Embassy of the United States

Really poor customer service! The embassy web pages are inconsistent and lacking in crucial information. I wanted to make a couple inquiries related to their notarial service. The main phone line made me listen to recordings for several minutes before I could choose I wanted service related to non-emergency matters". Then it directed me to call another number which only had an anwering machine on when I called within their claimed narrow opening hours.So I carefully wrote a long email describing my issue and received a response of a couple sentences that addressed none of my direct questions. I wrote another mail to ask a few of my practical questions again and received a couple phrases more the next day that just barely answered one of my concerns. Then I wrote to ask the same things once more and finally got a conclusive one-sentence answer to a couple questions I had now spent days looking answers for. It made me wonder if I was talking to either someone who barely speaks Finnish or a taciturn teenager.The automated email message I received when I mailed the embassy also has cruel irony. It says that there may not be a separate answer to an inquiry if the answer is contained in the links provided. These were simply links to sections of the embassy website. What I needed was information that was unavailable and more thorough explanation of things I had read applied to my specific issue. The situation was outright Kafkaesque.TL; DR I needed basic customer service

Oli kyllä mukava paikka

Tiukka mutta ystävällinen turvatarkastus mukava henkilö auttamassa tavaratoimituksen kanssa

Upea

Helppo asioida

The embassy had no appointments available but due to our plight, we were scheduled the next morning at 10am. We were getting married and the Finnish magistrate needed more than the forms we had. We were down to the wire! Embassy gave us the Notary on the April 8th, we were married on the 9th.

For visas, your appointment time is not specifically for you, but it is for a group of people. The earlier you arrive, the earlier you will be checked in and interviewed. I got here at 8:20 for my 8:45 appointment, and around 9:15 I was already on my way out. Had I arrived 10-15 minutes later, however, I could see myself stuck in the waiting room easily for another hour.Once you get through the security, they have an indoor waiting area with a TV playing news (on the day I was there it’s BBC news, interesting choice). They give you a number and call your number when it is your turn.The officer told me right away after the interview about the visa decision, and (s)he mentioned that they would mail me back the passport in about a week.PS They never looked at my appointment confirmation or the fee payment receipt, although somewhere in their website lists both as required documents.

Extremely quick and helpful employees. I lost my passport on Friday after hours. On Monday, within less than an hour, they had processed all of my paper work and issued me a temporary replacement passport to help me get on my way and catch my flight. Very much appreciated!

Booked an appointment online to renew my passport, and had my forms printed and filled out in advance. Once I got there it took maybe 15 minutes altogether to get through security, sit in the waiting room and then hand over my papers for passport services. Surprisingly fast!

I made a non migration visa appointment which I had to wait for 6 months and 1 week before they text me saying it was canceled. For almost 2 weeks I have asked for an explanation and they haven’t even write back. Now the new waiting time takes 9 months.