US Embassy Melbourne VIC, Australia Reviews 2023

It was a renewal by mail…passport and application sent on Jan-10th, received by consulate on Jan-11th…then waiting on CEAC status to be updated till Jan-24th, status changed to administrative processing on Jan-25th, then status updated issued on Jan-27th & passport sent back on the same day, delivered on Jan-28th…overall good experience but never received any reply from consulate for query…please note there were 2 public holidays and 4 days of 2 weekend.
- Sam (about 2 years ago)

I’ve been on administrative processing since lodging the application and still haven’t heard anything
- Alex (about 2 years ago)

It's been under AP for the last 7 months and I'm still awaiting the visa to be issued.
- Alex (about 2 years ago)

staff were mean 🙁
- (about 1 year ago)

Getting the visa appointment took 6 months but the actual consulate process was extremely easy and quick. I originally had a Sydney appointment but that was cancelled 2 months before the date and then I had to reschedule (and get back in the queue) for Melbourne.
- Sam (about 1 year ago)

Interview was very quick. A worker reviewed the requested documents & scanned in my passport photo. I then waited in a small queue for the actual interview which only lasted 1 minute at most. Only asked what my roll will entail and what the company does. Overall a quick and painless process!
- Thomas (about 9 months ago)

New E3 Visa Melbourne Review June 9th - Interview June 14th - Received email that passport is ready to collect June 15th - Collected passport LCA - you can book an interview without your LCA, just put a placeholder ‘000’ in that section. When you get your LCA, update your DS-160 with the new LCA number and call +61 1300 139 399 to update your interview details with the new DS-160 number. Finding an appointment - keep refreshing as new appointments do open up. To find out earliest amongst Melb/Syd/Perth just call +61 1300 139 399 and ask them. This avoids needing to cancel one appointment at risk of losing it if a sooner one isn’t available at another consulate. Interview - make sure you bring a passport photo that is less than 6 months old, even if your DS-160 application photo was approved. Otherwise you have to go down the road for a new passport photo at Aus Post. Interview - they just asked to see my LCA, Job offer letter, passport photo and passport. Quick process less than 30 mins all up. They only asked what my job was and my highest level of education. Arrive at least 15mins before and review the security email to know what you can/can’t bring in. Visa status post interview - mine never updated on the CEAC website. I found this website helpful for some extra tracking steps you could look into. You can also email the Melbourne consulate. https://www.ustraveldocs.com/sk/sk-niv-passporttrack.asp#:~:text=Email%3A%20Send%20an%20email%20to,automatic%20response%20with%20the%20status. Passport collection - it’s on level 11 of the VFS Global building on Swanston Street. Collection is only between 10am - 12pm. Bring a proof of ID with you to collect. Pick up vs Post - I personally would recommend opting for pick up. Firstly you don’t need to pay. Secondly it seemed to be approx 1 day earlier than waiting for delivery. And lastly it reduces the stress of having to stay home waiting for it to show up.
- Kate (about 4 months ago)

Visa wait times following COVID were astronomically long : 8+months.
- Gargi (about 9 months ago)

*Interview waiver/mail in application: Mailed in my application package from a regional post office box on a Thursday (Express/overnight) and it was marked as delivered on the Friday morning by Australia Post. US embassy internal tracking recorded as processing only on the Monday afternoon and at 5PM on the Tuesday I received notification it was ready to collect (NB: I selected this option vs. return to sender mail). I left a VERY tight travel window for my return flight (< 5 business days) and indicated this on the paperwork (not sure if this influenced the expedited processing time) but all told it was a three business day turnaround. I collected the passport in person to save a day and any potential issues receiving the passport back in the mail. This was my fourth E3 renewal and the most straightforward from this location.
- Heidi (about 2 months ago)