Application Sent

Hi all.  I've been lurking for a while and my wife has been posting in other areas here (Greg, I believe you and she/purpledaffodil have messaged quite a bit as we're heading to Glasgow).  All of our application material is off and we hope to hear back soon, especially seeing everyone else's agonizing processes here!  The only thing I'm worried about is our lodging.  I wasn't able to include a copy of our reservations at a hostel because I did not get the confirmation until after I sent the material!  I've included our flight itinerary.  Did anyone else not send that?

for what school year did u send urs in? the 2009?

2008-2009 school year.

oh okay. I don't believe that the flight itinerary was necessary, but it shouldn't matter. How are the other issues going, like finances and education requirements? I'm really worried about those two particularly, as their entrance requirements seem really hard, how was the whole process like for you?

Well, we provided our own bank statements showing our savings, a copy of my loan information, as well as a letter of support from my father with the evidence for that (letter from employer, etc).  Since I just finished my MA, I provided transcripts for the MA as well as a copy of my diploma from my BA.  It was more of a matter of being as thorough as possible and sending anything that may be of use.

I did get an email today saying they've received it* and passed it to a reviewer.  It can be up to an additional 5 working days. ((*Note: I work with FedEx and knew who signed for it on Tuesday)).  It looks like the LA Consulate is pretty busy as it took them 3 days to open my application (and the email I got said they're busy).  If anyone else is sending their packet in soon, be mindful of this.

edited (for update).

Why would they be busy? I'm crossing my fingers, too... 

Why would they be busy?

Because all of the students are applying for student visas at the minute.  They're always busy this time of year.

Because all of the students are applying for student visas at the minute.  They're always busy this time of year.

Oh my.  I'm 2 months later than planned but I'm hopeful.

Because all of the students are applying for student visas at the minute.  They're always busy this time of year.

Yeah, this is the same for US student visas too - June, July and August are the busiest times of the year. The US embassy in London makes everyone go for an interview now (since 9/11) and when I applied for my first US visa in 2003, there was a 2-month waiting time for an appointment, compared to the usual few days (I booked the appointment in May and didn't have the interview until July - I eventually got my visa and booked my flight about 3 weeks before I was due to leave)!

Then, when I entered the US for the first time on the visa (the week before classes started in August), there were so many students going through immigration that they had a whole separate line for them... the normal immigration line took about 5 minutes to go through, but the student line took almost 3 hours (I even missed my connection and had to wait for a later flight)!

However, when I re-entered on my current student visa 2 weeks ago, I got through the normal immigration line in 2 minutes because there were no other students entering the country yet .

I got the email today that both of our visas were approved and should arrive tomorrow.
I would think most countries in the northern hemisphere have busy consulates/embassies right now.  Most school programs start in August or September and the visas can be approved only 3 months before.  This time seems to be about the midpoint for between the earliest (i.e. 90 days before a program starts) and the latest (the day the program starts?) for any program that starts in September.  I know I didn't want to wait until September to do this!
Well, whoever is in Glasgow, we'll be there on 18 September and staying in the Euro Hostel (Osmosis Bar) until we get a flat.

I can finally get a good night's sleep! My visa is on its way to me.    It only took a day to process (= approved).

I actually had more trouble with UPS delivering everything than with the process time.  It took the embassy 3 days to get to my application and send an email saying they've received it, but it only took 1 day for them to process it.  Then it took them another day to send it.  UPS took 3 days to deliver it because they did not have my address for some reason.  I had to call them with the tracking number and give them my address as they only had the postal code (and, consequently, city and state).  So, it took a total of 11 calendar days from send to receive for me.  Oh, and the bonus I found was that they gave me 8 months beyond the end of the program instead of the usual 4....We have entry clearance until the end of February 2012!