Originally posted by buns4vs
Originally posted by hackneyguy
Really ?? I completed mine online - one simple page, printed it off with the bar mark and sent off with passport. Passport returned with visa duly attached 3 working days later.
Sorry to have to disagree, but current situation as posted on the US Embassy Site:
With limited exceptions, nonimmigrant visa applicants aged 14 to 79 are required to schedule an appointment for an interview with a U.S. consular officer. Interviews are by appointment only. The Embassy does not accept walk-in applications.
Times have indeed changed. Also, the procedures vary sometimes dramatically between different Consular Visa offices, usually based on how busy those offices are; Consulates have quite a bit of latitude on how they define execution of these processes.
The last time I did one in London was four years ago, and you could indeed mail the application under less stringent criteria than the ones they have now. I got my passport back in about ten business days. Since then, pretty much everyone has moved to requiring interviews, which in a place as busy as London can make this a nightmare.
The last time I had to do a visa a couple of years ago I was in Italy. I had to make an 'appointment', which consisted of going to a consulate window and handing in the papers, quick check and 'see you later'. They had the passport available for pickup for me at the end of the day, on my request. Business was orderly, and the place was not crowded, few student types hanging out on the riverfront outside smoking cigs waiting to be called in for their appointment, the usual italian carabinieri with heavy artillery pretending to be hard, but nothing like London would be.
It's luck of the draw ... though I'd say if you have to get a quick visa, a bit of 'visa tourism' around Europe could be justified. For the price of a ryanair or easyjet ticket you could find a consular office that will offer far quicker service than your local one, and have a quick holiday to boot.
