Reschedule Expedited b2 visa appointment

[appleblossom 4,465]

1 minute ago, Sleepyrascal said:

I spoke to the embassy. They seem pretty confident i'll have it between 3 to 10 working days. Our trip is 21 days so I'd still have time to catch the end. But yes, an earlier appointment is the current goal. 

 

My ESTA hasnt actually been rejected yet. I'm assuming it will be. 

 

I meant reschedule the holiday, but fingers crossed you get an earlier interview, and good luck - do let us know if you make it! 

[appleblossom 4,465]

3 minutes ago, Sleepyrascal said:

My ESTA hasnt actually been rejected yet. I'm assuming it will be.

 

Yep. It doesn't sound as though you were eligible to apply for it in the first place, so it's just a case of waiting for them to check the info and then reject.

[Sleepyrascal 6]

5 minutes ago, appleblossom said:

 

Yep. It doesn't sound as though you were eligible to apply for it in the first place, so it's just a case of waiting for them to check the info and then reject.

This is what's confusing though. It says on their website, if you have a valid ESTA, and you travel to a banned country during that time, they recommend applying for a new ESTA. Also, the embassy staff told me being in Iraq wont necessarily mean I get rejected. They will just want to do a more thorough check on my name, passport and crime databases / terrorism watchlists or similar. So the ESTA may still get approved which solves the issue.  

 

Still, I am planning for rejection. 

 

All this because I attended one meeting 9 years ago for four days. To add insult to injury, the company who asked me to go was ExxonMobil! 

[appleblossom 4,465]

31 minutes ago, Sleepyrascal said:

This is what's confusing though. It says on their website, if you have a valid ESTA, and you travel to a banned country during that time, they recommend applying for a new ESTA. Also, the embassy staff told me being in Iraq wont necessarily mean I get rejected.

 

Remember that you're just speaking to call staff, not immigration officers with knowledge of the law. But they're right that just having visited Iraq isn't an automatic rejection, as there are exemptions i.e. being there on military orders, or visiting prior to 2011, and that's what they'll be checking for. If you do come under any of the possible exemptions then it is possible to still be approved.

[Boiler 47,502]

Under the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015, travelers in the following categories must obtain a visa prior to traveling to the United States as they are no longer eligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP):

Nationals of VWP countries who have traveled to or been present in Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen on or after March 1, 2011 (with limited exceptions for travel for diplomatic or military purposes in the service of a VWP country).

 

It could not be clearer.

[Crazy Cat 44,553]

Similar topics merged***

[Sleepyrascal 6]

7 hours ago, Sleepyrascal said:

Hello, 

 

I have been granted an expedited visa appointment in London. However, it's on the day I travel. I have the option to reschedule, but this warning comes up when I attempt to view available dates.

 

I'm scared to press it in case I lose my current appointment. I called the embassy, and they said it's fine to click it, but they didnt sound 100% certain. Any ideas? 

 

 

 

I can confirm that clicking the 'confirm' button is safe. It just takes you to see the available appointments. Sadly, all of the are 3 months away at least. 

[appleblossom 4,465]

2 hours ago, Sleepyrascal said:

 

I can confirm that clicking the 'confirm' button is safe. It just takes you to see the available appointments. Sadly, all of the are 3 months away at least. 

Do keep checking though, people cancel appointments all the time so one may just pop up. 

[Sleepyrascal 6]

UPDATE

 

Had interview on June 23rd. The interview literally last around 1 minute. 

 

Visa was delivered to my house this morning. 

 

From booking the appointment to getting the visa took 16 days total. not bad. 

 

We moved the holiday out by a week, so we fly on Sunday. 

 

Overall, a pretty good result. And a big lesson learned! but hopefully this is a good reference for others who are in a similar position.