Simon&Vik

Simon's day started at 8am at the Dr's. He said there were maybe a dozen people by the time they opened. He also said that the people working there all seemed in good moods & were nice.

Drew blood.
Took a chest Xray.
Doc check his ears, eyes, throat, and abdomin (possibly checking for liver problems, speculates Simon).

They told inappropriate jokes, like about how it's like a transfusion and that every time they send some Brits to the States, it's to increase the nation's average IQ. Hehehe

Then on to the Embassy. He said security was VERY tight. (Not that either of us mind that. Be as safe as humanly possible in that kinda place, ya know?)

He said his interview lasted all of about 4 minutes.
3 questions.
What I do for a living.
What he does for a living.
How we met.

30 minutes later, Visa in hand!! (Around 2:00 pm)

He called me at work and said "I'll be home Sunday." YAY!!!!!

Oh! And he'd brought Visa photos for the Embassy, but he didn't need them at all. He'd already sent some in w/P3! Hehehe!

I know this is kinda low on the details, but I wasn't there.



PS I now know the secret of Dr P's toilet! I told him he HAD to go so I could find out! LOL!

brigeet

Wow, many congratulations!

katie4998

Awesome news, Vik! I know you guys have had some tough times, so it must be so great to know he'll be home so soon! Congrats to you both!

dutchman2001nl

Congratulations.........

Michi

Great news!!! Congratulations

Karen D

Excellent news Simon & Vik

Hope you are feeling better now, that smile will stay in place for an awful long time to come yet!

Wishing Simon a safe trip on Sunday and wishing you both a happy ever after.

WiAnSiempre

Great news Simon and Vik! I'm very happy for you Have a safe trip over.

Angela

sibsie

Excellent news. I'm really happy for you both.

Leslie

Lovely! I'm glad to hear this leg of your journey was painless. Congratulations.

Khadija

Congrats!
Patty

Noorah101

Congratulations! :-)

Hebapotamus42

Congratulations, Vik!!!! The wait is finally over!!

Simon&Vik

I don't know if "painless" is quite the right term when it comes to being away from your spouse for 5 months...

He's written a bit that I'll post here on his behalf.

I went down to London on Tuesday (appropriately, my last trip through God's Country swathed in rain), and settled into a hotel for the evening. London and I do not match; everyone in London is in a hurry. After a lot of sleepless nights, I took the opportunity of having a very early night.

Procedings commenced at 8am at the office of Dr. Michael Phelan at 54 Great Cumberland Place, immediately north of Marble Arch. A group of about a dozen of us filled out forms, handed them in with our passports, and waited in a plush (roaring fire and all); in due course, we were individually called to the reception desk to pay the fee. I believe the order in which we were called was based on an algorithm that converted our names into numerical string, multiplied that sum by the year of our birth, and sorted this list by the highest product. That is to say, if there was an order, it was indistinguishable from randomness.

Downstairs, the applicants gathered without partners who may have accompanied us. Blood was drawn, and bit by bit, we were taken off for a chest X-ray. The doctor's exam was quick, and only really involved basic checks - eyes, heart, lungs, liver and ears.

The medical complete, we were told to walk to the US Embassy, five minutes walk from the opposite side of Oxford Street. Being a paranoid sort of chap, and fretting that the photos I had brought were full-face, not 3/4 face, I stopped off en route to get another set of photos.

At the embassy there is a good security presence - metal detectors, armed police, the works. This is considerably reassuring. Led to a low-ceilinged, stuffy waiting room, people spend most of the next three hours waiting. In total, I was called twice - once to hand over my details, forms, passports and whatnot (wasn't even asked for the photos I'd been so concerned about!), and once to the actual interview. During the interview, I had to take an oath, and we talked bout how Vicki and I met, what I did for a living, what she did for a living. We spoke briefly about IT being outsourced to India, and I commented that I was pleased that my line of work - which involves a physical presence on-site - was relatively safe from this menace, compared to, say, coding. And that was it! I had to wait about 20 minutes to have the form actually in my hand, and then retired to Grosvenor Square to call Vicki, parents etc. - and to pay a respectfull visit to Roosevelt's and General Eisenhower's monuments.

Retired to a pub off Oxford Street for a pint of Pride.

mrs.jar2b

I'm so glad I logged in tonite to read this news!!

Congratulations to the both of you!! Finally you'll be reunited!

Thank you for posting Simon's account ... I'll be forwarding that to my hubby for a read. We're already anxiously awaiting the not even scheduled yet interview! Affidavit of support goes in the mail Saturday ...

Best of luck and enjoy every minute you are together!

Take care,
Jackie