Looks like the visa rules have changed again. The US Embassy in London is now requiring all those who want a non-immigrant visa (ie M1 etc) to attend the embassy for an interview.
But its all right, they say it will only take 4 hours out of your day - once you get there that is. After all, us Brits - who are standing shoulder to shoulder with our US allies in the fight against terrorism - have nothing better to do with our time than spend a morning explaining our last 10 years of holiday trips to some consulate type who thinks Edinburgh is in England.
It is not enough, it seems, to have to fill in three forms, including personal details of all your relatives, make a trip to a particular bank branch, give up your passport for 2 weeks, get a letter from your employer saying why it is they think you would prefer to stay in the UK and not emigrate to the US once you've finished and get tracked during your visit on the ISEAS student tracking system. And then there is the bit about being fingerprinted when you arrive.
Welcome to the land of the free...
Still, I suppose I should be grateful...at least I'm not Arab.
And no, if you are a US citizen coming to the UK to study, you don't need to attend an interview, you don't even need a visa.
For details -
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_web...iv/january.htm