Tag: I-visas

Finally, I’m almost there with the i-visa.

Yesterday, I made a brief trip to Passport Photo Service to get the much fabled 2“x2” photos of myself sorted out. The hardest part of that was finding the place: it’s nestled opposite Selfridge’s on Oxford Street, next door to Phones4u, I think.

You have to climb up 17 flights of stairs to get there, but once you’re in, everything’s very simple. You go in, say you’d like a US i-visa photo, they stick you on a chair, give you a minute and a mirror to prepare yourself, then take the photo. If you like it, they print out a couple (for £5.95; it’s £11.95 for four) and off you go. I reckon the whole process took about five minutes, including getting a receipt.

Today, though, was the date of the interview down at the US embassy. I set that up last week, so there’s clearly not much of a backlog.

At current exchange rates, the $100 fee for the visa interview will cost you £57 or so, but it’ll soon be heading towards a straight 1-1 $ to £ conversion by the time you’ve finished your premium rate call to set up the interview: looking at my recent Onetel bill, the call lasted seven minutes, for which I was charged £9.24.

The interview itself was remarkably easy. The hardest part was getting to Grosvenor Square by 8am. Read on for details of the interview itself.

Continue reading “I-visa almost done”

Finding somewhere that could take a 2“ by 2” photo for my i-visa is turning out to be harder than I thought. The specs for how the photo looks are quite precise and you’re not allowed to tinker with an existing photo to make it.

Anyway, I’ve just found a place on Oxford Street that takes them: Passport Photo Service, which is a couple of minutes from the Embassy. I’ll let you know how it works out when I get back from them tomorrow.

Nearly five years ago, I had to get an i-visa so that I could travel to New York to cover a one-day Dell press conference. It was an exciting tale of couriers, last minute dashes to the airport and the fear of a lost passport. I was sitting on a park bench in the middle of London, waiting for a call to let me know I’d been granted a visa and it and my passport were on the way to Heathrow to meet me for a flight a mere five hours later.

That time round most of the work was done for me by an agency. Now, I’m doing it by myself. It’s a right old pain in the arse, isn’t it?

First, there’s the fact that as a member of the media, I need the i-visa in the first place. What’s going on there? Everyone else goes in on a visa waiver, but journalists need to be vetted. How is that equitable?

Second, as a freelance, I’m in an interesting position. If I’m just going to the US on speculative work, I only need a B-grade visa. But if I cover something on behalf of a magazine, then I need an i-visa. But to do that, I need to have a contract and a letter from the magazine testifying to the fact. But if I have a contract, am I actually a freelance? And if I’m not, do I really need an i-visa instead of a b-visa?

Then there are the forms. Apparently, not only do I need to fill out the standard i-visa application form, as a male aged 18-not dead yet, I need to fill out a supplemental form listing every country I’ve ever visited, current employer, previous two employers, etc. No possible opportunity for error there then.

Then there’s the appointment for an interview at the US embassy that I need to set up.

Then there’s the $100 charge.

And lastly, there’s the 50mm x 50mm photo of myself that I need to provide. Is there anywhere that takes photos with these dimensions? I’m going to have to scan an existing photo, crop it, shrink it, and have it printed. How is that necessary?

If there are any problems I have with the process, I can always call the premium rate 09 phone number the US embassy has set up for the purpose.

And it’s all so I can go to the US every once in a while to cover US companies, out of which they’ll almost certainly get loads of free publicity for the stuff they’re trying to sell to us.

The odd thing is that I’ve been on numerous press trips with fellow journos who can’t be bothered with the i-visa rigmarole and go in under a visa waiver, despite saying their journos on business. Am I putting myself through all this for nothing?

Better safe than sorry anyway.