VISA EXPEDITED

Most people would assume traveling to England is an easy process. They are known to be our next door neighbor, our ally and friend. Quickly did I learn this was not the case.
It was about 12:30 AM Tuesday morning when my mom and I decided to sit down and go through all the VISA stuff I had brought home from school. I had applications, transcripts, copies of my passport, bank statements, the gamut.
By 1:30 I think we had finally finished completing the applications, half of which I could barely understand what I was answering. Then by 9:00 in the morning we were out the door, off to get MORE passport photos taken before my biometrics appointment.
We arrived in Lawrence at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The building was a contrast to most of Lawrence. It was a new building. After we got through security, we were greeted and directed by two very unfriendly receptionists and placed in a waiting room, where very few people spoke English. Within 5 minutes, they corn husked my hands and finger printed them all together and individually. And I was out of there and ready to mail in my application to New York.
However, because I'm going to St. Kitts for Christmas, we needed to get my passport back by December 15, which meant my VISA had to be expedited. For this, we turned to ABriggs, a passport and VISA expediting service. So we headed in to downtown Boston, where a little man helped to ensure I completed the forms correctly and had everything I needed. Luckily, we were close enough to Newbury Street that shopping made the trip worthwhile.
So 4 hours and about 300 dollars later (not counting the money spent on Newbury Street), I'm now awaiting my VISA and ready to go!
That's all for now--about to celebrate our arrival in a new country away from the country I'm anxiously awaiting to go to...but more on that later!