How strange, have just read your post. We also flew out of Bris on
Thursday morning with Emirates. We also paid $900 for the both of us,
they were the cheapest we could find too!
Our pre grant letter tells us
to wait 3 days after leaving the country before approaching the embassy
and that it may take up to 7 days to grant the visa. We have flights
booked to take us back to Bris on 15th so hopefully it will be sorted by
then.
We intend to be at the visa office on Monday morning bright and
early so we will let you know what happens.
Best of luck
Lee & Clare