As the USA does not accept emergency passports, Andreas Wikan (22) did not manage to obtain a new passport with a visa before the trip.
– I think they could have been more careful about how they send passports. When you pay 1,500 kroner for you to apply for a visa, they should at least ensure that the passport arrives safely, he says.
– OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES: Andreas Wikan enjoys fishing and had been looking forward to a whole year to try tropical fishing in Florida, when the trip smoked. Photo: Private
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After two years of coronation, this was the year Wikan really enjoyed life. At Skogn Folk High School in Trøndelag, he chose the line «Fishing and outdoor life». The highlight is a US trip in March, where the class travels to Florida to fish tropical species.
– I like fishing and going on trips. It is lovely to be on a boat, feel the sun roast and the boat swing. I feel at peace when I’m on a boat. And fishing is something you can always do, he says.
Had a great time
Wikan started the process of obtaining a visa for the US trip early. Because he has a dot on the record from a traffic offense when he was 18, he was required to apply for an interview at the American embassy in Oslo.
He got in touch already in October, but it took time to book an appointment and get an interview. He also made a couple of mistakes during the process, which prolonged it.
Rector Lars Waade at Skogn Folkehøgskole confirms that it can be difficult to apply for a visa to the USA.
– The rules change regularly. It is very unpredictable, Waade believes.
Andreas was worried that he would not get a visa, but the principal was not as anxious.
– We figured he would get. We have not experienced that students have not received it before, he says.
On February 20, almost a month before departure, Andreas was interviewed. He went to Oslo by plane from Trøndelag. In addition to airline tickets, he paid 1,500 kroner for the interview at the embassy. After the interview, he left the passport again, so that they could insert the visa if it was approved and then send it back to Andreas.
He had also delivered an envelope with the address on and stamps for the shipment. You can choose whether the passport should be sent by registered post or not, as long as you pay for the shipment yourself. Andreas did not register that the alternative was listed in the letter he received from the embassy.
Get final answer
One and a half weeks before departure, Andreas finally received the message he had been waiting for. The visa was approved and waiting for him inside the passport in the mailbox at school. He was overjoyed.
– I was very happy and full of hope. I had been unsure for so long whether I could go, says Andreas.
But the joy was unfortunately short-lived. Because the envelope was completely empty.
– I called back to the embassy. I thought they had been stupid enough to send an empty envelope and forgot to put their passports up. They checked and said they had sent the passport and asked me to contact Norway Post, says Andreas.
Since there was a lock on the mailbox, he could rule out that the passport had been stolen from there.
Andreas contacted Norway Post, but since the letter had not been sent with tracking, there was little they could do other than check Norway Post’s lost property offices. They did not find the passport.
The United States does not accept emergency passports. So even though Andreas tried to get a new passport before departure, it was not possible to get a new visa in the passport before departure. Thus, the trip did not cost anything around 25,000 kroner.
– I think it’s unfair. They said I had to apply again to get a new visa. So even if I had managed to get a new passport, I would not have managed to get a visa, he says.
When the class left in March, Andreas was left at school.
– I do not get the trip out of my head. That trip was the reason why I started at Skogn, he says.
Now he wants to warn others that such things can happen.
Changes routines
A spokesman for the US Embassy writes in an email to TV 2 helping you:
“Visa protocols are confidential under U.S. law; therefore, we can not discuss the details of individual cases. “
They point out that they have always recommended applicants to have their passport returned with tracking.
“Loss of passports that are sent is a rare event,” they write in the email.
Now, however, they have changed their routines for how passports are sent. From March 21, all passports are sent back by courier through DHL and are delivered to the owners in person. It is also possible to track the shipment.
– RARE EVENT: The US Embassy believes that passports rarely pass, but is now changing its routines. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
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Visa applicants must pay for the offer, which costs NOK 460. The embassy writes that in urgent cases it is possible to pick up a passport at the embassy.
Believes Norway Post is responsible
Rector of Skogn Folkehøgskole, Lars Waade, believes Norway Post has a responsibility.
Andreas has been very unlucky to have ended up in this situation, so close to departure. He started the process of getting a visa in good enough time. Norway Post should say that this is obviously their responsibility. It is Norway Post that has messed up the passport, says Waade.
The school has managed to cancel parts of the trip for Andreas, and he therefore gets back around 10,000 kroner. In addition, Andreas has had an alternative program at the school with different ski courses.
– We wanted to help Andreas. It was too late to cancel the tickets, but we have tried to give back the values he has lost in other forms, says Waade.
Do not suspect theft in Norway Post
Posten’s press manager, Kenneth Tjønndal Pettersen, says it is impossible to know what has happened. They can also not trace which way the passport has taken, as it has not been sent by registered mail.
– IMPOSSIBLE TO KNOW: Posten’s press manager, Kenneth Tjønndal Pettersen, says it is impossible to know what has happened. The photo was taken on an earlier occasion. Photo: Tom Rune Orset / TV 2
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– I understand that you get upset and upset if this happens. We do that too. This was sent as a regular mailing and unfortunately disappeared. Where this has happened and what may have happened is not known. It may have happened before the letter arrived at Norway Post, the envelope may have received several along the way and the passport may have fallen out.
Pettersen does not suspect that anyone in Norway Post is behind the disappearance.
– Postal employees do not open letters or parcels. It is across the guidelines that are here. If something goes missing, we look and do what we can to find it. Most things come in handy. In fact, far less than one per mille is lost, says Pettersen.
Had Andreas chosen registered letters, there would have been no guarantee that the passport would arrive.
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