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CONSULAR FOCUS: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
Guest written by attorney David Turner, a United Kingdom-based attorney experienced in American immigration law. Mr. Turner can be reached by e-mail at dtplus@dircon.co.uk or by telephone at 011 44 171 436 3806.
Address of Consulate: 5 Upper Grosvenor Street, London W1A 2JB
Telephone:
Embassy Phone Number: +44 171 499 9000
Consular Fax No: +44 171 495 5012
The Consular Section is headed by Mr. Max Robinson, the Consul General.
The Visa Branch is headed by Mr. James Callahan. The officer in charge of the Immigration and Naturalization London Office is Mr. Richard Gottlieb.
The chief of the American Citizen Services Branch is Mr. Paul Kline.
Information on US immigration is available on either 0891 200 290 or +44 181 499 6846.
Information is also available by writing to the Embassy at the above address who will endeavor to reply within two weeks. It is essential that such an enquiry is accompanied by a self-addressed envelope.
Non-Immigrant Visa Processing
The United Kingdom is a Visa Waiver country and tourist visas are not needed in most cases for short business or pleasure trips to the US.
UK and EU citizens and those with more than 9 months leave to remain in the UK may apply by mail (which will be returned in one week or less) or by drop box (which is the box located at the Upper Grosvenor Street entrance of the Embassy into which one may deposit all the relevant documents plus a stamped self-addressed envelope). One's passport will be returned by post in one week or less.
Application may also be made by post through one of the approved Volume Visa Agents (i.e. certain authorized travel agents and courier companies who lodge applications twice weekly and collect them three working days later). However, to use this option, non-UK or EU citizens must have indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Applicants for non-immigrant visas who are not citizens of the UK or another EU country and who have 9 months or less leave to remain in the UK plus anyone who has been requested by the Embassy to appear for an interview must apply in person. Appointments can be made by phoning 0891 234 229 which is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and calls to this line cost 45p perm minute at cheap rate and 50p per minute at all other times.
For those applying for a specific visa to work in the United States, notification is first given by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) by Form I-797A or B ("Notice of Action"). Frequently, the petitioner receives the Notice of Action before the Visa branch receives the approved petition from the United States.
Once the approved petition has been received at the London office, one may apply to the Embassy for the Visa for which you should supply the following items:
a completed visa application form OF-156 for each family member 
one recent color passport-type photograph of each applicant 
a valid passport with at least two blank pages 
"Embassy's copy" of the visa application fee receipt (as described in the form OF-156 - currently 13.75 pounds. 
An ORIGINAL copy of the form I-797A or B and 
A stamped self-addressed envelope 
Please note that the Embassy used to operate a policy of allowing two applications for non-immigrant visas within any period of one year. A refusal of the second application meant a wait of one year before re-application. This period has now been increased to one year. However, any number of postal applications can be made within this one year period.
Immigrant Visas
The head of the Immigrant Visa Section is Mr. Charles Neary.
Once the Consular post has received Packet III, an interview is scheduled approximately two months later.
Immigrant visas are processed on a same day basis. One group will be scheduled for an interview in the morning and have the medical exam in the afternoon and the other group will do the reverse (i.e. have the medical exam in the morning and the interview in the afternoon). The processing will usually be completed by 4 pm at the latest.
Attorneys are not allowed to attend the interviews.
The medical examiner for London is a Dr. Michael Phelan - 53 Great Cumberland Place, London W1 +44 171 262 6456.
The London Consulate has a branch of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) which does not accept telephone calls.
There is a walk-in service open to the public from 8:30 am to 11:30 am weekdays Monday through Thursday.
There is also a branch of American Citizen Services (ACS) which has 110,000 American registrants. It is generally reckoned that there are approximately 250,000 Americans in the UK of which 200,000 are located in London.
The ACS deals mainly with dual nationality issues (it is possible to hold US and UK nationality though advice should be sought regarding tax implications of holding such dual status), registration of the birth of a child born overseas, the dath of American citizens and lost or stolen US passports.
Anyone contemplating becoming a dual national should contact the Embassy beforehand to confirm that they intend to remain US citizens.
Questions concerning passports should be addressed to Mr. George Brazier, the Passport Unit Chief at the Embassy. The Unit itself is open to the general public from 8:30 am to 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm (except Tuesday afternoons).
The Consulate also has a page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usembassy.org.uk.
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Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk.