Having been offered the PhD/GTA role at the UTRGV back in April, the whole process of application for visas and move for the course was understandably daunting. However, the University has a great team of international advisors who were fantastic in assisting to organise our move. This is obviously something with which they clearly have quite a bit of experience.
The process required involved the University confirming I had been offered a position, through a form, which allowed us to pay a registration fee with the USCIS, prior to completing the online visa process for everyone, prior to an interview, following which we would be able to submit our passports for visa endorsement!
As you can imagine, a whistle-stop tour of many new acronyms, forms and processes, associated with US immigration (I-20, I-901 SEVIS, DS-160, I-94…) ensued, but our visa applications were duly submitted and in the end, it was actually relatively straightforward. As a bonus, the UK status, i.e., our special relationship with the USA(!), and the position offered meant the interview process was also waived, much to our surprise!
So, incredibly, after a mountain of paperwork a few weeks back and submission of our details online via the U.S. Department of State Consulate in London, we now have all our passports back with appropriate visas in order to travel to the US. We thus have a one month window to arrive and get sorted out before the University programme (program) starts at the end of August.
