Student Visas for dummies. (I love cliches)

There's a whole lot of people out there who'll be going to the US of A this fall for graduate studies. The US visa regulations having become more stringent and difficult to comprehend, I've decided to write my experiences with the process. I've successfully got myself an interview date - after that I have no idea what's gonna happen. Also please note: this blog is a sane meaningful and hopefully useful blog, and hopefully there'll be more like this to come.

So lets get started. You've decided on your favorite grad school and have accepted the offer. You might have already got the coveted I-20 or it must be on its way. Nevertheless its never too early to start.

1. Go pay up your fees quick.

Now that you've already decided to go to the US, why delay giving them all the money they ask for. Pay them their 100 $ and get on with it. This payment can be made by cash, check or any means. It has to be made at any of a few designated branches of the HDFC bank. Look here: http://www.vfs-usa.co.in
You'll have to fill out a form and they'll stick some barcodes and return two copies. You should have one white and two yellow barcode stickers. Ensure this and ensure they all have the same number (lest the cute girl behind the counter got distracted by your macho appearance and got the wrong buttons.). Come back home satisfied and wait for two working days - thats two WORKING days. I haven't figured out if Saturday is treated as working, but wait for 3 or 4 days atleast. Theres no point messing it now. You'll have to pay Rs. 4600 for visa fees + Rs. 276 service charge btw.

2. Wait for the I-20.

Even if you don't have your I-20 you can proceed to the next step.

3. Fill out your forms.

Once you've waited long enough after you've payed the 100 $, you can get to the above URL and say (if you don't have voice recognition you can click) apply for non-immigrant visa. Keep your passport and payment receipt no. in hand. Also be prepared to answer some pretty unexpected questions (e.g., name two contacts other than relatives who can verify your details - quick or i'll break your back.) You'll have to fill DS-156, 157 and 158. Theres another SEVIS form you can fill only after you have the I-20. So if you do, go ahead, else save the info and exit.

4. SEVIS fee

Since September 2004, the DHS (homeland security) takes another 100 $ from students to maintain the student databases. So as soon as you get you I-20 logon to www.fmjfee.com and make this payment online. Make sure the print the receipt immediately when it is displayed. It cannot be obtained again, and I still haven't received their promised hard copy so I don't know if that can be trusted.

5. Get a date and sit back

You're almost there. Return to your form by using that option on the vfs page and finish your forms. Submit. They'll ask for some details after which you can choose your visa date. If a date isn't available don't worry, you can save and return later to check. If you get a date great. Hit it save your forms and go print them. Then pick up a beer and celebrate.

6. Interview dates

So your local embassy shows dates only in september. Thats ok people are making cancellations all the time so keep looking, you're sure to get a good date. If you don't theres nothing to worry. This is where the emergency quota kicks in. If you're within 120 days of the joining date on your I-20 you can ask for an emergency appointment (its an option available at all times). But beware, do not use this if you don't need to or aren't eligible for it yet. They'll give you trouble if they find out you've cheated with their system.

So thats pretty much it. Four easy steps and you're done. Good luck to all those F-1 guys (and more importantly girls) out there.

Titles - blogger crisis

I'm back with a bang and pretty quick - before the old one could echo out and fade into oblivion. 'course this high blog frequency will NOT be maintained; this is just 'cause theres no sense in leaving a primer blog on for the world to look at and laugh at your stupidity. You have got to give them more entertainment. So here goes. No parts to this one. (I just used a semicolon near correctly if you didn't notice. Go Wren and Go Martin, please go).

So coming back to the title of this blog, its just about that - titles. I want to establish in a few lines or paragraphs whether the blog decides the title or the title decides the blog. This would be the objective of this paper. We'll omit a quite unnecessary introduction and introduce some necessary concepts.

1. Bloggishness: This is a number that defines how "bloggish" you're feeling while writing that particular blog. Varies continuously from minus to plus infinity. We'll look at this particular factor in more detail later.

2. Blogbeat: This is the time of day when you write the blog. Fuzzily speaking, we can have different values for this parameter depending on whether after work, before, after a few drinks, and so on.

3. Fibbinacci: This is how much truth there is in the blog. We'll quantify later.

4. Compactness: A topological feature of the blog. This will require detailed attention later.

5. Continuity: Self explanatory. If you didn't think mathematically enough, then please note, it is also a topological feature.

6. Doomgolb: Self evident if you are arabic.

We now we have most of the definitions made, and these will soon evidently be concepts and not mere mortal definitions.

""
Old Chinese Proverb:
Definitions are ephemeral,
Concepts are evergreen like the bamboo shoot
""

Ok we're almost there, but this is getting too long and drawn out. So part 2 (ignore i said there'll be no parts) will come later, at a time when I know more topology to finish this mathematically ambitious theorem.

To blog or not to blo.......

I trailed off before you could hit escape to do just that and save yourself the torture of another boring (we)b(-)log with a cliched title. Since you're reading this, I'm gonna have to ask (read beg) you to continue. Part 1 follows:

1. The Elusive blog.

Its been long since I've crossed my teens, and since its mandatory almost for even 2 year olds to blog the moment the bones in those tiny fingers develop sufficiently to do so, and since I'm a good 20 years over that innocent age, I some time in the past decided to blog. It was ofcourse just a means to get on the band wagon and feel good about yourself in cliques (sometimes cults) discussing blogs. (Ego: Yesss I have a blog, now I can use it as a cheap means to talk with strangers (read cute girls), and mebbe stand holding a glass of wine at some friend of friend of friends (in monotonic increasing order of age) wedding and say "Oh yeah, I do blog, but I don't take it too seriously... You see... " and start rambling about all kinds of nonsense and surprise - the booze hasn't even hit those vessels.) So reasons being many and quite convincing (its all a cyclic thing i'm sure you've realized), I as I said, decided to blog, and here I am, writing as bloggishly as I can and feeling good about myself. Part 1 was titled the elusive blog, and it doesn't look like it was too much of that. But thats how blogs are supposed to be right? Maybe sometime in the future, I'll write an article - oops - blog on "The psyche of the prolific blogger". Part 2 follows.

2. There is no part 2.

Ha... gotcha there. (laughs out like a blogomaniac about having happily fooled ten thousand other bloggers who decided to test their destiny, not realizing anything and drifts of into a smooth slumber... like a log... blog... log... whatever).

3. Who's the fool?

Wasn't the above part 2?

Break: Watch out for more exciting action!!! Coming soon, same place...

4. The end of blog 1. Blogger to self: mission accomplished.