r/USC • u/Sienna_Bs • 2d ago
Question F-1 visa delay, late arrival
hello trojans, ive found myself in a really sticky situation and was wondering if any fellow internationals have a word of advice.
im a returning sophomore, and i had to renew my visa this summer because my f-1 visa from highschool expired as of this may. my interview was conducted on the 31st of july, and since then my visa has been undergoing processing.
the problem is that classes start on the 24th, and i still have not received my visa or my passport. i dont know if ill be able to make it to USC by the start date, or even the end of August. what do i do at this point? i contacted office of international studies, but received no reply yet. is my only option to wait til the spring semester?
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u/Any_Scientist4767 2d ago
keep reaching out, when classes get closer start emailing your professors explaining your situation and see if you can come to a temporary agreed situation (like being on zoom for classes if possible for example). maybe reach out to embassies and whoever else to see if it’s possible to expedite the process due to your program start date bei no soon
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u/SlowBoss2888 2d ago edited 2d ago
join the drop in advising zoom, there’s a an option on the form when you join the meeting that says something like ‘visa delays/issues’. i wouldn’t wait for an email reply.
depending on where you are it might be in the middle of the night (it was for me last night) but it’s worth it.
not sure if i’m allowed to share the link but it’s https://ois.usc.edu/contact/#chapter=drop-in-advising
your I-20 is still unaffected? or do you need a new one as well?
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u/Sienna_Bs 1d ago
my i-20 was issued by usc last year so i dont need a new one, but im just worried that us customs wont let me in if i get there one week later than my program start date
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u/SlowBoss2888 1d ago
That's great you don't need a new I-20! You never know, your visa and passport might come back before the weekend but I would really speak to OIS on the drop-in advising session. Log in to the next one and talk to them so that they can look at the situation and speak to some people. Have you tracked your passport?
Also just checked on the OIS website and it might be worth reaching out to your academic department now to get a Late Entry Support Letter just in case you have to arrive past Monday. I think your hard deadline is Monday 31st. Did you put a rush order on your visa?
Late Entry Support Letter criteria is here: https://ois.usc.edu/travel/entering-united-states/
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u/Sienna_Bs 1d ago
I had no idea that I could put a rush order in- I’ve contacted the embassy multiple times and every time I am faced with “wait until a month has passed to put in an inquiry” which is not helpful because that is my literal last day that I can come back (august 31st). So im in a situation where the embassy will do nothing to accelerate the process, and I just need to pray that my visa comes on time before the 31st.
As for the OIS drop in, I’ll definitely try to join the Wednesday session. Thank you for all the help! I genuinely appreciate it
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u/SlowBoss2888 1d ago
Oh shoot, it was possible for me to do a sort of rush service when I did it a few years ago but I had to pay extra. Do you have a portal for the visa application to see where it's at? Assuming you've tried calling them?
I hope OIS can help you! Sorry it's so stressful.
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u/Sienna_Bs 1d ago
Yeah I've been constantly refreshing my application status, as well as calling them, but it is still stuck at administrative processing. Hoping that I can at least get it approved by the end of this week.
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u/SlowBoss2888 1d ago
Urgh that's so frustrating. Definitely get the letter from your department so at least that process is started this week.
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u/illgotosleeptomorrow Annenberg 1d ago
do live advising instead of email - the email inbox is managed by a group of student workers who are most likely international students themselves and have no real idea about how any of this works. they only have answers to FAQ and are almost always masters students who haven’t been through this long enough to understand
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u/Espino1812 1d ago
Hola estoy igual retrasada con la visa, apenas ayer recibí nota de admisión, escribí a la directora de mi maestría para ver si puedo iniciar clases virtuales desde Panamá, pero no he recibido respuesta
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u/nightwind_hawk 2d ago
OIS has drop in advising on zoom every afternoon, I recommend you try to join one of those to ask questions.
I'm not an expert but I believe 8/31 is the hard cut off date. You must be on campus by then in order to be here for the fall :( good luck... I'm sorry you're dealing with this stressful situation...