Visa Saga Part 1

Sarah and I are currently on a one year student visa here which leaves us with a slight predicament because it expires in September and we don't want to leave until the end of next July. No problem, right? We will just extend. It will be simple you say. Go fill out some forms. Bahahaha.

Thus begins the Visa Saga. I plan to update you as this quest unfolds before us.

After registering with the FRO, we needed to get letters from our university stating that we are students. We believed that we could also include in this letter that we intend to enroll for next years course as well. So, I headed out to the university. I headed straight for the Joint Registrar/International Student Advisor's office. After waiting for him to finish with another student and asking if I could come in, I informed him that I needed to extend my visa and needed a letter from him stating that I was indeed a student. I gave him the letter I had written requesting this letter. Yes, one must write a letter to request a letter. He, in true national fashion, told me he could not accept my request letter because the paper I had written on was too small. WHAT? So, I was handed a larger piece of paper and instructed to re-write my letter.

After re-writing the letter, I was handed over to his secretary who told me that I needed to give him a copy of my passport, visa, and university fee book. There is so much paperwork in this country its truly ridiculous. Most of the faculty/dean offices have no computers in them if that gives you any indication. So, I give him all of my information and he says that he will write the letter but that it will only ask them to extend it up to January 2012 when my current class ends. DILEMMA! He also uses my least favorite word in the English language - Impossible. "Madam, it is impossible for me to write it past then because then you will not be a student."

I involuntarily burst into tears. The thought that I may not be able to get a visa for my full time hit me and I think I went into a state of shock. If my visa was only extended to January I would not have time (2 MONTHS - the Foreign Registrar's Office does not have many computers either, I remember seeing only one and it was not in use) after enrolling in January to extend my student visa again for another year. The secretary seeing my tears and realizing he was not making me understand goes to get the Advisor who comes out and again tells me it is impossible for me to get a letter past January.

After the advisor leaves I realize that I can try to do what I had done for the first visa and get a letter of intent to enroll from my dean. I figured with that letter and the letter from the Joint Registrar I would be set. I handed over all my paperwork and set a time to pick up the letter from the secretary.

So I walked all the way across campus to my dean's office. I again wait for around 20 minutes for her to finish with another student. I enter the office and explain that I am trying to extend my student visa. She cuts me off and says I must go to the Joint Registrar. I inform her that I had just been there and had been sent here. I continue that perhaps I could get a letter of intent to enroll and she says that now because he is the international student advisor he takes care of all of those issues. She does say that perhaps he could write on my letter that my final marks sheet will not be out until the end of March and that I need to stay until then to pick them up. I thought that sounded like a great idea because if my visa was extended until March. I could have the 2 months time needed to extend if I enrolled in January.

I walked back across the campus to inform the secretary of this idea. I waited for about 10 minutes for him to return from his lunch break. He said that perhaps that was a good idea but the my word meant nothing. He could not advise the Joint Registrar to make this choice on my word alone. What did I need? A LETTER from my dean.

So, I took my letter from him and walked back across the campus to my dean and told her that my word was meaningless and that I needed her to write a letter to the Joint Registrar stated all of the things we had earlier discussed. She wrote out a brief message on the letter and signed them. Her signature was illegible so I hope that they will know who wrote the message.

Having acquired the letter, I then proceeded to back across campus to the office where all of the days' events began and dropped off the letter again. I gave him all the documents: my letter with the dean's message, a copy of my passport, a copy of my visa, a copy of my fee book, etc. (You would have thought I was asking to be Prime Minister.) I left without knowing if I would get the letter that stated March or January.

I am supposed to call the secretary today to see if the Joint Registrar will write the letter for March. I called earlier and his phone was switched off. Classic.