Priceless fun, episode 1

Following from my dream about visa stress that I posted the other day, here's a recount about my real-life visa experience.

Getting a visa to the US can be a confusing experience. There are a plethora of forms and procedures that must be followed rigorously, and that have to be coordinated with the immigration specialist who is overseeing your application. The specialist in my case was from my current workplace.

There are two major classes of visas that can be applied for. An immigrant visa which means you want to live in the US permanently (think Green card), or a non-immigrant visa which is for a temporary stay. Within those two major categories, there are a number of different visa types that you apply for, depending on your profession, length of stay in the US and other factors. My visa is a non-immigrant J-1 visa, which is a type of foreign exchange visa, and is valid for 3 years.

The visa application forms all have official sounding names, like DS-2019, and on each document is information on how long it should take you to complete the form. How nice. For example, the 'estimated burden' noted at the top of DS-158 is one hour. Although it didn't take me an hour, that form was particularly annoying, as it required digging up long forgotten dates, phone numbers etc., in order to complete the work/education history questions in the form.

Aside from the forms there are the inevitable fees to pay in the visa process. Many fees to pay.

For a J-1 visa there's (in $AUD):
$ 126 SEVIS fee paid online.
$ 130 application fee paid at the post office
$ 136 issuance fee paid at the consulate
$ 14 Visapoint fee paid online
and an appropriate self addressed envelope (Express post, courier satchel for example, ~$ 12) for them to return your passport.

Plus in Australia, our passport photo size is not suitable for the application so I had to go get a US passport sized photo (5 cm squared) from a list of suggested places on their website, for ~$ 15.

For a student, all these fees add up to a severe dent in the monthly beer budget. $433 worth of beer to be more precise. Do you accept cash? Cha-ching!

After the application is in order you go for an interview at the Consulate, which you book using their online system called Visapoint ($14 fee thanks very much). The waiting time for an interview varies for each visa (up to 3-4 weeks); the US Department of State website lists current waiting times. I noticed that for a J-1 visa the Sydney Consulate only offered interviews once a week. Additionally, I found out the hard way that the Consulate is prone to shutting down for "routine maintenance" with very little notice, so if you need a visa, plan well ahead.

The US Consulate General in Sydney is high up in the MLC centre in the heart of the city, and not surprisingly, there is some serious security before you step a foot into the embassy. First off, the interview confirmation email tells you to not take any laptops, cell phones (that's mobiles in Aussie-speak) or any electronic equipment. Kinda strict huh?

No iPod for the inevitable waiting periods, how cruel.

Plus, before you go into the Consulate proper, which is high up in the tower, you go to a lower level for initial processing. It's there that you go through the first of two security checkpoints and where all bags get left with security (sheesh, don't people read instructions? I was a bit peeved that I actually could have taken a bag and iPod, which would have made the train journey into the city more bearable). 10 mins after walking into the 'pre-Consulate' I had my first wait. Time taken: 5 mins, not bad. It was for a brief interaction with someone who checked I had all the appropriate paperwork/fees paid, after which it was another wait for a security guard to escort me to the lift and send me up to the Consulate proper. Time taken: 5 mins, tolerable.

Another identification and security check, and then through a massively heavy metal door to grab a ticket and wait. A US flag flanked the heavy door, and the largish room was semi-divided into two similar looking waiting areas. Everyones attention was divided between the large LED screens lit with ticket numbers, and the people walking to the bank of counters along one wall. So I obediently took a number, and with gritted teeth I sat zombified under the harsh office lights with 30-40 other people, all perched on uniform gray plastic chairs, and watched the staff conscientiously stamping documents behind the counter. You could almost smell the ink-pads and copy-paper bureaucracy in the air. There was a large window with a fabulous view of the sunny cityscape near me, but due to the chairs orientation, only the back of my head enjoyed the view. Go figure.

Symbols of American immigration. The grainy photo of the Statue of liberty was snapped by yours truly from the Staten Island ferry, New York, 2005, while the superbly focused photo of the flag was lifted off the net, shhh.

Yes! My number flashes on the LED screens. Time taken: 10 mins, OK, considering all the people I see. I walked to the counter, handed over my documents which were whisked away and then told to rejoin the masses until I was called up for the interview. Again I wait.

The other people waiting look as bored as I do. There's a little quiet chatter and a surprising number of people are quite young. From what I gather, they are also exchange visa applicants for US summer camp leaders and the like, which explained why so many of them looked fairly sporty, tanned and pleasing to the eye. My number gets called again. Time taken: 45 mins, even with the nice scenery, not happy. Thinking how much I missed my iPod and getting hungry, very not happy.

I walk up to the counter, aware of the entire room watching my every step.

To be continued...

For episode 2, click here.