Visas tend to be an irritating obstacle and painfully long process that one has to face when studying, visiting, or working in a different country. Luckily, as an international student, I have come to learn all about them.

Currently, I am on a student visa, which means that I get to stay in the States for 5 years starting with my first year at Scripps. Having that extra year allows me to work after graduation, but within those 12 months I need to apply for a working visa, which can be even more difficult and take a longer time to obtain. Though many students are American and do not face these challenges here, you will probably have to if you go abroad to work or study in a different country.

Whether you want to become a guide in the Mongolian Gobi desert, an English teacher in Argentina, or work at a bank in Switzerland, and you are not a passport-holder from any of those countries, you are going to have to get a visa. Lucky you!

Here are a few points that I have found helpful and useful over the years and hopefully for more to come:

1. Organize yourself and get all the paperwork done early. In my sophomore year, I was so nervous about not being able to intern in New York that I made sure to find an internship by November and have my summer-working visa by the end of January. Of course, it is not always going to pan out this way, but it’s smart to stay on top of the whole process.
2. Talk to someone who knows about visas or has gone through a visa experience. They tend have great advice, some of which you would never find anywhere else. If you’re an international student, I-Place is a great place to start.
3. Research the country and its visas. One time, when I flew into the States for a connecting flight to Canada, I had no idea that I was supposed to apply for a visiting visa, which is how I ended up in the security office of the Dallas airport. Long story short, after having to talk to a couple of officers about my confusion, they let me fly to Vancouver.
4. Immigration officers, no matter where you are (except maybe Canada) are scary. Remain calm when they ask a bunch of questions about your visa and always remember the address that you will be staying at.
5. Visas can be expensive and there are many types as well. Make sure that you are applying for the right one and if it becomes confusing (which it usually does), ask for help!
6. Each country is going to be different and have a different visa process.

So no matter which exciting country you are going to work at, be prepared for an adventure to obtain a visa. At the end, after the pain and frustrations, it will all be worth it.