More UK Visa travails

'Slow progress continues towards the submission of my Tier 1 Visa application: I met with the immigration consultants in London and we reviewed the whole package.

On the good side, the content is coming together well. I have all of the documentation except the testimonials from my accountant about my salary and business, and I should be able to secure that by next week. There are some online applications that need to be filled in, one with general background information and another about my links to terrorist organizations and my criminal history. Fortunately, I have a clean conscience on both scores.

On the bad side, the submission process surrounding the application is going to be a challenge.

If I submit through the High Commissioner in the Netherlands, I have to give them my passport for the duration of the application processing, four to six weeks, minimum. That means that I can't travel to the US, or even to Great Britain, for over a month. I'm teaching a course at Cambridge through the winter, so that's a non-starter.

Fortunately, there is another process, available only to US citizens, that allows me to submit through the UK embassy in LA, Chicago, or New York. Once received, they will process the application in one day. One day! Why would I ever submit in the Netherlands? Well, in part because you need to have a local address to get jurisdiction for the application assigned to one of those three offices. Do you have a home in Chicago? *eep* Relatives, parents… <sigh>

I think I've worked it out, but it really is always something… I am getting close, though.