Getting your Visa and plane ticket

Go backward to Again: which university to go for?
Go up to The admission process
Go forward to Wrapping up your master

Visa requirments differ greatly between the canadian and the american embassies.
The canadian one requires you to make a full medical examination with its appointed doctors and interviews you before you get the student visa. This is just routine work so don't get fussed about it. Usually everything goes smoothly and you get your visa after a delay of about 2 weeks (mainly because of the medical examinations).

On the other hand, the american embassy is faster (just one day), its visa is cheaper (70 pounds, summer 97) and requires no medical examinations in Cairo. However, you will have to stand in a long queue in the street, then inside the embassy and bear with unfriendly behavior of the responsibles. Also you have to understand a little bit about the visa type you want to have:

F1: allows you to study and work on campus. You are also allowed a period of 12 months of work off-campus as a practical training with your degree. Your spouse and children get an F2 visa which does NOT allow them to work.
J1: allows you to study and work on campus. You are also allowed a period of 18 months of work off-campus as a practical training with your degree. Your spouse and children get a J2 visa which allows them to work after getting the university permission. However, you are subjected to a 2 years stay in your home country after you finish during which you are NOT allowed to work in the US if your original country finds that your field of study is needed there.

You are not totally at liberty to make your choice here. You get your visa depending on an official certificate that you get from the university (I20 for F1 and IAP66 for J1). Some universities have regulations that would force you to one type. Discuss this with the international students office in your university and ask them to send you the appropriate documents.

In parallel with the visa process, you should go to different airline companies and ask about the fares to your destination city. Tourist agencies can give you lower prices in general and tell you about the differrent options you have. Remember the following:

It is not advisable to make too many stops.
If you do have a stop on the trip, will you continue on the same plane or make a change?
In case of a change, is it on the same airline company? Is it from the same terminal in the airport?
Is the connection time long enough to allow you to change the planes and for your bags to make the change too? Is it on the other hand too long? Spending a whole day inside an airport is not fun at all :)
Is the time of arrival suitable so that you can find a mean of transportation to the campus?
Do you (or a member of your family) have a frequent flyer bonus on the flights of a certain company?

Any way, try to find a good bargain and don't go to a totally unreliable choice just because of its low price. You will suffer greatly if you loose your connection in the middle of the trip or, even worse, loose your bags. Cairo university can also pay some of your ticket fare (regardless wether you are officially sent by the university or got your own offer). Ask about this at the personnel office in the faculty (madame Nagwa).

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