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My visitor visa to the States was denied. After an hour spent queueing out in the rain in London and several more queuing inside. Fuck me.
I don't think there's any hope for attending Inkhaven this time, and I was really looking forward to that. I would have met Scott, Gwern, and even Aella (academic curiosity only). I'd have gotten so much done. On the plus side, I guess I can publish the essays I was holding out on.
Despite advice given to me here to the contrary, it turns out that American visa officers are bemused by claims to be attending an unpaid writing retreat. I was asked why I hadn't applied for a J1 (uh.. because it's not applicable here?), and other nonsense that showed a questionable grasp on the situation. They didn't ask for the documents I had brought as supporting evidence, and I was handed the denial before I could even proffer them myself. Is a single, young Indian male a flight risk? Probably. But I haven't heard of many doctors jumping fences. Absolute misery.
I am considering going through this ballache again, as I said, it won't suffice for Inkhaven, but I do want to make a wedding in Texas. I might even try and hit up a few Mottizens and other people I know in the country, it's not like I have a shortage of annual leave now. Or I might give up and apply for a Schengen instead, Spain and Greece seem awfully inviting when I know what the Scottish winter entails. We'll see.
Having helped coordinate events in the past, the magic words are typically "attending a conference" and reminding people to never mention the word "work". It's a bit of an odd situation though since from the description, it sounds like attendees technically are producing some sort of work product that they may be getting compensated for (eg. If they are posting the blog posts to Substack) and yet it isn't an accredited writing class that would qualify for a J1. It's in a bit of a gray area where you'd probably be fine as long as you framed it properly, but I could easily see the visa officer getting confused since it doesn't fit nicely into one of the usual boxes.
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From what I've heard about American visa officers, they never ask for anything themselves and you have to be extremely proactive with presenting any supporting documents. Treat is as a presentation, not an interrogation, basically.
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I’m sorry to hear it.
Maybe consider talking to Scott, if you haven’t already? It may be that they can request a temporary visa for you in some way, or at least go through some process to make clear that there is a genuine pull coming from the American end for you specifically, which I imagine might carry more weight with an American visa office.
I'd feel bad asking Scott for something like that, while I idolize him, I can't really expect him to be more than dimly aware of my existence at best. Just as importantly, I doubt that he would be able to arrange something like that, unless maybe Vance is following him on Twitter. I've yet to hear back from Lighthaven given the awkward hours, but if they suggest some kind of solution themselves, I have little to lose by trying.
I did tell them that next time, it might be worth sending a formal looking letter of invitation as opposed to an email. That's all I really had to hand the visa officials :(
(Thank you, I'm still in town, so let me know if you'd like a drink Saturday afternoon or later on Sunday)
I thought it was Scott-run, and that he would want to know about attendees having difficulty attending. Talking to Lighthaven sounds like the right move.
A drink tomorrow afternoon sounds great! Same place as before, or different?
Scott is affiliated with Inkhaven, but he's one of the Big Name attendees/mentors, I don't believe he's responsible for the day to day management or organization, which is run by Lighthaven staff (most of them are LessWrong mods or in that circle). I left a message in the Slack too, so if Scott sees it and feels like offering help, I'd be touched, I just don't feel right in bothering him about it.
Can't go wrong with a Spoons, I'll send you a text, let's say we meet anywhere between 2-5? I will likely be attending a speed dating event later for the hell of it, and you could come along if you have £22 to burn!
Brilliant, sounds great.
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Likely story buddy.
Joking aside, I'm sorry dude, that's a nuisance.
She's the world's most renowned/infamous sex researcher! I had to see how she did the data collection on important metrics like "came in fluffer", ideally via a practical demonstration.
Thank you. I'm trying to look at the bright side, which is fucking off for a vacation somewhere nice and warm. I knew the visa approval wasn't guaranteed, but I still thought it was more likely to go through than not. I'm as squeaky clean as it gets, but alas, not clean enough.
At least you know how that data was displayed, unlike the poor Mottizen you responded to.
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I recently went to Greece for the first time and stayed for a week. I had a fabulous time, I enjoyed it more than Italy. Ate my own body weight in gyros, drank loads of cheap red wine, didn't see a drop of rain the whole time I was there. Highly recommended.
You had me sold at no rain. The winter here is bad enough without the constant drizzle that can't quite be arsed to turn into snow.
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I can't speak to the particulars of your situation with Inkhaven, but from my experience watching CBP reality TV shows (not by choice, a travel buddy loved to put them on), generally they assume that anything that sounds remotely like working probably is work and you therefore need a work visa and [DENIED]. A regular tourist visa to meet up with some people you know should be fine, though schlepping down to London is a real pain. Condolences and good luck.
Thank you. In hindsight, I should have prioritized the wedding, and probably avoided describing Inkhaven as a "residential" writing workshop. Apparently, a first time (at least in several decades) visitor visa has the standard where you have to convince the officers that you won't abscond, with the presumption you will by default.
Coming down to London is indeed a massive pain, as is the rather severe chest infection I seem to have caught from an hour of exposure to the elements. Next time, which might well be in the dead of winter as opposed to an abysmally rainy day, I'm going to put on my best Eskimo cosplay.
Yeah, the thing is, angloid legal bureaucracy is a bunch of magic words, and saying any of the magic words can either save you or doom you. The human stuff is in between, but both "residential" and "work"shop were probably the wrong incantations. Lawyers are a fae court, and that amplifies down to the guys who kind of vaguely hear their instructions seventh-hand.
Surprised it's got that bad in London so quickly. Earlier this week was drizzly and vaguely chill, but par for the course for the season. Good luck and, look, if you need the strong stuff to kill that infection, nobody who haint a doctor can tell any of youse' lot's writings apart.
Its just front line public service workers. They aren't that smart. No one makes a career out of these front line positions (although some work in them for 20+ years).
I remember applying for a professional accreditation and initially being rejected because the requirement was a trade school equivalent certificate and I had a bachelor's degree in it. Arbitrary box ticking.
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