After reading hundreds of horror stories on yelp, I was having a panic attack. I came across a yelp reviewer who suggested A Briggs to expedite/handle getting a visa for India. I am not a prolific yelp reviewer but I promised myself that once I go through A Briggs' visa process (whether good or bad) I would write a review to help the prospective traveller who wants to go to India. Bottom line: Paying A Briggs to get my visa was honestly one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. Money well spent because it takes ALL the stress away to let someone else handle it for you. I am a super BUDGET traveller and I never want to pay for anything extra BUT the thought of losing my passport in the crazy CKGS process scared the crap out of me, The total cost I spent on the visa was $228 (consulate fee $80; Abriggs non-rush visa process fee $80; Abriggs check writing fee $5; FedEx roundtrip mail fee: $63). I FedEx my passport from LA to their San Francisco office on Sunday, 9/28 and received my passport back on Thursday 10/9. That's AMAZING because the Indian embassy in SF was closed on 10/2-10/6 and I received my passport and visa back within a week! I still had another solid month before I leave on my trip! Some tips to consider: There are other visa expeditors out there but I chose with A Briggs because the yelp reviews were generally positive and they have an online chat on their website! It was really helpful because I had a lot of questions for them and was able to do it while I was at work (hope boss is not reading this) AND over the weekend! Make sure you read and print out all the necessary visa forms. I think my visa process went smoothly because I followed the tips on the sample online form provided by CKGS and from A Briggs. Please note that on the sample form, it tells you to provide your social security number; however, Abriggs suggested to leave it as N/A. I did that and obviously, I had no issues. If you submitted your online application but realize you made a mistake, it's okay. Just create a new one again and re-submit. Just make sure to mail out final version to CKGS or the expeditor. If you plan to go with A Briggs, note that your application needs to be sent to their SF office. From there they will walk/hand submit your application to the embassy. A Briggs gives you the option to ship FedEx inbound and outbound on their account for $29 each way (note... this could be the price set for only LA to SF). I decided to ship my docs via FedEx to their office thinking it would be cheaper because I'm doing it on my own. Inbound, it cost me $34 and outbound was $29. It cost a little more to do it on my own and it was much more of a hassle for to me create a FedEx account so that I can print a return label. If I were to do it all over again, I would have just let A Briggs handle the shipping. One last note- I'm also traveling to China and needed a visa; however, I went with a different expeditor since it was much cheaper ($25 processing fee vs. A Brigg's $80) and it's located in my hometown of Monterey Park so I saved on shipping fees by just dropping/picking up my passport at the office. Good luck!!! read more

I needed a rush visa for India and these guys told me they would not be able to take care of this for me on a rush and that i would have to submit it personally to the Indian Embassy (no 3rd party for rush jobs). They also said the embassy would not do a rush even if i submitted it myself because i wasn't born in the USA and the embassy only handles rush jobs for US born individuals. They have all the wrong information. I took it elsewhere to another visa expediter and got my visa done asap - dropped off to them on friday afternoon, they submitted it to the embassy the following Monday and I got the passport back that Friday. For a visa office - they should have better information on these things! read more

I have used this company before -- and everything was fine, Reasonable price for reasonable service. But that was a couple of years ago. Now I find deceptive, hidden fees. You select services, and don't get a chance to back out until they show the price -- and then it's too late. They may yet be timely, but I'm not using them again. read more

Despite a bit of confusion re: what the website said to do and what the phone agents said (and which location to send the passports) - A Briggs came through with Russian Visas well within the timeframe quoted - though not sure that "rush" service was as compulsory as they said........Always a bit nervous dropping a passport into an envelope and sending it to someone one doesn't know - but I would use them again. Well worth the $$ to avoid the hassle of doing it all myself. I ended up using the San Francisco branch and Bojan was great to work with. read more

I had a good experience here. Brian was helpful and responsive. Navigating the Indian visa process is no joke (definitely NOT intuitive!) and A Briggs made it much more doable. Skip Cox & Kings and do this. read more

LIke Dustin H below, I had to get a Brazil visa fast. Looking at the requirements list, it looked like visa procedures from the 90's. The A Briggs reviews here and a call to Katy there closed the deal. I had my docs to them on a Thursday, needing the visa by the following Friday. They got it processed and done a day early. Katy says the SF Brazilian consulate is pretty efficient. Then I'm pressed on the day I planned to pick it up, so I call her a few minutes before I get to their office and ask if she can bring it down and hand it to me in the car so I don't have to park. She does and everything is in order. Inn-N-Out Passport! This is my first 5 star and they deserve it! read more

Fabulous service! I needed a visa for a trip to China and used their mail service. Incredibly quick turn around -- they even put a sticky flag in my passport where the visa was located (not necessary, but a nice touch). Worth every penny (and when you consider the time it would have taken me to drive to SF, park, wait in line, etc., it was cheaper than doing it myself! read more

I was very concerned getting India Visas for my family to attend my daughter's wedding especially with the new India consulate contractor. With so many horror stories of lost passports and delays at the SF CKGS office, I decided I needed help. My first meeting with Brian Cunningham set my mind at ease. He immediately found application errors which could have caused massive delays. I sent back the applications thru prepaid FedEx and received my 4 visas in less than a week. WOW! I strongly recommend Brian and his amazing team!!! read more

I cannot praise this business enough. This is the second time in as many months that I or a loved one has used them as an alternative to standing in line and dealing with all the red-tape of the passport agency here in San Francisco. Everyone at this office is a delight to deal with. They hold your hand through the process and in my case over delivered on already lofty timing promises. I don't know how they can do what they do so quickly, but what I do know is I didn't have the stress of wondering if I was going to get my passport in time thanks to the efforts of Salem Eways and his staff at A. Briggs. Go see them you will be oh-so-happy you did! read more

Long story short, needed to expedite 2 visas for a Brazil trip. You must make an appointment to obtain the visas and the earliest SF consulate appointment was not until well after our scheduled RETURN date of our trip. We contacted A Briggs and had to pay a pretty hefty fee, but we got our visas in about 3 days after they were shipped to the NY consulate. My advice is to get your visas way in advance of your actual trip, you will save $ and stress, but you find yourself in a bind as we did, A Briggs will deliver for a fee. read more

Working with A Briggs was a fantastic experience and took the stress out of getting a new passport. The peace of mind of working with such a professional group of people is priceless when there are plenty of other things to stress about before departing on an international trip. I needed a new passport a week before the departure of my trip to Mexico, and after calling the passport agency directly learned that I could not get an appointment for over 2 weeks. At that point I called A Briggs in downtown San Francisco, and they clearly explained the process of submitting my application, the fees involved and the turn-around time. Everything happened exactly as explained, and in fact my passport was returned 3 days earlier than expected. When everything was done, they even offered to have it dropped off at my office. I've already recommended A Briggs to friend sand colleagues who have also had a great experience. read more

I applied for a Chinese visa and they messed up my application. I applied for multiple entry visa and even after submitting all paperwork correctly, they got me single entry visa and charged me 1000 bucks. They added all expedited fees and what not but in my application, I clearly said I need multiple entry visa. They are also located in a very shady place in Seattle downtown and would never trust business with them. If I have to pay 1000 bucks, I can easily fly down to San Fran embassy and get it done myself. What a waste! read more

You know a business has great customer service when you're a return customer... and have nothing but positive things to say. Salem helped me last year when I needed my passport expedited (literally, same day) for trip to Europe and he and his team helped me again when I pointed a friend in their direction who had some questions about work visa applications/forms. They told me right away that their services actually didn't cover what I was looking for, but they still helped point my friend in the right direction and advised as best they could. Really good people :) read more

I cannot praise this business enough. Joan and her team there do an incredible job. I had a passport renewal that looked routine at first glance. Unfortunately I still owed some child support payments from 15 years ago. What was routine became a huge bureaucratic hassle. It took a lot of hard work and contacting people all over the US. I now have my renewed passport in hand. Anyone needing a passport and/or visas need to go to these wonderful people. read more

I planned a last minute trip out of the country with some friends and was very stressed about getting my passport in time. Salem was kind, courteous, and extremely helpful! I got my passport in time and had a great trip! Thanks Salem!!! read more

Ask for Salem. In a time of incredible stress, he helped me understand the process and offered direction. I got passports for my 2 kids in less than 24 hours. Very highly recommended!!! read more

Salem and his team are pretty awesome! My wife had to scramble to get visas to a bunch of African countries all with consulates only in DC and a bunch of crazy requirements each when it seemed like her US citizenship might not come through in time. Salem and his team at Briggs not only came up with a plan of attack but also helped with compiling the applications and worked around our requirements to have her passport back for other travel. Fortunately, her citizenship did come through and we didn't end up using them but I'm pretty confident they would have done an excellent job and followed through on their plans. They also offered to help out because now my wife needed an American passport double quick. All in all, very responsive and reassuring and pretty reasonable too given all the stress and effort they save. Another visa service I checked out didn't come close to being this helpful. read more

These five stars EVERYONE gives A Briggs is certainly not a mistake. I decided to give them a shot along with another service. Salem called me back first thing the next day. He is incredible. When I first called and inquired about his services, he patiently explained the process to me. He was also forthright in telling me that I did NOT need to use his services since I had an early appointment with the Passport office the next day . But I decided to use A Briggs because I couldn't take the time off work. Salem sent me a thorough email with all of the information I needed. He gave me his mobile number in case I had more questions after hour! AND he came OUT of his office downtown SF to pickup my documents so I wouldn't have to park my car. This is THE BEST SERVICE I have received with anything, much less a passport expediting company. Salem is incredibly professional, responsive, and QUICK! I had my passport in a few days, with plenty of time before my trip. I was lucky that I found out 10 days before my departure, which apparently is "infinity" time in the passport world. USE A BRIGGS! read more

Salem and Katie are the best. Very easy to contact. very professional at what they do. very fast. We needed visas for china. concerned about chinese red tape, long lines and any other stressful details. Briggs handled everything perfectly. Fast, friendly and efficient. I will absolutely use them again. read more

We didn't realize a visa was required for Brazil. The online Brazil visa application system scheduled our appointment in 3 weeks (which is normal for them). After the appointment there is a minimum 5 day processing period. This was too close to our departure date. Salem got us our visas in less than 2 weeks! Very efficient and friendly service. Worth the money. Off to Carnival soon! read more

I called A Briggs asking about a last-minute passport renewal, and the operator (Salem) straight up told me his services probably weren't for me. However, he did give me step-by-step directions for what I needed to do to get my passport renewed in time, and offered himself as a phone support as needed. I'm extremely impressed by the professionalism and the customer service. I don't know what the service itself is actually like, but these guys definitely know their stuff! read more

A Briggs was very fast (much faster than expected) and professional. People on the phone were nice (I had to ask if I could postpone delivery because I was going out of town), and I loved the messaging system (I got an email as soon as my passport arrived at the office, and also a Fedex tracking number when they were mailing it back to me). But! I requested an 80 day stay and got only a 60 day visa. Totally understand that the consulate might not grant the 80 days, but would have appreciated it if the office had let me know, instead of just shipping it back as though nothing had happened. All in all, would definitely go with A Briggs again. read more

I needed a new passport and was completely out of time. This agency took my hand and held it firmly till my passport arrived. They communicate clearly with you and other offices (Houston) and they never stop being calm and collected and friendly and encouraging. US Post Office pretty much made a terrible mistake the first time I sent my packet in and Briggs just kept on being calm and encouraging. I will say it was not the cheapest place but it was incredibly effective and I will stand by my five stars. If you are a worrier and if you are short on time, go with A Briggs. In particular Susan McKnight, and two other staffers named Cristin and Lindsey made communication pleasant and very effective. They do what they do "as they claim" and lo and behold - they do it VERY VERY WELL. Kudos especially to Susan McKnight, what a wonderful customer service magician!!! A+ all the way! read more

A Briggs gets five stars. British immigration gets none. Salem, thanks for making the labyrinthine process of obtaining a Tier 4 student visa remotely possible. Without you guys, I'da been SOL. read more

I chose A Briggs mostly because of their A+ BBB rating, I had sudden business travel and I needed to quickly renew my passport. I had some questions about the process and I ended up getting connected to Salem the Regional Director for their San Francisco Office. I have to say, the level of customer service he provides is simply extraordinary. Salem was very helpful, addressed all of my concerns and repeatedly went above and beyond the call of duty. If you have Passport or Visa needs - call A Briggs - they will get the job done. Salem has earned A Briggs a customer for life - thanks again Salem! read more

Salem is great guy! I was helping my mother in law to get US passport renewed. I contacted Peninsula visa in San Jose, but was told the earliest we can get 3rd day (was not sure). So, I found Salem through Yelp and contacted, he told he can try next day. I travelled from Newark to His office to get it done. Well to his greatness, he recommended that since we are in SF, why not try going to Passport agency directly. I said we don't have any appointment, he said sometimes they let you get in. We tried and luckily we were allowed to go in and passport was ready next day in the morning. He saved us quite bit of money! Never met a person like him who will do business this way. Thank you! read more

All of the other reviews that touted A. Briggs made me sure they were the service I wanted. And they are. I was very concerned about getting our visas to Brazil on time as we were traveling for a week before we headed down. (Actually I was stressed and frantic.) The staff came through. Salem was very comforting and eased my worries. We got our documents on time We travel internationally frequently and have found the perfect service for visas and passports. read more

Salem at A Briggs is a professional that you want on your team. He is very detailed oriented and delivers on his promises. Salem has processed three Thailand visa's for my wife and I. These were required for a professional relocation. Due to bad planning on my part and limited resources from my company, I needed the first visa very quickly. Salem promised and delivered the visa in a few days. What does this mean? In on a Tuesday, visa in hand on Friday. Salem has built relationships in the industry, and these relationships ensure that you will have your travel documents on time and the will be complete. Salem has a very calm and engaging approach when faced with urgent travel issues. He always has the customer in mind and gives superior service. You want Salem and A Briggs on your team. read more

This was very disappointing and I will not use them again. Communication was very poor. Missed every deadline. Had I not been on top of it, and pushing HARD I would have had to reschedule everything, and significant cost to my company and our collaborators. My boyfriend dropped his off at the Brazilian Embassy without using a service and got his visa back faster than I did using A. Briggs and paying the fee. Their solution when they missed all the deadlines - pay the higher fee. I was miffed. read more

ABSOLUTE WORST SERVICE EVER. I needed a Brazil VISA. I went to them 6 weeks in advance. The day before my international flight I did not have my passport or VISA. I had to have a family go to consulate in person get the documents and send by air at my expense to receive the documents in time. They never answer the phone. I worked with Seattle and San Francisco offices these are the incompteents to whom I am referring NEVER EVER do business with these clowns read more

Summary: A BRIGGS IS FAR FROM PROFESSIONAL WITH AGENTS WHO DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING. Throughout the process I felt that I knew more about visas than my agent and I had to constantly advise and babysit her on the phone. If you think you can just hand off your passport to a professional, read my story below and hopefully think again. The bottom-line is: DO NOT USE A BRIGGS. Background: My friend and I were planning to fly to Beijing and then take the Trans-Mongolian railway through Mongolian and Siberia all the way to Moscow. For this I would need three visas: Chinese, Mongolian, and Russian visas. After spending some time with the travel agency to figure out the right forms, invitations, insurance policies, etc. we decided to hand this off to A Briggs. At that time we already had all the documents and other material ready. So what could possibly go wrong, right? Process: The first time I heard from my agent was when my CHINESE VISA WAS REJECTED. The reason: the application did not show a return flight from China to my home country. Of course it didn't because I was taking the train to Mongolia. The agent now called to ask me for this ticket. At first I was very confused because we had sent her emails explaining our trip (including copies of our train ticket, full itineraries etc.). SHE HAD NOT READ ANY OF MY EMAILS. This continued throughout the process. SHE NEVER READ OUR EMAILS UNLESS SOMETHING WENT WRONG and I told her on the phone to check her email. Luckily, we could re-submit the application, and the second time it was accepted. We had lost many days because she did not read my emails. Next step was the Russian visa. First thing, the agent tells me that this visa cannot be expedited because I do not have a US passport. She even confirms this with her manager. After the phone call I still couldn't believe it, so I called the Russian Visa Application Center. They told me there is absolutely no reason why my visa could not be expedited! They could do it in two days. AGAIN, A BRIGGS HAD INCORRECT AND HARMFUL INFORMATION. And worse was their attitude: they didn't even bother to make sure or find out. I called them back and we got the expedited process on its way. In the end the agent managed to get my visa desk rejected four times; that is, it didn't even make it to full consideration because the application was incorrectly filled out. It turned out that the dates on the application, insurance, and invitation were not matching up in various ways. Throughout the process she kept on calling me about different forms, and I keep on telling her on the phone that they had been emailed to her many days ago. Needless to say this process took so long that I had already given up hope getting my Mongolian visa with them. The new plan was to do it myself while I traveled. Inconvenient but possible. Five days before my flight out of the US she called me about the fourth rejection. She told me that we could apply one more time before the embassy gives a final decision. If I do apply, the application must be extra expedited and I will have to pay the full fee (close to $500) no matter what happens. I tell her on the phone that I HAVE LOST ALL CONFIDENCE IN HER ABILITY and hence see this as A WASTE OF MONEY. I decided to call it off and asked her to mail back my passport. Unfortunately, my new plan was to cancel the Trans-Mongolian train trip and simply travel in China instead. She had single-handedly ruined our trip. Then she gets an idea on the phone: "WAIT, ISN'T RUSSIA PART OF THE SCHENGEN AREA?" Seriously? This is a so-called visa professional asking me if Russia is part of the Schengen. If it was, why would I be applying for a Russian visa. At this point I was too tired to be disappointed any further. At least she managed to deliver my passport back to me on time. Honestly, I was surprised that she did. Final words: This is an expensive service and certainly not worth it. The agent was always very uninterested on the phone. She did not read her emails. She was unfamiliar with visa applications although she claimed to be a professional. Do not use A Briggs! Do it yourself. If you cannot, use some other visa company. read more

I submitted my visa paperwork one week ago. No update. I called the SF office and was told I would get a call back. No call back. Now I have no passport, no visa, and nobody is calling me back. So frustrated. read more

If you've lost your passport and are short on time to get to a U.S. passport agency in person, I highly recommend A. Briggs. They delievered as promised on their website, and I even got courtesy calls and e-mails from Salem to keep me posted at all times. Excellent service. Tip: Using an expeditor can be pricey when you add up all the fees, so cut yourself a break and ask A. Briggs for their Yelp discount. read more

Fast Service and Inexpensive: Thanks to all the other yelp reviews, and because the location was convenient, we used A Briggs to get our visas for India. Our visas were ready for pickup (which we had specified, rather than worrying about being home when the passports were delivered) in 18 days, which included the Christmas and New Year's holidays. We were only charged $70 each, for non-rush visa service. I had spoken to another service over the telephone and they were recommending the more expensive expedited service, even our travel date was two months away. read more

"SALEM" at BRIGGS worked a TRUE MIRACLE for us, by getting my son a repacement passport in two days! GOTTA READ THIS! I was taking my college-aged son on a cruise of the Mediterranean... and the boob lost his passport on Weds evening, a few days before our Saturday departure flight s from different home cities! Imagine the panic! SALEM ANSWERED THE DESPARATE PHONE MESSAGE THAT NIGHT AT 9 PM two days before departure, and told us how to proceed, as we held our breath and collected the birth certificate, etc., that i drove to him the next day, so he could forward all materials to WASH DC! MIRACLE: SALEM had to receive the Passport back from DC, before forwarding it to PHX, where my son picked it up (as the FED-EX office opened) and was ready to hand him his completed NEW PASSPORT ON THE WAY TO THE AIRPORT FOR HIS MORNING CHECK-IN for a flight to Europe!!!!!!!!!!! SALEM IS A STAR!!!! And very humble and kind! We had a dream trip, saved by Salem. Other people said it absolutely could not be done... read more

I recently used Salem at A Briggs and was thrilled with the experience. Smart, efficient, dogged, and an excellent communicator. I honestly don't know how I would have have managed getting my passport updated and multiple Chinese visas, all at the last minute, without him. Worth every penny of their quite reasonable fee. read more

My friend and I were planning a trip on the trans-siberian railroad. As we were very busy finishing our dissertations, we decided it would be better to pay someone to get the visas we needed. Tl;dr: I have never before had the misfortune of working with someone as uninterested and bafflingly incompetent as our A Briggs visa agent. I am 100% convinced that our trip was ruined solely by the failings of this employee. As such, we lost over $1,000 on trip expenses and had to postpone our trip to next year. We will definitely be handling all of the paper work ourselves. Longer Version: We were working with a travel agent to put the trip together. When she realized that the visas required a different service, we contacted A Briggs. This "global leader in travel visas" managed to get our Chinese and Russian visa applications rejected multiple times. My friend's Russian visa was REJECTED 4 TIMES. These were also DESK REJECTIONS, meaning that the forms were just not properly filled out by this "professional" visa company. The company coordinating the trans-siberian train trip had this to say, "Frankly I am still mystified why his visa was refused 4 times. I have never heard of this before in 29 years of dealing with Russian visas." After the 4th rejection, our A Briggs agent had a stroke of genius when she asked "wait, isn't Russia inside the Schengen area?" Not the kind of stroke we were hoping for! This is a so-called professional visa agent -asking- whether or not Russia is part of the Schengen area. If that were true, we wouldn't even have been applying for the visas in the first place! After all of this headache and frustration, best of luck trying to get in touch with anyone at A Briggs that will do anything about it. Both my friend and I called multiple times trying to speak to a manager and have both sent many emails trying to get the company to acknowledge our complaints, all to no avail. Our travel agent also spent a considerable amount of effort helping us try to navigate the A Briggs web of idiocy. This is their summary of the interaction: "As for A Briggs, I absolutely 100% chased them and I have called, e-mailed, and provided a handwritten letter expressing the urgency of his situation...She barely returned my calls and e-mails, and certainly not in a timely fashion. I understood her not wanting to be bombarded from both sides, but she wasn't doing her job so I had no choice. The student finances thing should have been foreseen. And the worst part of all--when the insurance policy issues kept his visa from being pushed through, it was an issue I could solve in a day or 2. She told me not to bother--that she would "try" something else. This "something else" fell through and if she had let me change them he would have a visa right now and you would both be going to Russia. As he is your travel companion, I would emphasize that his visa rejection would have caused a harsh spike in your trip's cost--making it unattainable. This--with the added fact that your own visa was held up due to finance issues--is precisely why you should push for some money back. Remember, I refunded my own service charge and gave it to them to get you a visa so you could both go on this trip." read more

We had to attend my grandmother's funeral in Canada, however my 1.5 year old son did not have his passport yet. After reading the positive reviews on Yelp, we decided to give it a try. Salem was extremely professional and very helpful. The process was very quick. We had our passport in our hands with two days to spare. Would highly recommend using this service! With many things happening in parallel, using A Briggs alleviates the stress and time so that you can focus on the other things in life. read more

Great service - responsive, professional. Salem goes above and beyond.

Great service! I love love how responsive they are. They pick up the phone so quickly, respond to emails, have an online chat (their main website that is). It's nice to have a company that has great customer service. They are very knowledgable with all the regulations that come with visas. Salem and Katy are great. I would definitely use their service again and recommend it to anyone who needs to get passports or visas efficiently and quickly. read more