Where to apply for the M-1 student visa????

[AlexanderH]

Hello all,
Not too sure if this post is in the correct section so please move if necessary.
I am British and have been living and working for the past year in the UK and have decided to embark on taking the JAA PPL in Florida in April. My question is related to applying for the M-1 student visa in the US. Since Jan 10th I am no longer living in the UK and will be travelling around Europe until my departure for the PPL course in April. Is it imperative that I apply for the visa in my home country ie the UK even though it is no longer (technically) my country of residence? Or could I apply for the visa in one of the countries on my travels for the next 2 months? This could be in Ireland, Poland or France. I know this is a funny question but I would appreciate any help as I would hate to mess up my application over something simple like this.:ugh:

Cheers.

[BusinessMan]

No idea, in all honesty. Couple of thoughts though...
- as long as the visa is a valid one from one of their embassies they may not care?
- but applying in the country whose passport you hold might look more normal to the US Immigration officers (a serious bunch at the best of times ;)) when you get there?
- likewise departing from that country when you go?

something to be very aware of though: the process takes time and (at least in London) you cannot get one in a day. My experience is a couple of years ago...

1 you need to get your training organisation to sponsor your application. For me this involved receiving hard-copy of certain documents from them in the post.
2 you must then ring the US embassy for an appointment (availability used to vary greatly from embassy to embassy and time of year), fill in a whole load of forms, print these forms for your embassy appointment, which'll take probably a day (of mainly waiting around)
3 you then wait for them to courier you the visa (they will not issue them on the spot), which can take a week or so
4 it'll take a whole lot longer if you tell them you've ever been arrested

Could try starting by talking to your training provider, then trawl the US embassy for more info? Just be aware it's a fairly onerous process that can take a while:}.

Cheers BM