Has anyone ever went TO the consulate...

to try to get information about their visa application? What happened?

I know it's a longshot. But I'm at the verge of losing my job because of them and I'm desperate.

Forget it.  They won't let you in.

Vicky

I know it's a longshot. But I'm at the verge of losing my job because of them and I'm desperate.

Despair is an emotion you never, ever, ever, never want to show a British consulate.  Ever.

So what exactly do they expect people to do if they don't return visas in the estimated timeframe and refuse to give any information about the status of their application? Just put their lives on hold for the indefinite future?

This system is appalling.

So what exactly do they expect people to do if they don't return visas in the estimated timeframe and refuse to give any information about the status of their application? Just put their lives on hold for the indefinite future?

Yep, they're on their own timeframe.  They don't really have much sympathy for this sort of thing, which is totally frustrating, I know!  Hang in there.

Really, you have to put your life on hold for a couple of weeks.  This is not appalling, it is a minor inconvenience.  It is clear on the web site that this is an estimate, and if you were applying from Pakistan, Jamaica, any one of a number of other countries where people are less fortunate than those in the US you may well have to wait for a year or more.

Vicky

This system is appalling.

If you go to the consulate out of the blue, security will ring up the visa section and say something like, "Good morning, sir, this is security.  There's a mad woman down here demanding to know where her visa is."  And the visa section will say something like, "We don't have the time.  Tell her to contact the commercial partner."

While they may be taking longer with your application, their overall throughput is staggeringly good.

Oh.  And "appalling" is the visa section in Kingston.  *THAT'S* appalling.

Really, you have to put your life on hold for a couple of weeks.  This is not appalling, it is a minor inconvenience.  It is clear on the web site that this is an estimate, and if you were applying from Pakistan, Jamaica, any one of a number of other countries where people are less fortunate than those in the US you may well have to wait for a year or more.

Vicky

Taking over four times the estimated amount of time is pretty appalling. What's really appalling is that they offer no way to inquire about your visa, no matter how long over the estimated timeframe they've gone. Possibly losing my job is not a "minor inconvenience" to me, actually.

It seems like common sense to me that if you take money off someone in exchange for a product/service, you have a responsibility to offer your customers ways to contact you if they do not receive the product/service they paid for. This level of service would not be considered acceptable in ANY other context.

If you go to the consulate out of the blue, security will ring up the visa section and say something like, "Good morning, sir, this is security.  There's a mad woman down here demanding to know where her visa is."  And the visa section will say something like, "We don't have the time.  Tell her to contact the commercial partner."

While they may be taking longer with your application, their overall throughput is staggeringly good.

Oh.  And "appalling" is the visa section in Kingston.  *THAT'S* appalling.

Why would they say that, when they make it perfectly clear that their commercial partner will not answer questions about applications that have already been submitted?

Why would they say that, when they make it perfectly clear that their commercial partner will not answer questions about applications that have already been submitted?

Because it is Worldbridge's place to handle those type of questions.. which in my opinion is why they make it SO expensive to call them.  They will take your money and tell you that your application will be processed in turn and to be patient.  If you ask me that is pretty easy money for them! 

I know it's hard waiting but it will get completed.  Fingers crossed for ya!   

Because it is Worldbridge's place to handle those type of questions.. which in my opinion is why they make it SO expensive to call them.  They will take your money and tell you that your application will be processed in turn and to be patient.  If you ask me that is pretty easy money for them! 

I know it's hard waiting but it will get completed.  Fingers crossed for ya!   

Worldbridge is their commercial partner. The consulate says that Worldbridge will NOT answer enquries about applications that have been submitted. So whose place is it to answer those types of questions? Apparently, nobody's.

That is what I am saying.. If you go to the Consulate they will tell you to call their Commercial Partner, Worldbridge.  Who in turn will tell you that your application will be processed in turn and to be patient and they can not check on the status of that application for you.

Seriously.. When DH was awaiting his Green Card here in the States it took THREE YEARS to complete the process.  In that time period we had to pay for two physicals (as they are only good for 12 months and the first one expired before they ever got to our application so we had to pay and go thru another one).  We used to get letters on a Friday telling us to be at the Chicago Office on that next Monday at 8:00am.. now mind you DH could not get a Driver's License or work while we were waiting during this time period so I would have to call my supervisor over the weekend letting her know that we had to drive the Six Hour drive to Chicago (we lived in Southern Illinois) Sunday night to be there Monday morning and I would not be at work.  We would get to the building (only he could enter) and he would come out after 10 minutes as all they needed was his thumb print!!!  Now mind you they had already taken all 10 fingerprints before but that was of course for another department and they couldn't just ask them for the thumb they needed to get it themselves!  His grandmother died back in the UK during this time frame and he was not allowed to leave to go as if he did they told us it would be abandoning his application and he could not reapply for 10 years!

Do you think we were allowed to call the INS during this time to ask them on our application status??  No.

This is only the short version of our INS (UK to US) situation/fiasco/nightmare...  I won't bore you with the very detailed & long version.

I am not saying that waiting sucks.. we all know it does.  But trust me things could always be worse! 

I agree it's not great service to not provide a way to check on your applications, but even if they did it probably wouldn't be that helpful (the US actually did allow me to check the status online and by phone for my I-90 green card renewal, but all it said was that it was pending....for *four years*!)

One of the harsher things about immigration to learn is that while it affects your life and circumstances in a fundamental way, the government (as a whole) doesn't really care about anyone's individual circumstances.  They don't care about keeping you as a "customer" and there's no competition, so the normal rules of customer service don't really apply here.