I have received your offer letters from Nottingham and I have left them in our front desk rsity office (103 Hatcher Hall) under your name for you to pick them up.
This letter has important information concerning your exchange at Nottingham, arrival date, visa info, etc. so please be sure to pick it up.
So today I took off of work, drove for an hour and a half to go back to my school, I picked up the letter from the office, and drove for an hour and a half back. At first I was very confused about how any of this information would be helpful or why it was worth the three hours driving, but here it is anyway:
Dear Julia
Student Name: Julia Date of Birth: 14/06/1993
Student Number: 00000000000 Nationality: American
I am pleased to inform you that your application for admission as a full-time university level undergraduate level International Exchange student at The University of Nottingham, UK from 24/09/2012 to 21/06/2013 has been accepted. The details of your acceptance are set out below. Any conditions must be satisfied prior to admission.
If you are beginning your studies in September for the start of the autumn semester, the University recommends that you arrive in Nottingham on Tuesday 18th September 2012 to attend the student Welcome Programme. The compulsory University orientation meeting will take place on Wednesday 19th September 2012.(Information that does not apply to me.)
Students joining the University for longer than 6 months will have been provided with details relating to their Tier 4 visa application. Information on this can be found online at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/internationaloffice/offer-holders/preparing/index.aspx#visa(more information that does not apply)
We look forward to welcoming you to Nottingham!
Yours sincerely
B.
Study Abroad & Exchange Co-ordinator
So now, I leave in less than three* months and I have all of the information I need for my visa (i.e. the stuff in bold, plus a couple of extra things I don't feel comfortable posting online), so I can officially apply for it! Since I hear the process is pretty frustrating, it'll no doubt be boring, and I need to tell you about it anyway, I've decided to liveblog it.Programme: Undergraduate programmme (no qualification)Tuition Fee: 0.00Conditions: N/A Method of Study:Full time Start Date: 24/09/2012 End Date: 21/06/2013
11:03PM CST: Reads this powerpoint.
11:06PM CST: Realizes links on site no longer work.
11:07PM CST: Begins rereading powerpoint.
11:08PM CST: Disregards the powerpoint.
11:08PM CST: Just goes straight to this site: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/
11:10PM CST: Reads this and realizes I'm not actually going to be able to liveblog this entire thing:
11:15PM CST: It keeps telling me to apply online... but won't tell me where I need to apply.Before you apply
Before you apply, you must:
11:17PM CST: Ah-ha! I found the online application link snuggled in the corner of the page!
11:18PM CST: I wonder where my passport is. The page says I need it for this.
11:20PM CST: And it says I need to pay on this page as well.
11:21PM CST: I am very worried about clicking the 'continue' button. Maybe I can find a fake one to fill out and save on my computer for tomorrow?
11:26PM CST: Curls up on couch for a few minutes and daydreams about meeting a guy who looks like Aaron Johnson before he dyed his hair blond.
11:29PM CST: Wonders if that last thing was appropriate for this liveblog.
11:31PM CST: Stares at 'continue' button. Wonders where my passport is.
11:33PM CST: What do they mean by 'travel itinerary?'
11:34PM CST: I'm feeling very unsure about this whole thing.
11:35PM CST: Pauses "My Yard Goes Disney" to hunt for my passport.
11:42:PM CST: Finds passport. Considers the tragedy that is Aaron Johnson's blond hair.
11:44PM CST: Did you know US passports feature inspirational(??) quotes on each page?
We send thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have so many things to teach us as people. We are glad they are still here and hope they will always be so. -Excerpt from the Thanksgiving address11:53PM CST: Presses the "continue" button.
Let us raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair. -George Washington
This is a new nation, based on a mighty continent, of boundless possibilities. -Theodore Roosevelt
11:55PM CST: I really hope this is the right application.
11:57PM CST: So far, all of the questions are about where I'm from. This isn't too scary at all.
11:58PM CST: Oh gosh. So many types of Tier 4 visas. I'm a Tier 4(General) Student? I think?
11:59PM CST: OHMYGOD! I DON'T KNOW WHAT A POINT BASED SYSTEM IS!
12:03AM CST: Okay, I rechecked the Nottingham website and they say I need to apply for the PBS Tier 4 (General) Student visa. Everything's under control.
12:05AM CST: Section 1 is called "About You"
12:07AM CST: I don't think I'm allowed to put "New Orleans" as my place of birth as I was technically born about 15 feet outside of the city.
12:08AM CST: This all makes me very uncomfortable. What if I make a mistake and they say I lied on my application and they ban me from the U.K. for 10 years.
12:10AM CST: Now we're on to section 2- "Passport Information," which I can fill out as I have my inspirational(??) passport on hand.
12:12AM CST: I look like a drug addict in my passport photo.
12:15AM CST: I don't know whether or not my passport was issued in New Orleans or Baton Rouge.
12:16AM CST: Googles 'where was my passport issued USA' which apparently has been googled many times before.
12:21AM CST: Apparently no one knows the answer.
12:32AM CST: Even though they ask for a place of issue with the city included, I don't know where it was issued, so I'm not putting one. I refuse to be banned from the UK for ten years for lying.
12:34AM CST: "Section 3- Your Contact Details"
12:35AM CST: "How long have you lived at this address?" "State number of months and years?" Is "sixteenish, I think" an applicable answer?
12:38AM CST: I give up for the night. I'm saving the application until morning, when I will get my mom to help. She is good at that sort of thing as it is part of her job.
June 23, 2012
8:05AM CST: My mom and I finished the online application, but a few weeks ago, I got my first speeding ticket ever and my mom didn't want to pay it right away and my court date isn't until August, so on the question asking if I was being tried on criminal charges and had an upcoming court date (including traffic violations) I had to answer yes. It shouldn't affect my visa, but it's still not the best thing to have on your record when you're applying to live in another country, so on Monday my mom and I are going to the rinky dink town where I got the speeding ticket and submitting an appeal to have my ticket pardoned. My mom says that since I'm an honor student, it's my first ticket, and I'm apply for the visa, if the judge is in a good mood, my ticket should be pardoned, and hopefully we'll be able to kill two birds with one stone.
Also, my mom said not to worry about the city for the issuing question or the months for the home address question, so we breezed through everything.
I'm going to post my post-court visit visa application separately, so that's it for this post!
Aren't visas fun? Aren't they?
To be continued.
*<3
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