Traveling out of country

Since this is so off topic of Second Life, I put it in the off topic forum. Earlier today I started to post it in the general forum for some reason and got distracted from finishing my post. I left and then realized I was glad to have not finished my post as it would have been in the wrong section of the forums. LOL Any on to my topic.

I am traveling out of the US for the first time in my life a month from today. The problem is I have yet to get my visa application into the South Korean Embassy. Which could be a problem. But I've looked at the visa application and WOW! They want alot of information that I don't have. They want references in country, my address in country, and phone number. None of which I have. So last week I called the Embassy in Chicago to get help with these questions on the form. The woman I spoke with did not answer my questions. I am worried to send off my application incomplete and get turned down. Has anyone traveled to South Korea before? I could really use some help so anyone who thinks they might be able to help I'd appreciate them shedding some light on the situation for me.

~Adrian

this isn't specific help... but will help in general when chasing stuff like this down.. if you speak to someone on the fone for info GET A NAME. i moved parrots back and force across the u.s. canadian border...prolly called 8 times before each time, got different answers each time, and STILL at the border got surprises. grr...

also... try to call early in the day... and the week. i have had ppl put me on hold the 20 minutes til end of day and hang up. fun fun.

prolly a stoopid question... could you find anything on the web?

good luck.

l.

I called around one in the afternoon, and the woman answered one question not that it really helped but she did answer it. And when I asked her about the in country address she said don't worry about it. I'm thinking DON"T WORRY ABOUT IT!

Someone at work suggested calling a travel agency and maybe they could help.

I've looked at the Korean Embassy website and it pretty much says if you have questions call the nearest embassy. So who knows.

~Adrian

The easiest and most efficient way to get a Visa is through a service. I have travelled all over the world many times and would never go through the manual process of getting a Visa ever again.

It was a little easier for me living in DC because they could just courier it down the road. However, if you are near an embassy there is probably a service that will help you. The fee is generally cheap. Maybe $20-$50.

Are you getting a work Visa or just a tourist Visa? Tourists are allowed into South Korea from the United States for 30 days without the need for a Visa. You just fill out a card at the airport and have to have proof of transportation out of the country. (return plane ticket)

As for services, they are generally the same.

http://www.passportsandvisas.com/visas/index.asp

That is a good place to check Visa requirements for countries. The US enjoys very relaxed travel requirements for its citizens touring the world.

For the form I would just put:

10. Purpose of Entry: Tourism

12. Address in Korea: Seoul, <Name of Some Hotel and Phone Number if you have it>

13. Reference in Korea: Same as 12. Make a reseration at a hotel. You can cancel it after you get your Visa.

blah blah blah, the rest is pretty easy.

Again, if you are just visiting for less than 30 days I wouldn't even bother.

This is one of those situations where you can be a little arrogant as a US citizen. You would have to be pretty bad for S. Korea to give you any crap trying to visit.