AIBU to be hopping mad and upset for DS?

[robotcollision]

Sorry this is long but I am so angry and upset on his behalf and have nowhere to vent.

DS2 (19 yrs old) has never had life easy. He has a very visible physical disability and an invisible one (HFA) which have given him more than his fair share of medical and social problems since birth. He had a truly awful first year at uni due to extreme isolation during Covid and some bullying.

The one thing that worked out for him was that he studied really hard and as a result got offered an exchange scholarship to a US uni for this coming year. The US uni was supposed to release a form to him in March that he needed before he was allowed to apply for his visa. He asked and asked for it. It was eventually released last week. He immediately spent 12 hours completing it and returned it to them.
They sent it back to him this week and he finally was able to apply for a visa. The visa interview date came through and it is two days too late for the cut off entry to his first semester at the US uni. (Term starts on Aug 19th. The latest day they will accept him is 3rd September. The visa interview means he can't possibly get to USA before 5th September at the earliest. We have phoned the Embassy - they can't and won't expedite it. The uni's delay in releasing the form effectively means they have jeopardised his entire study abroad year.

He now has no US uni, no one to share with at his UK uni as the friends he eventually made when he returned in the summer term have already got sorted for houses and his only option is to get an emergency accommodation back in the block where he was locked up alone and descending into severe depression last year.

I am so sad for him and so frustrated that there is nothing we can do to change the dates. And I am so so tired of him constantly putting such effort in to everything he does, from friendships to academic study, just to be perpetually knocked back.

Don't suppose any MNer has magical influence at US Embassy in London? If not, this is just a vent at the ongoing injustice in his life. I feel like nature didn't give him the best start and he deserves a break at some point.

@Fiddliestofsticks

I doubt they will have told the vice president, "I sent the form 4 months later than in was supposed to, they have immediately submitted it to the embassy but cannot get an appointment in time. My fault. Shall we just tell him there is no wiggle room?.

This person will have told them just that your son wants to come later.

Go above their head.

I agree. Doing that right now. Just written to the ambassador at the Embassy.

To their credit, Raab's office got back to us immediately to say that they consider this a matter for him to deal with in his capacity as foreign secretary so they've forwarded it to him with a note that it is time sensitive. I am very impressed.They are the only people so far who are responding with effort.

Which University is it?

Oh this is awful, I really want it to work out for you! Maybe Raab will sort it, imagine if he did?!

Really pleased to hear that @robotcollision
I'm no fan of Raab but confident this will be sorted - MPs are well used to dealing with this stuff esp if they are foreign sec
Load them with praise and chase them daily - do not be shy (I'm a senior lobbyist )

@robotcollision

Not great news so far. Belfast has no appointments at all. Not even in 2022.

POC at overseas office at US uni has emailed back saying, effectively: there's nothing we can do to help you in any way - no late starts can be ratified and you can't join any classes via Zoom. We won't do that for you. Get here on time or don't come. They mentioned they had checked with Vice President of college on these rules, as if they knew we planned to go over their head to get advice. It was a real 'this is the end of the matter don't bother us again' email.

Given this is their muck- up I am pretty fed up.

No reply from MP yet.

They sound like twats. Area covering already.

Someone’s fucked up or been lazy but they’re not acknowledging it.

Arse

Just thinking there must be back up policies in Covid times. eg he could come in 3/9 if he had a visa pick up Covid on plane and not be able to be in person until several days later. Surely they wouldn’t say that’s it you’ve missed day 1 as you were isolating you go home. Not even Covid could have a stomach upset not be able to go to class.

@absolutelyknackeredcow

Really pleased to hear that *@robotcollision* I'm no fan of Raab but confident this will be sorted - MPs are well used to dealing with this stuff esp if they are foreign sec Load them with praise and chase them daily - do not be shy (I'm a senior lobbyist )

Oh, that's interesting. Raab hasn't yet replied since his aide said he'd passed the message on. Should I keep badgering?

Have also written to US ambassador and Vice President of the uni. Nothing back from anyone yet.

Would let everyone that you have spoken to know this has been that this has been raised with the foreign sec as a constituent and 'you have had contact with his office and you understand that this is being discussed with the foreign sec'.
In reality - there will be protocol for this kind of thing - it will be something like this
Someone in Raab private office at foreign office will look at it - they will forward it to the US team within foreign office asking them to take a look and see what they can do.
US team at foreign office ( who have a lot to do) will forward to someone to the embassy (probably a reasonable level contact ) asking them to see what they can do. They will find you an urgent slot.

Therefore all those busy people need to be chased all the time - so that it isn't lost - so you need to chase his office at least once a day so they chase up the chain. Would try tomorrow first thing - express how grateful you are but how worried this is making you and your son ( likely very true)

I still believe it is very likely to get resolved but holiday and recess is not in your favour here
I'm crossing everything for you.

Have you begged the Embassy to pull forward his interview?

@absolutelyknackeredcow

Would let everyone that you have spoken to know this has been that this has been raised with the foreign sec as a constituent and 'you have had contact with his office and you understand that this is being discussed with the foreign sec'. In reality - there will be protocol for this kind of thing - it will be something like this Someone in Raab private office at foreign office will look at it - they will forward it to the US team within foreign office asking them to take a look and see what they can do. US team at foreign office ( who have a lot to do) will forward to someone to the embassy (probably a reasonable level contact ) asking them to see what they can do. They will find you an urgent slot.

Therefore all those busy people need to be chased all the time - so that it isn't lost - so you need to chase his office at least once a day so they chase up the chain. Would try tomorrow first thing - express how grateful you are but how worried this is making you and your son ( likely very true)

Thank you. We will do this. DS has spent nearly all day since 8am writing to all these people and then had to take time off to go and watch his brother in a sports tournament in baking heat so is flat on his bed now, too tired to go out with his mates tonight.

Poor lad
Work out

I'm going to utter words I never thought I would say
COME ON DOMINIC RAAB 😂

Worn out!

Have a read of this, it might be helpful. It looks like the University might be mistakenly using the old guidelines which said that Overseas students coming to the USA for a course of study were not eligible for visas if the course was in part online - so the Universities insist that the students are physically present for enrollment as that allows them to demonstrate compliance with the law. This document shows that the policy was amended to Covid to allow online studying.

www.ice.gov/doclib/coronavirus/covid19faq.pdf

Might be worth checking they are using the current policy

@sergeilavrov

Just to say that it will have to be at a U.K. based embassy if that is where he is resident! If he has dual residency, definitely give it a go. But they’re currently 1.5m applications behind on US citizen requests! Madness

Are you absolutely sure it has to be applied for in country of residency? A friends DD is doing the exact process this summer. Resident in a country they are not citizens of and have taken the paperwork back with appointment in 'home' country but they are not resident there.

@TheTeenageYears For an F1 visa (which I believe OPs son will be applying for), this is in the guidelines. Residency can be as much as a longer term visa e.g student visa/long term visitor, but you must have an address. Potentially there is some leeway for special circumstances for those stuck in third countries at the moment - but that’s a very risky route to take. Happy to be corrected if someone is more familiar with the current guidelines of course!

OP, for what it’s worth, DS had his F1 visa interview in early June and his passport was delivered back to him, complete with visa, within 48 hours. The situation may have changed since then, of course, but it’s possible that the Embassy is saying 3 weeks to allow itself a margin for error that it might not need?

I will be writing to the Vice President

Sod it, write to Kamala Harris too Op!

I used to work for a law firm that specialised in getting US visas for UK citizens.
This was pre-Covid but it absolutely was/is possible to get earlier appointments.
Call every single day to check for cancellations, if it’s within your budget, I’d highly recommend contacting a US visa law firm, they always have contacts to get a earlier appointments. When I worked for the law firm (approx 10 years ago) and student visa to be fast tracked was about 2.5/3k in legal fees.
To be honest, if it’s a straight forward application, I wouldn’t bother with the law firm but they may help with the appointment.
But call the embassy, nicely, every single day. They’ll have to have cancellations from people who are isolating etc

@ElizabethTudor

I will be writing to the Vice President

Sod it, write to Kamala Harris too Op!

@Snowjive2

OP, for what it’s worth, DS had his F1 visa interview in early June and his passport was delivered back to him, complete with visa, within 48 hours. The situation may have changed since then, of course, but it’s possible that the Embassy is saying 3 weeks to allow itself a margin for error that it might not need?

The truth is, they are giving huge priority to F1 visa students because F1s bring a lot of money in. A friend of DS applied on Tuesday for his F1 interview and was offered a slot two days later. Whereas DS is on a scholarship - host institution paying for him. This clearly makes a huge difference.

@SeaToSki

Have a read of this, it might be helpful. It looks like the University might be mistakenly using the old guidelines which said that Overseas students coming to the USA for a course of study were not eligible for visas if the course was in part online - so the Universities insist that the students are physically present for enrollment as that allows them to demonstrate compliance with the law. This document shows that the policy was amended to Covid to allow online studying.

www.ice.gov/doclib/coronavirus/covid19faq.pdf

Might be worth checking they are using the current policy

Thank you. I'll take a look. The uni has returned fully to F2F learning, nothing will be online so they may have reverted to pre-Covid rules.

@SailingBuddy

I used to work for a law firm that specialised in getting US visas for UK citizens. This was pre-Covid but it absolutely was/is possible to get earlier appointments. Call every single day to check for cancellations, if it’s within your budget, I’d highly recommend contacting a US visa law firm, they always have contacts to get a earlier appointments. When I worked for the law firm (approx 10 years ago) and student visa to be fast tracked was about 2.5/3k in legal fees. To be honest, if it’s a straight forward application, I wouldn’t bother with the law firm but they may help with the appointment. But call the embassy, nicely, every single day. They’ll have to have cancellations from people who are isolating etc

Thanks. We are doing this.

Just wanted to say I really hope you succeed. You’re a wonderful mum for going to all this effort.