Hey Everyone, so I did my US visa recently and just thought I'd share my experience of the process (given the fact that I did my application for the first time and almost solely used these forums as a source for info).
P.S. this is gonna be a long post .
So I completed my application on March 31st, I applied for a B1 visa online. I didn't have a hotel or flights booked yet because I am traveling for a business conference and was told by a colleague to use the conference venue address for where it says accommodation on the application, as well as the US visa site recommends you don't have these things booked as obviously you might be rejected a visa beforehand.
Once I completed my visa on one site I had to go onto another site in which to make the booking for the interviews.
I don't think you can see booking dates for interviews until you've completed the payment for the application on the second site. So if you're on a tight schedule and urgently need the visa then this is a bit of a R3000 (fee for visa app) gamble.
Once I made payment, I saw that the next available date for interviews at the consulate in JHB was in August. This wasn't going to work for me as my conference is in June, but I booked for August anyway as the system will let you reschedule to an earlier date (or any date really) a max of 3 times (I believe aftwards you'll need to pay to reschedule again). Anyways I checked back on the site religiously throughout the day and lucky enough I got a date within the next week.
On the day of the interview I took a letter from my work stating the duration of our stay, intentions and who will be paying (which is my work). Take all the recommended dox that the visa site says to carry, like your application confirmation, receipt of visa payment, etc. They only used my app confirmation when I was there but your situation may require the others. Other supporting dox that I carried was 3 months payslips and 3 months bank statement. This wasn't necessary as the letter from my employer was sufficient.
Now, the consulet is opposite Sandton city mall, my scheduled time of the interview was 9:30 and I only joined a very long line at 9am. While standing outside a gaurd comes over, checks your application confirmation number and inputs that into his tablet. He then instructs you to put your 2×2 inch visa photo into your passport as he folds your confirmation letter and slots it in the passport as well.
Even though you book your interview times at the consulate and it says 9am or 10am or whatever time, don't worry too much, as long as you are there. I did ask the gaurd if I would not be late because the first line to get into the security office alone took 30min, he said not to worry about the time. Still if I did this again I'd get there roughly 1hr early.
Anyways you follow the first queue which was a long queue to get inside the security office, much like airport security, they screen you and your belongings, they keep your cellphone and issue you a storage number for it as the phone stays with security when you enter and can only be retrieved on exit out of the consulate. Don't bring a laptop or any other large electronic devices as they do say that you cannot enter with those.
Once through security I waited in this snaking long line just to get inside the main building, here they take your confirmation page again, issue you with a sticker that they place at the back of your passport and then proceed to let you join a line to have your fingerprints done. A person on the other side of a glass window asks for your visa photo which they scan as well as your passport, they then ask you to place your fingers on a scanner to capture your biometrics.
Afterwards you join another queue (all in the same building), which is the final queue for the day as it's for the actual interview. This was kind of like using a teller at the bank as you stand against a glass window with the consular officer on the other end asking you a few questions like job title, how much do you earn? Where specifically are you going? How long will you stay? And some other personal stuff. The lady who interviewed me then asked if I had any proof that my visit was for business at which point I showed the letter from my work which stated literally everything about the trip and our intentions.
You'll know immediately if you're approved or not as the officer will tell you there and then. If you are approved you will have your passport taken by the officer so that they can stamp it with the visa sticker, they then give you a yellow slip saying that you're visa has been approved and your passport should be returned to you within 10 working days from the interview date. If you are unsuccessful with your interview and get rejected then they issue you with an orange slip.
On the website when I checked my status after they had approved me, the site stated that my app was "Approved". A day later the status changed to "Issued".
I was a little concerned about the 10 working days thing as it was Easter last week and I have to travel at the end of April for something else so I needed the passport back before then. But 2 working days after my interview I got an email from the visa offices that said my package was shipped via DHL and they supplied me with a tracking number. A few hours later in the day the package arrived at DHLs office in 80 peter place and I went in with my ID and tracking number to fetch it. I remember somone else on here saying that you can expedite the process and have them ship the passport straight to you, but I just used the regular delivery method on the site as I don't recall seeing any other option.
In the end even though I applied for a B1 visa I was given a B1/B2 visa, valid for 10 years, I think this is just standard practice now, even if you apply for B2 tourist visa, they'll just issue the combined B1/B2.
Hope this helps anyone whose concerned or is going through this for the first time.
