WARNING to anyone collecting a passport from a DX location.
Dec 4th 2013, 3:09 pm
#16
Member
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,049
Re: WARNING to anyone collecting a passport from a DX location.
No, the embassy is not where the final approval happened. Embassies provide government-to-government services. Consulates provide services to US citizens abroad and visa services to non-US citizens. It was the consulate, not the embassy, that processed your visa application and issued the visa.
The confusion probably arises because some, but not all, consulates are co-located with an embassy. However, some consulates that are co-located with an embassy do not provide visa services. And not all consulates process all types of visas.
Embassies are also a part of the US Department of State. Drilling down in the DoS, it's the Bureau of Consular Affairs that provides visa services. The Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs reports to the Under Secretary for Management, who reports to the Secretary of State. I haven't worked out how the embassies fit into the organizational structure of the DoS.
Regards, JEff
The confusion probably arises because some, but not all, consulates are co-located with an embassy. However, some consulates that are co-located with an embassy do not provide visa services. And not all consulates process all types of visas.
Visas are issued by the US Department of State. The DOS might have an office inside an Embassy compound... but the Embassy itself doesn't deal with visas. It's easy to confuse the two - and many people say "Embassy" when, in fact, they mean the US Consular Service or DOS offices within that compound.
JEff and I are being specific... while others are using the more common, but incorrect, term!
Ian
JEff and I are being specific... while others are using the more common, but incorrect, term!
Ian
Dec 4th 2013, 8:42 pm
#17
Account Closed
Joined: Jun 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 4,891
Re: WARNING to anyone collecting a passport from a DX location.
Visas are issued by the US Department of State. The DOS might have an office inside an Embassy compound... but the Embassy itself doesn't deal with visas. It's easy to confuse the two - and many people say "Embassy" when, in fact, they mean the US Consular Service or DOS offices within that compound.
JEff and I are being specific... while others are using the more common, but incorrect, term!
Ian
JEff and I are being specific... while others are using the more common, but incorrect, term!
Ian
Embassy of the United States of America,
Visa Branch,
5 Upper Grosvenor Street,
LONDON,
W1A 2JB
Form NIV67 - Visa Waiting Room Handout, which you are given when arriving for your interview and have to fill out with your address details for the DX Courier service has a section marked "Below for DX Secure/Embassy use only" as well as the embassy website address at the bottom - http://london.usembassy.gov/
Why do "the Embassy" have space reserved for them on forms used in the visa process if they "(don't) deal with visas...?"
The VCU R3 letter that is given to applicants who have been refused a visa but recommended for a waiver of ineligibility also mention the above address but with the department "Visa Coordination Unit" (ie. VCU) instead of "Visa Branch", still listed under the Embassy of the United States of America.
Dec 4th 2013, 8:47 pm
#18
Account Closed
Joined: Jun 2011
Location: UK
Posts: 4,891
Re: WARNING to anyone collecting a passport from a DX location.
No, the embassy is not where the final approval happened. Embassies provide government-to-government services. Consulates provide services to US citizens abroad and visa services to non-US citizens. It was the consulate, not the embassy, that processed your visa application and issued the visa.
The confusion probably arises because some, but not all, consulates are co-located with an embassy. However, some consulates that are co-located with an embassy do not provide visa services. And not all consulates process all types of visas.
Embassies are also a part of the US Department of State. Drilling down in the DoS, it's the Bureau of Consular Affairs that provides visa services. The Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs reports to the Under Secretary for Management, who reports to the Secretary of State. I haven't worked out how the embassies fit into the organizational structure of the DoS.
Regards, JEff
The confusion probably arises because some, but not all, consulates are co-located with an embassy. However, some consulates that are co-located with an embassy do not provide visa services. And not all consulates process all types of visas.
Embassies are also a part of the US Department of State. Drilling down in the DoS, it's the Bureau of Consular Affairs that provides visa services. The Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs reports to the Under Secretary for Management, who reports to the Secretary of State. I haven't worked out how the embassies fit into the organizational structure of the DoS.
Regards, JEff
In the case of London, the website mentions that the process is carried out in the embassy. All the documentation given to applicants makes reference to the embassy. And the actual physical interview takes place in the embassy.
Dec 4th 2013, 9:31 pm
#19
Member
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,049
Re: WARNING to anyone collecting a passport from a DX location.
It's an over-simplification. Possible in the case of the UK because the consulate that issues visas is located on the embassy grounds. Nevertheless, the consular staff are not embassy staff, and vice versa.
On the other hand, in Canada, the consular section in Ottowa does not issue visas.
As Ian wrote, he and I are providing a level of detail that perhaps not everyone wants or needs to know. But for some visa applicants, the distinction is meaningful.
Regards, JEff
On the other hand, in Canada, the consular section in Ottowa does not issue visas.
As Ian wrote, he and I are providing a level of detail that perhaps not everyone wants or needs to know. But for some visa applicants, the distinction is meaningful.
Regards, JEff
