# How long is the visa process for US passport holder?



## houstonian2012 (Jul 16, 2012)

Hey guys,

As I am getting ready to leave to Dubai in three weeks, I talked to the shipping company about my household items.

Apparently they'll keep my items in Houston until I obtain a resident visa in UAE. 
In your experience how long did it take to obtain res. visa once all docs are ready to go?

Thanks!


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## m1key (Jun 29, 2011)

houstonian2012 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> As I am getting ready to leave to Dubai in three weeks, I talked to the shipping company about my household items.
> 
> ...


It varies, but with a decent PRO it is doable in a few days. Just make sure you have all your docs and attested where necessary.


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

m1key said:


> It varies, but with a decent PRO it is doable in a few days. Just make sure you have all your docs and attested where necessary.


Getting the paperwork done is key. Mine was delayed 2 months because my PRO told me a few things that didn't actually apply to US passport holders. Most important, get your degree attested BEFORE you come here.


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## omrgul (Oct 24, 2012)

If it is applicable to you, do get your degree attested from the Foreign Ministry office (here in UAE) before applying for Residency, otherwise your profession will be wrongly depicted on your visa and labor contract/card and it can be a hassle to get it changed afterwards.


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

omrgul said:


> If it is applicable to you, do get your degree attested from the Foreign Ministry office (here in UAE) before applying for Residency, otherwise your profession will be wrongly depicted on your visa and labor contract/card and it can be a hassle to get it changed afterwards.


Not true for US passport holders. The degree gets notarized at the University, then at his State government, then at the US government, then at the UAE Embassy in the US.

If he brings a US degree here without doing this he will go through the same thing I went through in sending it back to the US to get this done.


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## Midlifer (Jul 24, 2012)

I got my resident vise stamp (pink sheet) when I went through customs and it says teacher. The Attestation service still hasn't sent my degree but the school doesn't seem to care, at least not yet. 

What ticks me off is all the things I'm having to pay for now that I'm here that they assured me they would take care of. That topped with the 50% salary hold back on the first month for 6 months - claiming it's the cost of my air ticket, I guess to prevent a run. 

Make lots of colored copies of your passport, they try to charge a fortune for those here.


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## Chocoholic (Oct 29, 2012)

Midlifer said:


> I got my resident vise stamp (pink sheet) when I went through customs and it says teacher. The Attestation service still hasn't sent my degree but the school doesn't seem to care, at least not yet.
> 
> What ticks me off is all the things I'm having to pay for now that I'm here that they assured me they would take care of. That topped with the 50% salary hold back on the first month for 6 months - claiming it's the cost of my air ticket, I guess to prevent a run.
> 
> Make lots of colored copies of your passport, they try to charge a fortune for those here.


They're holding 50% of your salary for the probation period? That's not right! And you shouldn't have paid for your air ticket anyway. I've known companies deduct the visa cost from salaries - sadly although they're supposed to pay for the visa, some still don't. But 50%? That's harsh.


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## Lita_Rulez (Nov 4, 2010)

Midlifer said:


> 50% salary hold back on the first month for 6 months - claiming it's the cost of my air ticket


The cost of the air ticket ? They flew you in first class ?


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## houstonian2012 (Jul 16, 2012)

Thanks all for info!

@midlifer - I've a probation period of a year. If I leave my job voluntarily within a year, gotta pay all relo and visa costs back. But your 50% cut on the salary sounds way too harsh! I'll have few copies with me for sure.


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## houstonian2012 (Jul 16, 2012)

XDoodle****** said:


> Not true for US passport holders. The degree gets notarized at the University, then at his State government, then at the US government, then at the UAE Embassy in the US.
> 
> If he brings a US degree here without doing this he will go through the same thing I went through in sending it back to the US to get this done.


Already got my degree attested by state government. Noone told us about the UAE Embassy, will definetely check. Btw, I'm a "she" 

Any idea if the US Embassy needs to send passports back to the US if need renewal or additional pages? if that's the case, better to get a second passport while in US.


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

houstonian2012 said:


> Already got my degree attested by state government. Noone told us about the UAE Embassy, will definetely check. Btw, I'm a "she"
> 
> Any idea if the US Embassy needs to send passports back to the US if need renewal or additional pages? if that's the case, better to get a second passport while in US.


Yes, check on the Feds and UAE embassy attestation, it needs done! I can dig up who I used if you PM me.

All US passports are now reissued in the US, takes about two weeks from the US embassy here. If you don't have to travel much it shouldn't be a problem to just renew it here. Second US passports are handy if you travel a lot but are only good for two years.

Not sure about additional pages.


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## fcjb1970 (Apr 30, 2010)

houstonian2012 said:


> Already got my degree attested by state government. Noone told us about the UAE Embassy, will definetely check. Btw, I'm a "she"
> 
> Any idea if the US Embassy needs to send passports back to the US if need renewal or additional pages? if that's the case, better to get a second passport while in US.


You cannot get your degree attested by your State. For many countries it can be done at the State level and it is considered complete. This is *NOT *true with the UAE. Many universities do not know this and may give you incorrect information. 

Once you have the documents properly notarized from your State, they will need to be sent to the US State Department to be attested. This took me about 4 weeks, or you can pay a service and get it done in a few days. Its been a while but I think as part of the process the State Department gets the stamp from the UAE Embassy

With some types of jobs (government or semi government) you may also need a stamp from the Ministry of Foreign affairs but that just takes 30 minutes and can only be done here

Once here, you can go get your blood test the day after you get here, results take two days (that day if you pay the AED 500) on that same day you apply for you Emirates ID. Once you get the medical back it should not be much more than a week to get the Visa stamp

Good luck


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

houstonian2012 said:


> Thanks all for info!
> 
> @midlifer - I've a probation period of a year. If I leave my job voluntarily within a year, gotta pay all relo and visa costs back. But your 50% cut on the salary sounds way too harsh! I'll have few copies with me for sure.


I know this is not your quetion, but a probation period exceeding 6 months is against UAE labour law. So in case you get into a dispute with your employer, this information is handy.


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