7 June 2010 I-130 filed w/US Embassy in London
25 August 2010 - RFE Received
26 August 2010 - Sent RFE Docs to Embassy
14 Sept 2010 - Notice of Approval Received
4 October 2010 - Notification of Case Assignment to IVU
17 November 2010 - DS 230 Part 1 sent to Embassy
6 December 2010 - DS 2001 Notification of Readiness Sent
3 February 2011 - Visa Interview Appointment Letter
8 February 2011 - Visa Interview & Approval
The Application Interview consisted of 2 parts and A LOT of waiting.
We arrived at the Embassy at 9am for our 9.30am interview. We proceed through security after about 15 minutes of queuing outside. Thankfully we had paid for Late Check out with our hotel so we were able to leave all of our belongings (keys, phones, etc) there and breezed through when others were turned away to go store their stuff before going through. We went in & at reception we were given a number (I915) and were told to wait by window 1 as that is where we would be called to. This was at 9.19am because the number was time stamped. We took our seats & waited….and waited…and waited.
At 11.45am we were called to window 14 (which is completely on the other side of the building from were we were sitting) where a very friendly man asked for DH’s appointment letter & passport, the DS 230 part II, his Long Form Birth Registration original & copy, our original Marriage Certificate & copy, his Police Certificate, 2 photos of DH, my I-864 & our joint sponsors I-864. I briefly explained that I've not worked since 2007 when I left the US and was not providing any tax returns as I've not filed since TY 2007, but that I was providing a few items to show that I had never cut my ties with the US completely. He kept my most recent US Bank Statement (I had taken the last 12 months just in case), a copy of my California Drivers License, an email from my old employer stating that they will rehire me when I return to the US and a letter from my parents stating that we have exclusive use of a residence that they own that will be available to us upon our arrival back in the US.
He asked DH a few questions. What is your wife's name & what is your anniversary. He then took DH’s fingerprints. I then asked him if he thought if the visa would be approved. He said our application appeared to be very straightforward, our joint sponsor was more than qualified and Domicile wasn't an issue. He handed us a blue form and advised us to go pay the fees and return to his window with the receipt. When we did that he said he would pass our case along and it would be about an hour until the interview with the visa issuing officer, gave us the pink DX Return service, then he handed us a CD that contains DH’s chest X-Ray and to carry it in our hand luggage when we returned to the US and then told us to go back to the waiting room to listen for our number to be called. He said it would be about an hour until we would be called.
40 minutes later DH’s name was called to window 15 and a very nice gentleman who I can only describe as looking like Burl Ives. He chatted with our daughter and made us feel very comfortable. He reviewed the I-864’s asked me what my plan for employment was and asked DH what type of work he does. He asked us about how we met and that he hadn't come across anyone who had met like we had. He pulled out a large black plastic envelope and said that DH’s passport & the Brown Envelope would be sent back by courier service and reminded us NOT TO OPEN THE BROWN ENVELOPE but to put in our carry on bag & give it to the Immigration Officer upon entry to the US.
He then wished us well and we went to go purchase the return mail service and then we left the Embassy at 1pm. Exactly 4 hours from the time we arrived.
The worst part was waiting. Everyone we spoke with were friendly and understanding that we were anxious, but it was well worth the waiting and the result is that we're going home in about 6 weeks. So now we're set to relax for a few days and once the visa actually arrives then we'll start going through our stuff, selling things we can sell (like our car mainly) and binning/donating the rest, giving notice on our flat & DH at work and then we're outta here!
Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive in this process. I've been an absolute wreck at times and if it weren't for the people here putting up with me I'd gone around the bend a LONG time ago.
Best of luck to all those going through this process and I hope you find this helpful.
