Hansey

Merry Christmas all.



I'm am overjoyed to say that my beloved got his K1 on Monday! It's the
best Christmas present I could have hoped for, even though I had to come
home yesterday and don't get to spend Christmas with him. Still, it
doesn't matter, because he'll probably be here within a month now, and
then I get the rest of the Christmases ever to be with him.



Anyway, I wanted to relate the interview experience for you all while
it's still fresh in my head. I also wanted to thank everyone for
their input to this forum... I gathered so much information in this
forum that was incredibly helpful, both throughout the paperwork
process, and I remembered many things I had read on this forum on the
day of the interview, which ended up saving a lot of time and easing the
stress, as you'll see as you read.



Based on many suggestions from this forum, we stayed at the Bryanston
Court Hotel, directly across the stress from Dr. Phelan's. Our room was
tiny, which didn't bother us - it didn't need to be huge, as long as it
had a bed and a bathroom - but we were a bit dismayed to find that
instead of one double bed, there were two single beds! No matter though,
we pushed the two beds together, rearranged all the sheets, and it was
fine. So the hotel was tiny but comfortable, and affordable as far
as London goes, so we were happy.



Our room fortunately faced the street, and Dr. Phelan's was *literally*
directly across the street from where our window was. On the morning of
the interview, I happened to look out the window at 7:30, and saw that
there were two people waiting out there already! I told Jon that we had
two choices - we could either go over there and wait in the cold and try
to get in earlier, or we could just sit in our cozy hotel room and wait
until we see them letting people in, but then probably be last. Well,
by the time Jon was ready to go, it was about 7:45 and quite a crowd had
amassed, so we decided that rather than sit in the cold and be last
anyway, we'd just stay inside where it was warm and be last. The
door opened at almost 8:00 exactly and we ran downstairs and across the
street and went in.



We went in and were greeted, and Jon was given a form to read. She said
once he'd read the form, bring it back with the medical questionnaire, a
photo and whatever other documentation we might have. Now forunately,
I'm a bit of a organization freak, so I had already attached together
all the papers Jon was going to need for the medical. So, despite being
the last ones into the office, we were the second ones to turn in our
paperwork.. which meant we were called downstairs second. So I guess
the lesson here is that it doesn't necessarily matter if you're the
first one into the office, but be prepared with your documents and be
ready to hand them in quickly!



Anyway, we both went to the downstairs waiting room, and the first
person who had been called down wasn't in there, so I presume he had
already gone in to see the doctor. A nurse came out and asked me if I
was the sponsor and I said yes. She then said that she was sorry, but I
wouldn't be able to wait down there with him because the waiting room
was really too small. I had known that already from having read other
interview experiences on this forum, so we were expecting it. She was
really quite apologetic, but I told her it was no problem. She said I
should come back in about a half hour and I left.



I went out and decided to stroll down Oxford Street for a bit and peer
into some shops. I was walking back down the street toward the hotel
about 25 minutes later... I didn't expect he'd be finished already, and
we had agreed that I would wait for him in our hotel room after he
finished, though he knew I was going to go look in some shops first.
But as I was walking down the street, I saw him walking toward me! It
seemed he was finished already! He said the medical was pretty easy,
although he moaned about his "wound"... the hole in is arm where they
took his blood. I asked him if we should stop at the drugstore and
maybe get him a sling to put his arm in, and he thought that would be a
good idea. Anyway, fortunately we had brought his immunization
records with him, and it turned out he didn't have to have any
immunizations.. which is a good thing, since that probably would have
been worse than the wound created by getting a blood sample. The
rest of the exam consisted of the chest x-ray and a basic physical.. he
was a bit nervous during the eye test, not because he has bad vision,
but because he's color blind, and at one point the doctor asked him to
read the row "below the green line"... and two lines looked green to
him, but he couldn't tell which one. In the end he guessed, and it
turned out he guessed the right one. He had been very concerned about
his color-blindness, although I assured him that they weren't going to
turn him away from America because of color blindness.



Anyway, we immediately headed down to the consulate. It took about 10-
15 minutes to walk there from Dr. Phelan's. When we rounded the corner,
we saw the building immediately, and also the immense line of people
waiting in front of a guard building of some sort, and a security guard
(this guy was a riot, we saw him on and off all day, and he was really
funny) was at the front of the line with a clipboard, handling the line.
We sort of groaned when we saw the line, and started walking to the back
of it, when I remembered (again, from this forum) that we didn't have to
wait in the line. I told Jon that I thought I remembered that, but he
was a bit leery about jumping the queue. I told him to go ahead and get
a place in line, and I was going to ask the guy in the front with the
clipboard. So I went back to the front and asked him if we had to wait
in the line for a K-1 visa. He asked me the name as he opened his
clipboard, and I told him Jon's name. Well he looks at me suspiciously,
and laughed and said I wasn't him obviously. He said that no, we didn't
need to wait in the line, to come see him. So I went back and waved Jon
up and we went back to the guard. He checked off Jon's name (obviously
an appointment list), then checked his passport and mine. He took the
appointment letter from Jon, looked at it and handed it back to him, and
we went into the guard building where we had to go through the metal
detector, put any bags through the x-ray machine, just like the airport
really. I was told that I would have to leave my cell phone and camera
at the front desk. We went through, I left those two things with the
guard at the desk - they have a bunch of cubby holes behind the desk
where you leave things and they give you a numbered claim ticket to get
them back when you leave, but just keep in mind that they won't let you
bring those sorts of things into the consulate itself. At that point I
noticed that Jon was holding a blue clipboard with the appointment
letter and I asked him what that was. He said that the guard out front
had given it to him, so we just assumed that it must have been something
we needed, so we went on inside.



(continued in next post)

Hansey

Once inside, it wasn't terribly clear where we were meant to check in,
but I'll tell you now that apparently you're meant to wait at windows 1
or 2 (which had no one at them, thus our confusion) but once we were
told that and we stood there, someone came over. We showed the letter,
and then they told us to have a seat, and someone would call us shortly.
As we turned to go sit in the waiting area, suddenly the security guard
from out front was right there in front of us, taking his clipboard back
from Jon and then turning and going right back out again. It was
presumably his appointment list, and he had accidentally given it to Jon
when we were out front, lol.



So we sat in the seats and waited. There are monitors in there, with
various visa information scrolling on it. One thing I learned is that
even though Packet 4 came with a pay-in slip for the application fee
that said you *must* pay the fee (£67) at a Barclay's Bank and bring the
receipt with you to the interview, that wasn't really the case. Packet
4 implied that this was the only way you could pay the fee, however
there was a cashier window there in the room where we could have paid
the fee in US Dollars, which was $100. the problem was that we had
already paid the £67 previously, but with the horrible exchange rate of
pounds to dollars, paying the $100 would have been significantly cheaper
for us. I was only a little bit irritated, but still, it might be worth
checking into for those of you who might have your American fiances
coming to the interview with you - I would recommend maybe calling the
consulate though to confirm that beforehand - I'm pretty sure I didn't
misunderstand, but I wouldn't want anyone to get hung up on the fee.



Anyway, we were sitting for only about 15 minutes when we got called up
to a window. The gentleman at this window was only going through our
paperwork (which I had organized already in the order of the checklist)
so it was very quick. After he had everything, he told us to sit down
and someone would call us for the interview shortly. after about only
another 15 minutes a different gentleman called us up. He had us both
"swear in" and then started asking us questions. We already knew (from
this forum again) what to expect, and he asked the same questions that
it seems everyone else gets asked - how long have we known each other,
had he been to America, when is he planning on traveling, when are we
getting married, where are we getting married. Even though we don't
have any solid wedding plans yet (we're probably just going to do a
small justice of the peace wedding, since I've been married before, and
he doesn't want a big formal wedding), it didn't seem to matter in the
decision at all. Through the interview process, I actually seemed to do
more talking than Jon did, and that didn't seem to matter either. After
he had Jon sign all his forms, he put the last one in front of him, and
jokingly warned him that this was the last one, and once he signed it,
that was it, the end of the road. Jon signed it obviously, and we
were pretty much finished. He then said that they had to wait for the
results of the medical to come back, and that they wouldn't be back
until 12:30 at least, so we should probably come back then. So at only
10:00 in the morning, we were leaving the consulate.



When we went back down to the front desk, I went to claim my camera and
cell phone, and now the guard who was out front earlier was working that
desk. I gave him my claim ticket, and he got my phone and camera and
then said "That will be 20 quid," before handing them to me. I moaned
despondently at him and we both just looked at each other quietly
waiting for the other one to break, and in the end he handed them to me.
I promised him that would bring them back later (since we had to
return at 12:30 and all) and he said he wouldn't be here, ha.



So we went for a lovely breakfast at a place around the corner and then
went back to the hotel to lay down for about an hour because we were
tired already.



We got back to the embassy at nearly 12:30 exactly, and our friend the
security guard was back out front again. He saw us coming, and told Jon
he couldn't have his clipboard again, lol. He also said that someone
else after us had taken it as well, so it wasn't just us. Anyway, we
went in again, through security again.. there was a large family ahead
of us, and my bag sort of got crunched up with their stuff, and I didn't
want it to get wandered off with. As one of the other guards were
commenting to the family that there seemed to be a camera in that bag, I
piped up that it was my bag, and our friend the guard said that yes,
when I wasn't looking they were going to nick our bag and give it to
someone else. I looked at him and said "This is about that 20 quid from
before isn't it!" and he said yes, it was.



Anyway, we got back in, I left my camera at the front again (I had left
my cell phone back at the hotel - I didn't really need it in my bag
anyway, it doesn't work in England, lol) and we went back to the
waiting room.



This was basically the longest part of the day. The waiting room was
full of people all waiting for basically the same things - to get their
visas. And they all needed to wait for the medical results to come back
as well. I don't know what time the results actually showed up, but we
were waiting about an hour before they finally started calling people
up. And once they did, it was very quick. We got called up, a woman
handed Jon his passport with his visa in it, a few other papers and the
sealed brown envelope. She told him the visa was good for six months
and we had to married within three months of his arrival and have a nice
day. And with that, we were on our way out of the consulate. I picked
up my camera one last time and we headed out. Our friend the guard was
now working the duty at the gate letting people *out* of the embassy,
and we said goodbye as we went through. I told Jon I was going to miss
him, because he was fun.



We were done for the entire day by 2:00, which would have been earlier
if the medical results had been done earlier. So, to sum up the time
spent for the day (and these are estimates):



Medical: 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM

Interview: 9:15 AM - 10:15 AM

Picking up visa: 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM (which was mostly just waiting)



Having all that stuff in hand was such a huge relief, and we were both
overjoyed with happiness.



He'll probably be here by the end of January, and I can't wait. It
wasn't quite so hard leaving him at the airport as it usually is
(although I never like the thought of leaving him at all)... but at
least it was better knowing that I would see him again soon.. and that
the next I saw him, it would be forever.



Sorry for the really long post, and I hope it's helped somebody. I
might edit it later if Jon tells me I got any of the details wrong or I
left something out.



Once again, Happy Holidays, and thank you to everyone who contributes
to this forum and makes it easier for those of use still going through
this process.



Next up: POE and AOS! (with a wedding in between, obviously )

Bubbadog

That is wonderful to hear!! Congrats to you both; what a fantastic
Christmas present!!!! :PARTY:

Sibsie

Excellent Consulate Report. Well done and Merry Christmas.

Dutchman2001nl

Congratulations....

Alecca

Congratulations on your visa success

Charlies

Many congrats and best wishes for a happy future

Kae

Congratulations!

Hypertweeky

Originally posted by Hansey

    > snip

    > Merry Christmas all.


    > I'm am overjoyed to say that my beloved got his K1 on Monday! It's
    > the best Christmas present I could have hoped for, even though
    >



CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Thats great news!!, Merry Christmas to you too!!

Dutchman2001nl

Originally posted by Hypertweeky

    > CONGRATULATIONS!!!

    > Thats great news!!, Merry Christmas to you too!!





Who needs glasses when you write...