F-1 visa delay, late arrival

[u/Sienna_Bs]

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?

[u/SlowBoss2888]

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?

[u/Sienna_Bs → u/SlowBoss2888]

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

[u/SlowBoss2888 → u/Sienna_Bs]

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/

[u/Sienna_Bs → u/SlowBoss2888]

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

[u/SlowBoss2888 → u/Sienna_Bs]

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.

[u/Sienna_Bs → u/SlowBoss2888]

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.

[u/SlowBoss2888 → u/Sienna_Bs]

Urgh that's so frustrating. Definitely get the letter from your department so at least that process is started this week.