Interesting question. It should be noted that each applicant in this thread is not a U.S. Citizen and who who has been designated as not entitled to come to the United States; IOW, what might be called an “illegal alien” and therefore undesirable. In the name of “efficiency” and to “save taxpayer dollars,” I can easily envision the abolishment of the Admissibility Review Office of CBP.

Agree that's a possibility, even if you weigh in that the income from tourists (so just those of us on B1/2 waivers) must exceed an eye watering amount, Trump isn't as concerned about our spending as previous administrations.

At my first visa appointment in 2023, we were herded onto a different floor, so it was easy to gauge how many there were of us "special cases", about 25 at the time i was there, plus a few before me so 30 for the day. (only reason I'm so confident of this is due to the exceptional circumstances of a suspect package outside the Embassy)

2024 appointment I was in and out before 09:30, but met five chaps in line with similar issues.

Point is, I guess it would take three of us for the US to break even on the cost of having (per staff member) staff in London and the US process cases, then the benefit of the income revenue from us as tourists.

Forgive my mad ramble, just living in hope someone sees our spending as worthwhile to the US.

I hope so too. Please let me know as soon as you get your email.

Good morning I attended an interview yesterday and my visa refused (previous criminal record) I was told it would be referred for waiver. I stupidly booked a holiday to New York not anticipating this at all. My question is I can change the date on the booking but can I expect to have the waiver back by end of this year or am I being foolish. Thank you in advance

Hi, there's a tracker on some peoples signatures that will give you a good indication, my first waiver in 2023 took 148 days to come through, so about five months, and was told at the time about a six month wait.

The guidance at the moment is nine to ten months, but the tracker would suggest its taking a little longer. There's no real way to gauge it that I know of, so just a case of waiting, I stupidity booked a holiday on my previous experience, so will also need to cancel it soon, same holiday is now £1500 more, so its been a very expensive mistake on my part.

Were you seen for your 1st interview in a room on the left (not at the windows) and then second interview a room on the right where you were told the decision?
As far as it seems it would be 50/50 getting approval by the year end bearing in mind that once you do get the e mail to send your passport ,it could be two to three weeks before you actually get it in your hand

First time around it was all on the second floor, all interviews in a private room, once with an UK member of staff to cover documents then with a US member for the questions/decision and waiver referral.

Second time around,2024, all on the first floor at the booths, so same questions but with an audience this time!

kind of sense that booth floors have the same layout, just a lot more booths on the 1st floor.

The staff are always amazingly friendly and helpful, both UK and US. But, yeah I was Sept 2024 so thinking late summer this year, which is too late of booked holiday but that's my fault. Currently its ten days for visa issuance, plus a few days postage either side, so two weeks is fairly realistic. So my expectations with the current wait time is August 2024 if the waiver is given this time around, no reason to think it wont be, just waiting... as we all are.

The Canadian version is much easier, much quicker and after a waiver is granted I've managed to get a normal ETA with them via the standard online process, saving the cost of an ACRO, US is understandably very different, not a criticism just an observation.

Thanks for the clarification

it was second floor a cubicle No47 I think to submit documentation and have finger prints taken and then an interview P08/06 I think.

thank you for your reply - I hope you get sorted soon I'm just too scared to move the holiday pay again and then maybe not even get the waiver

Yeah its understandable, I've got four weeks to cancel/move the holiday with a fee. There's a list on PDF (maybe from the US site) it breaks down what your legal issue is relation to their legal system. For reference I'm in the same category as War Criminals, such is the madness of the system they use. it's sad that it is just a case of wait and see,

Hi all, new to the forum. just came across it recently and it is a great source of information, I have learned a lot more on here than the immigration attorney dealing with my visa has ever been able to tell me! Thanks to all involved and to who created the tracker.

My situation incase it is helpful to anyone!
I am on a L2 spouse visa. My spouse has never had any issues with visas, I have not been so lucky. I was issued a Visa waiver in 2022 which took approx 6 months from initial interview date to getting my passport back. I was told by the immigration attorney this was a one time process and I was all good going forward. This was not the case. My next visa renewal 20th May 2024 was denied (again my spouse who is the main visa holder, I am just a +1 to their visa, was approved) and I was put forward for a visa waiver. The agent in the embassy said I was issued a 1 year waiver back in 2022 and hopefully this time it will be longer but cannot confirm. They advised was up to a 6 month processing time, however thanks to the forum and the tracker I have since learned it is more like 9 months. I am now around 8 months so hoping it won't be much longer but seems like recent averages are going up.

That is wild... any chance you have a link to the pdf?

Yep, lawyer was wrong, if you’re inadmissible then that’s not going to change going forward. If you think you might ever want to stay permanently and apply for green cards in the future, it would be worth consulting a different lawyer for advice.

Good luck, hopefully you’ve not got too much longer to wait.

this website gives you some context on how they approve non immigrant visa waivers.

https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM030504.html


Tracker