I applied for my Cambodian visa today via FedEx...sent it off to the WDC Embassy.

Has anyone had any experience with doing a visa with the DC Embassy? The website mentions no turn around time. Any clue as to the turn around time? I was just informed (about an hour after I sent it off) that I need to go to El Salvador late next week...

You could have got one at the border. Its really no hassle.

Or an e-visa online-very easy.

To answer your specific question. I have got a couple of Cambodia visas by mailing my passport to their Washington DC embassy. In each case they turned it around within one business day. They seem efficient at handling visa apps.

And in my case I did it through DC because them %$$#%&#@ at the Koh Kong crossing will still try to shake you down for a few extra Baht and I get satisfaction out of depriving them the money. Arriving by air though, there is really no reason not to just get it on arrival since they are honest at the airports.

Thanks for your replies. I actually could not do the eVisa because of my port of arrival and I like to have them beforehand just in case.

I arrived in Cambodia at REP and wouldn't have missed the visa process for the world. You had a dozen officials sat around a semicircular counter. The first one supervised everyone. The next one handed out application cards. The next one received applications. The one next to that took the money. The next one entered details. The next one rubber stamped something. Then a sticker. Then a few stamps. The penultimate one gives you the passport back and the final one makes sure everything is OK.

As I say, it would have been a shame to miss all that.

Similar in PNH. The officer who gives it back wouldn't attempt to pronounce the name the passport he was passing back, so he would find the photo page and hold open for the group of people surrounding him to see (and ultimately stick their hand out to receive it).

You forgot the best part (if I recall correctly): after you get the visa you walk the 2 meters over to the next desk and they stamp the visa as used.

Heh. The process was similar at Poi Pet. They made you wait for 20 minutes on principle.

REcently visited REP. Got the visa on arrival for 20USD. Had to suppy 1 pic which I had brought with me and had paid $9 (passport style) for before leaving YYZ. Turns out that if you have no pic, they will scan your passport photo for $1 and you can use that instead of your own (more expensive) pic. Too easy

This is really amusing. I entered Cambodia at Phnom Penh in Late 1995, and almost the same charade was going on. My recollection is there was a long bench-like table, and they just handed the passport from one officer to another (I think there were five people). Each did their little theatrical part, but it was clear their only real interest was the hard U.S. currency fee.

Even better was when I was departing a few days later for Siem Reap. The terminal appeared brand new (at that time the country was still more or less under U.N. control, and they had been spending a ton on basic infrastructure), and there was a very modern x-ray and metal detector. For some reason when I put my backpack on the conveyor, an officer waved me off, and appeared to want me to carry it through. So I did. No alarms went off, and it certainly should have with the collection of junk I had in the backpack.

I turned around and looked at the detector, and it did not seem to be on. The x-ray machine was operating, but apparently was only being used for larger carry-on pieces. So if you were carrying something small enough, you did not get screened! BTW, the Royal Air Camboge (or whatever they were called) plane was actually a wet leased Malaysian Air 737, with an Aussie cockpit crew.

The process at REP to get the visa took less time than the wait to get through the immigration desk, a few metres past the visa desk.

It was fun to watch the process described above.
All of this info is also in the Asia forum.

A US family who arrived on our flight, who are there for a few months to make a film, had trouble with their childrens' visas, due to the officers contradicting the information the family had, which stated the children did not require visas in this case (due to being below a certain age).

As mentioned above it is likely to be an issue that the officers wanted them to pay more money and argued their point that all would have to pay a visa fee.

My friend (and 4 others in her family) applied for their Cambodian visas last February. Sent the applications on Feb 4 using USPS Express Mail, and they got their passports and visas back to them on Feb 8.