leepr7

Hi guys,

I'm planning on flying home to Glasgow for 3 weeks over Christmas, but I'll need to get my visa stamped before returning to the US. I did it down in London a few years ago - had my father go through the hassle of calling the premium phoneline, arranging the appointment, etc. When I was actually given the date and time, I sent an email to the embassy saying that this date was no good; that I had to fly to Barcelona the next day, and would need my passport. They replied and said that they would make an exception for me and return my passport the same day. I'm not too confident that it'll work this time. They don't seem to have any email addresses listed on the web site.

I have a couple of (random) questions:

+ If my dad were to call on December 1st to arrange an appointment, approximately what date should I expect it to be scheduled for? Is there any way to request a specific date or date range?

+ Will the passport processing times (stated as 5 days) take longer over the Christmas / New Year break?

+ Are there any airlines that sell open return tickets? E.g. if I don't have my passport back by January 7th, call the airline and arrange for a later departure date (with only a small fee involbed)? My best fares on Travelocity so far are $829 and $1050 for BA. Do open tickets cost a lot more?

+ Should I get the visa stamp handled in Juarez? It's about 5 hours drive from here. I wouldn't mind doing it. My visa, immigrations/employment status is all in good standing, no criminal record, etc. If I had an appointment on Friday morning, would I get my passport back on Friday afternoon? Have there been many stories of Brits running into trouble down there and flying back to the UK? My last visa stamp was a smooth process, so I don't see any complications arising.

I'd really love to go home for Christmas, but this whole visa stamp is a pain in the ass.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/input!