<p>Klika - A visa is usually something that is permanently affixed to your passport. It shows that you have legal right to entry. Yes, they need your personal information that is shown on the photo page, but in most cases you must physically present your passport to get a visa. I know this to be true for Russia (a horrible visa process and one that I am glad will be handled for me if I am selected) and China. I don’t have personal experience with the other program countries, but my guess is that since these aren’t your garden variety European countries, a permanently affixed visa will be required for most if not all of them. </p>
<p>In any event, I simply cannot remember where I read that they take your passport as soon as you are accepted and keep it until you depart. It’s obviously not on here; perhaps it’s on one of the other sites like Exchanges Connect or Culture Shocked. If anyone finds it, post here on CC. I’m here more often than other places, since I’m also trying to get into college at the moment. Thanks!</p>
<p>Oh, ok, thanks. I guess that makes sense that it would be more strict with Russia and China. (When I went to the Bahamas last year they didn’t even stamp my passport.) I will be sure to let you know if I run into that.</p>
<p>Klika - Most “normal” places like Bahamas, EU countries, Canada don’t require a visa for tourists. Passport stamps (not the same as a visa at all) these days are mostly for show and whenever I’ve gone anywhere that they didn’t give me a stamp, I always ask for one. They’re cool!</p>
<p>I should clarify that visas are issued by the country where you are GOING, not where you’re coming from. (You probably know that, but I realized when I read my response that I didn’t say that.) So in my case, with China, my passport was sent to the Chinese consulate, which issued the visa and stuck it in my passport.</p>
<p>One benifit of being Chinese with one parent that is still a citizen of China is that the process is a whole lot quicker. They let people in more easily if you are connected…</p>
<p>I shall add in my two cents: The majority of the time, the requirement of a visa depends on country relationships (try getting one for Cuba; I’m positive it’s next to impossible, but For Canada, you basically can just walk right in) and the ime it takes for a visa to go through CAN depend your family’s citizenship(s), but not necessarily.</p>
<p>SoreSubject - Thanks! Where did you find this? Is there more in the thread? I distinctly remember someone commenting about the extended length of time needed to process the visas. At this point with college apps though, I may have hallucinated it - who knows???</p>
<p>I posted that on the ExchangeConnect website. They do take your passport so that they can obtain the visas for you. I’m sure they would send it back to you if you asked and explained your situation.</p>
<p>^ Thank you! I was starting to think I really was losing my mind. I do read exchanges connect, but I’m on here much more because I’m applying to colleges also. What was the date of the post you did on XC about the length of time they keep your passport? I’d like to reread, but my goodness that thread (if it’s in the main one) is over a hundred pages long and not very well organized.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if the age limit of “15 to 18 at the start of the program” means when the group enters orientation @ DC/departure from DC to designated country, or when candidates are being selected? It might just be me freaking out yet again, but the words are a bit vague for me. I turn 15 in mid-June, so this worries me a little bit.</p>
<p>I think they mean by the departure date - don’t worry! As long as you’ll be 15 by the time you leave the US, you shouldn’t have any reason for concern. Good luck :)</p>
<p>April is here! If anyone gets notified, don’t hesitate to post. The anticipation is killing me. I applied to China Summer and am waiting nervously for my notication email. They will probably email people a little closer to mid-April. Nevertheless, I manage to convince myself that an email will come every time I check my email (which is way too many times per day). Anyway, hopefully there’s good news whenever the email comes. Good luck to all!</p>
<p>Yeah, I have been anxiously checking my email sooooo much! It’s really bad. And my birthday is in April as well, so it would be a really nice birthday present for me too:)</p>
<p>I was offline for two days in DC, which didn’t turn out too well. Everytime I went to see a Korean art/history exhibit, I started wondering if I got in. Thank goodness for handheld devices such as iPods and Blackberries!</p>