My SO is supposed to be on a plane from the UK to the US tomorrow. We are supposed to sign our lease this week. He has orientation for school next week.
But, he won’t be on the plane. Why, you ask. Well, the US embassy hasn’t bothered to mail his passport (stamped with his visa) back to him yet. It was supposed to be in his hands in 10 days. The tenth day is today and still no visa. He called only to discover that they haven’t even mailed it yet. That means his plane ticket is now a useless and very expensive piece of paper. The new plane ticket he will have to buy will cost at least three times as much because it is a last minute ticket. And I have to stall on signing the lease.
But mostly, I miss him incredibly. Now I don’t even have the comfort of knowing he will be here on Tuesday. And yes, I’m one of those people who likes everything in writing. Having so much up in the air right now is very stressful and upsetting.
I just wanted to vent my frustrations cause I can’t stand it anymore! Mail the visa! It’s really not that hard. I promise. Just give it a try.
When I talked to my SO earlier today, he hadn’t been able to talk to anyone who could tell him anything more than it hadn’t been mailed yet. I’m not sure if it is clear in my OP, but he was approved for the visa almost two weeks ago. This should be the easy part. He was going to keep calling in hopes of getting more information so maybe I will have more to report tonight.
Thanks for the support. I can’t wait to have him here!
Count your lucky stars you’re not trying to go to one of the former USSR countries. Some of them you have to plan on about a month to get a vistor’s visa. It costs hundreds, more if you need a multi-entry one. My husband last year had a trip where he changed planes in Moscow, and had to re-purchase a different set of return tickets at great expense because every change of planes counted as an “entry” into the country. So he had to re-route himself to change planes in another country.
We’ve also found that we can get passports and visas (although at greater expense) by going to the local embassy or whatever. I once got a renewed passport in one day in Philadelphia. Could he go directly to the U.S. Embassy in, say, London and pick up the document?
We checked on picking up the visa in London, but apparently it must be mailed (at least in the UK). I’m not sure what the reason is for this unless it is just an additional way to verify his address. He presented the deed to his home, his passport, and his bank statements when he applied though, all of which have the same address on them.
I know in America, I can pay to have my passport renewed in one day, or even walk it through the lines myself, but it doesn’t seem to be the case there. I am very thankful that he was approved for his student visa. I know that we have been very lucky up until this point. It’s just frustrating to think of his visa sitting there, waiting to be mailed while he misses his flight.
Well, that’s a strange rule, and frustrating as Heck. Especially if the thing is ready. Bummer. Hope everything works out; remember even though it’s money, it’s still ONLY money.
I’ve already sent in the deposit on the apartment. I am hoping that he will be here before we need to sign the lease, but if not I am prepared to sign my portion and pay first month’s rent. I am hoping that the landlord will be understanding about him not signing until next week. (I hope he’s here next week!)
I called the landlord yesterday to find out about our move in date and left a message. No return call yet. There is so much up in the air right now! But you all are right. It is ONLY money. It really hurts us just starting out to lose that much, be we ARE starting our life together! That’s something to celebrate…and I will, just as soon as he is on the plane here.
You allowed one day of leeway between when you were supposed to get the passport and the departure date?!? Sorry if this seems a bit harsh but that’s incredibly naive of you. It sounds like you’ve been planning this trip for quite some time, so it seems to me that leaving the passport/visa until the last minute like that is poor planning and should not be taken out on the visa bureau.
I wish it were just poor planning on our part. The tickets for this were purchased in April to secure a good rate, but the visa couldn’t be applied for until the school sent the I-20 form. That didn’t arrive until the end of May. The first appointment available at the US embassy in London was on July 11th. My SO immediately booked the appointment and called back several times to try get it moved up. The tickets were purchased for the 22nd because orientation for school begins on the 29th. I’m afraid it was just one of those times when things needed to line up perfectly for him to make his flight and that didn’t happen. The visa should have still been in his hands yesterday. He didn’t receive his visa today either. And there is nothing to do now but wait and hope it arrives soon.