Teanmontana

So we are finally here and getting very close to our move to Montana USA.

We have our interviews at the Embassy in London on Wednesday, I have everything I can think of ready but I still feel nervous.

List of thing to take.

L1B blanket petition
Covering letters
DS 160 confirmation
Appointment confirmation
Passports
Marriage certificate
ACRO.

Has anyone any advice for us for Wednesday?

Pulaski

Relax. It will be one of the least challenging "interviews" you will ever attend.

Almost all the reports, consistent with my own experience of the "interview" (for a CR-1), are that your visa has already been all-but approved based on the submitted forms and supporting documentation*, and that the "interview" is mostly just to tidy up any loose ends in the file - little more than a chat while the officer shuffles papers in your file. IMO the chances of you being given a hard time at the interview are slim to none.

* This may not be true for some visa types such as a self-sponsored E-1 or E-2, or a B-1 or B-2, and maybe a few others.

Teanmontana

Thanks for that - i'm pretty sure we have all in place and good to go. It's the unknown I suppose.

The move has been going on since last November in one form or another. I remeber talking to you about it back then lol .

It's finally coming to the final stages and we are due to leave the UK on the 7th July.

hmvsdog

Blanket L petitions go under a bit more scrutiny at interview than individual L petitions do, as the determination is made at interview if you're eligible for the visa, rather than at a USCIS service center. But as long as your forms have been filled out correctly and the evidence is in order, as Pulaski says, it'll be a non-event.

Teanmontana

Thank you - much appreciated

Twinkle0927

It can be very daunting in the run-up. The paperwork is all very official and the US embassy in London is full of security and the whole business of getting in is taken very seriously. But for most visa types it's just a formality. It's an opportunity for them to take your fingerprints and rubber stamp your file that you have been "physically seen" by a CO at the embassy. It's very much a box-ticking exercise. I guarantee you any job interview you have attended will have been far more challenging than this.

Teanmontana

Thank you - that's really helpful

tom169

• Turn up in plenty of time as the line starts early.
• Read up on what you can and can't take into the embassy.
• Have everything ready to hand over when asked without spilling papers all over the floor.

Teanmontana

Thanks good advice

hutchison

i was there on may 8th for the same visa category. once inside the embassy your first call up will be to hand over any requested documents DS160's confirmation etc , marriage cert , and pay the security screening fee for the L1b = $500, take a payment card, visa etc. The staff i found at the counters are very professional and put you at ease, smile!, Then you have to sit back down and wait for the interview.

you will get called up again this time you'll likely go to a private interview room around by the payment area.

they asked me obvious questions, who is your employer, what is your job title, why are they hiring you, what is your specialism, what is your degree in, how long will you be in the U.S, etc. Personally I found it was not a round of quick fire questions, more like a question here and there over the course of 10-15 minutes.

I found good preparation before the interview in pretending my wife was the interviewer and firing some the above questions at me before hand.

At my particular interview they asked the same question a few times, which can be quite unsettling considering the subtle nerves that interviews can bring on, for me it felt like a test of my integrity/honesty. Consider they do not know you personally and how nice you may be and how great you are at your job, they are just doing their job finding out.

after questioning the interviewer stamped my (2) I-129S form 'approved' which was a distinctly great moment!.
I took (3) I-129S copies to the interview but they said only 2 are required , they stamped both but kept them.
I was then given a form which said my visa had to undergo further administrative processing (AP) because I had some notes on my ACRO.
I was then asked if I wanted to pay my wifes L2 Issuance fee $105 , or wait until I had heard back from them about the acro. I chose to pay it as the train fees into london to return were nearly the same cost as the L2 issuance.

I am led to believe if you have a clear acro certificate approval can be on the spot.

We checked our AP status on the CEAC status website using our DS160 application I.D

It took 14 days for our L1B/L2 to be approved on the CEAC status website at which point it said 'case updated on date' and 'issued' . A further 2 days to notify us via email, and we had them delivered a day after that (17 days total).

will you take a form G28? (notice of entry of appearance as attorney or accredited rep) and a covering letter from your immigration lawyers? I took mine under instruction from the Immigration lawyers but the U.S Embassy did not ask to see it.

They returned both I-129S with validity dates inserted, marriage cert and acro, with the passports.

Good luck!

Teanmontana

That's brilliant - thank you hutchinson.

Yes we have the G28 and covering documentation.

MariaKW

We had our interview very recently and I can only agree that it was a non-event. The build up to it, however, is fresh in my mind and we were very nervous that there would be a mistake in the application or something unexpected flagged up.

One of the first questions we were asked was "are the kids looking forward to moving to the US?". I think our sigh of relief was quite obvious.

The one thing I didn't expect was that the interviewer asked me (the L2) a few questions and also a couple of questions to the kids.

Our experience wasn't in London, though.

Hopefully you will soon be breathing the same sigh of relief and the 7th July will come around quickly.

Good luck.

Ecto17

Been to London twice in the last 6 weeks with hubby who was applying for an L1A (only went twice due to a change at our end). Both occasions we were really impressed with how friendly and helpful all the staff were from the ones outside to the interviewers. In our instance my husband was asked only a couple of questions and there was never a feeling of anyone trying to trip us up. We did stick to the the strategy of saying as little as possible thou!

Pulaski

Security was much less burdensome when I had my interview - on September 10th, 2001.

Jack8602

Is this new? I didn't pay anything at all at my L1B interview.

for the OP - my interview went like this, and lasted approximately 27 seconds.

Officer: Who do you work for?
Me: <company name>
Officer: looks at paperwork breifly, stamps something and says "Approved, have a good day, your passport will be sent within the next 2 weeks"