Korean F-4 Visa Process as an Adoptee in NYC

April 2024

This applies to New York residents only.  Rules seem to be slightly different by location.  You must apply at your local Korean General Consulate.

Things to note:

- It is unlikely that the NY consulate will answer your questions via email or phone.

- You must have an appointment when you submit your visa application.  At certain times of the year (e.g. December), it is very difficult to get an appointment.  Check early in the morning on Mondays for cancellations.  You must reserve via this site: https://www.g4k.go.kr/biz/main/main.do and then select 재외공관방문예악.  There is a reason for this.  The security guard will ask you "Passport or other", I said "visa" and she said "do you have an appointment", to which I said "no" and she said "You can't come in."  When I went back in January, the consulate employee said that my background check was expired, and asked why I didn't come in December.  I said I couldn't get an appointment, so she said "Next time just come in".  I was going to argue with her and say the security guard wouldn't let me in December but I just dropped it.  Check the Korean consulate's rating on Google Maps.  You will understand.

Documents to gather:

1. Get an FBI background check.  Fill out the form online.  You'll get an email confirming receipt of the form.  You need to print this email out.  Then you get fingerprinted.  You can get fingerprinted at certain post offices, at a police station, or other place that offer fingerprinting (I went to IdentoGO in midtown Manhattan and cost around $50-60 for 2 sets of prints).  You will take those prints and mail it to the FBI along with your printed email.  They'll take some weeks to process and then email you a PDF with your background check document.

2. To get an apostille, print out your background check.  Fill out this form https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds4194.PDF.  Mail it with your printed background check, a personal check for $20, and a self addressed stamped envelope because they'll mail back the background check with the apostille attached to it. Make sure your check is valid.  I altered my home address on mine which invalidated it, and someone from government ended up both calling and emailing me telling me as much.

3. Get a 기본증명서 (maybe optional) because originally they said it's necessary for the F-4 application but then returned this document to me when I submitted all of my documents.  It only cost $1 to process and they gave me the document on the spot, so you may want to ask when you submit your documents or beforehand if you have that kind of leisure time.  There's also a 가족관계증명서 but I did not need this.

4. Get adoption documents by sending a copy of your passport to your Korean adoption agency.  This took about 1 day to receive from Holt in my case. (They made a boo boo on one of the documents though so it took an extra day.) I don't know about other agencies, but whoever I emailed at Holt seemed to know exactly what to do when I mentioned F-4 visa. They said I need these two documents, and sent them over within hours of me sending my passport.

    5a) 입양확인서 - print out

    5b) 본적 is likely your adoption agency's address

6. Regular visa application

7. TOPIK test result (maybe optional but they took mine that was several years expired)

8. Copy of naturalization certificate

9. Copy of passport (they no longer need your actual passport it seems)

10. They did not require a 국적상실신고서 surprisingly.  I remember filling one out in 2008 but they did not need it this time.

11. Visa fee $45

12. Photos where applicable

13. Copy of drivers license

This is not an exhaustive list.  Consulate's list here: https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/us-chicago-en/wpge/m_20641/contents.do

Concluding thoughts:

- The consulate employees at the windows are quite knowledgeable, speak English well, and were helpful.  It was the security guard's brusque behavior and the fact that there's not a clear set of policies at the consulate regarding reservations, and that they don't answer the phone or emails that were the problem, in my opinion.

- The processes that were the most time consuming and frustrating were 1) everything on the American side, like the FBI background check, the apostille, and getting passport pictures 2) IF you need the TOPIK, good luck figuring out their exam dates and getting a spot.  

평생에 내가 해야만 했던 가장 힘든 일

 금주 밋업의 주제임.

글쎄.

담배 끊기?

폐렴 극복하기?

아!  학교 다니기.  사회 불안? 암튼 심리적으로 문제가 있었던것 같았다.

그 당시로 절대 되돌아가고 싶지 않다.  생각만 하면 소름 끼친다 -_-;

Getting Out and About

나는 한달에 1-3번 브루클린을 벗어나고 어디를 간다.  동료들은 대부분 뉴저지쪽이라 거기 두번 갔었고 맨해턴에 3-4번 갔었다.  7월까지 꼭 우버 타고 갔었는데 요즘은 요금이 많이 올라와서 돈을 쓸데가 없어도 저렇게 부담스러운 가격을 정당화하기 힘들다.  편도에 80달러라니?!  

8월부터 지하철을 타기 시작했다.  승객이 많지 않았는데 대신 안전에 대해 걱정될만한 일이 있지.  

거버너스 아일랜드에 가봤고 피부과에도 오랜만에 가봐서 내 인생이 참 여유로워졌다 느낄 수 있었다 ㅋ

관절 통증

요즘 계속 앉아 있어서 그런지 관절 통증이 있다.  팔꿈치, 무릎, 손카락까지 가끔씩 아프더라.  나도 관절염이 있을까 싶었는데... 오버지? ㅋㅋ
오늘은 공원 걷기 3일째다.  쭉 간거 아니지만 이제 나가고 싶을때 나갈 수 있는것 같다.  예전과 달리 두렵지 않다.
공원을 걸으면서 지나가는 사람을 본다.  오늘은 80% 마스크를 착용하고 다니던데.  좋다.
근데 오늘 목표는 사진 찍기였다.  이리저리 걸어 다니다가 테니스 코트에 가서 인증샷 찍고 집으로 향했다.  보답으로 스텀프타운 커피를 샀다. 
Ok that's enough of that.
Looking forward to a good and social (albeit flamingly hot) weekend.  Given that this region has been doing relatively well in terms of infection rate, I'm giving myself some slack to leave the house and breathe in air.  There's also a $100 coffee grinder out there for me (although the ride there will probably cost $100...).  It can be justified as my overall spending is less than 50% of what it was in February. 
Got one of those stupid badges for studying cloud basics.  Moving on to several years old technology that I never learned about... web workers.

Memories of Starting a Car

Maybe 5-6 years ago, I was flying to DTW and my plane kept getting delayed over and over again.  Didn't arrive in Detroit until maybe midnight.  At that point I had to pick up my rental car and drive another 40 minutes to my hotel.  Well, the car had that button ignition.  I kept pressing it over and over but the engine didn't start.  Nor was there really clear messaging in the console telling me what I was doing wrong.  I eventually started googling things like 'how tf do i start this car' (paraphrased).  To be honest, I don't remember if I found the answer online or what, but obviously you have to engage the brake while pressing the button to start the car.  At that point, I was very nervous about whether I even had the mental faculties to drive, especially as it was 1 AM at this point, very tired, can't start a car... I made it to the hotel in one piece and kinda fell out of the vehicle from exhaustion.

The next day there was a car on fire in the parking lot in very close proximity to my rental.  I had to wait for the fire department to deal with it before being able to leave. 
I have no idea why I remember this or where I was going or why I was in Michigan but here we are.

이 블로그를 오랜만에 다시 보니 한국에 가고 싶은 마음이.............

그냥

한국에 있고 싶다

summer daze

It's Tuesday, that time of week again. I should be prepping in earnest in order to make the day go more smoothly. For that reason I decided to take a walk around the park this morning, having woken up too early again. Unfortunately, the sunshine was beating down like an angry fist so the walk wasn't entirely pleasant and I didn't get the coffee I had set out to get. I did, however, get some toast-u, which was probably the better money value anyhow.

So I'm back at home with the air conditioner on and the lights off. There would be nothing better than to just go back to bed and sleep for ten hours, then get up and walk to Dangsan or somewhere, get some food, then walk back. But work is work, and we all have to make our cheese to live another day. So perhaps it's time to turn the air off and the lights on.

Meh. Another ten minutes... there're still three hours left anyway.

One of these days, I may have a real job where I won't be afforded this kind of leisure. It's better to take advantage of it while it's still possible, especially as there isn't much time left.

In other news, bicyclers should stop wearing handkerchiefs on their heads and around half their faces, topped off with sports sunglasses. It kind of reminds me of something in between 'the invisible man' and a gangster from LA.