Spoiler alert: I freaked out.
After I finally got school approval, the final documentation I needed was my visa. No big deal, right? Ha.Â
Back in May, the people from the program were adamant that I book my appointment as soon as possible. But back in May, I was stressed with finishing finals and waiting on my passport. So, I did not book my appointment in May, and that was a mistake.Â
Once my passport arrived, I then had to find a time to drive up to my family’s house in Austin because I had shipped it there. And between finals, work, and wanting to see my boyfriend, there was a bit of procrastination on my end. But I did secure the passport before the summer semester started.Â
Then the next step was to book the appointment. (In reality, I definitely should have booked it sooner, as soon as I got confirmation my passport arrived, in fact). I was booking the appointment – it was the beginning of June – and the soonest time slot I could get was July 15th. A month and a half away! The fear was definitely hitting. I knew, from what I had been told, that it took over a month of processing after the paperwork was submitted. Sometimes even longer. My flight was scheduled to leave on August 28th. That was cutting it close. But I had to settle for what was offered.
Once my appointment was booked, there was a whole lot of documentation I needed to get a hold of. That was annoying, but once I got that sorted, I couldn’t think about my impending passport appointment. Instead, I had school to focus on.
When the week arrived, I cherished it. I was also extremely anxious I would somehow miss my appointment or not have all my necessary documentation.Â
On the Saturday before my appointment, I drove up to Houston (because you have to be in-person). Luckily, my boyfriend lives in Houston so I was able to stay with him so I wouldn’t be freaking out about having to drive up Monday morning for my 10:20am appointment. Another bonus is the consulate, which serves many states, was only an hour and a half from me. For others, it was much, much longer.
Finally, the day arrived. I was at the building 45 minutes beforehand, anxiously tearing my nails. I checked in, beyond relieved that my appointment existed on the docket (I had had nightmares about that). There was a long wait, as my people who had appointments the week prior had to reschedule for the following week due to Hurricane Beryl. Once I was seen, I asked some questions about the application form, terrified I was going to fill it out wrong and be rejected for it. Turns out, I filled out the wrong form. So I hurriedly filled out the new form I was provided with. They scanned all my other necessary documentation, like my driver’s license and bank statements. They then asked me if I had my birth certificate and I froze. I did not have my birth certificate. They then asked if I had a scan of it. I did not have a scan of my birth certificate. Freaking out, I asked if I could email them a scan. Thank heavens, they said yes. As soon as they received my scan, they would then send all the documentation to the proper parties. Wrapping up my appointment, I paid and thanked them for their help. Then I promptly drove an hour and a half home, pulled my birth certificate out from my desk drawer, scanned it, and sent the email out. The next day, I got the notification that all my documents were being processed.
From then on, I had to wait an agonizing month and 5 days before I got the notification that my passport was ready to be picked up. Mind you, they don’t say whether the visa gets approved. You just have to hope that the visa is in the passport when you pick it up. And again, luck was on my side: my visa was inside!
The whole agonizing wait was definitely a lesson in patience. Did I freak out? Whenever I thought about it. Is it over now? Yes, thank goodness.