Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

This is a quote from a couple of emails they sent me...........


On the day of your interview you were given a refusal letter with instruction on what to expect while we process your application. The last paragraph on that sheet states…

Given the circumstances of your case, and based on the factors described above, we have decided to recommend a waiver of your ineligibility. If a consular supervisor agrees with this recommendation and DHS decides to grant your waiver, you will be issued a limited-validity visa. The current waiting period for these two agencies to consider your case is approximately 14-16 weeks. We will contact you by email to let you know the outcome of your case. If your visa is ultimately approved, we will ask you to submit your passport (DX Courier) for visa issuance. Given that there is no guarantee your waiver will be granted, we recommend you refrain from making any travel commitments until the visa has been issued and returned to you.





Please also see information below regarding Ineligibilities, available from the US Embassy Website: http://london.usembassy.gov/add_crime.html

Applicants who are found ineligible to receive a visa

If the conviction(s) results in the applicant being found permanently ineligible to receive a visa, it will mean a lifetime exclusion from the United States unless he or she obtains a waiver of the permanent ineligibility from the United States Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection (DHSCBP). The granting of a waiver is not automatic and is based on several factors, including nature of the crime committed, sentence served and the period of time which has elapsed since the conviction.

If a favorable recommendation is made to DHSCBP for a waiver of the permanent ineligibility, the application will take a minimum of sixteen weeks to process; some applications may take longer.

Please note: Delays in processing can and will occur. The processing times quoted are approximate and cannot be guaranteed. It is important that you keep this in mind when applying for the visa. It will not be possible to expedite a case simply because an applicant has not allowed sufficient time for the application to be processed.


They then followed up with this:-

The 8 weeks is a realistic timescale however as it is the peak of summer, we are currently experiencing a high demand for applications for US visas and obtaining waivers through The department of Homeland Security could be further delayed.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

And, respectfully, the reason why you're now in so much anguish is because you ignored/ overlooked probably the two most important pieces of information contained therein:

1) The current waiting period for these two agencies to consider your case is approximately 14-16 weeks and;

2) Given that there is no guarantee your waiver will be granted, we recommend you refrain from making any travel commitments until the visa has been issued and returned to you.

I really do wish you luck and hope your visa will be ready for you in time. However calling the embassy "morons" and railing about the inadequacies of the process will not resolve your situation any quicker.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Thats as may be but the level of service is a joke.

I booked the holiday 3 months before, even before i started the interview process, I stupidly thought I wouldnt even need an interview, afterall if ive had a visa before and nothing has changed, just a 2 year older criminal record, what is there to consider?

I appreciate this is my **** up from something I did 20 years ago. No other country in the world has these rules that im aware of. The earth is not owned by anyone remember.....

They say honesty is the best poilcy, yet I could have quite easily got an ESTA and lied, so in this case honesty clearly is not the best policy because that honesty appears to have cost me £4000 and alot of stress.................

Then they wonder why there is immigration fraud!

Brilliant!

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

They do a ton of students this time of year and that adds to the delays. Think of it as the opposite of a hospital emergency room. The worse shape you are in, the longer you have to wait.

A student missing the start of classes is a higher priority than someone with a police problem seeking special permission.

They need to make sure you've been good the last two years and check all of the records again. It would look bad if they gave you another waiver if you had a problem with the police on your last trip to the US.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Yeh I guess.

Re last visa, I neber anctually went! Cos the visa ran out and I got new work.

They have my ACPO which is exactly the same as the last one I gave them, only dated 2.5 years later lol

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

That makes it your fault then, doesn't it! Stop complaining about a problem you created!

Honesty is the only policy, lying to US immigration is a crime.

Where do you get the idea that you are intitled to some particular level of service from the embassy? Are you a US citizen?

Plenty of countries have tough immigration rules. And none of them are required to let you visit if they decide not to.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Hi there. I'm sorry that you are in such a position, however I note the angst and have to ask. Why did you spend all that money on a holiday when you had no idea that you could go on it?

Why is their level of service a joke? You ask how long does it take to tick a box, however it is clearly stated how long it takes. Remember you are not the only person applying so it may,does and will continue to take as long as it takes.

This potential loss of $3500 is not the fault of the US nor anyone else. It is simply your own fault. Therefore there is no point ranting at how poor and disgusting the service you have been receiving is.

That said I do honestly hope that things work out for you, and in future apply, get visa then book holiday.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Because I foolishly thought I wouldnt even need an interview this time, afterall, nothing has changed. I didnt know how long it takes til I went for an interview, my previous application was processed in 6 weeks, yet this time it takes longer when the case is much more straighforward.

Seems to me they need a serious overhall of their systems, which ironically, is the job I do. Wonder if they fancy giving me a job? lol

Their inadequate systems clearly contribute to their apparant incompetence.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Having just gone through the process of getting a Visa to work in the US I don't have any complaints about the process, systems or staff involved. I say that even though I had an RFE. The processes are all well documented and there's lots of information available about what happens and when. Even my trip to the Embassy was easy and the staff I met there very helpful and polite.
As with all systems/processes there are always people who don't get the result they wanted or when they wanted it and spend time complaining. That's life I guess.
At the end of the day though, we should remember that it's a privilege to go and work or visit another country, not a right. Of course it's also a choice and there are plenty of other countries to work in and visit on holiday that don't have such complex laws or require visas.

This thread really doesn't seem to be going anywhere at all. Why doesn't someone close it.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Well, you are asking them for a favor to enter the US. You are inadmissible under law, and they are adjudicating whether or not to grant you an exceptional privilege to enter. This takes time. You just need to be patient. Oh, and I highly doubt they hire crims (thank to god).

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Wow, you've done a lot of research, if you've looked up all the world's country's immigration policies!

Which 'rules' exactly are you referring to? The ones where they have to verify that you are on the good side of the law before issuing a visa? NO other countries in the world do this?? I'm shocked.

It could be worse. You could be wanting to go to a country that will not even issue you a visa at all, no matter what, not even an option of applying. One of the countries I very badly want to visit, does not even allow US citizens to obtain tourist visas, even if you have a squeaky clean record. At least you are being given a chance.

Rene

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

If you had read up on the topic, you'd know that the consulate can sometimes issue a first time waiver on their own without DHS approval for old convictions, but may have to seek approval from DHS for subsequent applications. DHS approval takes additional time. So yes, it can be normal to take longer than the fist time.

As for believing you may not need an interview, that is just foolishness. Unless you're a diplomat, virtually every adult has to physically appear for their visa unless you know of a way to send them your fingertips for printing through a courier or something.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Well they already had my fingers from the first time.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I've now accepted my money is lost. You live and learn.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Which work visa did you go for? I'm currently going for a waiver for a business B visa however work are talking about doing a internal transfer. How long did yours take?

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

H1b - took about 6 weeks. That was using Premium Processing. It took that long as we had an RFE. The fact that I will officially be a Home Worker raised a few questions.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Here's something that most people don't know... and it's a curiosity about fingerprints. Even though they have them, once they do an initial background search, the prints are archived into an unretreivable system. So, having done fingerprints for a prior application is meaningless... since they can't retreive them or do a search based on them. This is why new fingerprints are required for each part of a process.

Ian

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Just to update you all that i received my email for my waiver this morning asking me to send my passport off! Just under 12 weeks.

Just hope the B1 visa is mulitple entry!

Hope you receive your soon!

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Got mine today. Slightly longer wait, 15 weeks. Am arranging passport collection for tomorrow.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Mine came last week after interview 7th July. Sure I posted before dunno where it went.

Passport sent last Friday.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Pleased for you both, seems odd that we have had all different timings as mine was just under 12 weeks?

It is because i applied for a business visa? Let you know when i get my passport back!

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

It is not uncommon for the pile of unadjudicated application to increase within the bowels of an agency until they are all adjudicated in short order. So, it is sometimes hard to extrapolate how far in the future a particular application will be adjudicated.

BTW, I have often told a story from one of the very first immigration cases I ever handled -- two I-130's filed on behalf of identical twin daughters. They were identical in all respects except for the middle name. [They were from a country which used the Family Register system instead of individual "birth certificates."] This was before the existence of Service Centers -- both petitions were filed at the local INS office at the same time. One was approved in 21 days. The other was "remoted" to the border inspection station in Skagway, Alaska in the Spring. The remoted applications sat there until the following winter when travel decreased to almost zero levels. Oh, BTW, we received an RFE, which was totally justified.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Hello all got passport back this morning, just over a week from sending off after email.

Validity for a year, B1/B2 visa and entries 'M' so very pleased and relieved as I was worried that it would be single entry only!

Annotation: 212 (SMALL D)(3)(A) WAIVER OF 212 (A)(2)(A)(1) GRANTED. Anyone know what the small d is?

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Section 212(d)(3)(A)(ii) is the section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that provides waiver authority. They likely put "SMALL D" on the visa because their visa printing software apparently will only print annotations in caps.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Hi sorry to ask but new to this, my hubby has been referred for waiver of inelligebility for a non immigrant holiday visa, I was under the impression that it was sent off from the embassy in London and we do nothing but wait to hear.
However someone said that he has to email and request the application be sent, panicing now because we have just been sitting back waiting to hear and his interview was weeks ago!!

xx

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Who told you this? And more importantly, what was hubby told by the embassy staff at his interview?

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Hi thanks for replying.

At the interview the consular officer said she would refer for a waiver and he should hear by 'phone' within 3 weeks.
However the letter that she gave him says 14-16 weeks and he would hear via email which is what I thought was more likely.

I was telling someone at work about it and they said " oh you don't get referred for a waiver you have to apply yourself, the consular officer has just given you permission to apply"

I don't have a ref number or anything so can't even phone.

We have waited 10 weeks this week so far from date of interview.

Thanks x:)

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Firstly you should know that the embassy staff are sometimes mis-informed and are in fact allowed to deliver misleading information. I would disregard what was said at the interview.

The normal outcome would be for you to be notified by email and the process does indeed take around 14-16 weeks normally, as stated on the letter you were given (this is the blue VCU R3 form). From my own experience this year, and that of others on this forum, the current wait time for DHS to consider the embassy waiver request and make a decision is 15 weeks. There is nothing you can do except wait at this moment in time.

Your work colleague is obviously well-intentioned but also, sadly, mis-informed. They may be thinking about the waiver for an immigrant visa, which does involve making a seperate application. But that doesn't apply in your case.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

I would say that most people here have learned to ignore the masses of well intentioned friends who think they know the insides and outs of the immigration system. In a similar vein, consular staff are also capable of making mistakes. However i am infallible and i would trust in the letter.


I am on week 14 at the moment, wait times on the forum seem to be about 16 weeks to get the visa actually in hand.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Around 15 weeks to receive decision by email, then you have to arrange collection of your passport. DX Secure are normally very good and will collect within one day. It can then take up to two weeks for the passport to be returned to you.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Thankyou all so much for your quick replys.

I'm not too worried about the length of time because I haven't booked anything yet, just hope everything is ok.

The consular officer said things could ' go either way' re. the decision to grant him the waiver.

The form is the vcu r3 form but it's on white paper not blue, sorry I'm so paranoid just desperate for him to get the chance to come on holiday and see how great it is.

If they say no I will never get him to go through this again he is so stubborn :frown:

We did begin the process a couple of years ago but just dropped out coz the hol was booked and no time, things were different that time though the bloke who interviewed him said he had to have a medical, which we booked but then cancelled but there has been no mention of a medical this time, is that normal??:p

Thanks so much for all your advice x

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Yes it could go either way, but the fact that the consular staff at the embassy are recommending the waiver is a big step in the right direction. There is no need to take a medical exam for a non-immigrant visa waiver (unless the inadmissibility is on medical grounds of course). Just be prepared for the fact that the waiver will only have very limited validity if granted. For example my first waiver was for 12 months duration and 1 entry into the USA only.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

A quick straw poll, for those who have recently recieved waivers from the London consulate. What time of the day was your 'send passport' email sent?

I'd love to be able to just check my email once a day and know i am not missing anything the rest of the day, (i.e. if they consistently send the emails out in the morning) but at the moment i am a little obsessed and constantly checking my mail.

Week 14 complete tommorow! Good luck anyone else still waiting.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Respectfully, you really need to step away from the computer. When a decision is made, you'll be informed. As an aside, I'm reminded of a snippet in Harry Potter where Harry is staring at the Mirror of Erised... hoping that what he sees will become a reality.

Ian

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Haha, i quite agree. I am going off the deep end a little!

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Thanks for your answers, it's good to know I'm not the only one obsessed, my trouble is that my hubby couldn't care less, it's me who's desperate to go back. He says he's only doing it to shut me up about how great it is x x

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Last year - 1615hrs.

This year - 1450Hrs.

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Thanks for feeding my obsession!

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Have you heard anything yet???:fingerscrossed:

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Nope, nothing here, hoping to hear something this week, but knowing my luck there will be something slowing it all down. We had hoped to get it all sorted to go over on thanksgiving...glad i didnt buy the tickets!!

Re: Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver of Ineligibility Application
 

Anyone else who is thinking of following this process. I am now on week 19, so be sure to plan ahead appropriately, it's possible processing times have slowed in the winter, or i could just be a one off. Heres hoping i don't get swept into the the 'No' bin on Christmas Eve when the ARO officer wants a clean desk after Christmas! :p

I am also fighting the urge to contact the consulate, as i know that they will ultimately just tell me to sit tight.

Good luck to anyone else waiting and hoping to get cleared before Christmas!