Passport Return - Urgent Help :(

[Alex&Brittany 1]

Hi all

I went for my interview at the embassy on Thursday 19th November, and then had my medical in the afteroon,

At the time of the interview I told the lady that I had my flights booked for Wednesday 9th December (this wednesday coming)

The embassy received my medical results (which I passed) on the 24th November

I have called the embassy helpline (the £1.20 a minute) and they just say my case is open and it hasn't bee 'sent to print' yet...

Unless I get the passport back by tuesday, I am going to lose my flights and not be able to make the journey !!

Can anyone please help , and let me know if there is anything I can do to let the embassy know that I need this back by Tuesday ?!

Please help !

Thanks

Alex

[What Happened? 4]

If you have refundable tickets....you will need to get your money back.

Unfortunately this is one reason why they state to not make any travel arrangements until you actually have the visa in your hands.

There's nothing you can do to make them issue the visa any faster in order for you to make the flight that was booked already.

Good luck and best wishes

Oh and welcome to the US....for when you do arrive

[Alex&Brittany 1]

Hi

the tickets aren't refundable,

The lady at the embassy said that I was going it all in plenty of time to make the 9th they didn't seem at all phased that I had already booked the flights and they even asked me about who I was flying with as a point of interest.

Anyone help ?

[Azzudiin 26]

Depending on which airline, most have a cancel/change option on tickets for anywhere from $75 to $150. Just change the flight to a later date and pay the fee.

[Guitarlo 2]

Hi all

I went for my interview at the embassy on Thursday 19th November, and then had my medical in the afteroon,

At the time of the interview I told the lady that I had my flights booked for Wednesday 9th December (this wednesday coming)

The embassy received my medical results (which I passed) on the 24th November

I have called the embassy helpline (the £1.20 a minute) and they just say my case is open and it hasn't bee 'sent to print' yet...

Unless I get the passport back by tuesday, I am going to lose my flights and not be able to make the journey !!

Can anyone please help , and let me know if there is anything I can do to let the embassy know that I need this back by Tuesday ?!

Please help !

Thanks

Alex

I am sorry to hear about your situation. Its a hard pill to swallow. I hope your flight can be rebooked - usually for a fee. The Embassy warned you not to book your flights before you get the VISA in hand. You jumped the gun. There's nothing that can be done.

[baron555 934]

I am sorry to hear about your situation. Its a hard pill to swallow. I hope your flight can be rebooked - usually for a fee. The Embassy warned you not to book your flights before you get the VISA in hand. You jumped the gun. There's nothing that can be done.

What they said. Lesson learned, you may be OK.

[Lisa and Ian 7]

Hi all

Unless I get the passport back by tuesday, I am going to lose my flights and not be able to make the journey !!

Can anyone please help , and let me know if there is anything I can do to let the embassy know that I need this back by Tuesday ?!

If I were in your shoes, I would:

1. Keep checking the DX site and plugging in your courier tracking number. The day before your visa is delivered, it will show up as a valid tracking number and tell you what day it's going to be delivered (which will be the next day, of course).

2. Hang in there until Dec 8. If your tracking number is still not valid, then call the airline and tell them you need to reschedule. Usually, they will do this for a fee (the last one I used was $250), which is better than losing your whole ticket price.

The embassy staff tells people 3-5 days. This doesn't account for broken printers (has happened before) and other unforeseen circumstances which might delay your visa.

I agree that you may be OK. I'll be hoping everything slides thru in time for you!

Edited December 3, 2009 by Snowbunnies

[toma1 10]

Unless I get the passport back by tuesday, I am going to lose my flights and not be able to make the journey !!

Wow.. my wife had a similar issue. She had her interview and everything went fantastically well until it came time to get the fingerprints. Turns out her fingerprints are so shallow that the scanning machines cannot read them (the same thing happened here at the AOS biometrics appointment). The interviewer told her that she would have to come back in a few days when they could get a fingerprint expert to take her prints on paper. She made a pouty face and said, "Awww, but I already have my ticket... " And he said (very apologetically), "Well, we can't give visas based on that..." She said that she looked dejected and he said, "Oh... I'll let USCIS deal with this when you get to the states." And he passed her through without prints!

[Guitarlo 2]

Unless I get the passport back by tuesday, I am going to lose my flights and not be able to make the journey !!

Wow.. my wife had a similar issue. She had her interview and everything went fantastically well until it came time to get the fingerprints. Turns out her fingerprints are so shallow that the scanning machines cannot read them (the same thing happened here at the AOS biometrics appointment). The interviewer told her that she would have to come back in a few days when they could get a fingerprint expert to take her prints on paper. She made a pouty face and said, "Awww, but I already have my ticket... " And he said (very apologetically), "Well, we can't give visas based on that..." She said that she looked dejected and he said, "Oh... I'll let USCIS deal with this when you get to the states." And he passed her through without prints!

Well. if my wife looked like a movie star - like yours - I would let her pass too! LOL

[Guitarlo 2]

Hi all

Unless I get the passport back by tuesday, I am going to lose my flights and not be able to make the journey !!

Can anyone please help , and let me know if there is anything I can do to let the embassy know that I need this back by Tuesday ?!

If I were in your shoes, I would:

1. Keep checking the DX site and plugging in your courier tracking number. The day before your visa is delivered, it will show up as a valid tracking number and tell you what day it's going to be delivered (which will be the next day, of course).

2. Hang in there until Dec 8. If your tracking number is still not valid, then call the airline and tell them you need to reschedule. Usually, they will do this for a fee (the last one I used was $250), which is better than losing your whole ticket price.

The embassy staff tells people 3-5 days. This doesn't account for broken printers (has happened before) and other unforeseen circumstances which might delay your visa.

I agree that you may be OK. I'll be hoping everything slides thru in time for you!

Hey, I didn't notice you're in my home town - Minneapolis!! HOWDY. And your timeline is very close to ours. Send me an email and stay in touch.

[toma1 10]

Unless I get the passport back by tuesday, I am going to lose my flights and not be able to make the journey !!

Wow.. my wife had a similar issue. She had her interview and everything went fantastically well until it came time to get the fingerprints. Turns out her fingerprints are so shallow that the scanning machines cannot read them (the same thing happened here at the AOS biometrics appointment). The interviewer told her that she would have to come back in a few days when they could get a fingerprint expert to take her prints on paper. She made a pouty face and said, "Awww, but I already have my ticket... " And he said (very apologetically), "Well, we can't give visas based on that..." She said that she looked dejected and he said, "Oh... I'll let USCIS deal with this when you get to the states." And he passed her through without prints!

Well. if my wife looked like a movie star - like yours - I would let her pass too! LOL

Haha.. She's back in Bangkok this week, so I will say "thank you" for her.