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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.
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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