This is going to be a quick post about the visa appointment. I did make a vlog about this a long long time ago (found here) that might be a little more accurate. It's going to be super dooper quick because other than waiting there was not much at all that happened.
So you're asked to arrive at the US Consulate around 15 minutes before your appointment. My appointment was at 8am and the building itself didn't open until 8am so I had to wait outside for a good while before they let us in. When the doors to the building opened we were allowed to come in and line up outside the security office. For some unknown reason they were having troubles with communication so we were not allowed in until around 8.15am. By this time the line to enter security was out the doors of the building.
When they finally let us in to the security office they let four people in at a time and I was in the first group of four. They tell you to sign in on the computers, which involves entering your name, date of birth and passport number, and you are printed a sticker (which you stick to yourself once you've been through the metal detector). Then they gave us two plastic trays. One for our purse/wallet and supporting documents, and another for everything else. They take both trays and run them through a scanner to make sure there's nothing dangerous hiding in your personal items. At the same time you go through a metal detector to make sure there's nothing dangerous hiding in you.
Once you're all clear they give back your documents and your purse. The tray with all of your other items goes under the security desk and they give you a ticket with a number on it for you to claim your things when you return. When all four of you have made it through the metal detector you are taken upstairs to the waiting room. When you're placed in the waiting room you'll be given another ticket with a number on it. This number is the number they will call throughout the appointment when there is a booth ready for you.
After a little while of sitting around staring at the walls (because there's no phones inside) your number will be called. They'll bring you up and ask for your passport, DS-2019, DS-160 confirmation and your SEVIS payment confirmation. They also take a scan of your fingerprints and you are sent back to the waiting area. Here you wait a little bit longer.
Your number will be called again and you will approach the appointment window. At the appointment window the person behind the glass will ask you a few questions. Some people may be asked to provide supporting documents like the offer letter, proof of student status form or a bank statement. If they are satisfied with the answers and/or documents you provided then your visa will be approved. Good news is you now have a visa. Bad news is there's more waiting.
For those of you from Australia you have to pay a reciprocity or issuance fee. You'll be asked to sit back down again until your number is called again and you'll be brought up to the cashier window. Here you will pay the fee either in cash or by credit card. Once you've paid and you've got a receipt you are free to go.
In around 5-7 business days your passport will be sent back to your with your visa inside. It will arrive in the mail and you'll have to sign for it much like your DS-2019. When it does finally arrive you'll need to upload a scan of it to DOC. You'll also be asked to enter some of the details on the visa page to the DOC including the appointment date or issuance date, the visa number (the red number stamped on the bottom) and etc. Once you have added all these details you are finished with the visa process!
Now that this entry is out of the way I can finally start blogging about my adventures in the United States!
- Lily
Showing posts with label visa appointment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label visa appointment. Show all posts
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Sunday, November 30, 2014
The Important Stuff: Visa Application (Part 3)
Hi all!
My last blog post on the subject of visa applications was just getting a tad too long so instead of tacking this on at the end I decided to give it its own space to breathe. This post will cover how to book your visa appointment/interview and pay the associated fee. This information is included at the end of my vlog on the DS-160 application that can be found here (I've made sure it plays from where I start talking about booking the appointment).
So you've completed your DS-160 and you're wondering what to do next? Book an appointment, of course! But first what you have to do is create yourself an account on the ustraveldocs site. Up the top left hand corner of the page there should be a button that says 'Log In'. Even if you don't have an account yet just go ahead and click on it. Underneath where you would normally chuck in your log in details if you were a returning user there should be a link that says 'New user?'. If you click on this it will take you to a page where you can create yourself an account. Just the general username, password type stuff.
When you've finally got your account you should be taken to your account interface. Here there are a whole bunch of blue buttons and a list of links over to the left. Click on the button in the list that says 'New Application/Schedule Appointment'. It should then ask you what kind of visa you are applying for and you again select 'Non-immigrant visa'. You will then be asked what post (consulate) you want to book an appointment at. The form then asks for your visa category (Student) and visa class (J-1).
The next few pages ask for the following information:
- Passport data (E.g. passport number, date of issue, date of expiry, etc.)
- Date of birth
- Nationality
- Name
- Country of birth
- Gender
- DS-160 number (Found on the center bottom of the DS-160 confirmation page)
- Phone number
- Email address
- Address
- SEVIS number (Found in the top right hand corner of the DS-2019 form)
- Exchange/Program number (Found just above the center of the DS-2019 form)
- If you have any dependents
- Are you applying for this visa within 12 months of a previous visa expiring?
After you input all of this information you are then asked to confirm your postal address. Next up it's time to pay.
So you're taken to a page that lists how much the fee is. You have to click 'See Payment Options' to be able to select an option. Chuck in your payment information and make sure it's all correct. You're then given a receipt number. It wouldn't hurt to write this down but once you click the 'Continue scheduling appointment' button it takes you back to the original cost page but the receipt number is already plugged in for you. It might be advisable to write the receipt number down anyway but if the site is working how it should then you won't actually need it.
Once you're back at the cost page and it's recognized your payment you can click continue. You'll be taken to a page where you can select the date and time of your desired appointment. Pick whichever one tickles your fancy and select it. When you've chosen and booked an appointment you'll be taken to a confirmation page for your booking. I strongly advise you to print this out. If for some unknown reason your appointment doesn't show up in their database you'll need that confirmation to prove you're supposed to be there.
If you're now standing there with a SEVIS confirmation page, a DS-160 confirmation page and a consulate appointment confirmation page you are done with the process. There's only one thing left for you to do and that's attend your appointment! My next post will cover the visa appointment so stay tuned for that.
- Lily
My last blog post on the subject of visa applications was just getting a tad too long so instead of tacking this on at the end I decided to give it its own space to breathe. This post will cover how to book your visa appointment/interview and pay the associated fee. This information is included at the end of my vlog on the DS-160 application that can be found here (I've made sure it plays from where I start talking about booking the appointment).
So you've completed your DS-160 and you're wondering what to do next? Book an appointment, of course! But first what you have to do is create yourself an account on the ustraveldocs site. Up the top left hand corner of the page there should be a button that says 'Log In'. Even if you don't have an account yet just go ahead and click on it. Underneath where you would normally chuck in your log in details if you were a returning user there should be a link that says 'New user?'. If you click on this it will take you to a page where you can create yourself an account. Just the general username, password type stuff.
When you've finally got your account you should be taken to your account interface. Here there are a whole bunch of blue buttons and a list of links over to the left. Click on the button in the list that says 'New Application/Schedule Appointment'. It should then ask you what kind of visa you are applying for and you again select 'Non-immigrant visa'. You will then be asked what post (consulate) you want to book an appointment at. The form then asks for your visa category (Student) and visa class (J-1).
The next few pages ask for the following information:
- Passport data (E.g. passport number, date of issue, date of expiry, etc.)
- Date of birth
- Nationality
- Name
- Country of birth
- Gender
- DS-160 number (Found on the center bottom of the DS-160 confirmation page)
- Phone number
- Email address
- Address
- SEVIS number (Found in the top right hand corner of the DS-2019 form)
- Exchange/Program number (Found just above the center of the DS-2019 form)
- If you have any dependents
- Are you applying for this visa within 12 months of a previous visa expiring?
After you input all of this information you are then asked to confirm your postal address. Next up it's time to pay.
So you're taken to a page that lists how much the fee is. You have to click 'See Payment Options' to be able to select an option. Chuck in your payment information and make sure it's all correct. You're then given a receipt number. It wouldn't hurt to write this down but once you click the 'Continue scheduling appointment' button it takes you back to the original cost page but the receipt number is already plugged in for you. It might be advisable to write the receipt number down anyway but if the site is working how it should then you won't actually need it.
Once you're back at the cost page and it's recognized your payment you can click continue. You'll be taken to a page where you can select the date and time of your desired appointment. Pick whichever one tickles your fancy and select it. When you've chosen and booked an appointment you'll be taken to a confirmation page for your booking. I strongly advise you to print this out. If for some unknown reason your appointment doesn't show up in their database you'll need that confirmation to prove you're supposed to be there.
If you're now standing there with a SEVIS confirmation page, a DS-160 confirmation page and a consulate appointment confirmation page you are done with the process. There's only one thing left for you to do and that's attend your appointment! My next post will cover the visa appointment so stay tuned for that.
- Lily
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