Clahal

Has anyone got experience of travelling over Belfast to get a quicker appointment?

We're eager to get over the to US asap because we don't want our son to miss too much school.

We have an appointment in London on 18th August but there's availability in Belfast on 3rd.

I reckon we could get my husband's company to pay for the trip.

Thanks for any thoughts/advice.

ian-mstm

Several have, yes. I believe you can go to any US Consulate.

Ian

IlAlfie

Belfast can be nice....for a day trip! Where do you live in the UK? I remember toying with this when we were booking our London consulate appointment. In the end I stuck to London as it was just logistically easier and cheaper (we lived in London) but if you're desperate to go sooner and someone else is footing the bill.....

Clahal

We live 90 mins from London by train and 30 mins from Gatwick so it'd be a fairly easy trip.

If the appointment time is 9:30am, would we get there as early as poss and then be seen on time or have to wait ages?

Thanks

IlAlfie

I don't remember, what does it say on your appointment? I seem to remember something about not arriving TOO early as they wouldn't admit you to the consulate - is that right?....The queues in London were certainly long. It moves along reasonably but we spent a few hours doing the consulate appointment. Toronto made you queue outside in the freezing, and I mean freezing, cold. My partner had broken his ankle so they took sympathy with us and let us queue inside....The Toronto consulate is much smaller though.

IlAlfie

And how is old is your school aged child? If they're really young I don't think they're going to miss a lot in a couple of weeks. It's not like they'll never catch up with colouring in or napping...

Clahal

Our London appointment is 8:30am and the Belfast one is 9:30 so either way, I guess we'd have to be there pretty close to when they open (8am?).

Blimey, Toronto sounds harsh!

Clahal

True, he won't miss much learning wise (he's 5) but we have a potential task on our hands as we want to get him into 1st grade rather than Kindergarten. I've been in touch with the various DOEs for the different districts and they say it's wise to try and meet with the Principal and maybe have him tested etc.
I guess I'd like to be as ahead of timing as possible but maybe I'm stressing unnecessarily.

IlAlfie

I didn't ever go to the Belfast consulate but looks like you'll need an overnight stay there to make the timings work. I wouldn't risk trying to fly there that morning in case you missed the appointment.

I don't know how rigid they are about appointment times. In London I guess they'll be a bit stricter because the waiting room inside isn't huge and so if everyone turned up early in order to try and get it over with, they'd run out of space and the people turning up at the right time would be stuck outside in the security queue.

Your call. Belfast has some lovely restaurants though....

MarylandNed

I'd go for Belfast. I'm biased (born and partly raised there) but it's a great city to visit and, if you've never been, why not go for it?

Be aware that the US consulate is not in the city centre so you'll probably be taking a taxi. If you need to store anything that is not allowed into the consulate, there's a "Left Luggage" service at the Belfast Welcome Centre:

Visit Belfast Welcome Centre Tourist Information

I highly recommend the Titanic exhibit if you have time.

Some great pubs near City Hall - try The Crown and Robinson's.

The George Best Belfast City Airport is the most convenient.

Pulaski

What dimension do you live in or is there a knot in time-space continuum between your home and London?

When you go to London, you should go via Gatwick, because it takes you 30 minutes to get to Gatwick, and from there you can get to London in 30 minutes, making a journey time of only one hour.

Clahal

Thanks very much for all the info. How long would a taxi from the airport to the Consulate take?

ian-mstm

I find that Google maps is a great resource... you should try it.

Ian

Clahal

Helpful

Clahal

Thanks to most of you for all your help.

Amazingly, there are now appointments on 4th August available in London (I've been checking daily) so I'm sorted.