Job Discussion Forums

[gorkomi]

I have now spent over 1,000 dollars toward getting my visa. I mailed my application. The lady who issues visas in D.C. (Watha) called me and said my criminal report was not acceptable (I paid 12.95 for an internet criminal report). So I drove to the police station headquarters far from my house, got their report, and raced to the post office to have it overnight mailed that same day. Tracking showed that it was received the next morning, and signed for by the mail room clerk.

I called that day to ask the woman if she received my report. She said no and was short with me. I left two messages that were not returned, 1 Friday and 1 on Monday. On Monday, after not hearing back, I kept calling (they never answer the phone.) She yelled and yelled at me, said she didn't have it, said I was wasting her time, bothering her... I didn't even get a full sentence in.

Does anyone have experience with this lady named Watha? I contacted the mail room clerk and he said that he received it Friday. My company in Saudi Arabia checked with the embassy and said that they are still waiting for my police report. My police report is there somewhere, unless someone threw out an express mail envelope that says "urgent". The problem is, I did not label "Visa Dept." I just stuck my police report in the envelope and wrote "This completes my application."

It's an express mail envelope. The mail clerk said that it would have gone to the visa department.

What can I do? I have university students who have been waiting for me since October 3rd. I think. I feel like giving up, because I am so disgusted by this pretentious and disorganized visa process.

[Railway3]

Hi gorkomy
Just send them another one! Hope that will sort the problem.....
I dont think they care that you got to be there by 3rd....I am in a similar position to you.....I am still waiting for the forwarding letter to the embassy by the cultural attache (in london) saying that my documents have been successfully verified. Well, the university i have studied has already confirmed the authenticity of the documents....now lets see how long they take to type a letter for me! I believe they have an official format already typed and just need to put my name and refference number on it.....so damn easy work but taking ages!
Anyway good luck with ur visa

[leez]

gorkomi,

do you have a recruiter? if you don't want to spend another $20 bucks (but at this point, it's almost laughable considering the grand you have sunk already), call/email your recruiter. in my case, the visa coordinator/courier is employed by my recruiter to facilitate the visa process (jokes on me).

bunch of us are in the same boat. keep paddling.

xo

[veiledsentiments]

I see you found the perfect avatar leez...

VS

[snowsilver]

Hire a visa service. Honestly, it is the only way to go.

We had the same problem�police report. She will NOT accept a report unless it has a raised seal. She just won�t. And yes, I think she is the only person you can deal with at the embassy.

We hired Travisa (visa service) in DC. They were very nice to work with and they know the ropes. It took far longer than we expected (police report was one of the stumbling blocks), but even with it taking two weeks longer than they had originally said (Ramadan came into play too), we would still be waiting if we had tried to do it ourselves. They know this woman, and they deal with her all the time. It ended up costing us $250 what with Travisa�s fees and the embassy fees, but it was worth it. Getting that visa approved was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. And just to make you feel better�we spent over $2K before we were done. You are lucky to be getting by with a grand.

[reneebcc]

Melting pot of frustration!!!
Keep your chin up guys/gals!

[Sheikh Abdullah]

Sorry to hear your frustration.

I am currently doing my paperwork and based on all the posting here, I can guarantee you the only way to go is a visa agency.

A really good one that was referred to me was traveldocs.

http://www.traveldocs.com/

They walk to the embassy and hand in your application.

No need to worry about calling that lady and wasting your time. Save yourself the headache.

[Sheikh N Bake]

I can also recommend Diran Visa Svc. That's the one my company hired on my behalf. They tell you up front exactly what to do, including getting a raised seal on an original "police" background check. (Police don't do that everywhere in the US. In Houston, which lies in Harris county, I had to go to the county courthouse downtown where a clerk did the check on the spot for me.)

[hope3809]

Keep your chin up Gorkomi...I really think there are a lot of us that are wanting to bang our heads against the wall....good one Leez.

I'm going in under the new WTV...'work temp visa' but now I'm on pause because they don't have the new WTV stamp. Hurry up and wait JUST to wait even more because they haven't installed or downloaded this new stamp. Joy oh joy! I would have went through an agency but all of the LA agencies I contacted (more than 5) didn't even know about this new visa.

I refrain from banging my head against the wall and try to remind myself that "IF" everything really does happen for a reason then maybe...just maybe...this too is happening for a reason...EVEN if the reason is just to show me that I kept my sanity through an ordeal that truly made me want to go mad!

Cheers!

[gorkomi]

Snowsilver... That woman has my entire application. She called me last week and only asked for my police report. I don't see the sense in paying 250 dollars for someone to do what I've already done. It's really about the police report at this point.

Please tell me what you heard firsthand from her about it needing a raised seal. She only told me that I need a police report from a police station. When I went there, they stamped it in black. I asked them if they could do anything else to make it look even more official. The lady then stamped it with red that stated "This is a true and correct copy..."

It was stamped twice.

*bad words, bad words, bad words...

[manowur]

Has anybody faced issues with their medical report not being stamped by their doctor? It has been filled out and signed, but neither my doctor nor the clinic he works at have a stamp. I called the embassy, and they told me to get one from the health department instead. The health department of both my county and state are clueless. Any ideas?

I can get a letter from the board of physicians certifying my doctor is licensed to practice medicine, but don't want to waste my time and money if this stamp thing is going to be an issue.

To make matters worse, my police report also does not have a raised seal. But, I did just call Travisa and Traveldocs and neither said it was absolutely mandatory to have a raised seal. Like Sheikh N Bake said, it varies depending on where you live whether your state agency/police will provide one or not.

*NB - Diran Visa Services will only process visas for defense and aviation contracts, etc. (well at least that's what they told me when I called; can anyone else verify?)

[veiledsentiments]

They are really silly about stamps in the Gulf. I have friends who just had their doctor or previous employer reference use one of the return address stamps (that you use on envelopes with an inked stamp pad). Of course if they insist on a raised seal you've got a problem.

This is definitely not something that is commonly used in the US, so no one even knows what you are talking about... other than a notary public.

VS

[Middle East Beast]

[gorkomi]

What if I get the police report again and this time I go to Hallmark and buy a big gold star sticker? Will they know the difference?

[leez]