molly666

Having finally been advised to send off my Passport via DX mail service (application for VWP due to crminal convictions), and having a somewhat torrid time prior to this, I would appreiate some advice before I just plough blindly ahead.

The body of the email from the embassy is such:
Please be advised that we are now in a position to issue your U.S. visa. Please resubmit your passport to us for visa issuance. Note that you have 30 days from today in which to resubmit your passport.

Please be advised that if your passport is not received within this time your application will experience even further delays.



You must resubmit your passport via the Embassy-appointed courier service, The DX Mail Service. Once you are prepared to submit your passport for visa issuance please contact DX by telephone on 0871-562-6666 to arrange pickup of your passport and delivery back to you upon issuance of your visa. The courier service will not have any information about your visa processing.

Could somebody please confirm that I all have to do is to contact DX, pay the fee and then send my passport (or do they collect it)? I'm not too bothered about the processing time as the holiday I wanted to go on is now a distant memory. Any help appreciated.

ian-mstm

Yes. You call, you pay, they collect. Once the visa is issued, your passport will be sent back via DX.

Ian

Noorah101

Do you mean "application for B-2 visa"? Sounds like you're actually receiving a visa, rather than using the VWP.

Sorry, I can't help with the DX courier question.

Rene

materialcontroller

Call the number and arrange the collection. This can be anywhere, your home or workplace for example. You can also choose a level of service (you can pay extra for weekend delivery).

The courier will come to your collection address and give you a plain plastic bag. They'll ask you to seal your passport inside it and hand it back to them (they do not touch your documents). They'll then take the bag and hand you a receipt for the courier service (this will also have instructions on how to track your package to/from the embassy).

They will usually contact you when they're going to return your passport and will meet you at your return address (this can be different from the collection address). They hand your passport back and you sign to say you've received it. That's all there is to it.

molly666

Thank you all very much for your prompt and helpful advice. I will repost (on the correct thread) how long the Visa was for once I get my passport back.

evil-homer

yes, its good news and means that you now have a visa, phone them pay the fees and await the return of your passport

Im presuming you have had to wait while your case was sent off to the department of homland security for review? your case maybe was a conviction for drugs? or somthing simular?

In which case you will most likly be given a 1 year visa

I would be intrested to know how long you have been waiting to hear from them?, i know people that have been waiting since september and october 2012 and the embassy now say the wait could be upto 26 weeks, the wait times just seems to keep on increasing (was 24 weeks 3 weeks ago)

molly666

I initially applied in Feburary last year and in August phoned them when I had heard nothing only to be told that they had already send a email asking for me to return my passport!! For whatever reason I did not get this and they asked me to resubmit my documents and itinery which I did. It appears that my wait has been on average of 30 weeks whcih is concurrent with what others are currently reporting.

And yes, it was for criminal offences but not drugs. When I was younger (many moons ago) drugs were never the problem that they appear to be at present.

Even a one year/single entry Visa is sufficient and I'll just have to re-apply if/when I want to visit again. I have no one to blame but myself

materialcontroller

My first waiver of ineligibility was 12 months/single entry and I travelled on it in 2011. The second one I received was 12 months/multiple entry (although I didn't use that visa in the end, as I was selected as a London 2012 Games Maker and unable to travel to the USA last summer).

molly666

Received passport back today. Valid for 1 year with an 'M' next to entries which I presume means multiple.

Just think, come June/July this year I will have to go through the who Visa thing again

materialcontroller

You're correct, "M" means multiple entry. And 12 months is standard validity for a waiver of ineligibility. You may be considered for longer validity, up to a maximum of 5 years, at the conoff's discretion, usually only after you've received two or more waivers of 12 month validity.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87150.pdf