B1-B2 visa impossible to get in Europe
 

At the moment, due to the lack of staff and the increase of demand for renewing travel docs after Covid, it is next to impossible in Europe to get visa for the USA.

March 2nd 2022 we filled in the DS-160 forms. But in our country (NL) the waiting time was already 250 days. Finally our applications were accepted in Bern (CH) Our interviews were scheduled on May 18th.

However the interviews were canceled in April. We got new appointments on July 13th and managed to reschedule these to June 15th. However these interviews now have also been cancelled. 17 August is the next opportunity, but our flights are booked on August 5th.

It's a huge disappointment, especially after our applications were accepted. Requests for emergency have been denied etc. etc. If there is anyone who can help please let us know

Is a ESTA not enough? You want to stay for longer than 3 months?

He try to get the US Visa out of Europe. :)

It is translated so probably you had to search for at yourself...

ESTA is good for 90 days, B1/B2 for 180 days staying - guess the timeframe isnt the only reason for optaining B1 or B2...

Surfy

There are other reasons for needing the visa. For example I visited Sudan in 2016 and this means I am not eligible to get an ESTA.

I currently have a B2 to get around this, but it runs out later this year. When I enquired in Australia about renewing it I found the same problem as the original poster - huge wait times (I think it was about 300 days when I looked).

So no solution for the OP but a warning to others to plan early if they are in the same situation.


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Ooops, good reason!

But one of these where a 2nd Passport will help..

But yes, on an ongoing journey 2 passports could be a pain, because somewhere you have "the break" - where you leave or enter a country, without the stamp of the neighbour country....

Surfy

Biometric passports are generally good for 5 years, so a 2016 trip would be off most people's passports already... but I bet the ESTA questionnaire asks "have you EVER been to one of these countries", and lying to border guards is something you never want to have even the remotest chance of being caught in. :)

As far you arent / wasnt from special interrest - they dont have anything more than your passport, and the stuff you did enter for previous US trips on ESTA or Visa forms.

The "need to know" mechanism is still strong. Those officers dont have access to Databases from the NSA or other Services.

Surfy

I've travelled on more than one passport for many years. The key is to make sure you enter and leave on the same one. As Surfy says - you can end up in a problem if you change passports between countries - I recall leaving Argentina on one and entering Paraguay on another, and the Immigration Agent wouldn't let me in because there was no stamp out of Argentina. I went back to the Argentine post and asked them to put a stamp into the other passport, which they did with no problems. You may not find all Immigration Agents as accommodating...