filed that away, too, and then instructed me to place my fingertips on the little reader so that he could take my prints, in exactly the same way that you do at an airport. I provided these, and was then instructed to take a seat again and wait to be called once more. That entire process took about ten minutes - he was a friendly man, smiley, but offered no chit-chat - it was not an overtly formal experience, but not informal either, and was generally pleasant and easy.
I took a seat and waited again for my ID number to be called. I think I was sat there for about ten minutes, and was called up at around 9.30am. This time I was called to a window around the corner, and was met by a friendly man with an American accent. This was the part of the interview that I suppose was technically more of an 'interrogation' (though was still totally friendly and nothing to be nervous about) - he was quite matter-of-fact in his demeanour, but was also smiley and friendly and actually a pleasure to talk to. I was first asked to raise my right hand and swear an oath to say that the answers I'd given so far, and were about to give, were true to the best of my knowledge. I then had to provide my finger-prints again. Once that was all done, the following conversation ensued (likely paraphrased a bit, but here was the gist of it - you will notice that I suffered from the ill-advised verbal diarrhoea - he was tapping/clicking away at his computer throughout):
- How did you meet your husband?
"We met on a journaling website when we were teenagers."
- How long have you known each other?
"Well... we were about eighteen, so... I'm 32 now, so... about fourteen years?" (I could not maths for the life of me! Nerves!)
- How did your relationship come to be?
"We'd been friends on Facebook for years - I got a cat about four years ago, and he started commenting on pictures of my cat all the time and so I started noticing him more; we struck up a conversation and never stopped talking, and that was that. That was almost four years ago now."
- So you've known each other for four years, but also since you were teenagers?
"We only really got to know each other in the last four years, I'd say."
- So you've met in person?
"Yes."
- Was that in the United States?
"The first time, yes."
- How many times have you been to the United States?
"Five times."
- Has he ever come here?
"Yes."
- How many times has he come here?
"Once."
- Why does he not come over here more often?
"His mother was ill, unfortunately, so it wasn't easy for him to travel."
- Have you met his mother?
"Yes."
- Is she doing better?
"She just passed away, sadly."
- I'm sorry to hear that.
"Thank you."
- Has your husband met any of your family?
"Yes."
- Where did you get married?
"In the United States."
- Did any of your family join you?
"Yes - both of my parents, one of my siblings, and an aunt and a cousin."
At this point, he smiled at me and said "Well, I'm very happy to say that I'm going to approve your visa" - he then scribbled and stamped something onto the front of my paperwork - and then he said "You should receive your documents back within one to two weeks", and that was it! I was in an utter daze and I don't recall my response, but I hope I at least had the decency to thank him. His questions were asked in quick succession and were presumably done in such a way to enable a picture to be built promptly and accurately. I actually found the experience almost enjoyable - he seemed to be genuinely interested (whether he actually was or not!) in mine and my husband's relationship, and his manner was very friendly.
I then left the building - I was back out on the street at 9.40am, so between entering and exiting the building, I was there for about 50 minutes. I called both of my parents and my sister, and then took myself on a stroll around the city for a few hours before heading home (and getting stuck on the M5 until 9pm due to there being a "herd of cows loose on the motorway" - you can take the girl out of Somerset...)
I was not asked to provide any of the following documents, which I'd packed as per instruction: copy of I-864EZ, copies of my husband's W2s and tax returns, copies of my husband's birth certificate and passport; photographs of my husband and I together (and with family members, especially). I can therefore assume these documents only become required if there appears to be any reason to question them. I had also brought some medical-related notes/documents with me to back me up if necessary, and copies of all other forms submitted to the USCIS and NVC, just in case they might be helpful, but nothing else was required of me.
Overall, the interview was the least daunting element of this process for me. Even less so than all the endless forms and fees. Those who know me on this forum will know that the medical shook me up good and proper, but the interview never concerned me and it needn't have done. It was a breeze, and I credit that to meticulous organisation (I will post a picture of my folder of documents - the time spent creating that thing was time very well spent indeed!), to a general ability to read (the instructions sent in emails and on the travel.state.gov website are vitally important), and to hours spent trawling this website. Thank you to everybody who posts details of their experiences - it has been immeasurably helpful and reassuring to me, and I hope this post can offer the same to anybody else.
Last edited by KK85; Nov 13th 2017 at 2:41 pm.
Nov 13th 2017, 2:10 pm
#2
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Joined: Feb 2015
Location: Denver, CO.
Posts: 1,523
Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Congratulations - glad it was a smooth experience for you.
Nov 13th 2017, 2:14 pm
#3
JJ123
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 107
Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Congratulations! And thank you for your write up, it's extremely helpful to someone like myself who is going through the process. 
Nov 13th 2017, 2:19 pm
#4
JJ123
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 107
Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Oh and your organisational skills are awesome! I love that folder! 
Nov 13th 2017, 2:22 pm
#5
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Joined: Nov 2016
Location: Harrisburg, PA (formerly Somerset, UK)
Posts: 538
Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Thank you, Ben and Jamackabi!
That folder is my pride and joy - I'm disproportionately proud of it! It's created a monster in me, and now I've asked for a Filofax for Christmas.
That folder is my pride and joy - I'm disproportionately proud of it! It's created a monster in me, and now I've asked for a Filofax for Christmas.
Nov 13th 2017, 2:25 pm
#6
JJ123
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 107
Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
I'd be proud of it too! Maybe frame it? Haha. A Filofax seems like the perfect gift for your obvious talents!
Nov 13th 2017, 3:05 pm
#7
Just Joined
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 20
Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Congratulations KK85, very happy for you two (and your cat too). Impressed with how you organised everything too.
Nov 13th 2017, 4:56 pm
#8
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Joined: Mar 2015
Location: NC, USA (ex Yorkshire)
Posts: 4,375
Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Congratulations, KK85. After seeing your posts for some time and corresponding it's great to hear the final result is a good one. Best of luck.
Nov 13th 2017, 7:29 pm
#9
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Nov 13th 2017, 7:29 pm
#10
Go Braves!
Joined: Jul 2016
Location: Rocky Mount VA
Posts: 180
Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Congratulations, that is a very helpful post.
Good luck for the future.
Good luck for the future.
Nov 13th 2017, 10:29 pm
#11
Concierge
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 46,380
Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Great write-up. As for your folder keep in and start another one immediately upon entry to the US. You will be needing to remove conditions 1 year and 9 months after entering the US. You should provide some of the items in that folder as well as items you will start putting into the new folder for the removal of conditions process. After that all you really need is copies of both and current tax returns for naturalization 2 years and 9 months of entry to the US.
Nov 14th 2017, 7:33 am
#12
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Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Thank you, Stu and Rete. 
Nov 14th 2017, 7:34 am
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Nov 14th 2017, 2:40 pm
#14
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Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Well done KK85. Sounds like you hit it out the park.
Just a warning to other perspective interviewees that not all the staff are friendly. My wife was interviewed by a man whose attitude bordered on rude until he found out about her job and qualifications. Just be ready for the grumpy staff too as they are not all smiles and friendly.
The other staff were very nice and the London embassy is amazingly efficient unlike Knightsbridge
Just a warning to other perspective interviewees that not all the staff are friendly. My wife was interviewed by a man whose attitude bordered on rude until he found out about her job and qualifications. Just be ready for the grumpy staff too as they are not all smiles and friendly.
The other staff were very nice and the London embassy is amazingly efficient unlike Knightsbridge
Nov 14th 2017, 4:55 pm
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Joined: Nov 2016
Location: Harrisburg, PA (formerly Somerset, UK)
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Re: My interview experience - U.S. Embassy in London
Well done KK85. Sounds like you hit it out the park.
Just a warning to other perspective interviewees that not all the staff are friendly. My wife was interviewed by a man whose attitude bordered on rude until he found out about her job and qualifications. Just be ready for the grumpy staff too as they are not all smiles and friendly.
The other staff were very nice and the London embassy is amazingly efficient unlike Knightsbridge
Just a warning to other perspective interviewees that not all the staff are friendly. My wife was interviewed by a man whose attitude bordered on rude until he found out about her job and qualifications. Just be ready for the grumpy staff too as they are not all smiles and friendly.
The other staff were very nice and the London embassy is amazingly efficient unlike Knightsbridge
It's been a bit of a bumpy road, but we made it!Sorry to hear your wife had a less pleasant experience at the embassy.
