US Inadmissibility Holiday Visa Processing Time

Hi all,
My husband has been put forward for an inadmissibility waiver to be processed to gain access to US for a holiday. What are the current processing times? Has anyone completed this process recently?
Additionally are they generally approved or denied?
Thanks in advance!

>Additionally are they generally approved or denied?

If the interviewing officer recommends a visa applicant for a waiver of ineligibility it means he/she, working within US law plus internal guidelines & regulations, thinks there is a good chance a waiver will be granted. For obvious reasons they don't recommend applicants they think will be denied!

>What are the current processing times?

Waivers aren't processed by embassies. Assuming you're applying in the UK processing times are usually 6-8 months...sometimes quicker, depending on demand and caseload, sometimes longer ditto.... and I doubt they're any quicker if you're applying from elsewhere.

There's no way of speeding up the process so don't book anything non-refundable until your husband has been notified that his waiver has been approved.

>Has anyone completed this process recently?

If you scroll down to the longstanding thread about travelling to the US with a criminal record you'll find lots of personal experiences, some very recent indeed.

Hi
Not to hijack the thread but may be relevant also to the original poster. If a waiver is approved how long do they give you to get the passport to them before time expires and you have to start again?
Thanks

>If a waiver is approved how long do they give you to get the passport to them before time expires and you have to start again?

If a waiver is approved the applicant is emailed. It would be normal for people to send the passport within a few days of recieving the email..

Waivers and visas can be granted for varying periods of time e.g. 1 year, 5 years etc etc so I doubt there's one fixed 'expiry' date as such . Tbh, anyone who's gone through the hassle & expense of making a US visa application then awaiting a waiver decision will want their passport + visa in their hands asap.

It's rather an odd question but, given that USA waivers can take 6-8 months to process, I'd advise anyone who's thinking of being out of the country for a lengthy period to take that fact into account when making a US visa application, perhaps even putting off the application until they return to the UK. Imo, it would foolish to risk potential issues caused by not sending in the passport for weeks/months after a waiver has been granted.

[ Edit: Edited on 5 Mar 2024, 12:58 GMT by leics2 ]

Yes of course my issue is I have a 2 week holiday (not to USA) and if they send a confirmation 2 weeks before I go for example then it’s gonna be a month before I get to send passport off. Couldn’t risk sending my passport to them 2 weeks before I’m due to go away.

To put your mind at rest perhaps you need to schedule or reschedule your visa appointment to avoid that happening?

Already had the appointment got recommended for a waiver but timing appears to be worryingly close to my holiday.
Thats why I wonder if anyone knows the time frame you get from being asked to send passport to actually needing to get the passport to them.
As much as I want to go USA I can’t really sit around and plan no other holidays whilst I wait for an indeterminate amount of time for them to review.

>I can’t really sit around and plan no other holidays whilst I wait for an indeterminate amount of time for them to review.I can’t really sit around and plan no other holidays whilst I wait for an indeterminate amount of time for them to review.

Well, you could....or you could have booked a shorter holiday...but you've chosen not to, which is your right.

But you may be ok. I've just noticed the embassy website has been updated to state:

>If you were advised at the interview that a waiver of ineligibility is required before the visa can be issued, you can expect your application to take up to 9 months to process from the date of the interview. (my underline)

https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/tourism-visitor/processing-times/

[ Edit: Edited on 5 Mar 2024, 22:05 GMT by leics2 ]