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Off topic rant: Visa applications for USA


marzman

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My god, i need to have a rant as i feel the need to go on a killing spree... :surrender:

 

[rant]

Im going to New York for 2 weeks at Christmas, first week to stay in the city, and then spend the second week with my dad who lives in upstate NY.

 

The original plan was for my fiance to go to Canada to stay with her family but she changed her mind and wanted to come to NY with me.

 

My fiance is African and we have had a painful time with immigration in the past (the reason i had to sell my first zed - legal bills!) - despite the fact that she's been here for 11 years since she was 16, but her status in the UK is all completely sorted now but she's still on an African passport for another 5 months. So - we had to apply for a non-immigrant Visa for her to enter the US. This involves a £90 application fee and atending an interview in person at the US Embassy in London.

 

Well - that interview was today - she took the time off work, went down the night before on the train, stayed in a hotel etc etc. She was at the embassy for 5 hours waiting to be seen, and then they saw her for LESS than 2 minutes, and rejected her without looking at any of her documents! They asked her 2 questions only - What family she has in the UK - answer - me, her sister and her nephews, and then is she employed - answer - yes, but on a temporary contract, despite being there for 6 months already. From these 2 answers they determined that she doesnt have any compelling ties to return to the UK following her trip, and rejected her, and closed the 'booth' that she was being seen at. Absolutely shocking. Thats 200quid down the ****ing drain. The thing that really pisses me off is that she said this was the last booth that was open, and he was just in a rush to close it and **** off home (Friday afternoon, and all that). ****.

 

I've been reading online about it just now, and there's no right to reply, no appeal process, no-one to call and complain to - if you want to try again, you have to pay the fees again and go for another interview where the same is likely to happen. **** man i've not been this angry in a long time - what a disgusting ****ing joke. [/rant]

 

all that said - im still going to NY, albeit on my own - cant wait :D

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That's a bummer. Anyone can come to the UK, it's a free country you know.

 

I had a friend of mine who went out to America. He was sponsored, had family over there and was a good candidate for America. After 2 years of working out there he had to apply for residency. They rejected him, despite his family connection in America and that he had a job and was a secure reliable resident.

 

His only option, as he was with a girl was to marry her. He now lives happily for ever after.

 

Maybe you should Marry your other half, you're engaged, that way they should find it a lot harder to reject her application, but then again it's the cost of the whole matter.

 

Feel for you mate!

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The Visa thing is complete crap, and they treat you like crap at the airport too, despite all the adverts with Arny in saying “come to America on holiday, it’s greatâ€, the first impression isn’t. I have been to US 9 times in the last 15 years and every year it gets harder to enjoy. The last time, was all this carry on over the Visa's, which you had to do on-line, which I was only told after I had stood in line for an hour to check in. It a great place to visit, if you are happy to be tret like an extra from Shindlers List for the first hour of landing. Total bullshit munchers. :wacko:

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I feel her pain with regards to US visa's.

 

As a sailor, I have to have a US C1/D visa allowing me to both work on ships in US waters, and to enter/leave US airports.

 

You spend 10 hours sat in the US embassy, going through the number lottery, to finally get all sorted (luckily I was issued a visa), and then when you do land in the US, you spend another 4 hours in some crappy little room whilst they do god knows what checks.

You then finally get your docs handed back and allowed in.

By this time, the taxi that has been sent for you has fecked off, and your baggage has been destroyed as they suspect its dodgy (ok, not quite - but its normally made its way to some storage room by now and is a pain to get back).

 

Generally, the US suck at visa's.

I am going back to the US for a holiday next month, and I am dreading it. Even though I am entering as a tourist on a standard ESTA, I will have to present my passport which has my US visa in it. So God alone knows what crap I am gonna have to go through.

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Really feel for you & your fiance. I have travelled to the USA at least once a year for the last 10 years with no problems (apart from once getting caught with to many cigarettes :blush: ) My eldest son lives & works out there and had to go through the process of obtaining his visa after the initial 18 month one expired. Never realised what a lottery it is. You get accepted from your application which, in the time it takes & the massive numbers involved, can only be from pulling out of a bag. He then had to go through the Embassy experience back here, successfully thank god, but the guy in the next booth was rejected.

Coincidently I have just got an email telling me my ESTA travel authorisation expires in 30 days. The daft thing is you have to apply all over again & not just renew the expiring one :scare: Surely having had a record of you it would make sense to offer a renewal process.

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The US dont half make me laugh. Their immigration/visa restrictions are so tight it is unbelieveable. Yet if they did kick out al the immigrants, half the southern states economies would collapse overnight. They really are a bit fik.

 

They sorted some of that out 2 or 3 years ago by having an amnesty on long term illegal residents :D Must have been where Nick Clegg got his idea from for the UK's illegals :p

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I've never had a problem going out to the states but I can only imagine how bad it can be. They are really strict and can be a pain. I do wish we were as tough though... the amount of people who come here on student, working or tourist visas who never go back is ridiculous.

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