How long did your visa procedure take?

[pietjekanarie]

How long did your visa procedure take?

From the moment you accepted the offer till you had your visa? How long does did it take the school to send everything to you, how long did it take you arrange other forms/documents you needed and to get the appointment at the embassy? Did everything go smoothly? I'm trying to get a little more insights in this procedure. I'm from Western Europe (I know Canadians have much easier procedures). Any EU passport holders with experience?

[Bumblebee]

How long did your visa procedure take?

From the moment you accepted the offer till you had your visa? How long does did it take the school to send everything to you, how long did it take you arrange other forms/documents you needed and to get the appointment at the embassy? Did everything go smoothly? I'm trying to get a little more insights in this procedure. I'm from Western Europe (I know Canadians have much easier procedures). Any EU passport holders with experience?

Hi, I'm a Spaniard currently with a J1 visa, so I hope I can help you out. The college where I'm working at processed my DS-2019, which is the J1 equivalent for the F1's I20. It just took them a couple of weeks to send me the document, but it's a small Liberal Arts College, so I guess in a larger university it might take longer.

Once you have the paper, it is a piece of cake (well, sort of). First, you pay the Sevis fee ($200). You can do so online. Once you've paid, you fill in three forms (D-156, DS-157 and DS-158) and pay the visa fee. I've seen you're located in Amsterdam, so you should go to the webpage of the US consulate in Amsterdam for the information on which bank deals with the visa payments. In the bank they will tell you the exact amount of money in euros that you need to pay.

Once you have paid both the Sevis fee and the visa fee, and have filled in the forms, you're ready to go to the embassy. I don't know how it works in Amsterdam, but in Madrid you can only take with you the basics (keys, a couple of coins, and the documents). Check the consulate's site for this info.

When I arrived in the embassy, I got a number. I went to a first window to give my papers. After a few minutes, I went to a second window so that they could take my fingerprints. Then, after a few minutes, I went to the last window for the interview. It takes a couple of minutes and they basically ask you why you go to the US, and who's paying for everything (they just want to make sure you're not going to depend on the government's money).

I usually spend 2-3 hours in the embassy because it's really crowded, so bring a magazine/small book with you to kill the time.

I don't think you need to pay the Sevis fee well in advance, since you can do it online. A few days before the interview should suffice, but you should check that out (my college paid for my Sevis fee, so I have never done it myself). However, you should call to make the appointment for the interview a few weeks in advance because it's crowded, specially in the summer. Plus, if you call in advance you might even get to choose the date and the time (I've been able to do that, myself).

I hope I didn't bore you out with all this information.

Edited April 2, 2010 by Bumblebee

[pietjekanarie]

Thanks Bumblebee No, you didn't bore me out, haha!

I was just trying to see how much time it takes. I might be going abroad for work and if I decide to go to the US (I also have UK offers), I have to arrange an appointment somewhere in between. I think it will depend on the country how crowded the embassy is. I have to go to Amsterdam, but I would say it shouldn't be too crowded in summer. I mean, it's not that EU people need visas to go to the US on holiday... So people applying for visa are usually people on business or people who are studying there. Unfortunately, I can't find any info on how many weeks after your call you get the appointment.

I suppose you showed info about how your were going to pay for grad school? Did you have information of your bank account translated from Spanish or something? If I end up in the US, I'm going on a Dutch scholarship. I suppose they need proof that I can pay. That scholarship will cover the costs, but it's not a US scholarship so I'm not completely sure how this works since all info about the scholarship will be in Dutch. (I know I can call the embassy for this, but that costs 15 Euros every time you call them). If I need to arrange a certified translator, that's going to take up some time as well. On the other hand, there must be Dutch speaking people around at the consulate in Amsterdam..

[Bumblebee]

Thanks Bumblebee No, you didn't bore me out, haha!

I was just trying to see how much time it takes. I might be going abroad for work and if I decide to go to the US (I also have UK offers), I have to arrange an appointment somewhere in between. I think it will depend on the country how crowded the embassy is. I have to go to Amsterdam, but I would say it shouldn't be too crowded in summer. I mean, it's not that EU people need visas to go to the US on holiday... So people applying for visa are usually people on business or people who are studying there. Unfortunately, I can't find any info on how many weeks after your call you get the appointment.

I suppose you showed info about how your were going to pay for grad school? Did you have information of your bank account translated from Spanish or something? If I end up in the US, I'm going on a Dutch scholarship. I suppose they need proof that I can pay. That scholarship will cover the costs, but it's not a US scholarship so I'm not completely sure how this works since all info about the scholarship will be in Dutch. (I know I can call the embassy for this, but that costs 15 Euros every time you call them). If I need to arrange a certified translator, that's going to take up some time as well. On the other hand, there must be Dutch speaking people around at the consulate in Amsterdam..

Hi again! Last year I called by mid-April or end of April to get an appointment the first week of June, so I guess a month and a half before should do the trick. I was able to choose the date and time, so a month before might work as well.

As for the funding info, it was already stated in my DS-2019 that the college would be paying me a stipend, so I didn't have to bring any bank statement with me. Your Dutch scholarship should be enough, too, as long as it clearly states the amount you would be receiving. And I don't think you would need a certified translation for it. At least in Madrid, most of the people working there are Spaniards. And those who aren't speak Spanish, so I guess that if you bring your scholarship paperwork in Dutch they will accept it.

[pietjekanarie]

Thanks again for sharing Bumblebee. It doesn't seem to be too big of a hassle. I'm still waiting on one US university and one Canadian (that would be a different visa procedure before I can decide anything. Because I'm applying to MAs, the decisions will come even after April 15, so I was a bit worried that I might be in trouble getting an appointment at the embassy in time. I think it should be okay.

If I end up going to the US, I will check with the embassy if they need a certified translation when I make an appointment. Let's hope they did learn their languages over there and I don't have to get one..

[Bumblebee]

Good luck with your decision, then! You shouldn't worry about the visa. If you're going to be in Amsterdam for the summer, you will have plenty of time until August to get it done, if you finally decide to do it. Oh, I forgot to mention something. Last summer, less than 24 h after I left the embassy my passport was at home with the visa in it. So it's usually fast, but don't leave it for August, just in case.

I'm definitely staying in the US, since I got admitted with a really good offer in Indiana. I'm waiting to tell them until I get an answer from UMass Amherst, but, unless they offer me a super-mega financial offer, I will be heading to Indiana in August.

[pietjekanarie]

Thanks!

The website of the consulate in A'dam states that they will send your passport back within 5 working days. That's really fast that they did it in less than 24 hours in your case!

Your IU offer sounds nice! Congrats and good luck over there!

[kaykaykay]

Hi

I am from Eastern Europe (but part of the visa waiver, well anyway) It took me a few days to pay all dues (I had to go back once because I completely missed the SEVIS fee 100$)

and get a picture done etc. Otherwise with the I20 in my hand and certificate that I will have money it took me one day to apply (there was no appointment necessary) and the visa was in my hands within 3 days. I guess it depends on how fast you can get an appointment. In Canada it took me WAAAY longer. ): sadness.

good luck

[kaykaykay]

Oh and if you want to go to Canada calculate 1 or 2 months of visa procedure. I am serious, if you are lucky you can get a visa fast but i was not and surprisingly huge chunk of people had troubles.

[pietjekanarie]

Thanks Kalapocska. Which country were you at that you could go to the US embassy without appointment? That seems way more convenient! I might have to go to the Baltic States for a couple of weeks for work, so if I can't get an appointment because it is already full I might have to arrange it there.

Hmm.. I had the Canadian visa before and it went pretty fast. Only I had to sent everything to Germany, since they don't have an embassy here. But it didn't take long when I had all the forms..

[Bumblebee]

Thanks Kalapocska. Which country were you at that you could go to the US embassy without appointment? That seems way more convenient! I might have to go to the Baltic States for a couple of weeks for work, so if I can't get an appointment because it is already full I might have to arrange it there.

Hmm.. I had the Canadian visa before and it went pretty fast. Only I had to sent everything to Germany, since they don't have an embassy here. But it didn't take long when I had all the forms..

If you want to try in one of the Baltic countries, make sure you can first. Sometimes you need to be a legal resident in a country if you're going to process a visa there. At least in Spain, you need to prove that you're a Spanish national or resident to be able to do your US visa in Madrid. I'm not sure how it works for EU nationals, but ask first, just in case.

[pietjekanarie]

Thanks Bumblebee I already found out that it isn't possible everywhere. Preferably I arrange everything soon in Amsterdam, it would help if I receive decisions of remaining universities and scholarships soon so that I can actually decide myself whether I want to go to the US, Canada or the UK..

[kaykaykay]

It was Hungary. I am actually not sure about the appointment situation in theory right now as this was before we got into the visa waiver program. (so students did not have to wait)They may have abolished this rule now as we are in the vw program. Last I checked though, the usual wait time for getting an interview was 1 day