07 March 2018

The US team at LDS enjoyed an inside look at the new US Embassy at Nine Elms in London last month. This unique opportunity gave us rare insight to the inner-workings of US visa processing and US citizen services offered at the Embassy. Hosted by the Chief of Visa Services, the visit allowed us to see the impressive new building designed by the US architecture firm KieranTimberlake, learn more about the architecture and artwork, and gain a valuable understanding of the operations that affect our clients on a daily basis.

During the course of the visit, a number of questions were helpfully answered regarding the processing of cases and the new state-of-the-art facilities. This information will help us better prepare visa applicants. For example, we were given a first-hand look at how the Embassy facilitates the admission of applicants into the building and the systems used to organise and conduct the interviews. The Embassy has four private booths available, two which are used to conduct the intake of documentation on sensitive cases and two which are used to conduct the interview of these applicants. Sensitive cases may include applicants who have a criminal record or other admissibility issues, E visa company registration applicants who will be discussing confidential corporate information, and US citizens appearing at the Embassy to renounce their US citizenship.

Additionally, a hot topic of discussion for many US citizens renewing their passports by courier has been the Embassy’s recent change to accepted payment methods, as credit card payments are no longer accepted by courier. We were able to discuss this with Embassy officials and they have informed us that they are aware of the difficulties that this change has created and that alternative options are being explored, but they did confirm that a Banker’s Draft is available from some local UK banks provided that the bank has a partnership with a US bank.

Finally, as the Embassy prohibits visitors from bringing large bags or laptops into the Embassy, we were informed that a nearby coffee shop, District Coffee, is providing storage facilities for items that visitors to the Embassy are unable to take in with them to their appointments.

The US immigration team at LDS are able to assist with any queries regarding visa processing, particularly at the US Embassy in London.