Disney packs are here!

So the Disney packs arrived last week. Inside them there was a SIM card for the US, my DS2019 (very important), some Disney instructions, my Disney recruitment letter with  my applicant ID (which you need when paying your housing fee before you leave for Orlando), and a landing card which is pre-filled. Unfortunately this year we didn't get a Disney-branded folder, it was a Yummy Jobs folder. There also wasn’t a nice Disney look book either.

Make sure you have a computer connected with a working printer for these next steps as you will have a lot to print out which you do have to do there and then, you won't be able to print it out later.

The first thing to do is pay your SEVIS fee; it’s something all exchange visitors need to complete and costs $35. You can also do this later provided you have paid this AT LEAST 3 days before your embassy appointment. Print out the confirmation page as you need this for your embassy appointment.

You then need to call the operator-assisted embassy appointment booking line to book your appointment. This, at the time of writing, costs £1.23 a minute from BT landlines, more from mobiles and other landline  networks.

On the phone they'll ask you for a number on the top right hand corner of your DS2019, you'll need your passport number, date of birth, program ID (which is on the disney info sheets and in your yummy jobs info sheets) and also need to know your email address and possibly a phone number too. The embassy appointment will cost you $160 which you pay by card over the phone. You can change it at a later date without having to pay again. Disney does not pay this embassy appointment fee, you must pay it yourself.

Once that's booked, you'll get an email with a 2-page PDF: one page is the MRV fee receipt, the other is an appointment receipt. You must print both of these and have them with you on the day of your embassy appointment or you won't be allowed into the embassy (more on the embassy in my next blog post).

Then you have to fill in the DS-160 form which will take you about 75 minutes - have the visa documents that both Disney and Yummy Jobs have provided for you to hand when filling this in. It is several pages long and asks applicants different questions depending on your answers. Some of the info you'll get from yummy jobs will be different to that given by Disney, personally I put the Disney info in the form but I've heard that either is fine. At some point in the form you need to upload a photo of yourself which needs to fit certain criteria. However, if you can't do it, then it'll ask you to bring a physical photo with you to the interview day. My photo didn't work online so this is what I did.

If you have any doubt with any of the questions give Yummy Jobs a call or drop them an email.  At the end you will get a confirmation page which you will need to print out too.

That's it, you're ready for the visa appointment! You can also read about my Visa interview process. 

NEW: Want the inside scoop? Download my book about my 16 months spent living and working at Disneyland Paris now on Amazon.