U.S. Embassy London Hosts Visa Webchat

The U.S. Embassy in London conducted a webchat on November 26, 2013. Highlights of the webchat include:

1. U.S. government policy is under review regarding “criminal cautions” in the United Kingdom. Applicants having a caution may experience lengthy delays during the application process. These delays will affect applicants with a caution even if they may have received a visa in the past. The U.S. Embassy London recommends applying as soon as possible and not making final travel plans until receiving a visa.
2. Visa applicants are advised to notify the embassy via a contact form if they leave the United Kingdom while additional processing is pending. View contact form here.
3. The embassy noted that the presumption of innocence has little place in the visa application process. According to the embassy, if one applies for a visa during a pending prosecution, “you should be aware that it may not be possible to adjudicate your visa application until the disposition of your criminal case is known.” See 9 FAM 40.21(a) N3.3.
4. Waiver applications take six months to process even if the applicant has received a previous waiver. Frequent travelers to the United States may choose to apply more than six months before the expiration date of their current visa so that the next visa may be ready to be issued without a gap. A current visa with a valid waiver will not be canceled during the interview before the expiration date. 
5. Immigrant visas are issued with a validity period that expires six months from the date of the medical exam, rather than six months from the date of the immigrant visa interview. 

The transcript of the Webchat is available as PDF.