• Gather visa application documents:
1. transcript and sealed transcript from the university
2. criminal background check (this one was a pain because after I did the required fingerprints I had to wait for the paperwork to come back to me. THEN, I had to overnight the paperwork, a form, payment, and a return envelope to Austin to be certified by the apostille.)
3. copy of the passport info page
4. signed employment contract
5. Health Statement (hilarious!)
6. original diploma (I wasn't too thrilled about sending the original, but oh well.)
7. passport size photos
8. I also threw in a copy of my teacher certificate in case they decided later that they needed it.
9. I had to mail all of these documents to my recruiter who looked them over and gave them to my employer. I mailed the documents on April 28 (expedited shipping). My recruiter received them on May 4.
• Next, my employer looks over the documents, adds some of their own stuff, and submits all of my information to the Korean immigration office.
• Then, I wait for the immigration office to produce a visa issuance number.
• and wait
• and wait
• My recruiter finally e-mailed the visa issuance number to me on May 19.
• On May 21, I mailed the visa application, payment for the visa, another passport-sized picture, my PASSPORT (super nervous about that one,) and another sealed transcript. The woman on the phone at the consulate told me that she would call to schedule a visa interview once she received my application materials.
• On May 25, I had a voicemail on my phone stating that my interview was scheduled for May 27. Wait, what?!? Yes that's right, May 27, in Houston. Seeing as how I live a one-way seven hour drive from Houston, I was pretty freaked out. With only two days notice, none of my friends were able to get off work to drive with me. So I decided I would need to fly. I called to ask for the days off work. I then frantically searched for a flight that would leave San Angelo in the morning, get me to the 2:30 appointment on time, and then allow enough time for me to make it back to the airport. Easier said then done. So my brilliant friend Erin gave me the idea to fly out of Midland (1.5 hour drive away.) I was about to book the flight when I thought hmmm maybe I should call the consulate to confirm my appointment first. Thank God I did! I called to tell the consulate lady that I would be able to make the appointment on Thursday at 2:30. She said "Okay, and your visa issuance number is wrong." I said "What? What do you mean the number is WRONG?" She said "Well when I put the number in the computer someone else's name pops up. Just get the correct number from Korea and let me know." Sigh. There was no way I was going to book a plane ticket without knowing if I could keep the appointment. At this point I had to e-mail the recruiter to ask about the visa issuance number. The only problem was that it was 2 am in Korea.
• So the next morning after the tenth time of frantically check my e-mail, I had the correct number. Apparently there was a problem with communication between my recruiter and the school and one letter was wrong. So I called the consulate and the woman said that I could still have my appointment the following day.
• I booked a plane ticket to fly from Midland to Houston.
More to follow...
It has been said that a pretty face is a passport. But it's not, it's a visa, and it runs out fast. -Julie Burchill
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