Student Visa via Los Angeles, and my course starts September 21st!

Just to update anyone in a similar situation, I just received a confirmation email today letting me know my materials were received but were not processed immediately due to a backlog in materials. It said in the email to allow 5 working days for them to reach a decision on my visa and send my materials back (I'm not sure if the 5 days is total or just for the decision) assuming everything was in order...hopefully it was. I also received a call at home since I had forgotten to enclose the $12 fee for them to return my visa to me and the person who called told a family member who picked up that they expect to reach a decision by this Friday. So, assuming everything is in order and there are no special or extenuating circumstances that require additional deliberation, it is probably fair to give 1-1.5 weeks for the LA Consulate to open the file and another week to reach a decision, at least for student visas, at this point.

I am so glad I stumbled on to this thread.  I too was in a similar situation - mailed mine, and my wife's, visa applications on Sep. 3rd, they received them on Sep. 4th, but I haven't yet received any email that they have opened the envelope. 

I have an HSMP approval letter, so I was just applying for entry clearance for the both of us.  We're traveling on the 17th, and I was getting very nervous about getting the visa on time. 

Like an earlier poster suggested, I called A Briggs.  They are going to pull the applications today, and resubmit on Thursday for (hopefully) same day approval (I guess the LA consulate is closed tomorrow for 'training'). 

I'll happily pay the $165 each for my wife and I for some peace of mind!

If those of you who are planning to use/used A. Biggs courier service could post with your experiences, I would appreciate it. If I don't hear word by next week, I will definitely want to go ahead and jump onboard.

A.Briggs has my application on the way to me and its guaranteed FedEx by 1030am (i'm in dallas, tx)

of course they cant advise on wether or not it was approved, so pray that it is! their staff has been great though, i highly recommend and so far its only cost me 188.00. hopefully no appeal will be necessary! God is good

of course they cant advise on wether or not it was approved, so pray that it is!

I applied for a Spousal Visa thru a different courier in LA but my courier was able to tell me that I was approved when they picked up my Passport/Paperwork from the Consulate.. I wonder why they can't tell you anything?

Good Luck..   Let us know how it turns out tomorrow!

Cami12987, good luck and definitely update us tomorrow!

I also decided to have A.Briggs pull my application and they'll resubmit it on Thursday for a same day reply (since the LA consulate is closed tomorrow (Wed) for training. 

my student visa was approved and arrived at 1030 this morning! A.Briggs was a life saver, they were wonderful, would def. recommend them to anyone!

Congrats!! Glad it all worked out for you..   

my student visa was approved and arrived at 1030 this morning! A.Briggs was a life saver, they were wonderful, would def. recommend them to anyone!

Congratulations!

Congrats Cami! Hopefully the consulate will make a decision on my application tmrw or early next week as they said they would, but if not, great to know that A. Briggs exists...wish I had known this earlier!!

Well, I had A Briggs pull mine, and my wife's, visa applications on Tuesday, they took them in to the consulate in LA today, and they're now approved!  Just going to their office to pick them up in the morning!  They were great.  I'm so glad I came upon this forum.  Without the information I found here, I almost certainly wouldn't have gotten our visas in time. 

I too used A. Briggs and my visa application was processed today.  Despite some of the praise that others have given in this thread, I have to say that A. Briggs wasn't as professional and service-oriented as I expected them to be.  I used a passport expediter ( newcomer link: http://www.rushmypassport.com [nonactive] ) a few weeks ago when I discovered that I needed to add visa pages to my passport and they were far more professional, answered my phone calls immediately, and sent me progress e-mails at each stage of the process.

I spoke to a customer service representative at A. Briggs but he accidentally hung up on me and didn't bother to call me back or even send me an email for a few hours (even though he had my email address).  I tried calling back but I kept getting routed to the pre-recorded message on the 1-800 number for the next 2 hours.  It's just hard to get in touch with a live person at A. Briggs, especially in the L.A. office.  Lastly, my status update now says that my order is completed and shipped, but no shipping/tracking info is available.  (It's currently 11:26pm on the west coast, so they should have that info by now).

Hey everyone!

So I ended up waiting it out and just heard back from the LA Consulate yesterday afternoon that my visa was approved and was being sent to me! Again, my app was received Sept. 2, I received the first confirmation of delivery email Sept. 9 and the second Sept. 11. Best of luck to everyone else!

abcj, i'm sorry to hear about your experience with A.Briggs!

for the record to anyone who might come upon these posts in a similar situation there are a number of other couriers who are 'approved' by the British Consulate Los Angeles, so if you have the time shop around because some have slightly better prices. I personally chose A.Briggs because of their close proximity to the consulate (they are across the street).