Visa Appointment

One of the things I have been most anxious and curious about in my Camp America process was the Visa Appointment.

In order to work for the summer for Camp America, you must get your J1 Visa. This means collecting and filling out all the correct paper work, organising a trip to either Belfast or London and then travelling all the way to one of these locations to the American Embassy. 

Once you have been placed, you will get the notification that the 'Visa' tab on your CA profile will have been updated to allow you to start the Visa process. Once you have received your DS 2019, you must then complete your Sevis I-901. Once you have paid for this and have completed the form, you then want to PRINT OFF YOUR CONFIRMATION. This part is extremely important as this is one of the most important documents you will need when  you get to your Visa appointment. 

You will then follow the link provided to book your embassy appointment. I selected mine for the 1st of May and this then allowed me to start organising transport for my trip.

For those of you who dont know me, I live in Central Scotland and the only Embassies in the UK are in London or Belfast.I decided on London.

 One common question I always got when discussing my Visa appointment was "Do you really have to go all the way down there? Just for 1 appointment? Can you not just send them your documents?". The answer to this is yes. 

Yes you need to go all the way to London or Belfast for your Visa Appointment, You must visit the US embassy if you want a J1 Visa. One thing people dont know (myself included until recently) is that you can have your appointment in either of the Embassies! You can go to Belfast or London, whichever is easier for you! I chose London because it's somewhere I have been to a few times and so knew my way around. 

I booked my appointment a month and a half away from when I completed all my documents and this allowed me to get a cheaper deal on my transport. I managed to get two singles on the train from Glasgow to London (one of the tickets was even first class) for just less than £50. Virgin trains were having a sale and so that really worked out well for me. I even managed to get a train home the same day so I wasn't paying out £80 for a hotel. 

On the 1st of May, I arrived for my appointment and had a really nice and easy process.

You are given a number and asked to watch a screen for your number coming up and the booth you should go to. 

The numbers do change quite quickly though so I wouldn't recommend bringing a book or something to read as you will need to keep a close eye on the screen.

After you are seen a first time, you are asked to rejoin the group waiting and
go to a second window once your number comes up. Both booths take your finger prints and look at your documents. They ask you a couple of simple questions such as; "Have you ever had a J1 visa before?", "What will your role be at camp", or "have you left a job to do CA?". These are all questions you know the answer to so relax!

After this you are done! You will find out if the Visa has been approved and you can officially start celebrating. The countdown to camp has truly begun!

Its officially 1 month until I leave for Camp now and I couldn't be more excited!