So the day finally arrived. Me and dear husband travelled to London for 3 hours during the wee hours of the morning. Our appointment was at 9:30am but we arrived at 6:00! I know it's ridiculous but we want to be there early to get to know the place better. It felt good to have plenty of time in our hands .... we familiarized ourselves with the place, went for a stroll at the park and had a sumptuous breakfast.
Anyway, here's what happened .....
I. Outside we were allowed to queue an hour early from the appointed time then handed a medium-sized clear plastic bag for our loose belongings (i.e. coins, mobile phones,jewelry,keys etc)
II. One guy asked for the appointment letter and asked for the passports and verified our names on his list
III. Security checked our bags and we have to pass through that metal detector door, we left the plastic bag with them ,gave us a claim number and told to follow the sign that says Visas
IV. Inside the building, the receptionist had again asked for our appointment letter and gave us a priority number (we were number 14)
V. We entered a large room, chairs lined up like watching a movie :smilecoffeecup: , there were monitors in front and an automated voice calling out a number (e.g. "Customer number 10 please proceed to Window 3 ...." ) And that's all you get to hear the whole day! The windows were numbered 1-25.
VI. We were finally called at 10:10am, Window 1. The teller asked for the documents, I handed it out to him then he filed them according to each applicant. In the DS-230 part II you had to fill in an address where you want your green cards sent to, so it would help if you have a pen and address ready . Our medical results were already in,he took the papers and gave us back the X-ray films. Scanned our fingers, asked us to pay the Visa fee in Window 12 , told us to come back. After paying, he handed me a pink paper to fill in - it was for the courier, handed me back my priority number and asked us to wait until our name is called again. NO QUESTIONS ASKED .... and I thought it was that easy.
That was only part I.....
Part II the ACTUAL INTERVIEW
We were finally called at 1:10pm, the lady scanned our fingers again to verify our identity, asked a few questions, she thought I didn't have a job offer but it was there. After checking all the documents, she asked us to sign DS-230 part II and finally said the words I wanted to hear "Congratulations! your application has been approved .... then I lost the rest of the words she was saying ....
She asked us to raise both our right hands to take an oath ... then instructed us to pay at the courier.
Regular fee would be £13.50 for a single applicant, they do Mon-Fri and expect delivery within 3-5 days. There are other options too, like choosing a convenient time but you have to pay extra. They accept cash or card. I paid for 2-5 applicants which was a quid extra I think, I'm taking my family with me :kiss
We left the building at 1:20 pm ... so our length of stay in the embassy was ..... drum roll ....4 hours and 50 minutes! It was well worth the wait anyway. :balloons:
By the way, they sell food in there and there are toilets available too.
Hope this helps ..... and goodluck for the rest of you guys in waiting.
So the day finally arrived. Me and dear husband travelled to London for 3 hours during the wee hours of the morning. Our appointment was at 9:30am but we arrived at 6:00! I know it's ridiculous but we want to be there early to get to know the place better. It felt good to have plenty of time in our hands .... we familiarized ourselves with the place, went for a stroll at the park and had a sumptuous breakfast.
Anyway, here's what happened .....
I. Outside we were allowed to queue an hour early from the appointed time then handed a medium-sized clear plastic bag for our loose belongings (i.e. coins, mobile phones,jewelry,keys etc)
II. One guy asked for the appointment letter and asked for the passports and verified our names on his list
III. Security checked our bags and we have to pass through that metal detector door, we left the plastic bag with them ,gave us a claim number and told to follow the sign that says Visas
IV. Inside the building, the receptionist had again asked for our appointment letter and gave us a priority number (we were number 14)
V. We entered a large room, chairs lined up like watching a movie :smilecoffeecup: , there were monitors in front and an automated voice calling out a number (e.g. "Customer number 10 please proceed to Window 3 ...." ) And that's all you get to hear the whole day! The windows were numbered 1-25.
VI. We were finally called at 10:10am, Window 1. The teller asked for the documents, I handed it out to him then he filed them according to each applicant. In the DS-230 part II you had to fill in an address where you want your green cards sent to, so it would help if you have a pen and address ready . Our medical results were already in,he took the papers and gave us back the X-ray films. Scanned our fingers, asked us to pay the Visa fee in Window 12 , told us to come back. After paying, he handed me a pink paper to fill in - it was for the courier, handed me back my priority number and asked us to wait until our name is called again. NO QUESTIONS ASKED .... and I thought it was that easy.
That was only part I.....
Part II the ACTUAL INTERVIEW
We were finally called at 1:10pm, the lady scanned our fingers again to verify our identity, asked a few questions, she thought I didn't have a job offer but it was there. After checking all the documents, she asked us to sign DS-230 part II and finally said the words I wanted to hear "Congratulations! your application has been approved .... then I lost the rest of the words she was saying ....
She asked us to raise both our right hands to take an oath ... then instructed us to pay at the courier.
Regular fee would be £13.50 for a single applicant, they do Mon-Fri and expect delivery within 3-5 days. There are other options too, like choosing a convenient time but you have to pay extra. They accept cash or card. I paid for 2-5 applicants which was a quid extra I think, I'm taking my family with me :kiss
We left the building at 1:20 pm ... so our length of stay in the embassy was ..... drum roll ....4 hours and 50 minutes! It was well worth the wait anyway. :balloons:
By the way, they sell food in there and there are toilets available too.
Hope this helps ..... and goodluck for the rest of you guys in waiting.
I am a new member here in site and have read some of your posts which I think are all really nice and informative. You said you are leaving October I was just thinking if you're still in Uk or alredy gone to LA? Cause I really like to talk to you regarding the immigration if you wouldn't mind? thanks and wishing you all d best on your moving to the other side
Specializes in Critical Care Transport/Intensive Care/Management.
Hi, I am a new member here in site and have read some of your posts which I think are all really nice and informative. You said you are leaving October I was just thinking if you're still in Uk or alredy gone to LA? Cause I really like to talk to you regarding the immigration if you wouldn't mind? thanks and wishing you all d best on your moving to the other side
Sorry, I arrived in the US Oct 9,2007 and I missed your post. Maybe by now you're already here in the US :)
I know it's ridiculous but we want to be there early to get to know the place better. It felt good to have plenty of time in our hands .... we familiarized ourselves with the place, went for a stroll at the park and had a sumptuous breakfast.
. Our medical results were already in,he took the papers and gave us back the X-ray films. Scanned our fingers, asked us to pay the Visa fee in Window 12 , told us to come back. After paying, he handed me a pink paper to fill in - it was for the courier, handed me back my priority number and asked us to wait until our name is called again. NO QUESTIONS ASKED .... and I thought it was that easy.
michaRN, RN
420 Posts
CONGRATULATIONS!!!:balloons: