I am a US citizen but my wife is not and requires a visa, and we are looking into going to the UK this fall. I have to admit to being confused by the UK consulate website on the topic of getting her a visa. It seems unlike with a Schengen visa she does not have to visit a consulate, but the process goes through a VFS application center (hooray). However, it seems applications go through a VFS premium application centers and there is not one of these within driving distance of where we live. But if I am reading it correctly, the VFS website says we can use a USCIS centers for biometric data, and it seems there is one of these where we live.
So my question (and I have done a search on the website here and found no answer) is whether anyone has done this process using a USCIS center and how difficult/time consuming is it? Also, It seems you cannot apply until three months before you leave, which means that if we don't get a visa we could potentially be out some money if we book a tour (which we were planning on doing). Does anyone know if tour insurance includes visa denial?
Thanks in advance for any information