Hmm.
I am 33yrs Aussie now doing my PPL to CFII rotor in the USA.
J1 visa.
Lived in abroad 4 yrs and applied abroad and was accepted.
Though Iwill suggest not applying at a consulate that is (1) a 3rd world country & (2) busy as hell ( Kingston Jamaica ) as there are hundreds or more of folks every day wanting a US visa, even the application times just for the appointment can be 90 days ( other countries like Mexico 6 months or more ) look on line for us consulate locations and find one that isnt so buys if you are able... sucked to be me but you can apply ( i did ) for an emergecy appointment ...separate ...longer line
Yes the paper work is intensive , lots of history to bring up & I have been around the world around 5 times, stayed in a lot of different countries and moved a million times.
Took me a week to put it all together and a fair few rum'n'cokes/beer to remember all the stuff I needed.
Word to the wise - keep as much of your personal paperwork together in an expandible folder ( or what ever ) it does come in handy ( thanks Mum for that advise about 20 years ago )
I am ex military type as well in a field that had me doing things that I thought may not be that well appreciated but turns out they were ok with.
BE HONEST else they will kick your ass out if they find out later.
The whole thing took ages to do , applications to different agencies copies of this and that ( I am surprised there is any color on my passport left do to being copied a million damn times ).
If anyone stops you at anypoint or you even talk to anyone at any point ...they WILL photocopy your passport !!
READ ALL THE DOCUMENTS THEY REQUEST AND NOTE ALL FINE PRINTS the must haves and so on ( eg photo size etc.. I brought mine in not cut from each other yet & they guy was not going to even let me join the cue #2 of 10 or so.
He cut me a break and got them cut for me ..nice guy... it meant leaving and coming back and rejoining the cue... not good.
I still owe that guy a beer !
CHECK CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK Everything bfore you go , 100 times, you dont want to go back.
And I saw heaps of applicants turned out the door just for not having their $&!t together
$$$.. money money money, its cost around $435 USD bucks in application fees ,, Consulate appointment , CEVIS, TSA, Fingerprints
- Yes even fingerprints... LOL become a suspect = free , become an applicant = $30..thanks hell it gets done even when you enter the US at immigration for free on a visitors visa.
Also gets done again once you get here & guess what .. pay for that too.
I even laughed about the $105 for just being an aussie
, its true. Turns out we dont cut US student applicants a break on their application fees so the US does the same thing back ( thats exactly how it was explained to me ) just before I had to leave the consulate & the cue
, get more cash, rejoin cue #1
( gets you in to join cue #2 to get back to cue # 5
and start again ( did this 2 times
....
saw it coming though ) turns out some fees must be paid cash and some dont have to . LOL hmm that was a great day. ( Yes I had to leave the consulate 2 times , once for cash and 2nd time for a receipt from the Parcel service for the my passport delivery ( oh yeah $$ there too )
Also had to leave cue #6 to pay the next bit then had to do it again cause they didnt take cash at that window & had to go back downstairs to pay it there .....
OMG what a system.
Anyway other than that, the interview was good & the folks friendly.
It was approved that day & I got my passport with visa back a day early 3 days total wait.
Keep copies of everything that you send off or receive back even via e-mail & take it all with you and copies of the copies...trust me that helped on that one. ... everything , anything relavent & dont lose anything , even the little piece of paper ( immigration card) you got when you enter the country after all is approved , you must keep it with your passport and such else you cant get the other things you need to get & it will be asked for. KEEP ALL THE APPLICATION STUFF TOGETHER FOR EVER ...DO NOT SEPERATE IT
, I still 4-5 months after entering the country get asked for things.
IS IT WORTH IT ? I hear you scream at your monitor.
hell yeah , I am flying helicopters now and couldnt be happier.
To tell you the truth I think the application process was pretty easy, sure its a drain on you and the old noggin & its takes a full day to go through not including all the application time preparation prior to the big day ,
Do you want it or not ?
I am glad I did it , I love flying helicopters.
Cheers
HF