Hi all!
Hoping to get some community
advice on where to apply for a B1/B2 visa for private yacht owner/crew to enter US. We are New Zealanders but the US Embassy here has a long wait time for interviews and we will already be in the
Caribbean before we get a slot.
Reading on another thread from 2019 I saw some members had a smooth experience only waiting about a week at the US Embassy in
Nassau,
Bahamas.
We will be en
route from
Panama to
Fort Lauderdale, so
Nassau appears to be a convenient place. It would be great if we could hear some stories from anyone who has done this in Nassau or nearby in the
Caribbean in the last 6-12 months. The
boat is planned to get to FL around early - mid February 2023.
I did wonder if we could enter by
ferry from
Bimini on an ESTA and apply/interview in
Miami, but it seems you have to be outside the US at a US Embassy/consulate. I also wonder if it is possible to enter the US from
Bimini on a
ferry using ESTA and then leave the US on a private yacht without a B1/B2, is this possible? (not ideal because we would still need to go through the process somewhere as we do need this visa going forward)
If we can get some confidence from people who have applied in Nassau lately we will plan to either....
1. get off in Nassau while the
boat sails on to
Fort Lauderdale, with us flying to Miami/FL to meet the boat after we have the visas.
2. get off in Bimini, ferry to
Miami, then fly Miami to Nassau for our interview and then fly return to Miami/FL
*The boat will continue to FL and be there for a few weeks.
If there is another way that would
work we would be grateful for your
advice and insight.
cheers and thanks!
Benno
(Lagoon 52)
Sorry

, a few questions here! Hopefully someone can make sense of this for us!