Oct 28
Visa Interview, US Embassy, London
I know this is a little late but I did want to make some notes about my Visa interview at the US Embassy in London.
I live(d) near Nottingham and my appointment was for 9.30am. I didn't want to be late (although more on times later) so I left at 5.00 am and drove to Mill Hill train station, hopped on a train to St Pancras International Station which is where my story begins... The US Embassy Website has very clear and very specific instructions that NO electronic devices would be permitted into the building. No electronic car key fobs, no mobile phones and so on. To me, that meant that I shouldn't take any electronic devices so I left my bag, phone and keys at the left luggage area at St Pancras and then took the underground to Oxford Circus. I arrived at the embassy at about 9.15 and joined the queue. Guess what? Some people thought the NO electronic devices rule didn't apply to them. Guess what? It did. They didn't get in. If you get nothing else from this post, try and remember that you are not a unique case - you will not get into the Embassy with electronic devices. Even if you claim (loudly) that you didn't understand that 'NO electronic devices actually meant NO electronic devices' and you rant and rave. There are plenty of places near the Embassy in London where you can store items. The appointment time is not specific to you. You will join a bunch of other people who were given the same time. You queue outside the Embassy so take an umbrella as there is no cover! It is a simple production line and no, you are not a unique case and no, you cannot jump the queue no matter how (loudly) you complain you are super important and can't possible stand in line for a whole 20 minutes (just how important is this life changing application to you?). Half way down the line, your basic paperwork is checked. This makes sure you don't go in with invalid paperwork. It is a simple process and took me, literally, 10 seconds. I showed the forms which I had printed out. The Embassy website is very clear and very specific that one of the forms must be filled in online and they will not, under any circumstances, accept hand written forms. Guess what? That means they will not accept hand written forms and no, you are not a unique case. Producing forms that have been filled in by hand will mean that you do not get in. No matter how (loudly) you complain you did not know and that you are super important and can't possibly fill them in on the website where you printed them... So, back to my experience. I got in and showed my paperwork again. I was given a printout with my number. My number was N314 (I wonder if I will ever forget my 'number'?). Once done, you go to a very large room with hundreds of seats and hundreds of people in it. There is a row of 11 booths and a very clear display systems showing what number is being served at what booth. There is also a loud, but clear, speaker system calling out the information. I waited maybe 30 minutes for my number and I went to the booth. Very simple process where I handed over my paperwork which was checked. That took me 2 or 3 minutes. They take the paperwork (and passport) and you sit down again in the same area. It's actually pretty efficient as there were hundreds of people and they whip through this initial stage at a swift rate. There is a second bank of booths, numbered 12 to 24 - basically a second row where you will go when your number is called for a second time. This is where you will be interviewed about your application before it is finally approved. I waited about 30 minutes for my number to be called again. As I made my way to the booth I heard a bunch of other numbers being called to the same booth. I must admit I was worried as I knew I wouldn't get a group interview - was this the rejection line? I had expected to wait a couple of hours and only 30 minutes had gone by. Perhaps they found a problem with my nice shiny paperwork? Had I missed something? It turned out that this was a quick approval line! I was at the front of the queue and I was called forward. Here it was - the interview. I had a million answers to a million questions (how big is the company? How many employees? Why can't my job be done by someone in the US?). I waited at the window. He looked up, stared at me and said 'What does your company do?'. I answered. He looked at his computer screen, stared at me again and said 'You will get your passport back in 3 to 5 days, please see the courier desk on the way out'. I paused. Was that it? I asked him. He smiled and said 'yes'. I try and look professional and say, a little too loudly, 'thanks'. All I wanted to do was yell 'WOOHOO!'. On the way out, I went to the courier desk to pay for my passport to be delivered back to me. This was on the Tue. I got my Visa back on the Fri. So, all in all, a pleasant enough experience. I know my experience was relatively unusual as it was, more or less, in and out. More of a formality. Perhaps having the paperwork in order and completed correctly helped? But then again, I didn't expect to be treated as a unique case so I followed the simple, clear and explicit instructions on the website. Either way, I am in Texas and lovin' it!
