My FBI background check came back! Yay! So I immediately mailed it off to be authenticated with 2 day shipping there and back. My appointment in Chicago is Aug 8th so... so long as they don't take forever to process the document, it should be back in time for my appointment.
Also, on a side note, I went to donate plasma today and they said there is a 28 day deferral for the MMR vaccine I got. So I can't donate for another week. The other vaccines had shorter deferral lengths though. Just an FYI, since they wouldn't tell me the deferral length of time over the phone, in case anyone else gets these vaccines and donates plasma.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Vaccinations!
Last Thursday (July 3rd) I went to my doctor to get my yearly physical, vaccinations, and to have her write up an official letter saying I have no infectious diseases, which I needed for my visa application.
I ended up getting 5 vaccinations. Three in my left arm and two in my right arm. Most of them didn't hurt at all, but man oh man did the last shot in my right arm hurt! I'm not sure which one it was though. The vaccinations I received were:
- Meningococcal vaccine
- MMR (Measles, Mumps, & Rubella) vaccine
- Polio vaccine
- Hepatitis A vaccine
- TD (Tetanus - Diphtheria) vaccine
I had some joint pain for a couple days after the shots, as well as tiredness. These have pretty much gone away by now though. Now I'm just waiting for my FBI background check to come back so I can send it to be apostilled.
Oh, by the way.... I bought my plane ticket! Sep 25th at 4:20pm I'll be leaving! My flight has a layover in Toronto, then on to Barcelona. I should be arriving there at 10:05am on Sep 26th.
I ended up getting 5 vaccinations. Three in my left arm and two in my right arm. Most of them didn't hurt at all, but man oh man did the last shot in my right arm hurt! I'm not sure which one it was though. The vaccinations I received were:
- Meningococcal vaccine
- MMR (Measles, Mumps, & Rubella) vaccine
- Polio vaccine
- Hepatitis A vaccine
- TD (Tetanus - Diphtheria) vaccine
I had some joint pain for a couple days after the shots, as well as tiredness. These have pretty much gone away by now though. Now I'm just waiting for my FBI background check to come back so I can send it to be apostilled.
Oh, by the way.... I bought my plane ticket! Sep 25th at 4:20pm I'll be leaving! My flight has a layover in Toronto, then on to Barcelona. I should be arriving there at 10:05am on Sep 26th.
Thursday, June 19, 2014
The Beginning: Visa hassles
Hello all! Last summer I took a class in teaching English as a second language through Oxford Seminars (awesome class!) and once you finish the class and are certified to teach they will place you anywhere in the world you want to go and teach. I was looking into going to Japan for awhile, but decided on Spain instead (since I have a BA in Spanish). I had a Skype interview and was hired by CAPS (Conversation Assistant Program for Schools, http://www.hometohome.es/caps/eng/assistants5.html). My start date is September 26th, 2014 and the program goes until June 20th, 2015.
Ok, so to start off this adventure I'll need a visa. I've already been hired by CAPs in Spain and have all my documents to prove it. I discovered that since I live in Minnesota, I have to travel to Chicago for a 20 minute appointment to get my visa. Luckily, there is an airport in my home town of St. Cloud that goes to Chicago for about $200 round trip. Not terrible. The fee for the application is $160 as well.
Before I can go, however, I need a FBI criminal background check which must be apostilled (authenticated). I went and got fingerprinted and sent in the paperwork to the FBI last week. Their website says that at the moment it takes 25 days to process it and up to 10 more days to mail the documents back ($18 charge for that). Then I need to get it apostilled by the US Department of State, which is another $8 and 10-15 days(ish... it doesn't specify on the website) to get that back.
I can get all my other documents together in the meantime, such as my doctor visit and documentation that I have no illnesses I could bring into Spain with me. Plus I need to make copies of all the documents. Don't worry, I have a folder to keep all this stuff together ;)
Once I have my appointment (which I have tentatively set for July 18th) it will take 4 weeks to process the application and another 10 days to mail it back. So, it will be early September before I get my visa, assuming nothing is delayed. This is freaking me out, since my start date is Sep 26th. I'm going to hunt around and try and find an airline ticket that I can buy now and has no cancelation fees, just in case all my documents aren't ready in time. There isn't really all that much I need to do, but man oh man does this take a long time! I figured it'd be done in about a month, but it's going to be nearly three months! Bah!
Ok, so to start off this adventure I'll need a visa. I've already been hired by CAPs in Spain and have all my documents to prove it. I discovered that since I live in Minnesota, I have to travel to Chicago for a 20 minute appointment to get my visa. Luckily, there is an airport in my home town of St. Cloud that goes to Chicago for about $200 round trip. Not terrible. The fee for the application is $160 as well.
Before I can go, however, I need a FBI criminal background check which must be apostilled (authenticated). I went and got fingerprinted and sent in the paperwork to the FBI last week. Their website says that at the moment it takes 25 days to process it and up to 10 more days to mail the documents back ($18 charge for that). Then I need to get it apostilled by the US Department of State, which is another $8 and 10-15 days(ish... it doesn't specify on the website) to get that back.
I can get all my other documents together in the meantime, such as my doctor visit and documentation that I have no illnesses I could bring into Spain with me. Plus I need to make copies of all the documents. Don't worry, I have a folder to keep all this stuff together ;)
Once I have my appointment (which I have tentatively set for July 18th) it will take 4 weeks to process the application and another 10 days to mail it back. So, it will be early September before I get my visa, assuming nothing is delayed. This is freaking me out, since my start date is Sep 26th. I'm going to hunt around and try and find an airline ticket that I can buy now and has no cancelation fees, just in case all my documents aren't ready in time. There isn't really all that much I need to do, but man oh man does this take a long time! I figured it'd be done in about a month, but it's going to be nearly three months! Bah!
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