Useful tips for preparing your visa application
- buy a printer that also knows how to scan I didn't do it and I spent sooo much time running back and forth between the library and home. Plus, they always look at you so judgy when you print out twenty pages at once. And that will happen a lot. Since you will have to write lists for the day of what needs to be scanned, printed out and copied. Many libraries have a limit of how many times a day you can log in and for how long you can use the computer. It happened so often that I forgot to log out but had to go back there a second time that day. But then I couldn't log in again because I fogot to log out the first time and my time for the day was up. Trust me, it is unnecessary drama.
- however, if you get all your copies and prints done at the library, if you have a big amount of pages to print out (in my case the chat history of when we were apart) go have a look for actual print shops. Usually they take half the price for a page than libraries do.
- give the statutory declarations (Form 888) to people you trust I gave it to a friend and he had more than a week's time to do it. In the end he didn't have his signature witnessed and his statement was just so bad. It seemed to me he filled in in within 2 minutes. A five year old could have written a better one. I won't make that mistake again. Maybe give it to a girl ? With a creative style of writing ? I mean the whole reason of the form is for them to see what a great person you are.
- take care of your birth certificates as one of the first things you do. If you need to get one from your home country, it can take some time.
- have your copies certified at the court house They do it for free.
- write lists of what still needs to be done and hang them up on the wall over your desk. This way, you won't lose sight of things and you always know what else there is.
- whenever you’re contacting immigration about a question that is really really important for your visa preparations or simply your plans, make sure you speak to more than one person. Call the hotline twice on two different days or go to one of the immigration offices twice to make sure you speak to two different people.
It is so frustrating to get the wrong facts and rely on them to be true because after all you got them from an official immigration call service. Just please save yourself from that heartache. I genuinely wish someone had told me that.