I thought I'd report in on our EC experience for anyone in the U.S. who is doing EC. We went in person to the consulate in LA. Because my husband's case is pretty complicated, we decided to go in person, so he could answer questions and try to plead our case if need be.
He first applied for HSMP in April of 2004 and it took 7 months for them to process his case, which was approved. While awaiting processing, the HO changed immigration rules about switching visas in-country. My husband was not permitted to get an FLR and was told that he could not use his HSMP approval letter for EC, which specified FLR (they are now generic and can be used for either in or out-of-country...). So, he had to reapply from scratch. He reapplied in March and it took them until August to approve the second app. We went back to the U.S. to get EC a couple of weeks ago.
The envelope from HSMP with the approval letter and docs was thin. They didn't send back lots of docs and we hadn't gone through it. We figured it was stuff like publications and other non-essential stuff. Well, they had hadn't included our marriage certificate, bank statements, some univ transcripts and other important docs. So, we had to replace the docs we needed for EC.
I came along to the main floor of the bldg with our 5-year-old son to try to see where my husband would be. We intended to leave and have him meet us later, but the security guard said we could go too. So, all three of us went to the consulate office. It's located in an office bldg. We were 1.5 hrs early, expecting a long wait. There was a guard at the door, who had us go through a metal detector. She seemed surprised we were there early. We waited about 30 minutes or so, while other people were interviewed. Most were dressed very casually. They were calling people by about the right time for their appointments. They got all the people who were there through and then called several names and none of the people were there. So, the guard told the IO that we were early, and that she should interview us. So, my husband got called up. He explained our situation-- that he was here on a student visa and applied for HSMP. We overdid it on documentation for the EC, much of which wasn't needed. I had gathered a year's worth of bank statements, since my husband is self-employed, and I had tallied deposits for a year on a sheet, to show his income and I had copies of all invoices for our clients. She looked at my tally and a couple of bank statements to verify. She didn't look at the invoices.
The only docs she kept were our marriage certificate and our son's birth certificate. We had those attached to my and our son's application forms with the original and a copy. She kept the copy and gave back the original. She looked at a letter from a client, stating that he intended to retain my husband's services. It was all very relaxed. There were people there with work permits and they were interviewed much more stringently. At least in LA, the HSMP seems to carry some weight and I think the embassy staff respect that the applicant has already been screened by the HSMP team. The interview lasted about 10 minutes. Then, they sent us off and told us to come back after 2 PM to collect our passports with our visas.
The long journey to get the visas paid off and we are really grateful to have it completed. Thanks to everyone here who answered so many questions and gave so much help along the way. This forum has been an invaluable source of information and support.
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