No Letter, No Visa

The Israeli Consulate in San Francisco requires a plethora of documents prior to issuing a student visa. These documents include - 1) proof that one can afford staying in Israel for the year and can return home, 2) proof of a round-trip ticket, 3) a current passport, 4) two passport photos, 5) the visa application, 6) proof of a down payment for studies, and 7) original proof of acceptance into said educational institution.

Unfortunately, we have yet to receive the last two items. It takes about a week for air mail to arrive from Israel so hopefully by next Monday we'll receive our acceptance letters in the mail. We mailed our deposits the same day we received email notification of acceptance so hopefully, they'll get our check soon as well and be able to email us confirmation.

However, the only day we have available next week for a trip to San Francisco is Tuesday so we really, really hope that everything arrives by Monday! Ugh!

If we have to wait until the following week to go to San Francisco, it's a mere four weeks from when we travel and the Consulate's website recommends allowing "approximately three weeks" for processing. Stress!

We ordered duffel bags with rollers as additional bags to take on the planes with us; those arrived today so we'll start practice packing very soon!