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E3 Expo: How To Get Your Media Visa Part 2 – The Interview

This post was last reviewed for accuracy on 5th Febrary 2013.

Firstly, congrats on getting this far. You’ve booked and paid for your interview, you’ve filled in the DS-160 Online Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application Form and you’ve printed out your confirmation and various other letters. It’s time to convince the embassy that you really are a (relatively) harmless journalist.

You will need:

  • Your passport
  • A printout of your DS-160 confirmation page.
  • A printout of your NONIMMIGRANT VISA INTERVIEW CONFIRMATION letter. This would have been emailed to you after your telephone booking.
  • A letter from your editor confirming that you are assigned to cover the E3 Expo from [start date[ to [end date]. As editor-in-chief and director of my own company, I actually produced a letter from myself confirming that I was covering the E3 Expo. It was one sentence long and accepted, though I got a funny look. Be honest – it’s all they ask.
  • A pen.
  • Some non-electronic entertainment.
  • No electronics, OR £3 for storage.
  • Trousers that will stay up without a belt (or some other appropriate clothing).
  • A bank or credit card – Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover, American Express or Debit Card – Visa.

Turn up to the US embassy on Grosvenor Square (W1A 2LQ) no more than 30 minutes before your allotted appointment time. Do not wear any metal you don’t absolutely have to, as you will have to walk through extremely sensitive airport-style metal detectors. If you have a pacemaker or any other implanted metal then bring your pacemaker ID card or identifying equivalent.

No electronics are permitted inside the embassy, up to and including USB sticks, any wires and touch-free access cards/fobs. Oyster and other contactless credit cards are not explicitly prohibited and mine got through with no problems, though I did once resort hiding a phone carging cable in a bush outside the embassy. If you really can’t attend the venue without your phone/MP3 player/3DS then electronics and other valuables can be securely stored at Gould Pharmacy, 37 North Audley Street for the princely sum of £3. They’ll give you a little ticket. Don’t lose it.

Get your confirmation letter and your passport out and join the first queue. Show the nice security people your interview confirmation letter.

(If you find that you’ve forgotten to bring one of your papers, the pharmacy also has printers and internet access.)

Join the second queue. Remove your belt and your watch while you wait.

Show the next nice person your confirmation letter and passport

Join the third queue.

Do the airport-style security thing. Now you’re cleared to enter the building and present your papers and passport to the fourth group of nice people, the ones at the reception desk. They’ll give you your queue number. You can put your belt and watch back on now.

Go grab a seat in the waiting area and enjoy the soothing voice calling out… “Now serving N one hundred and eighty four at window seven…” It’s hypnotic, especially if you’ve been up since 6am. Try not to miss your call as her dulcet tones wash over you. Maybe buy yourself some coffee or snacks from the stand and enjoy your non-electronic entertainment. The called numbers also appear on a screen in the middle of the waiting area so if you do space out, check there.

Listen for your number and go to the appropriate window. The numbers for your first round of waiting are called in order and processed quickly – when I was there it took 25 minutes to get through 50 queue numbers… This is for your fingerprinting, not the interview itself. Hand in your papers and passport, get a “courier delivery information” form and be shooed back to your seat. The form is so they know where to return your passport so pick somewhere that you’re likely to be at between 8am and 6pm on a work day. You might be able to get pens from the desk at the back of the room but you brought your own, right?

Scope out the room for celebrities. I completely failed to recognise Robert Plant despite standing less than three feet away from him. If you do see any, be cool. This is probably not the time to ask for an autograph. You can squee internally if you wish.

Listen for your number again. The second round of numbers are not called in order so pay attention and check the screen regularly. I waited about 30 minutes but they do warn you that it could take several hours; depends on the paperwork processing time (possible translation: whether or not you seem like a troublemaker).

You’ll get called to a second set of interview windows where they will scan your fingerprints and ask pointed questions. They asked each of us different things so these samples may or may not help:

  • Tell me about something you covered recently.
  • I see you’re going to the Electronics Expo. What do you plan to do there?
  • Are you a writer? What exactly do you do on the website?
  • Do you draft the articles yourself?
  • Are you earning any income from the trip? (Rumour has it this question relates more to your taking money out of the US than the legitimacy of your journo credentials)
  • Who is paying for the trip?
  • Do you have any formal journalism training? (We don’t)
  • How long have you been writing for the site?

Once you’ve answered their questions to their satisfaction… hooray, you’ve been approved for your media visa! They’ll keep all your papers and things.

Pop over to the big wooden desk by the entrance to the waiting area and join that queue. This is where you hand over the “courier delivery information” form and pay for the courier to deliver your passport. You’ll need to show some ID like a credit card when it arrives. Normal delivery charges are approximately £15 for one passport, £17 for 2 – 5 and £30-odd for 6 or more. They do Saturday deliveries and other options if you need them. Cards accepted are Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club, Discover, American Express or Debit Card – Visa.

Don’t forget to pick up your electronics from the pharmacy. Hope you didn’t lose your ticket.

5 days later, you’ll get your passport back with your beautiful mug shot printed securely inside. IF you’re convincing, you’ll get a five year visa. I obviously come across as a little shifty because I only got one year the first time but persuaded them to give me the full five-year visa the following year. Either way, congratulations! See you at E3.