Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Student visa received, place listed for rental, clothing chucked...

Before getting into anything else, let's just say that I got my passport back soon after my last posting.  Yay~  To be exact, I received my visa not too much after I wrote that posting.  Maybe 2 days?

Once I got back my passport, I was so relieved.  And it really made me realize I am going to the UK and I am going to Cambridge to study law.

Yikes...

Anyways, since then I realized there are so many things that need to be done.  First, we had to get our place listed to let.  We found a rental agent and it is posted today.  Fingers crossed.  It would relieve so much financial pressure if we can let our place...

In addition, I started to think about which furniture and other things that we would like to get rid of.  I thought this is a perfect opportunity to get rid of things that are totally functioning but at the time of purchase I sort of bought them as a temporary solution - i.e. many of the IKEA pieces.  Now that we actually have to store things at someone else's house - my parents' - I think we really need to keep only the ones that we would like to keep for a long time.  So I made a moving sale flyer.  I am hoping to get rid of both of IKEA bed frames and other big bulky bookshelves etc.

Also I got rid of another 6 garbage bagful of clothing items.  Just from my stuff.  It is amazing how much stuff I had especially I donated about the same amount earlier this year and since then I haven't really bought any - maybe a pair of shoes and a couple of t-shirts.  Yikes.  I am really trying to become a minimalist.  The situation is pushing me that way but also I want to become a minimalist by choice.  Anyways.. that's where I am now.

K

Friday, August 10, 2012

VISA is taking forever

Maybe not forever but it is taking a long time.  Considering that the package was submitted on July 25, 2012 and when I checked the processing time of the Vancouver centre for the UK Border Agency, it said 10 days or so... it should be here by now.  But then, in Vancouver they don't process these things so... how did they even get 10 day timeline?  Only thing you do in Vancouver is you take your finger prints and all the other stuff and then you mail the package to the NY location.  Argh... the agony.

So far what happened is that August 1, I received an email saying that my visa application was received at the NY centre.  They also sent me a link that shows the current processing time for different type of visa and for Tier 4, student it was 13 working days.

Today which is August 10, I got an automated email from Cambridge that Cambridge finally received an email from the UK Border Agency on August 9 that my CAS number is used up.  It may need more explanation but the short version of it is that it is a some sort of idemficiation number that is tied to your admission and visa application.

So now... the next email notification will tell me whether my application was successful or not.  And then once it is ready to be returned - since I am currently passport-less - it will send me another notification.  From that point, it will take 3 days for DHL to deliver the package back to me.

Alas, I hope everything works out - knock on wood - so I don't have to do this again.

K