Well, GOOD news (mostly)! I was offered an internship at the University of Liverpool with the Centre for Lifelong Learning! My huge excitement was quickly shot down by the realization that I'll need a visa. Obtaining one is a terrible pain in the ass. All day on Friday at work I was researching information on what I'll need and it is a TON of very confusing hoops to jump through. My concern was doubled when the person who will be my supervisor (Tricia) says that two interns in the past were denied their visas and had to come a month late. (I'm assuming they were able to come after they appealed the denial and were then granted.)
The thing that is so urk-some to me is that Heather did not need a visa when she interned at Cambridge. Granted, that was a few years ago and I'm sure regulations have changed since then. Currently there are about seven different types of visas and I probably fall into one of two categories--student or worker. My confusion lies in that I feel like I'm neither a student OR a worker to the UK... yes, I'm a student but I'm not being granted credits from the British university and yes, I'm "working" but I'm not being paid for what I'll be doing and I'm also not going to be employed by the university. So, really I'm not even sure what type of visa to apply for in the first place. I do know that before I can even submit my application that I need Tricia to fill out a sponsorship application. By my probably incorrect calculations it seems as though the earliest I'll know I've been granted the visa will be late February or March sometime. Being that the internship is to begin in May, I'll be biting my nails completely off and pulling my hair out in anticipation.
With all of that being said, last night while talking to Peggy I kind of decided that unless I can go under visitor status (not a student, not working, and staying for less than 6 months = only needing a passport to be there), I'm not sure if I'll even go. I'm too scared to wait that long to be approved. I've maybe changed my mind about that though... I contacted the International Studies program at ISU and it sounds like they might be able to help me through the process. My whole thing is that I just need a HUMAN to help me and it looks like they might be able to provide me with that help.
So I guess there's still a glimmer of hope that this may happen. I have had my heart set on it for so long--like over a year--and then so quickly I learned that it might not be possible. I was pretty bummed. We'll see though.
The thing that is so urk-some to me is that Heather did not need a visa when she interned at Cambridge. Granted, that was a few years ago and I'm sure regulations have changed since then. Currently there are about seven different types of visas and I probably fall into one of two categories--student or worker. My confusion lies in that I feel like I'm neither a student OR a worker to the UK... yes, I'm a student but I'm not being granted credits from the British university and yes, I'm "working" but I'm not being paid for what I'll be doing and I'm also not going to be employed by the university. So, really I'm not even sure what type of visa to apply for in the first place. I do know that before I can even submit my application that I need Tricia to fill out a sponsorship application. By my probably incorrect calculations it seems as though the earliest I'll know I've been granted the visa will be late February or March sometime. Being that the internship is to begin in May, I'll be biting my nails completely off and pulling my hair out in anticipation.
With all of that being said, last night while talking to Peggy I kind of decided that unless I can go under visitor status (not a student, not working, and staying for less than 6 months = only needing a passport to be there), I'm not sure if I'll even go. I'm too scared to wait that long to be approved. I've maybe changed my mind about that though... I contacted the International Studies program at ISU and it sounds like they might be able to help me through the process. My whole thing is that I just need a HUMAN to help me and it looks like they might be able to provide me with that help.
So I guess there's still a glimmer of hope that this may happen. I have had my heart set on it for so long--like over a year--and then so quickly I learned that it might not be possible. I was pretty bummed. We'll see though.
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