LONDON — The phrase “four-letter word” should be pretty basic: a word with four letters. However, most often we associate the phrase with words lacking positive connotations. Well, here is another four-letter word — not usually on that understood list — but one which I can confidently say I would be happy to never hear or speak of again: V-I-S-A.
Prior to this summer, I thought visa complications were only for people traveling to developing countries like Angola or countries like North Korea that don’t have the best relationship with the United States. Recently, I even learned that to travel to Russia from the United States, you must first receive a written letter of invitation (in Russian, no less).
Never would I have put the United Kingdom in that difficult visa category. And for those staying in the U.K. for six months or less, you don’t even need a visa. However, for others, myself included, who want to stay in the U.K. for a bit longer, getting in and out of North Korea just might be easier.
My year at the London School of Economics spans from September to June, so I needed a visa. However, my advisors said the process would be pretty simple. That blissful ignorance quickly ended when two weeks later I listened to a friend vent endlessly about her visa and question why I seemed so calm.
Home to my computer I went and frantically searched the soon to be most visited (and most hated) of my bookmarked websites, the U.K. Border Agency. Words like “biometric data,” “proof of funds” and “CAS statement” flooded the screen. Hours later, I thought I understood the process, paid the $318 fee to start a visa application, made an appointment to get my fingerprints done and marked my calendar for June 25.
June 25 was exactly 90 days before I flew to London. According to visa regulations, you cannot submit your application until 90 days before. Who knew submit could be such a tricky word?
As it turns out, to the U.K. consulate, submit is synonymous with start. This meant I had started my application too early; I should not have even applied until June 25. It meant that I would have to cancel my application, apply for a refund (hope I got my refund), and yet the most complicated part was that I was leaving for my summer internship in Los Angeles. How would I be able to send in my application with my millions of forms and complete my finger print scan in Connecticut if I was across the country?
Two phone calls to the U.K. Consulate in New York City and $24 later (insert “London is not cheap” sentiment), I was somewhat relieved that I could get my money back and apply again online on June 25. Then I could pay another $100 (again, London is not cheap) to expedite the process and get my visa on the spot.
Last week, as I left my house in Connecticut, I went over for what I hoped (prayed, actually) would be the last time I reviewed everything required for my visa. Every form needed to be filled out correctly. Every bank statement could only be from certain dates. Every passport photo had to be of the correct pixels.
Bu you can relax — this story has a happy ending. I did finally hear the words, “OK, you are all set.” Then when I got my passport back, with a page now for my visa, I questioned if it was sane how happy a little piece of paper could make someone. Probably not. Close to $500 and what feels like 500 hours of stress later, I had my visa.
Though I have not officially begun my adventure of a year abroad, there is something to be said for the preparation. Preparing for something completely new is an adventure in itself. Some things, like the visa, do have to get done in an exact and time-sensitive way but often even the most planned endeavors can go awry. As I spend my last weeks at home, I am tempted to be as prepared as possible, but at the same time I know that the best adventures happen when I just go wherever the adventure takes me (prepared or not). ?
thescene@theeagleonline.com
