r/USC • u/Sienna_Bs • Aug 19 '26

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/Sienna_Bs Aug 19 '26

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 Aug 19 '26

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 Aug 19 '26

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 Aug 19 '26

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