The Trip - Part 1

Hello everyone,

I apologize for not having blogged in so long. I actually went back home to Austria to visit my family - for the first time in FOUR years. And then, less than a week ago (even though it feels like an eternity already) I returned to the US and have been swamped with work.

But let's start from the beginning.
When I went to Austria, I had to apply for a new visa since my old one had expired. In case you are not as familiar with immigration laws (which I definitely wouldn't be if I wasn't in this situation myself): You just need to have a valid work permit (in my case my H1B) to live and work in the US. However, to enter the country, you need a visa. If it expires while you're in the country, it doesn't matter...as long as that work permit is still valid. But if you leave the country and want to re-enter it, you need a new visa. Does that make sense?
To make a long story short, my visa had expired. I needed to get a new one (which you can only do in your country of citizenship).

I was definitely a little nervous about the whole process - even though I tried to deny those feelings in a hope of not making it worse. Not that there is really a reason why my visa application could have been denied, but you never know. And if I hadn't gotten the visa, I would suddenly have been unemployed, homeless and back in a country where Student Affairs doesn't even exist.

I flew to Munich, Germany, one of the closest airports to my hometown Bregenz in Austria. But instead of going home, I took the train to Vienna. The next morning was my appointment at the Consulate.

I tried to patiently wait in line. Ahead of me was a woman, who worked at some company in Boston, a man who was teaching at MIT, an older couple, and a young student. One after the other, we were called up to hand in our documents. Then, we were called - again one by one - for a brief interview. All the others ahead of me were just asked a few questions and were then told that their visa was approved and would be sent to them within the next few days.
I was starting to feel a bit more confident.
But then, when it was finally my turn, I was called over to a little more private interview area. Already not a good sign, I thought. Now I was just trying not to let myself freak out. The employee from the Consulate asked me how long I had been in the U.S. Then, he asked if I had applied for immigration status - or if anyone else had applied for me. I felt like he didn't believe me when I said that I had not applied (because I don't qualify for it...but I didn't tell him that). He asked a couple more questions about what I do; then he asked for my fingerprints. At this point, I was so nervous that when he said he needed my right hand, I put the left hand on the machine. Finally - after what seemed like an eternity - he said, "Well, we will have to check your records and look further into that. If we have any further questions, we will contact you and asked you to come in again."

My heart must have stopped for a second. I don't know how I managed to smile, say thank you, and walk out the door. I spent the next few hours trying to calm myself down and telling myself that everything would be okay. Hey, at least I had a lot of time to calm myself down since I was - once again - sitting in train and would be for 9 hours to get home.

Surprisingly enough, just a few days later, my passport with my new visa arrived in the mail. I didn't even know what to say when I got it.