The timeline was as follows:
July 2: Sent application FedEx priority overnight
July 3: App arrived to the consulate (first thing that morning)
July 4: US holiday (Independence Day, lol), consulate closed
July 5: at the end of the day, I received an email that my application was received and was being processed. It seems a safe assumption that this was the point where it had been assigned to an ECO.
July 9: Almost first thing this morning, I received a second email that my application was approved and the visa has been issued!
The email also included the FedEx tracking number for the return of my docs (and having tracked it already, I should receive everything by mid-morning tomorrow).I sent:
1) A covering letter which requested a post-dated visa to start on August 10th and listed all of the documents I included, with additional covering letters for each section
2) The printed EC application (applied and paid online)...I almost forgot to sign it before sending - oops!
3) My current passport (and an explanation for the absence of my old one)
4) My original HSMP approval letter, all of the supporting documents I included in my HSMP application (except I only included a copy of my driver's license) and in this section's covering letter, I quoted the breakdown of my awarded points
5) 6 months' bank statements showing funds and a printout of my car's market value (I'll be selling it before I move)
6) My CV, 3 printouts of relevant job adverts with listed salaries and a few printouts of email correspondence with a friend and colleague based in London, showing that he has offered to assist me in my job search.
While I did list a specific hotel as my intended initial accommodations on the EC application itself, I did not include an actual hotel booking.
Amy
Weird. So for the purposes of anyone else tracking their timeline, I edited my original post. As I type, it's en route from NYC to DC and should be on my doorstep in a mere 14 hours! 