Immigration Issues

So, for the past few days, I've basically been hyperventilating over the fact that my I-20 and my F-1 visa do not match. Before I continue, let me explain the whole "non-resident alien for the purpose of study" deal to you assholes with US citizenship (I mean it, you have it easy, and cheap too!).

So, I am from Thailand. When I decided I was going to study in the United States, I had to apply as an international student, recieve an I-20, which is a form that shows who I am, what my ID number at the school is, what and where the school is, and that I am going to the states to study. I then had to go to the U.S. Embassy in Thailand, with a shitload of paperwork, a visa photo and an application fee and apply. This was way back when in 2002 when the embassy hadn't yet gone overboard with the application process. I could be approved on the spot because I wasn't a punk and haven't done anything stupid as far the U.S. was concerned.

So now I have an I-20 and a visa, the visa says the school that I'm going to as an annotation so that the immigration officer can verify that I am who I say I am.

So now you know what both these forms are, let me start with what happened Tuesday, the day before I was set to go to Fresno to take my flight to Bangkok, I realised that I hadn't gotten my I-20 signed. If I want to travel outside the U.S. I need to have an endorsement on my I-20 from the Immigration Specialist at school so that Immigration knows when I come back in the country that I am in status and I'm going to study for the next semester. Well, I didn't have a signature, and the school had stressed that they need two weeks to process the I-20 when a student give it in to sign. Well fuck. It was already 6:30, and the International Student office was closed. So I panicked big time. I was on the phone with poor William bawling because I fucked up, and I didn't know how long it would take before I got my I-20. So I called the next day, went in and gave the I-20 and she said it could be signed the same day, probably by the afternoon. So I went home and finished packing, cleaned up, and took my suitcase to school to pick up my I-20 and started my journey to Fresno. I was only 9 hours behind schedule.

Well. I got home just fine, great flight, slept the whole way, ate a bunch and now I'm at home. My dad asks me about my I-20, I say I have it, endorsed, from the new school. Dad says that the new school I-20 won't work because my visa says the old school. FUCK. Now I'm scrambling to figure out what the hell I'm supposed to do, I get on the U.S. embassy website, my dad's calling the hotline, who were absolutely no help at all, I'm about to start filling out the online application when my dad looks at my passport and I-20 and notices that there are two numbers that match. My SEVIS ID number. The ID number that shows EVERYTHING about me regarding my status, travelling and student history in the U.S. And then we see a note on the I-20: "Pending transfer from CSU". That totally puts my mind at ease, there's a reference between the new school and the old school! This is great, that means that there should be no confusion, great great great!!!

The next day my dad is still worried and mentions that if I'm denied entry into the U.S. this time because of this complication, I'm screwed for five years because it stays on my record that I was denied and denied people don't get visas. Now I start freaking out again. I e-mailed the Immigration Specialist at school to get a definitive answer. A few minutes ago I checked my e-mail, I'm fine, everything's fine, my status will show up on the computer and there shouldn't be any problems. Shouldn't.

I'm going to go take a nap. This is way too much excitement for me.

Miss you all! Nighty-night!