British Expats - Its a London ting! (K3 Interview) long....

Alarm goes off just before 4am. Pretty irrelevant as Iâ€™ve spent most of the night tossing and turning. Jen and I finally manage to leave the house just before 5am. I hadnâ€™t bothered re-checking the paperwork and docs the night before as I had already done it enough times over the last god knows how long. The drive up from Portsmouth was pretty laid back and took about 90 minutes. We found a car park about 50 metres away from Dr Phelanâ€™s clinic of medical shenanigans. I would recommend it to anyone driving into London who doesnâ€™t mind paying Â£21 for the parking. Its on Great Cumberland Place and couldnâ€™t be more convenient. We arrive outside the doctors at 6.50am which was over zealous by even our standards. We decided to bugger off to Macdonaldâ€™s and have the pleasure of being served ground donkey lips by a surly teenager called Widget (or something to that effect). We went back to the stand outside the doctors about 7.20am. The queue started forming around us (note I didnâ€™t say behind us) and I was trying to decide who I was going to trample on first in case they decided to queue jump. A few minutes later Sal and her daughter turned up from the hotel opposite. I donâ€™t how we recognised each other but we did. We had a good old chat to the bemusement and confusion of others. It seemed we were the only two there that day who had taken part in the NG. Salâ€™s daughter was also there. The pair of them were very cool and it was great to have some friends there.

Around 8 am the doors open and we piled in. We would have been in first if it hadnâ€™t been for a sneaky older couple getting in front of us. Had I managed to get the stun gun out in time they wouldnâ€™t have been so luckyâ€¦. The surgery upstairs is very nice. The staff are very friendly and the atmosphere most relaxing. We were handed our red files and asked to read the spiel, place one photograph, the medical questionnaire, our passport and a lock of a loved ones hair inside. This is where the mad rush started. Everyone started fervently completing the task as soon as possible in the vague hope that they could get in and out first. After 5 or 10 minutes I was called third. I went out to reception, paid my Â£125 was given a now green folder and made to promise not to break things on my way downstairs;)

The second waiting room downstairs wasnâ€™t as elegant as the first and was much closer to what you would expect to find on the NHS. The two people ahead of me had just had their blood tests done and seemed in good spirits and relatively free from pain. My turn came and could they find a decent vein in my fat arms? After much digging around under my skin with various needles the nurse and I came to the conclusion that I was A) a pain in the arse and that B) she would have to draw blood from my hand. I didnâ€™t really hurt at all and I was back out into the waiting room in 5 minutes. All the others in the waiting room were very friendly and we soon all got chatting. The majority of the people there were applying for K1s.

Next up comes the x-ray. The radiographer (ologist etc you pick) called me from the waiting room and took me to a narrow corridor. He pointed to a cubicle, did a few minutes of his stand up routine and told me to strip to the waist. I didnâ€™t mind too much but where I come from its tradition that the person asking this of you normally slips a fiver down your top first. The x-ray was over before it had even begun. I was then ushered back to the cubicle and asked to wait there until the doctor called me. The doctor turned up, a young looking, very friendly blonde guy. We went through my form, my blood pressure, my vaccinations and that was it. Less than five minutes. I didnâ€™t need any extra vaccinations although most of the other guys there did. These were done on the spot. On my way out I was given my x-ray and told to take it to the US in my hand luggage. It was not needed for the actual interview at the consulate. The staff wished me luck and I was off to the Embassy. Just one note for you lot. Your other half is allowed into the doctors with you but they must stay in the first waiting room by the nice open (gas) fire!

By the time I left, Sal and her daughter were still waiting for the doctor to see them. We walked to the Consulate which took about 10/15 minutes, bypassed the queue as told and went in. Many others that we had seen in the doctors insisted on queuing up for some reason! Went through a security check at the door to the consulate and then into the INS office. Bloody Hell it was hot in there! We handed our letter in and were invited to take a seat. 5 minutes later we were called to hand in all our documents. This is where I was to find out if months of hard work were about to thrown out in heartbeat! Everything was fine except the photos. For the first time in my life I was told that they wanted â€œmore earâ€?. I was told that I would have the interview as normal and would have the chance to sort my photos out directly afterwards. They do have a photo booth in the consulate but they donâ€™t like you using it for immigration applications? We sat down again for another 20 minutes and got talking to a cool couple called Stuart and Jess. Jess was the USC and they were going for a K1. They went up first and after what seemed like seconds were on their way out the door! We arranged to meet up with them after our interview.

We were promptly called up by a young American consular office who was too polite for words! He called me Sir, I called him Sonny Jim, that kind of thing. He whipped through the paperwork checking all the right boxes and using his rubber stamp with absolute abandon. He stamped this way, he stamped that way, he was stamping like a heard of elephants at the IRS during tax season. There were next to no questions except to ask us for our co-sponsorâ€™s birth certificate. OH ARSE! We hadnâ€™t brought it! He told us not to worry, he typed in a few of her details from the affidavit form and bought up her records on the computer. Her passport picture everything was on the screen. We were both very impressed and uttered a Bill and Ted style "Whoooooa, cooolâ€?. Jen was asked to sign her affidavit in front of him and I was probably asked to sign something too (sorry, all a bit of a blur) and before you could say â€œStevie Wonder wants to see again! â€œ we were done. He said to come back with some approved photos and then again at 12.30 and as long as the medical was ok the visa would be waiting. We were out the door by 10.35 am.

Jen and some of the other guys we met there went to a cafÃ© to hang out and I went to get my photos done. Thereâ€™s a place about 2 minutes away from the consulate and they cost me Â£5.50. 10 minutes later I was back inside the building and handing over my newly approved pics. By this time Sal was still waiting with her daughter as seemed to be getting slightly anxious. I told her it would be cool but I donâ€™t think she believed me. We arranged for Sal to meet us at the cafÃ© after her interview.

By the time a beaming Sal arrived at the cafÃ© our ranks had swelled to around 10! We took up the whole back part of the place. We ate, drank coffee, smoked far too much, did a lot of talking and waited until 12.15. We then made our way back to consulate and took a seat patiently. One of the couples in our group were called first and were out the door waving to us only a few seconds later. Just as I was remarking how quick it was I was called up. I was given my visa, the brown envelope, a Celine Dion CD and congratulated. As I left Sal and the others were still there. It had started to snow so we made a quick exit so we could get home safely before any ensuing chaos. We left the consulate, all done at 12.40pm. Iâ€™m sure by the time you guys read this Sal is not far from home, visa in hand and thinking of her trip to the US.

Thanks you guys. Its been a tough old slog for all us and even though Iâ€™ve finished my stint in visa hell my heart goes out to all you still there. No matter how much the paperwork seems to get out of hand and no matter how much you worry that something might go amiss, trust me â€“ it wont. Be honest, do what they ask at the INS and you will get your visa â€“ promise! These guys arenâ€™t out to trip you up or catch you out, they are just paid to protect their country.

D

Its all goodâ€¦..

Visa D