NY appointment set for Jan. 12...few questions

Hi everyone...hope you all had a happy holiday. Now that it is over (sort of) for me, I need to start getting ready for our trip to New York for settlement visas..yeah! I have a few questions though and hopefully you all can help as it is soooo hard to get through to them personally to answer questions:

1. My children also need passport size pictures for their visas also, right? But not my spouse (he will accompany me) because the pictures are for the visas, not just for the application file???

2.Where is an affordable, clean hotel to stay in near the embassy?

3. Oh, and when I made the appointment I used my maiden name, which is on my passport. When we have the appointment do they make some changes in the passport showing a change to your married name (I plan on using the married name) so I don't have to get a whole new passport as mine is good for 3 more years?

What a roller coaster! I did get through to the embassy once I got back to the states a week ago and discovered that the best thing to do with my son (who turns 18 in April, but is staying here until June to finish high school) is to get his visa along with mine and the twins now and then it will be validated when he and my daughter come to visit the first time in March. I can't  get my daughter's right now, because she is the only one in the family without a passport...so I am sending that application in before heading back to the UK and will have to apply for a settlement visa for her once I am over there. I am a bit worried about everyone FINALLY getting settled in one spot after all this turmoil, but the woman I spoke with assured me that I wouldn't have any problem getting my daughter a visa at a later date. (My mom has been staying here in the house with the two of them so they can finish the school year here.)

Thanks for your input!

i'm gonna try my best here-:)

1.) if your children are also applying for visas, then i would bring along pictures for them as well. i believe the pictures are for the application file, as my visa is just a page-size sticker in my passport. to be safe, bring their pictures along too!:)

2.) I've stayed in the Skyline which isn't too too far from the Embassy, but in cold weather, it's not walkable. (taxi ride is about 5 minutes).  I definitely NOT recommend the Metropolitian Hotel which is a quick walk to the Embassy. we stayed there in April and it was terrible (furniture had hole in it, carpet was stained.. not what you would expect for what we paid for it!) luckily we were too jet-lagged to care!

3.) the British Consulate will just put the visa in your passport, they will not alter your name there. your visa will be issued in your maiden name. you can later have your passport amended via the US Embassy in London to show your married name (they type a bit in the back of it), but the front page will not show your married name.

hope this helps!!

good luck on Jan 12th!!  hope it isnt too cold!!!!!!

-trish

Hi Geally, Lunar has good advice. I saw this post when you first put it up and I expect you have not had responses because so few people were online around Christmas and it fell off the radar. Now that it's been 'bumped' back up, you should get some more responses!

I never did an interview so can't help you personally...

Good luck!

Thanks you guys. I should add that I FINALLY got through to the embassy...after about 50 phone calls! I did have to fill out the online forms for each child and will bring them with me, though the children do not have to accompany us (yeah!) They said it was ok that I put the appointment in my maiden name and the application in my married (I was so worried about that) and that it will be changed for me at the appointment.  So, I am now picturing the woman on the phone as being nice and helpful, but the person I will ultimately get for my interview as a dragon or something! I am sure all will go well and I am just thinking up things to worry about.

I still haven't  looked for a hotel nearby. I was up from 3:00 am this morning worrying about if I have all the documentation/pics etc. that I will need and going over and over it in my mind.  I just wanna get this official and over!!!

We stayed at Hotel 31 (www.hotel31.com), which, obviously, is 20 blocks from the consulate.  We walked it, but you might want to call ahead for a cab if it's going to be freezing!  The hotel itself was just fine.  The wallpaper in our room was a bit weird, but everything was spotless, the guy at the desk was very nice, and the little elevator is charming!  If you're gonna be there for a while, it's in a nice location for sightseeing, as it's kinda centrally located -- we didn't feel like anything was too far away.

You visa will say "Geally Maiden, spouse of Mr. Geally Married", so there is a record there of your husband's last name.  I went by my married name before I did any official name changes, so I just showed them my husband's last name on my visa as proof of my married name.

Also, for anyone who needs to change their name on the SS card (and doesn't want to part with their passport), I'd suggest waiting until you get back to the US to do it.  I went to the SS office in NC while we were visiting my family this Christmas and everything was taken care of--now I have my married name on my card...without having to send my passport to London!

There was a Marriott Courtyard Hotel right across from the Consulate when we were there in March 2003 which may be a good place to stay.

The consulate address is.

845 3rd Ave between 51st and 52nd st
New York, 10022

Here is the site for the hotel Marriott.com

Best of luck with the process!

Julie