Day 1 at the Office; View of 2011
Posted byOk. The new year is already rolling...and we are now in the 3rd day. This will be an apt season to resurrect all our energies towards constructive planning for the new year and laying the foundation that will stand the test of 2011.
So, I am having serious issues with the paper pushers at the US Embassy today; these folks stated on their website that students can get expedited visa appointments by sending emails requesting such to them once they have made an appointment from the VFS website. Some of our students that were unable to secure a visa interview appointment earlier due to delays in delivery of their I-20s have done all that is required and sent the email as stated. Alas, out of 3 students, one has not received a single reply since more than 2 weeks ago even though he got the auto-reply from their server, the other 2 were "expedited" for dates that are some days after the scheduled date of arrival as stated on their Form I-20.
We know everybody wants to go and study in the USA now (as some students have said to my face; UK is becoming more expensive, request tuition deposit before getting CAS Letter and all other "relevancies" as it applies to the UK overhaul of their education system) because of the obvious reasons and we appreciate the Consulate staffs for working tirelessly to schedule students for expedited appointments.
However, what is the point of giving students "expedited' appointments when the dates they are supposed to arrive (which the schools will insist on and the DHS might give the students trouble over) would have passed?
Now, the student that did not get any reply to be expedited might have to wait till next entry ( a judicious waste of a student's plan and time by the authorities that should know better) and thats not to say the visa will be issued when the dates are given and the student's eventually make the interview.
The VFS folks are a different ball game.
The brunt and challenges of outsourcing are always borne by the 3rd party users. I am talking from experience and if you want instances, I can tell you many... Now, whats not to say that the "good Asian folks" at VFS are not blocking these slots deliberately in order to sell them to desperate applicants at Skyrocketing Prices? I have heard of instances when this had happened and I think the US authorities should not play Ostrich with this reality.
So much to write about but my backlog of paperwork are also starring me in the face. I need to appeal to the US Consulate to please answer the 3rd student while thinking of the looks that will be on the faces of the other 2 students if and when I have to inform them that the school will not allow them arrive any day after the scheduled arrival date, won't give extension letter and won't issue another I-20 with a few days grace. What a day.
I hope this is not the shape of things to come but rather a leftover from 2010.