What to expect during your immigrant visa interview at the US Embassy in London

 Getting ready for your immigrant visa interview at the US Embassy in London is a big step to bring your spouse home with you. It’s very regimented, but it helps to know the logistics at 33 Nine Elms Lane. These requirements are often difficult to navigate and prospective applicants discover that obtaining representation from a US immigration lawyer in UK makes the difference between having one’s documents ready for use by the consular officers and submission of faulty, incomplete or otherwise insufficient documentation.

The process begins long before you even get to the embassy gates. The vast majority of immigrant visa categories require that you complete a medical examination with the embassy's panel physician in London before the interview can be scheduled. This is generally at least two weeks before your interview. You will usually have an "Document Review" appointment at the embassy the same day as your medical. A number of months after this appointment, staff who are not from consular sections will scrutinize the file to ensure that you are “documentarily complete,” and inspect original birth certificates, police certificates and financial affidavits. If a second original document is not available, your final interview will be postponed.

On the date of your actual interview, show up no more than 30 minutes early. Embassy security in London is airport-style and it’s very strict; laptops are not permitted, nor are large bags, and there is no facility to store these at the embassy. On the way in, you will receive a queue number. Wait times can last several hours, but the interaction with the consular officer will be fairly brief — usually between five and 15 minutes.

The officer will use the interview to confirm that everything you wrote was accurate and that you are indeed eligible. For visas based on family sponsorship, questions frequently center on the legitimacy of your relationship — how you met your spouse, for instance, or what your petitioner’s life in the United States is like. If you’re applying for a visa on the basis of employment, you might be questioned about your particular job duties or how your employer runs its business. Precision matters, because any discrepancy with what you’ve filed in the past can result in “administrative processing,” a secondary review process that might delay your application for weeks or months.

Having someone to defend is also a measure of protection as the process unfolds. Although your lawyer cannot sit next to you during your interview, a US immigration lawyer in UK can help prepare you by rehearsing with mock interviews and by making sure that you are confident about how to give focused answers to tough questions. They also see that your “Packet 3” and “Packet 4” instructions are followed to a T, avoiding the routine clerical mistakes responsible for visa denials.

The officer will usually tell you the result right after he/she finishes your interview. In the case of approval, the embassy takes your passport to print the visa foil and send it back to you by international courier service within approximately 2 weeks. Knowing these phases and preparing yourself for the targeted nature of the questioning helps when it comes to facing your appointment with assurance.