The US allows me to enter with a 'visa waiver' arrangement on either of my passports, but this would only allow me 90 days in the country. My plans for the US currently entail at least 4 months of travelling, so I have applied for a proper visa which would allow me up to 6 months in the country. Today I spent most of the morning at the American consulate waiting for an interview to confirm my visa. The whole process is quite daunting and extremely bureaucratic, perhaps necessarily so. The security at the consulate is understandably tight, but I had thoroughly read their preparatory web pages so knew what to take and what to leave behind.
Framed photos of Barack Obama and Joe Biden smiled at me from the foyer. Part of my research had been to watch some youtube videos of the US Ambassador to Australia, John Berry, who seems like a thoroughly nice chap. Once inside, what I wasn't prepared for was a 3-hour wait for my 5-minute interview! With no phone (we'd had to check them in) I used the time to make some lists of things I need to do before I leave.
The interview was perfunctory and stern. 'Where will you be staying?' 'How are you paying for this trip?' 'Are you coming back to the same job?' etc. Interestingly, the differences between my two citizenships came into play here. When offered the chance to use my Australian passport for a 1-year visa or my UK passport for a 10-year visa you can guess which one I chose! As long as I remember to always travel on my British passport in the US, I now have a multiple-entry tourist visa which is valid until 2023.
Next up, I need to research the visa requirements of the various South American countries I will be visiting.
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