Yes you have 14 days from the date of the email to send the passport to them. And they have currently had mine for just under a month.
Travelling to US with a criminal record in the UK
O wow. I’m surprised they’ve taken so long to return your passports. I literally got my passport returned back to me in 2 weeks.
Quoting Kelliana
O wow. I’m surprised they’ve taken so long to return your passports. I literally got my passport returned back to me in 2 weeks.
im on another forum and it seems that’s the standard wait time at the moment. There must be some sort of issue with issuing them at the embassy.
Quoting Kelliana
O wow. I’m surprised they’ve taken so long to return your passports. I literally got my passport returned back to me in 2 weeks.
Yeah was 7 days for me last time. That was pre covid 2019.
I'm just gonna do the interview ASAP and if I have to miss a week away so me it.
I received an email on 3rd May 2024 to send in my passport after waiting 8 months since my interview. I sent it off 7th May 2024 and on the 21st May 2024 I received an email stating that my passport was on route to DX Delivery and I collected it the next day and saw that I got 5 years. So I’m really surprised at the length of time they have some passports as mine was exactly 2 weeks.
Applied for Acro 11/07/23
Acro received 22/08/2023 (there was a processing hold for a few weeks Acro were not doing applications as they were too busy)
Applied for visa did electronic application 23/08/2023
Embassy appointment 27/09/2023
Email to submit passport 6/05/2024
Passport sent 7/05/2024
Status changed to approved 30/05/2024
Today picked up passport 4/06/2024
With 5yr visa
Total process from request for Acro 330 days (just under 11 months)
Time since embassy appointment 253 days (8 months 2 weeks)
Natcheermum::
So pleased you’ve finally got your passport back....and that your visa is for 5 years (the first visa + waiver is often only 1 year) ... but am still v concerned at the length of time the embassy held your passport.
Hopefully it was a one-off glitch ...e.g. passport requests being sent out before all the waiver-processing data was finalised/fully accessible...but I’ll be keeping an eye. Holding the passport of another country’s citizen for so long isn’t acceptable.
Fingers crossed you get to do lots of cheering next April!
[ Edit: Edited on 5 Jun 2024, 11:13 GMT by leics2 ]
This forum gave me the most in-site leading up to my VISA interview so thought I would share a few details of what happened to me.
I’m now 44 and I have two ABH from one incident when I was 17 and one ABH from when I was 19 so 25 years ago.
I was informed 14 years ago that as it was not moral turpitude that I would be fine with an ESTA. I have been three times to the USA but this time for some reason I ticked the yes box for now ‘serious harm’ to someone. Opened a right can of worms. Our holiday is on the 18th August and could only get an appointment for August. Managed to move it to July but then up until a couple of weeks ago I couldn’t find anything closer. (Trying hundreds of times a day). My final payment for the cruise is in two days time so I was very lucky to find an appointment for 7th June (today) at 2am when I woke up half cut.
Got to the interview and went in at 9am (9:30am appointment). Stage one took about 45 minutes but when I got to the window they made me and a few others wait and then come back plus they gave the photo back so I thought this must be bad. Anyway, got sent to stage two for finger prints and then on to queue for about 2hrs for the interview. I went to a private booth and saw a couple get denied (one for using and expired card or something for fraud and one for having some coke on him on a night out two years ago who had a caution). I wasn’t feeling very contact this point. I was called up, he looked at my ACRO and typed for about 2 minutes as I awaited the first question. He then threw my passport into a box and said “you will have your VISA within the week”. So I’m now sat with a pint celebrating awaiting my train. Cheers.
[ Edit: Edited on 7 Jun 2024, 13:08 GMT by CT1 ]
Ahhhh absolutely fantastic news! So so pleased for you!
This also gives me hope that my husbands whose circumstances are similar to yours will be given his on the day!
Enjoy your holiday!
Quoting Natcheermum
Ahhhh absolutely fantastic news! So so pleased for you!
This also gives me hope that my husbands whose circumstances are similar to yours will be given his on the day!
Enjoy your holiday!
Thanks, that’s why I put it on as I was looking weeks on end for similar circumstances etc to give me some hope. Definitely got a few more grey hairs now.