Finally the day came that I was to be interviewed at the US embassy. I dragged the whole family down to Borehamwood the night before to stay in a budget hotel, then took the train into London first thing in the morning. Since I didn't book months in advance, this was actually cheaper than getting a train directly to London from Peterborough on the day (£95 return!). So I did the now familiar tube ride to Bond Street and walked round to Grosvenor Square, where I met with a huge queue of other wannabe immigrants. I immediately kicked myself for bringing along my mobile phone, as I read the sign that told me I couldn't leave it at security, but instead had to walk to a nearby pharmacy and pay to leave it there. Still, that was only a minor hiccup, the rest of the morning was spent simply queuing to get into the embassy, then sitting waiting for my number to come up. Once a clerk had gone through each of my documents, birth & marriage certificates, passport, financial support forms etc.. I just had to sit a little longer and wait to be called for interview. I wasn't expecting the third degree, but I did expect to be asked about my plans on arrival in the US, what sort of work I might hope to get, where we were planning to live etc.. but in the end I was shocked to be done in less than a minute! I literally had to check my fingerprints on the machine and hold up my right hand to swear I had told the truth on my forms and that was it, job done!
So now I just have to wait for the paperwork to arrive next week and resist the temptation to open the envelope (this has to be done by a US immigration officer on arrival in the states apparently!).
Now to get on with the business of sorting, selling, planning, cancelling, informing, booking, packing and leaving!
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