Interview Day Checklist

Most London interviews are under 5 minutes. Preparation is what makes them that way.

Note: Petitioners and attorneys are not permitted in the waiting room or at the interview. You attend alone, except for an interpreter or one accompanying person for special needs visitors.

0 of 10 items checked

1. Last checks

Do you have all documents organized in an easy-to-find format with your passport, interview letter, and sealed envelope at the front?

Have you uploaded the last tax year's IRS transcript?

Have you uploaded all necessary police certificates?

Have you submitted your public charge statement? Treat this as a required document: submit it before your interview even if the embassy describes it as voluntary. See the statement template.

Can the beneficiary answer the specific questions raised by the public charge statement, consistently with what was submitted? What does the petitioner do for work? What does the joint sponsor do for work (where a joint sponsor is required)? What will the beneficiary do for work in the US? What is the plan for the beneficiary's health insurance and housing? How will the health insurance and housing be paid for? What are the estimated salaries for the beneficiary working in the US versus the petitioner and/or joint sponsor?

Has the petitioner demonstrated their own US domicile, or, if they live abroad, strong evidence that they are re-establishing it? A joint sponsor cannot cover this. A joint sponsor cures insufficient income; where the petitioner fails domicile, State Department guidance directs that the joint sponsor “cannot be accepted and the applicant must be refused” (9 FAM 601.14-7(a)(3)(c)). See the petitioner's domicile problem.

If the petitioner lives abroad, can the beneficiary say when and how the petitioner is moving back? The petitioner must be living in the US, or arriving, no later than the date the beneficiary immigrates: they may travel together, but they may not follow on later. Expect the answer to be consistent with the public charge statement and with the housing and employment plans given above.

If the petitioner has been abroad but claims their US domicile was never lost, can they show the absence was for a limited, and not indefinite, period, that they intended to keep their US domicile when they left, and that real ties continue? Moving abroad to be with a partner, with no end date, does not meet this test. Separately, a petitioner employed abroad by the US government, a US firm developing US foreign trade or its subsidiary, a recognised US research institution, a public international organisation, or a US religious body as clergy or a missionary is treated as US-domiciled already (9 FAM 601.14-7(b)).

2. What to bring

Sealed interview packet (from document check), includes your 2x2in passport photo submitted at doc check. No document check? There is no packet: bring every original document and one passport photo instead (what London asks for)

Passport, valid for at least six months beyond your intended date of entry into the US

Any documents requested by embassy

Petitioner's US domicile evidence, and re-domicile evidence if the petitioner lives abroad, even if it was already uploaded at NVC. Domicile is a ticked box on the embassy's 221(g) sheet, so bring the originals rather than relying on the file

Do not break open sealed packet

3. Community interview reports

Based on 50+ real experiences from community members (Sept 2025 – 2026). Note the gap between the first report below and the three that follow it: since the public charge assessment changed, financial and employment questioning has become a sustained line of enquiry rather than a box-tick, and interviews have lengthened accordingly. Read the older reports for the logistics and the newest one for the questioning. One caveat on that newest report: it is a single case, and London has had little opportunity to establish a pattern, since interviews were cancelled through 30 September 2026 for the training behind the change. Treat it as a good indication of the direction rather than a description of what every interview will now look like.

Real interview examples

Esther CR1 Public charge era 2026

Duration: 35–40 minutes, and would have run longer had she not had a 2pm hotel checkout. Officer: consulted a supervisor throughout. Preparation: had submitted a public charge statement in advance; the officer had read it, along with the medical, and ran a thorough background check.

What was asked. How she met her husband, what he does, and then a sustained financial enquiry: why his 2025 income was slightly below the minimum on the tax transcript (he had opened a new business), what the business is, and what he would do if it failed. Whether he is in the union, given where he works. Whether he has a mortgage. Where he lives, and who else lives on the land.

Her own work took the longest. Who she works for, when she joined, her previous employer, whether the work is remote, whether the company would permit her to work from the US, and what her plan was if not. The officer searched her employer online during the interview and read the results back to her. Also: what she studied, where, and what other certifications she holds.

Evidence was requested at the window. Her savings balance, which she showed from printed bank and investment statements. Proof of two properties she owns and co-owns with family, of which she could evidence only one in the room. Full mechanics of her cash-paid side work in her mother’s property management company. Her monthly earnings, which she gave in USD.

On health: what insurance she has, whether she is on her husband’s plan, and — she has Type 1 diabetes — whether she knew what insulin costs in the US and had looked into it.

Her own caveat: she works in a niche digital finance field, so some questioning was tailored to an unusual profile. The pattern still holds. Anything distinctive in your case — a new business, a weak tax year, a chronic condition, remote work, co-owned property, cash income — generates its own branch of questioning, and the officer follows each branch until satisfied. Full preparation guidance: the public charge page.

Keely CR1 January 2026

Arrival: 9:00 AM, skipped queue, spoke to staff. Documents: Sealed folder + passport only. Wait: ~1 hour to interview. Questions: Where does your husband live? How did you meet? What does he do? Duration: 40 seconds. Result: ✓ APPROVED Passport back 6 days later.

Queen B IR1 July 2025

Arrival: 7:40 AM for 8:00 AM slot. Wait: 20 minutes. Questions: How did you meet? Prior marriages? Duration: ~5 minutes (including address update). Total time in building: 30 minutes. Result: Approved same day Passport delivered ~1 week.

Crimsonak CR1 April 2026

Arrival: 9:55 AM. Wait: 40 minutes for doc handover, then 2+ hours for interview. Questions: Where does wife live? What does she do? Where will you work in US? When did you meet? Prior border petition? Duration: <2 minutes. Result: ✓ APPROVED

What officers typically ask

Most common questions (almost always asked):

How did you meet your spouse?
Where does your spouse currently live?
What does your spouse do for work?
What do you do for work?
Where will you live in the US?
Has either of you been married before?

Sometimes asked: Joint sponsor info, when you met in person, how long together, medical insurance plans, prior travel to US, children (if applicable).

Increasingly asked, and not on the list above: why a sponsor’s income was low in a given tax year and what happens if the cause recurs; what a self-employed sponsor would do if the business failed; whether your employer will permit you to work from the US and what your plan is if not; what your medication costs in the US; and proof, shown at the window, of the savings and property you have claimed. These come from the public charge assessment rather than the relationship enquiry. Prepare them from the public charge page.

Key insight: Officers are confirming what they already know from your application, not testing you. Be honest and conversational.

Want to rehearse? The Interview Question Bank collects every question community members have been asked: sortable by visa category, with a flashcard mode to drill your answers.

Timing reality

Total time in embassy: 1.5–4.5 hours. Before the public charge worksheet, community members reported 30 minutes to 2 hours; the longer financial questioning has moved both ends of that.

Check-in: 10–15 minutes (if you skip the main queue)
Wait for document handover: 30–90 minutes
Document handover: 2–5 minutes
Wait for interview: 30–120 minutes (longest part)
Interview itself: 20–40 minutes

Pro tip: Bring a book or download entertainment. No phone signal inside the embassy. Bathrooms available but limited.

What community says

Skip the queue: Go straight to the desk at the front. Tell staff "I have an immigrant visa interview."
Arrive 15–30 min early: Even though you'll wait, you skip the queue faster.
The most important documents are your sealed folder + passport: Everything else you bring is unlikely to be checked, but good to have as insurance.
Remember: No surprise documents that haven't already been uploaded to CEAC.
Wear business casual: Described as putting your best self forward.
Be friendly and conversational: Officers described as nice and relaxed. Some even joke.
Don't stress: By interview stage, you've been through the hardest parts!
Bring original beneficiary civil documents: e.g., birth certificate, marriage certificate, police certificates, military records, court records, etc.

Approval rates & next steps

~95% approved on the spot | ~3–4% 221(g) | ~1% refused

If approved: Told immediately. Given domestic violence pamphlet. Passport returned in 3–7 days (usually ~5 days). Visa issued same day or next day.

4. If approved

Passport is retained for visa printing. You'll receive an email from the embassy with collection instructions.

Typical passport return: Mail Boxes Etc (MBE): 2–3 days for pickup, 5–7 days for mail delivery.

See data tracker for current community averages on passport return times. Next: Life in the USA

5. If not approved

221(g) (Administrative Processing): Case under review. You'll receive an email with next steps. Most resolve within weeks to months.

Visa Pause: The January 2026 nationality-based pause was struck down by a federal court on 21 August 2026 and is no longer in effect. Cases refused solely under it are being reconsidered. See the nationality visa pause, struck down.

Denial: Rare. Officer explains reason. Limited recourse; consult attorney.

For a complete breakdown of all document requirements at each stage (I-130, NVC, Medical, Interview) with detailed notes on formats and translations, see Master Document Checklist.

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. Verify all requirements against official sources before your appointment. If your case is complex, consult an immigration attorney.

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