Hi

I’m not expecting a response and my passport back. What I want to know is by chance the waiver is approved, is there a time limit on my side to send the passport. My thinking is if I’m abroad and the approval does come have I got enough time to get back to the country and send the passport off?

hope that makes sense

tha ks

Sorry my bad, when I received the notification to send my passport I was quoted 90 days. This was from Ireland Embassy, I imagine that London will be the same.

Hi,

My first waiver from London in 2023 had a 30 day response deadline from the date of the email.

Reads as "if your passport is not received in this timeframe your application will experience in further delays" assume its just to keep things moving along.

Hi all,

My first waiver process is now over. My Passport with the Visa is ready for collection. My journey started back in October 2023 when I applied for a police certificate (No Live Trace) received in November. I looked for an appointment with the embassy in London or Belfast. No availability for 6-8 months. I found an appointment in Dublin on the 27th of Feb 2024. I had to submit additional info to the Embassy via email which then resulted in a delay for my waiver being recommended, the waiver was recommended on the 25th of March. My CEAC status changed to refused on this day. I have since waited until January the 2nd 2025 to get feedback to send my passport to the Embassy. I was slightly delayed as it's not easy to send the passport from the UK to Dublin Embassy, it needs to be with DPD Ireland or Irish Post service, they are the only two options. Both options not available in the UK. I had to go to Dublin to drop the passport off at DPD Ireland and return home... 2 flights. Anyhow I did this on the 14th of January and by the 15th my CEAC changed to Approved, on the 16th the status on CEAC changed to Issued. Today the email came to collect the passport in DPD Dublin as they will not send documents outside of Ireland.
My advice to anyone taking these steps would be to check availability in the UK as it would be much easier to do from start to finish. If Dublin is quicker for an appointment be mindful that you will need to travel to post the passport (2 flights there and back) and travel to collect it (2 more flights).
Good luck everyone who is still waiting. I was told to lie on the ESTA as my misdemeanour was 30 years ago, but honestly it's better to be truthful even if it takes 12 months!

Shazzap12 did you ever get you waiver? Last update from you was that you were still waiting.

Cheers

Can I ask how long is your waiver valid for?

It seems like processing times are getting longer again?

My first application was 150 days from appointment to email, looking at the tracker this was quick compared to the average, currently in my second waiver wait, there's people before me with no response or tracker update. Will be interesting to follow what happens the next few weeks as that will put me passed the 150 days experienced from my 2023 application.

Also, without scare mongering, very interested to see what happens with the changes Trump brings in.

McMullen I think you asked in the tracker sheet if we should add a Visa Length column. My preference is not to, but this is a community sheet, so decision is for the community. Tracker is not just for B1/B2 visas, I see C, E, H and L also, for which the duration field may not be applicable. If people want to add the duration - they can do so in the comment field.

Aren’t we all, we can only hope he doesn’t make this process any harder than it already is. But ultimately, if they don’t want to grant a VISA it’s not the end of the world for tourists like me, plenty of other countries to visit and spend money. Different story for others with more important reasons to travel there obviously. Keep your fingers crossed 🤞

Hello all,

need member here. It has been interesting and also invaluable to read all the previous and ongoing experiences.

despite having applied and been successful for a visa on the last two occasions, my experience at the embassy yesterday led me to this resource.

I first applied for a visa in 2020, B1 and crew C. I had previously travelled to the US as part of the ESTA program, as the questions for the ESTA were quite different to those when you applied for a visa.

as a result, when it came to the visa question, ‘have you ever been arrested’ I had to answer yes. I will agonise forever about this, but ultimately believe it was the right choice to be completely honest in this regard.

having applied for various visas in several countries before, I arrived at the US embassy completely unprepared and was subsequently sent packing with a visa refusal. Another life lesson learned..

It was explained to me, that I would be recommended for the visa waiver program, and that I should go home and wait for further news of the decision process. Having spent a large amount of my life building my career, only to find I was now barred from the US for something minor that happened when I was a teenager, was difficult.

I spoke with my employer, and fortunately, they understood. It was still an unpleasant and anxious time while I waited for the process to be completed (I don’t think I need to tell anyone on this site about that feeling).

I received some communication from the DHS asking for an explanation of how I could travel with an ESTA, and also requesting confirmation to discuss with the ACRO people, and complied as quickly as possible. It is hard to recall properly, but after about 7 weeks, I was told to send my passport, another week later, it was available for me to collect at th DX facility at Gatwick.

Relief and gratitude were in abundance!

I received a B1 visa with a 5 year validity, and a C visa with 2 years.

Fast Forward to 2022, and my crew visa is expiring.. so the looming misery of renewal becomes a reality, and I have to return to the embassy in London for another interview. At least this time I have some experience, and I arrive with my ACRO certificate (no live trace) a print off of my SAR, showing an arrest and charges in 1994 (I stole a cassette tape from a car). I was subsequently informed that I was ineligible for a visa, permanently, Nd that I needed a waiver. This was somewhat expected.

the interview was on the 19th of January, and on this occasion, I was told to leave my passport with them at the embassy. I received an email on the 12th February to collect my passport with the visa.

So now we are back into the present day in this story, where I had my interview for a renewal of both B1 and C visas yesterday.

I completed my DS160 early January, and moved on to the interview booking process. When I initially looked and tried to book the appointment, I was extremely disheartened to discover the soonest opening in late March! I promptly booked it, but realised that after midnight, on the website, openings for closer appointments became available. It quickly became my evening pastime to check these appointments, and I was blessed to discover one for the 21st of January.

So I attended yesterday’s appointment with extra optimism. I had my previous experience in my back pocket, my ACRO certificate (no trace), not sure why it was different this time? I had an SAR request, a letter from my company, and several previous visa waivers.

result… you are still ineligible, and the process needs to begin for a waiver. It will take a minimum of 9 months!

the result of the ineligibility was not a surprise, however the time expectation for a resolution was. I can’t work out why it will now take so long, when it previously did not?

this is what led me to this forum.

It is as it is, and I of course hope, that if the worst case is realised, that my employer continues to see a reason to retain me? It is out of my control, but as I am sure many of you can relate to, the whole scenario causes me enormous anxiety.

Please feel free to add my date of interview to the spreadsheet, I will advise if and when any updates are available.

Thank you all for your posts and insights previous to this, they are invaluable. I honestly feel for everyone in this situation, and hope you all get the clearance you need. Don’t take it personally, we all make mistakes.

Welcome to the forum. I have added your details to the tracker.

Unfortunately processing time has increased massively and there is no sign it is improving. I currently hold the unenviable record for the longest recorded wait in the sheet :-(

Thanks Jools, that is appreciated. I am sorry, it must be very frustrating? I hope your record is not extended any longer?

I am mostly confused, as to why it was only a few weeks in 2020 and again in 2022, and now it is many months?

something I discovered here, that I would have been very happy to have known previously, is that we can apply for this waiver in advance, and still travel on the previous issued visa waiver. I would have applied a year ago…

Wishing you and all the best.

From the viewpoint of a retired immigration lawyer, there is a lot in your post that causes confusion on my part.

BTW, crewman is a D visa. C is transit. Sometimes, C and D are combined in one visa. C does not stand for crewman. But the error is commonly made, even by immigration cognoscenti.

Hi,

Thank you for your reply.

I did not set out to cause any confusion, to those retired or otherwise.

I may have made some errors in my post, but they are not intended.

my previous crew visa, on checking, states C1/D. I hope that helps to clear up any confusion?

For the other aspects of my post that cause you confusion, could you please highlight them specifically so I can respond?