It was much of a road trip for me! I had received my official forms from UChicago, and after spending A LOT of time and effort in Napier, I finally managed to set-up an interview appointment with the US Consulate for the application of the J1 visa. After going through the cost and logistics matters, Hannah and I reckoned that it would be cheaper and more efficient for me to fly out to Auckland for the interview.
We left the dogs at a boarding kennel, and Hannah at the Nomand Backpackers hostel. We both agreed that it would be a good for her to experience hostel life, and living with a couple of backpackers in the same room (so that she will appreciate me more! :) ). We had booked a place with "Park and Depart" - a mom and pop facility near the airport where you can store your vehicle for cheaper rate than the airport. As Raj (the owner of Park and Depart) send me to the airport, we chatted briefly about what I was doing. In his strong Indian accent - "You are doing the right thing, man! This way you are saving a lot of money and also see the country" (talking about Hannah and mine road trip adventure).
In Auckland, I spend the night at Selena's. Rather than turning in early, I had to work until 1am on the US customs forms for our shipping of items to Chicago. I was so worried that the US interviewer is going to be thinking that I am on drugs if they see me with my blood-shot eyes in the morning!
I reached the US consulate at 8.10am (the appointment was at 8.30am), and there was already a long queue. At around 8.45am, I finally managed to get through the security, and there it was - another queue! This time, I was queueing to submit all my paperwork and my passport. While waiting in queue until about 9.45am, there was (I noticed)
- a cheerleader going to US for competitions
- a guy going for a trucking course nd workshop?!
- two communications graduate going for a internship
- a young boy going for a Camp America
A Middle- Eastern couple with their "cheerful but loud" baby managed to jump the queue, and went straight to the front for their interview. They were in and out of the consulate in about 15mins! That is definitely one way to speed up your interview process!
While in the queue, I also noticed everyone had printed out their documents in color! All my documents are in B&W, and I had about at least 1/3 of the paperwork they had! Did I miss anything? Finally, it was my turn, and the guy in the window, after looking at my photo (which was about 1 year old, with very short hair) which I submitted online for about 10mins, told me that he needed me to go and take a new photo to show that my hair has grown! My hair is still VERY short! Luckily, he caught sight that I had a new photo (which I took 2 days ago), and said that would be fine. After he scanned the picture, he directed me to another "queue" (chairs where all the applicants sat quietly until their names are called) to wait!
About 20mins, my name was called. Another guy in the window with his stern face (I remembered he smiled at the girl just before me!) asked about my purpose of going to US, what have I been doing in New Zealand, and how does the job in US related to my studies here. In about 5 mins, the interview was done, and he went through all the essential customs regulations in his monotonous voice, and said that my passport (with the new visa and important documents) would be in the mail in 3 days! YAY! One more step closer to getting to Chicago.
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