Getting a U.S. Visa in Bahamas 2024

The appointment was very quick - everything done and complete in 20 minutes. Visa was marked "approved" later that day, "issued" two days later and sent to DHL. DHL pick-up can be difficult as they want 24-48 hours to process the batch. My appointment was a Monday and had my passport with visa back by Friday afternoon.
- Nick (about 2 years ago)

Interviewed on Friday 5th. Missed one piece if paperwork which they allowed us to submit and we had it emailed to them by 2pm that day. Recieved receipt email late monday 8th afternoon. Status chaged from refused to administrative processing on wednesday 10th. Approved on friday 19th. Issued monday 21st. Its almost end of business tuesday and DHL still have not received them and require 24hrs after receipt before we can pick up... So if we are lucky we might be done in under 3 weeks..
- Scott (about 2 years ago)

Go down to DHL pickup 4 or 5 days after approval regardless of receiving notification or not - your passport is probably there waiting for you!
- Brett (about 1 year ago)

As a third party National : interviewed on Monday, approved at the end of the day on Monday, issued on Friday afternoon, got email with tracking number on Tuesday , picked passport up at DHL office on Tuesday end of the day . Total seven business days and one weekend of agony.
- Maria (about 1 year ago)

This is my 3rd E-3 renewal. I have a prior experience in Barbados which was very smooth and easy. This was was not. My appointment was on Wednesday 25th and I was approved at the embassy. I was told to expect a tracking number from DHL after a couple of days. My visa was “issued” on Tuesday October 31 but I still hadn’t received a tracking number. DHL kept telling me that I needed my tracking number. By Wednesday (7 days after approval), I still hadn’t received the tracking number. I drove to the DHL office and after a lot of hassle, they confirmed they had my passport in the building but that I still needed to wait for my tracking number (and another 24 hours after I received it to actually pick up the package). At that point, I had changed my flight a bunch of times, continued to pay for accommodation and food (Bahamas is very expensive), plus the rental car. By Thursday, there was still no tracking number so I drove to DHL, threatened to report them to DHL headquarters before they finally went out back and gave me my passport. The people at DHL were horrible to deal with. I spent thousands of dollars more than I should’ve on that island. They were not friendly, and held my passport hostage for several days after they received it. Another thing to keep in mind is that the embassy does not print visas on Fridays. I had no idea that was the case but potentially added to my lengthy wait period.
- John (about 1 year ago)

Attended the interview first thing at 8am and was at the second interview window within 40 mins. The second interviewer was asking singular questions and then going silent for a few minutes typing and then asking the next question. he questioned if I truly had non-immigrant intent and asked why I had changed jobs so frequently (3rd company in 6 years so not that frequently). Visa was finally approved and left. I was then left on APPROVED for 10 business days, in administrative processing nothing else and case last updated 1/17 (the day of my appointment). I contact the embassy from business day 6 onwards as I knew they were just holding my passport as there was no movement. Eventually on business day 9 I contacted the state gov and they responded within 3 hours and said to just come to the embassy to pick up the passport; I was worried they just meant the passport (no visa) but checked CEAC and it finally moved to ISSUED. So all in all, I was approved and they were holding onto the passport. Vibes were off. Would definitely plan on being in Bahamas a minimum 7 days, but be prepared for the full 10+ Business days (2 weeks)
- Lauren (about 11 months ago)

Overall I would recommend this consulate with following tips / thoughts. - CVS passport photos both got denied, luckily the ones we took at home and uploaded to DS-160 were deemed acceptable. I would look for a proper photo place instead. - Our consulate officer was very “friendly” and asked lots of trip up questions to see if we would say something. For example, asking jokingly why I haven’t been promoted yet, asked my partner if he had gotten into a fight in front of a pub and said he had, asked how far along I was (I’m pregnant but was wearing a very loose fitting dress), asked clarifying question “what for?” and he meant my career apparently, very strange. Be ready to strictly answer about the 2 year intent only. We heard him deny three other people (B1/B2 tourist visas mostly) by asking these gotcha questions. He asked for barely - Can’t take your phone or any water in, recommend staying nearby in downtown so you can walk to embassy. - I would get an airbnb and car for some of the nights. Cooking our own food was a lifesaver so we weren’t eating pricey/fried food every night.
- Carol (about 13 days ago)