American ( London) Consulate ban on mobile phones
 

I need to renew my crew visa, and been told the Amercian consultate do not allow mobile phones.

What about umbrellas. ????

Last visit there was a security BOX provided.

What is one expected to do with ones lap top, Iphone, spy cam, or boring old mobile phone. It was suggested that a side trip to nearest main line railway station and rent a left luggage unit.

Is this for real, if so any realistic ideas would be appreciated.

glf

ps mods, relocate if better fora available.

Cotton or polyester based garments are also not allowed. Use pure silk or go naked.
This guy just got his visa renewed.
http://img.news.sina.com/sports/p/20...0711172407.jpg
http://http://img.news.sina.com/spor...0711172407.jpg

This has been standard now at all U.S. Embassies and Consulates. They will not allow cellphones, remote car keys etc (devices that might be able to trigger an explosive etc etc). You have a choice to just leave all that stuff in your car before you enter, or else they are usually happy to keep it for you and give you a claim coupon, which you can redeem on your way out. It's a pretty painless procedure. I just went though it here in Dubai a few days ago when I had some Consulate business.

I went on Monday to renew my C1/D crew visa.

They will not keep car keys and mobs etc. for you at London embassy.

Need to either leave car keys and mobile at home and take train in, or for a fee of £3 you can store things at Audley Chemist on South Audley street about 100m from embassy entrance.

Shop accross the road
 

All,

I had a colleague who had to have a Visa from there.

Apparently there is a paper shop which has a roaring trade in renting lockers ...

MkSi

These guys are really getting paranoid...

You must remember that there was no terrorism in the world until 9/11 after which the Spams taught the rest of us how to do anti terrorism properly.

mobile
 

went to an embassy and the search picked up the return railway ticket,
it must have a metal strip in it.

The local shopkeepers make a small fortune looking after your phones for you while you're in the embassy...

Embassy ban on mobile phones brings £1,000 a day windfall to local chemist - News - London Evening Standard

Standard practice in the British Consulate in HK too.


Of course - they do have a security box for you to use with a numbered chit so your phone is kept safe by the security staff.

When are the EU countries going to introduce a crew visa for US airline staff?
Sorry guys, just go to the British, German, Dutch etc. embassy in Washington first. Stand in line for an hour, get frisked, tell us all your personal details and come back tomorrow...
Do it all again in 5 years if you want to keep your job, ok?

Utter madness, these crew visa! Even China doesn't require them.

Exactly then when european politicians are required to go through the same shi.te.

Oh, forgot, they won´t have to...

a good friend of mine will often call me on his way to his factory in Pakistan, at a certain point in his journey he will announce radio silence for a short while as he drives past a certain building, and sure enough off goes the phone signal right on cue.

How about a total ban on mobile phones? Noise pollution.
I'd vote for it.

guy's/girls,

Seriously, does it hurt that much to leave your phones/laptops/tablets at home for one day?

I hope that was meant to be ironic.

That must be a new thing since April.

Edit: I've just had a look at the link posted above and it seem it's been policy since 2008. Well I'm pretty sure they looked after our phones, car keys and possibly even two Nintendo DS back in April. Give them a call.

The Australian High Commission in Singapore won't allow mobile phones either and they X-ray them before they go into the provided lockers.

@cwatters: I had to get my us M1 visa in March of this year and I had to leave my mobile out. I left it in a locker at Waterloo. The girls standing checking everyone were already tired of saying "no mobiles" and this was by 10am.

Like this for years
 

last time I renewed my us visa was the same, I left my iPad iphone in the car in a car park then took the tube, when I got to the embassy my car keys was a problem, where Do you leave your car keys ?


When I returned to the car it had been broken into, I lost my iPad and iphone.

What can we do :(