managed to water damage my visa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[hamtaro 4]

You're a very very weird person, everyone here keeps telling you contact the darn consulate by phone or e-mail and you refuse to and keep panicking, what do you want us to do?? Go and get you a new visa??

Basically. That would be great.

I've contacted the embassy by both phone and email, emsail is slow as heck but their blog and other guides all say that the teeniest tiniest damage=invalidated, but USCIS and border control say otherwise. I contacted the embassy and I already know the answer. If I can have that answer debunked, I'd be happy. I an sure debunk this one right now: "If you've ever been arrested, for ANYTHING, you need a visa" which is touted all over Youtube by the US Embassy of London itself and it's complete and utter twaddle.

[J&N* 68]

I'd make an appointment and go to the embassy and check this thing out, I know it sucks but what other options you have? Better than being at the border and get denied. I'm sorry you're going through this, but what happened has happened and you can't go back in time, just try to find out how to salvage the situation... I hope it'll be resolved and I don't think you need to re-do the whole thing. I know when some people mistakenly rip their brown envelope they take it to the embassy and they fix it for them.

[hamtaro 4]

being that about 90% of "ways in which you could be arrested" in the UK, for example "swearing in public" and I don't know, up to and including "carrying a knife" which is downright serious here sure ain't a CIMT in US eyes, why do US Embassy in LOndon peddle such garbage, as well as printing stuff out on bloody inkjet printers?

[jennie ann 15]

My other half is still convinced the visa doesn't need replacing and embassies only say this for the same reason they say "YOU NEED A VISA IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN ARRESTED FOR ANYTHING EVER" even though that's bull... money.

But I can't deal with the uncertainty and the extreme expense of this. I wanted to book my flight on monday after sorting my cat out. I wanted to leave in a month. I've been an emotional wreck over the cat and fixed it. One horrible problem then another. I'm a bonafide screwup. Just checked my email and customers whining from here til doomsday over terribly tiny things compared to this and I can't deal with them, in fact right now I want them all to go to hell. Going to crash and burn any moment soon.

Kathryn said it best. Your options (besides wallowing in self-blame, which is completely unproductive):

1) If your husband doesn't believe the visa needs to be replaced, go ahead and book the flight and see if they will let you travel. However, you face the risk of being turned away and being sent right back to where you are now (and possibly out the cost of a plane ticket).

2) Contact the embassy directly if you don't want to deal with the "uncertainty". Anything you read online will just make your head spin because no one can tell you exactly what will happen. Yes, it may be expensive to phone the embassy, and yes, you may have to wait a few days for a reply to your email, but it's better than doing nothing and giving up after you've come this far.

By the way, you don't know that there will be any "extreme expense" for replacing the visa. For all you know, it could be very negligible. Think about all of the money you already have spent – are you just going to let that go to waste because you refuse to deal with this situation? We all face problems in this process; some things are our own fault, others are out of our control. What matters is how we respond to difficult situations. You say you wanted to leave in a month – you probably still can if you start doing something now.

All of this has been said before by different people in different words. I sincerely hope that you will start taking steps soon to resolve this problem, and I wish you the best.

EDIT: I see that you have contacted the embassy now. Good luck – I hope it all works out.

Edited May 13, 2011 by jennie ann

[san diego 407]

I cannot give an advice, and I am not qualified to give such advice. I can only say what I would do in this case. If these are small discoloration over the picture I would take a chance and do it and try to explain what happened if asked. As far as I understand there is not much damage. I think Embassy says that it invalidates visa because they do not know how bad the damage is. As far as they are concerned it may be as big as numbers missing etc. so they are trying to play safe and cover all the cases. What I found out Embassies are extremely flexible, much more flexible then what their rules state. At the same time my experience at POE was not very pleasant. These people are trying to show how important they are and try to make your life miserable if you are not USC or permanent resident. I accompanied my fiancee back from her country and they were pretty nasty at the POE... So this is your call.

[mike42979 57]

Seriously a little over dramatic do ya think; you say you are retarded but your English is great and you have enough sense to know a lot of information in regards to different forms of ink and other things so i hope you are not using the word retarded out of context. There are many people on this planet that are mentally challenged and to throw the word retarded around just for the sake of your clumsiness is disrespectful to those who are truly mentally challenged. I do not doubt you have a cyst in your head or on your brain but you are articulated well enough that i would not consider you mentally challenged! maybe a little unstable but these two things are opposites.

P.S Pull your **** together and take the advice you have been given by others. It is my opinion that the people here have afforded you enough of their time and all you have done is complain, I have seen no gratitude given to those who have offered help so maybe it is all about you here and not about anyone else on the site.

Edited May 13, 2011 by mike42979

[jennie ann 15]

I cannot give an advice, and I am not qualified to give such advice. I can only say what I would do in this case. If these are small discoloration over the picture I would take a chance and do it and try to explain what happened if asked. As far as I understand there is not much damage. I think Embassy says that it invalidates visa because they do not know how bad the damage is. As far as they are concerned it may be as big as numbers missing etc. so they are trying to play safe and cover all the cases. What I found out Embassies are extremely flexible, much more flexible then what their rules state. At the same time my experience at POE was not very pleasant. These people are trying to show how important they are and try to make your life miserable if you are not USC or permanent resident. I accompanied my fiancee back from her country and they were pretty nasty at the POE... So this is your call.

I agree with this, especially looking at what you posted about what USCIS and border control said. Nobody except you knows how extensive the damage is. If it is very slight, you may not have a problem, but the embassy will probably tell you to have it replaced to be safe. Also, if you think about it, such damage could easily happen during your plane ride over – would they turn you away for a few water splotches in that case? I really don't know. But they would probably at least call the US embassy in London to verify that you have been approved for and issued a valid visa.

[JAPrincess 27]

<--- me after page 2 of this thread!

OP, I hope everything works out as it should!

Edited May 13, 2011 by JAPrincess

[san diego 407]

<--- me after page 2 of this thread!

OP, I hope everything works out as it should!

Not very nice considering the situation...

[Penny Lane 8,159]

I'm going to do my best to ignore the ignorant use of the word "retarded" and focus on the issue. OP, you need to do what's been suggested to you countless times in this thread. A Visa is a piece of paper in your passport. Damaging that piece of paper does not erase the months it took to get that piece of paper. There would be no need to do this entire process all over again. Your life is not over, the world is not ending, put on your big girl pants and deal with this situation like an adult. Do what needs to be done.

If you choose to believe that everything is indeed hopeless simply because of some water damage, then that's exactly the result you'll get. These boards cannot get you another Visa, only you can do that.

[JAPrincess 27]

Not very nice considering the situation...

Not trying to be mean, just frustrating to see so many people giving advice and helping, yet the OP is still determined to "ruin their life" over a watermark...

[san diego 407]

I'm going to do my best to ignore the ignorant use of the word "retarded" and focus on the issue. OP, you need to do what's been suggested to you countless times in this thread. A Visa is a piece of paper in your passport. Damaging that piece of paper does not erase the months it took to get that piece of paper. There would be no need to do this entire process all over again. Your life is not over, the world is not ending, put on your big girl pants and deal with this situation like an adult. Do what needs to be done.

If you choose to believe that everything is indeed hopeless simply because of some water damage, then that's exactly the result you'll get. These boards cannot get you another Visa, only you can do that.

I think this is extremely well-said. Embassy knows that this is just piece of paper as well. Nothing more. They are reasonable people. In fact, I found embassy officers THE MOST reasonable, understanding, and flexible people. I think this is because they are the most educated ones from all the people that we have to deal with on this journey. All it is is just a piece of paper that they can easily substitute. May cost you extra-$100 and extra-2 weeks but what is it compared to a lifetime??

[YozhikandBulochka 3]

Hamtaro...please calm the #### down before you give yourself a heart attack....JEEEZ like i think you beat the Visajourney post record in the first 3 minutes of making one. Relax...and solve the problem..being frantic about it...doesnt solve anything. smh

[Purple Turtle 17]

Have you called them already? Look, we feel for you but you better stop reading what others have written down regarding damaged visas and call your consulate now.

FYI

1. your case isn't something that will prompt them to tell you to go through the whole process again.

2. The other posters are right when they told you that since your case has been concluded, and you were given a visa, I don't think they'll have to open one because that's a waste of time for both you and the consulate.

3. Better relax

4. I know someone whose name appeared wrong in visa, contacted the consulate, and was issued a new one. Didn't go through the whole thing again.

5. The consulate's pretty much ready for these types of cases so stop freaking out and act zen. Nothing good comes out of sheer panic. It clouds your better judgment.

Good luck!

Edited May 14, 2011 by Purple Turtle

[Purple Turtle 17]

Kathryn it's not possible either to contact the consulate, they only have a really expensive phoneine where you ring and themn they give you a code for an email that bounces back a message saying "we'll respond in 3-5 days" well I can't last that long. I literally can't.

Things destroyed this week through spitting/spilling stuff on them= Macbook Air keyboard, US visa. What else?

Not possible to simply contact the consulate

Don't come anywhere near items of great importance with a glass or bottle of anything liquid.