Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with Visa

TN Visa: Help me prepare!

soviet sleepover — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:21:23 -0800

American working in Canada: help me prepare for the TN Visa interview process! In two days, I'll be flying to Canada for a temporary job teaching/tutoring English writing to ESL students in a university learning center. I have a copy of the job offer, my resume, transcripts (proving education that dovetails with the job), and several letters of recommendation (I don't, however, have a rec from my only ESL job due to job turn-over at my old office resulting in a stack of unanswered emails). This last bit makes me nervous, but at this point I don't know what else to do but go ahead. Beyond all this, how should I prepare? Are there any trick questions I should be wary of? What details should I stress (or omit) during the interview? What am I forgetting?

(For what it's worth, I'll actually be flying to Seattle and crossing overland at Blaine, so I won't have to deal with touchy airport customs people.)

Can I live in Australia?

Rufus T. Firefly — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:16:03 -0800

Ozfilter: I'm a 35 year old UK resident. My 27 year old girl and I would like to move to Australia for at least the medium term future...therefore visa related enquiries inside... The situation as it stands is this...my lady is away on a year working visa at the present. I've just graduated my batchelor's in Environmental Biology and would like to join her and am therefore looking at the possibility of post-grad (Masters, PhD) in Melbourne possibly. I have family (Uncle and Aunt) who are Australian nationals and also we have friends who could offer us work in Northern territory on a temporary basis. So the questions- Is my age an issue, what are the possible visas I can apply for and should I organise the academic part from the UK or wait until I'm there on another visa? Thanks hivemind.

immigration - H4 visa question

tvjoshi — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:57:32 -0800

If you hold H4 visa applied by both previous company and new company (not approved yet). Can you go back to India and get your visa stamped on H4 applied by previous company? more info follows... My indian friend was on L1 visa for 2-3 years. While in US, he applied for H1 visa and changed his job to that company (company 'A'). Company A also applied for his wife's H4 visa in jan 2008. Now he wants to switch to company B, they are obviously applying for (transfering) his H1 again. His wife's H4 visa applied by company A (lets call it H4-A) is still in the pipeline and not approved. Company B is not applying for his wife's H4 because they said it's not required if you have it (H4-A) already.

My friend is worried that if he switches now and a query (regarding H4-A) comes from IRS to company A, they may not take appropriate action or may not intimate my friend or worse, they may tell IRS that my friend is not working there anymore and H4-A may get rejected.

There are 2 solutions -
1. delay switching company. let H4-A get approved. Once you have the approved H4-A copy, switch company.
2. ask company B to apply for H4 again (lets call this H4-B).

problem with solution 1 is he does not want to delay switching company because that means applying for GC by company B also gets delayed. Time is already running out of hand. if he applies for GC now and get labor in time, he may have a shot at applying for I-140 and I-485 soon.

Problem with solution 2 is - his wife wants to go back to India in dec 2008. If they apply for H4-B, they are not sure if H4-B will be approved before dec 08. She may not have the approved H4-B to take to India for visa stamping. ( Note that if he or his wife wants to visit India now, they will have to get their visas stamped from US embassy in India. )

Is it ok if she does not have the approved H4-B (she will have her receipt of application - LIN no) for visa stamping in India?

Assuming that while they have applied for H4-B. H1-A gets approved before dec 2008. Can she take H1-A to india to get the stamping done (even though H4-B is applied)?

What would be the best solution? Please help!

Can I change the flight of entry into Japan, after obtaining the visa?

Masi — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:22:03 -0800

Does anyone here know what documents, besides your passport and visa, are needed at the border entry into Japan? I will go to Japan this September. I have recently obtained my visa, after a process which included submitting to the Japanese embassy a dossier of files, which included my scheduled itinerary in Japan, my hotel reservation, my flight reservation, proof of money etc.

My question is: are these documents checked upon entry in Japan? I know that the visa is not a guarantee of being allowed entrance into the country.

The reason I ask is that I have just found that if I fly through Nagoya instead of Tokyo, the cost of the flight is halved. But my dossier says that I'm arriving through Tokyo, via a certain airline.

Could I change my flight, or would that cause me trouble at the border and would probably make me go back home?

What is your experience at the Japanese border?

Thanks!

Which Visa card is best

Anonymous — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 09:53:57 -0800

What is the best Visa card to have? I need a new Visa card. I recently cut up my Chase Amazon credit card. I was happy with the rewards (1% back in the form of Amazon gift certificates) but over the last 6 months their customer service has been hassling me nearly incessantly - "security locks" for no reason, ridiculous fees and charges for no reason. When they refused to waive the latest of these I cancelled the card.

I never carry a balance, I won't pay an annual fee, and I have no debt. I have perfect credit. I use the card for convenience and for Internet ordering and I pay the full amount every month. I will not use a debit card.

I have an Amex Blue Cash that I like, but Amex isn't taken everywhere that Visa is. (If it were, I wouldn't be asking this question; this is also why I'm not interested in Discover, DC, or other similar cards.) I don't fly much and I buy gas on my corporate card (5% off) so I don't need those benefits. But I did like getting an 'all-purpose' reward.

Given the above, which Visa card is the best for me?

How to appeal a tourist visa denial?

forforf — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:52:34 -0800

My sister-in-law in Japan was denied a tourist visa to visit us here in the US. It's especially disappointing because my wife and sister haven't seen each other in over a decade, nor has she ever met our kids. Is there anything we can do at this point? Some background: My wife's sister-in-law immigrated from South Korea to Japan to be with her fiancé, whom she eventually married. She overstayed her visa in Japan pretty significantly, but now, due to the marriage, is there legally. They are not well off, and have saved for a considerable amount of time to visit us. However, when she interviewed at the embassy for a visa she was turned down due to the risk she would stay in the US illegally. Obviously, my sister-in-law, wife, and kids are all extremely disappointed, my sister-in-law is especially distraught.
I've done some google searching and read some previous askme's (like this one). I'm worried now that there is no recourse, but I'm still holding out some faint hope that someone might have some options to pursue. Has anybody been through something similar that can offer some advice?

How to help a young man (dual Turkish-Pakistani citizenship) pursue his education in Western country?

ebellicosa — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 05:37:53 -0800

How to help a young man (dual Turkish-Pakistani citizenship) pursue his education in Western country? We have been travelling in Turkey for a month or so. Recently we met a bright, well-mannered, well-spoken young man (25 years old) whom we would like to help out if we can. His father is Pakistani (ethnic Mongolian) and his mother is Turkish but they are divorced. He has dual citizenship of those two countries and speaks English, Urdu, Persian, and Turkish. He does not feel like he belongs in either country and would like to pursue his education in the West. He has had two years of college and has served the mandatory Turkish military duty. As one can imagine, it is difficult to get around with either of his passports!

Questions
- Have other people been in this situation (met someone while travelling who needs some help)? What kind of help is most useful? What are some dos and donts? Any words of wisdom in general?
- I gathered from a quick search that to enlist in the US military one needs to be a legal resident. Has this changed at all? Are there noncombatant opportunities eg as translator?
- Any practical advice for student visa process for US, Canada or Australia? I gather it is a 6+ month process. Is that about right? I also read that the student needs to demonstrate a 12 month supply of funds. Is that correct?

I know that everybody and his uncle wants to get into the US and it is not a trivial process. My husband is a softie though and likes to help out his fellow man. Any information or advice would be very much appreciated!

Visa service recommendations?

qxntpqbbbqxl — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:00:53 -0800

Visa service recommendations to get a tourist visa for China? The Chinese consulate requires visa applications to be made in person. I'd rather avoid the logistics of going to NYC, a five hour drive from where I live.

There are numerous businesses on the web offering visa services (e.g., flychina.com), but I'm wary of FedExing my passport to anyone without any way of knowing if they're legit. Hence my appeal to the Hive Mind:

Have you had a good experience with a visa service, for China or any other country?

UK Visa Application Advice - UK & Japanese citizens

mairuzu — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:24:52 -0800

I am a British citizen, my fiance is Japanese. We are getting married in Japan in August. Immediately after the wedding, we are planning on going to the UK Visa Application Centre in Osaka to apply for a spouse visa to allow my (by then) wife to re-enter the UK and work. I will then return to the UK towards the end of August and she plans to return in September (once the visa has been approved). Can anyone who has been through or knows about this process offer any advice, experiences or opinions? Specifically, we want to know:

- How realistic are the time-scales for processing (they estimate between 1 & 3 months - is it more likely to be 1 month or 3?)
- How easy is it to book an appointment at the Visa Centre?
- How busy does the centre get? (Can we just turn up without an appointment?)
- What sort of documentation is it best to take? (evidence of genuineness of relationship etc.?)

Many thanks in advance

Ordered X, got Y. Help?

kmennie — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 11:32:03 -0800

Spent $$ on wooden blocks with "beautiful nine-colour palette." Got seven blah colours. novanatural.com's response: "that's what our supplier gave us." Visa: "That's, uh, a bad situation." Now what? A month ago I ordered $50 blocks because they looked so nice, and I was happy to spend $35 on shipping for them. The description has been changed on the site, but as per the catalogue, they were supposed to have a "beautiful" "nine-colour palette."

I got seven colours that don't look like the ones in the catalogue, with twice the amount of an unappealing orange. They were shipped loose in the box, and there was some paint transfer that made it look like a toddler had been at them with a marker. Here's a scan of the catalogue page and the actual blocks.

I immediately sent a polite note, and waited ten days for a response blithering about the "handcrafted nature" of the mistake and about "subtly varied shades of each dye hue being taken up. From our point of view, these nuances only add to the beauty of the blocks." I tried again to explain: you advertised X and sent Y. I also pointed out that the "estimated shipping" was $35, the actual shipping was $25, the credit card damage was $35. I said that receiving the missing colours would still make for an unhappy experience but I'd be satisfied.

No; the crap they sent is the crap they got from their supplier, tough. How about a $10 gift certificate?

I asked them to make arrangements for me to ship the blocks back to them at their expense and for them to refund the $85; that was ten days ago, nothing.

Visa's position is that I can return the blocks at my own expense via registered mail and they'll credit my card the $50 purchase price within 30 days. I would then be out more on shipping than the blocks are worth, of course.

I'm amazed by this; I've never had a problem with ordering from novanatural.com before. I couldn't be more disgusted with them now, though. $85 is a lot of money for ugly blocks, and at the end of the day, it's my daughter who's getting shafted, with the ugly blocks still in the box. I pointed out to Nova the obvious play irritation of the double-the-amount-of-one-colour problem...

Do I have any possible recourse? (FWIW, they are in the States, I'm in Canada.) They are not listed with the BBB, unsurprisingly. Ontario consumer protection what-not doesn't seem to offer anything that applies.

UK visa question

mooza — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 05:10:12 -0800

I'm applying for a UK working holiday visa. I'm Australian. The rules on the britaus website state that I must be in the UK within three months of my application. The website also says I should apply in my own country. Hm. I was planning on travelling for around 5 months BEFORE landing in the UK. I called the expensive helpline and asked if I could apply in another country if I had to, and they said there were no guarantees and that it was at the discretion of whichever consulate I went to.

I've never applied for a visa before. Does anyone know if my chances are good with applying in a country other than my own? A friend of mine got one when he was in Holland, but that was a few years ago and I'm not sure if the UK has changed things to make it harder. I could do it in either Canada or Berlin. I'd be a bit nervous about sending away my passport while in a foreign country but if I knew there were others who did it recently I might feel a little more confident.

My other choice is to cut down my travelling in Nth America considerably and going to activate the visa in the UK before going again to Berlin which was where I was planning on going first. It ain't ideal...

MacBook with dead logic board: how to proceed?

sparrows — Wed, 28 May 2008 08:51:38 -0800

Logic board died on my friend's two-year-old MacBook (one year out of warranty). Should she pay for repair ($700 + labor), or sell the carcass for parts and buy, say, a used iBook? She's kept it in flawless condition and the screen is perfect (no bad pixels), so maybe she could get a decent amount selling it for parts? She does not have an eBay account and is not in an active Craigslist area.

I don't know the exact specs, but it's whatever was the least expensive new white MacBook in early summer 2006. (Its HD is 80GB, and I know she got the stock drive, if that helps.)

She does not have much money and this is her only computer (in fact this is her FIRST ever computer). The 700+labor quote is from an Apple Authorized Repair Center (she's a long drive from the nearest Apple Store).

Ugh. :(

Russia trip

scribbler — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:15:07 -0800

A friend and I are planning a trip to Russia this summer to visit a friend who has been working there for a couple years. My first question: Will this make getting a tourist visa more difficult (given we will not be staying in a hotel)? Secondly: We'd like to travel to a couple of other countries while we're there, but we're at a bit of a loss as to where... We'll probably be in Russia about two weeks and plan on seeing Moscow and St. Petersbug. I realize if you're in Russia, you're mostly close to Russia - but we'd also like to go to Poland, and maybe another place with about two weeks more in travel time. We're flying out from Toronto.

Looking for quick getaway options

drea — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:53:45 -0800

Where can I find a list of all countries I can visit which don't require a visa (I'll be staying less than seven days at most)? I just want a list; when I resort to Google, I always end up typing in a random country's visa requirements just so I can find out. Thanks. (PS I'm from the Philippines)

Tanzania visa validity

Jakey — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:56:01 -0800

Tanzania travel. How is the visa validity defined for a UK citizen on a tourist visa? I will be going to Tanzania on holiday in July. I've just been issued with a visa by the Tanzanian High Commission in London. My understanding of the visa is that it is valid for entry any time in the next 90 days, then for a stay of up to 90 days from date of entry. However, this is by no means clear from the visa or the web resources of the Tanzanian government. It could be that the visa is valid for 90 days from issued date, full stop, which would not be good for me. I will obviously try to get clarification by telephone, but any data from recent Tanzania-visiting MeFites would be appreciated.

I've never dealt with the non credit card kind of visa before.

stray — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 00:51:00 -0800

How fast can I get a Chinese Visa in Vancouver with a UK Passport? So I'm going to Hong Kong next week, ok, no problem. However now my friends want to take a brief trip to mainland china. Ok, I need a visa. As it turns out, to get a visa you need a passport with at least 6 months before expiry on it. Alas, my Canadian passport expires in June. Okay, I have a UK passport.

Can I just show up at the Consulate with my UK passport? How does this work? How long will it take?

I'm also moving this week and have little access to the web or a printer or my own sanity.

Film work in the US of A

mooza — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 07:46:31 -0800

Working in the US film industry as a foreigner. Please explain... Can the Hive Mind break down how the post production side of the film industry works in the States? The SO and I are looking into the possibility of working there (we're Australian). We are a film editor and sound editor, with credits in series TV (so no ads or corporates), although you know, they're mostly Australian credits. Aside from the frightening visa issues, which I'll save for another question, we just want an idea of how things run in general.

Are most things done on a freelance/contract basis? What sort of permanent work is out there (I figured it was like working for a big company like, say, MTV and being farmed out on their in-house productions)? Permanent work makes getting an E-3 visa viable for us. Do most people have agents? How necessary and how hard is it to get into the unions? I know LA is the place to be, but is NY doable? Have I broken MeFi rules by asking so many questions? Sorry, a little overwhelmed here.

We'll probably end up in London. But we can dream, can't we?!

Cynicism or Honest Mistake?

Rafaelloello — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 10:27:04 -0800

US Bank Credit Card(REI VISA Card) My bank account was double-billed for my full payment. I have been using this account and paying online for about a year with no prior problems. **Preamble: I have been paying bills on the internet since the day after Al Gore invented it, and have traded stocks online since Charles Schwab introduced its DOS-based "Equalizer" software circa 1991 on a 2400baud modem, so I know most of the ins and outs of online financial transfers. More to the point, I know to *NEVER* hit the authorize("submit", "make payment" or whatever button twice). End Old fart Seniority claim**

Anyway, My US Bank REI Visa card that I use for just about 99% of my day-to-day purchases was double-collected this month, to the tune of $2900 X 2. This is the only credit card I have that doesn't have the "automatically pay my full balance every month" option, but there are certain other advantages to using it, so I still use this as my mainstay, manually making my online payment every month.

Last Sunday, still several days short of the payment due date, I was able to log on No We're doing maintenance right now... message, just a regular logon, was able to access my account. When I went to pay, the site told me that I had no payment account set up and I would need to set one up, which is crap because I already have a payment account set up and have been using it every month to pay this card for almost a year. I figured they were doing maintenance and just logged out.

Monday mid-day I logged in and everything looked fine and I paid my full balance as usual. I can't remember what, but something wasn't right/didn't look right at the end of the transaction. I know not to use the "back" button, not to reauthorize, etc. so I just closed the browser and decided I would look on Tuesday and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if I saw no payment, as I figured they were probably toiling with a weekend upgrade gone awry.

Tuesday I checked and guess what? I've got two payments for $2900 credited to my account. Wonderful. Called customer service and they agreed to fix it post haste. I told them that it was even OK if the money came out of my account twice and went back in once, even if it took a day or two (luckily I have enough to cover the double payment, I know a lot of people would be in a much worse situation if a large payment was double-taken). Today I checked online and no further activity indicated in either account(both withdrawals taken from my payment account, Wed, I think). I just fired off a nasty email to my CC company.

I'm willing to accept the remote possibility that I caused this situation through fat-fingering. I just thought I would check in and see if anybody (particularly those that pay their bills in full every month) have seen any other strange goings-on. I know I'm providing $2900 of additional short-term liquidity to US Bank that I wasn't planning on. I was merely wondering if anyone else has found themselves in a similar vessel?

Getting my money back from ebay auction?

joshuaconner — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 15:51:12 -0800

I bought an item on ebay, and almost 3 weeks after I paid it hasn't arrived. I've tried to contact the seller to get the package tracking number (since I paid extra for delivery confirmation) through his paypal email address (bounced back) and through ebay's messaging system (did not respond). I don't think I'm ever going to get the item, and at this point I'd like to get my money back as quickly and with as little hassle as possible. Should I initiate a dispute with my credit card company, ebay, or Paypal?

I thought getting married would be easy...

mphuie — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 17:26:11 -0800

Help me get this resident-alien marriage process/paperwork straightened out. Here's the situation-

My GF is an international student (on an F-1 visa). She is hoping to finish school after next quarter. We are planning to get married at the end of this year.

Here are the steps as I see them now:
1. Get married
2. I file a I-130
3. She files an I-485.

If I understand this correctly, none of this means she can stay in the US after we get married, until she gets a visa number/space.

Our goal is to keep her here without having to travel in an out of the country for an extended period. We are currently living together, and been together 4+ years.

We have a few options for her to stay here, I believe...

1. She can keep registering for additional classes to extend the F-1 visa. (rather not)
2. She can apply for practical training (up to 1 year) where she has to be actively looking for work or be working.

---------------------------
So a few questions...

First, am I missing anything?

Second, how long is the wait before she is able to stay in the US after we get married? Should we get married nowas a formality and have her stay here using her F-1 visa/practical training until her status changes (through marriage). ?

Another option is for her to apply for practical training now and after she finishes next quarter, start that, then get married, but I'm afraid it will take longer than a year for her to get her marriage visa.

Anyone gone through this process?

Vietnam Visa Question

jne1813 — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 01:08:56 -0800

My friend (an American) has booked a plane out of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam that would require overstaying his Vietnamese visa by 5 days. Is there any way to extend it with minimal costs? What penalties/fines does he face if he overstays it?

FICA exeption for J1 visa holder?

klanawa — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:11:39 -0800

J-1 visa holder. What taxes do I pay? I'm a Canadian citizen I was in the US from April, 2006 to August 2007 working under a J-1 visa. This was in a non-academic setting. I was labelled a "management trainee," and all wages were paid by my US employer.

I paid Social Security and Medicare taxes in both years, but it occurs to me that maybe they were withheld in error. All the materials I've seen on the IRS site say I "may be" exempt from those taxes without going into particulars. Conveniently, the IRS phones just ring and ring and ring.

Anybody have any experience with this or links to info that I've failed to locate?

Thanks.

Getting a UK visa to visit China

biffa — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:11:39 -0800

UK citizen visa for China. What's the best way to get one in a hurry? I need to have a visa to enter China in my passport, in my hand by next Thursday. I've downloaded a form from the embassy website but all the other embassy pages seem to be down and there's no proper instructions for filling it in, costs, etc. I have an invite from my host institution. I will happily consider paying an agency to do the donkey work if someone can recommend a good one in London. I would prefer to avoid having to go to London myself to sort it out as I'm 6 hours away. Any info about how long these things normally take is welcome.

New immigrant filter: Can he work? Social security office screw up?

potsmokinghippieoverlord — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:21:56 -0800

Social Security card confusion? Doesn't have the "valid for work only with DHS Authorization" wording? Eh? So I'm about to marry my British fella this Friday (yay!) and several weeks ago he applied for and received a SSN/card.

However, I thought cards for new immigrants would have the "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" stamp on them. His doesn't. Whaaaa....?

Once we're wed, we're going to do the whole expensive adjustment of status thang so he can have a green card and can travel freely. But I'm wondering if the Social Security office screwed up by sending him a card without that stamp.

1. Can he work now? He didn't get an EAD stamp (work authorization -- which would allow him to work for the first 9o days of his arrival).

2. Do we have to fill out the I-765 anyway?

I'm suspecting that the answers are NO and YES, just so we're right with the ol' gubmint.

What does the hive mind say?

Finding an easy-to-get job that requires a BA

Ndwright — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 14:44:29 -0800

What's a job that's easy to get that requires a bachelor's degree? In order to stay in the country (U.S.) a friend of mine, on the verge of graduating, needs to find a job. However, due to immigration laws he can't stay in the States unless he has a job that requires a bachelor's degree. He's having difficulty finding employment at the moment and I thought I'd help him out.

A little employment-related info: His major is Econ with a physics minor, but he doesn't need work specifically in the area of business/econ to stay in the country. He's quite intelligent, very literate, highly competent with computers (basic C++ and java programming ability) and speaks English more fluently than most of the people I went to high school with. Personally, I'm baffled by his difficulty in finding work.

So, to my question: what's a job that requires a bachelor's degree that is relatively easy to get?