U S visas

[gillys]

Had anyone had recent experience of getting a US visa. How long did the whole process take ?

What kind of visa?

If it's a tourist trip then you just need to apply online for an ESTA. Cost about 20 dollars, approved pretty quickly and valid for 2 years.

We got ours almost immediately this time. We have had them before though so maybe we were in the system already. First time it took only a day or so.

An ESTA that is. Make sure you go to the official site and not one advertising to fill out the forms for you (and charge a fortune).

It should not take long i,e days for instance.

Which website did you use?. The official USA government website should only be used because there are a lot of unscrupulous firms out there who will charge much more than the proper $14 fee per application. Some of these firms too actively scam customers.

I only saw some of those sites when I was getting the last lot done (I used the proper government one). I also saw some when looking to get a copy of a marriage certificate - they try to look all official but are just offering a very expensive service for something you can do yourself very easily.

I'd like to know about this too. I'm not eligible for an ESTA so need to visit the embassy. Has anyone done that and can advise? I've got a British passport.