Change of Plans....

It turns out that my visa was refused correctly by the UK Consulate in New York. They based their refusal on the fact that I didn't show a Certificate of Sponsorship (COS), which I thought was baloney because the invitation letter I got from the Scottish charity was supposed to be such certificate. Well, it turns out I was wrong. A COS is not a a certificate per se, it's a number that sponsors (in my case the charity in Edinburgh) are supposed to get by paying a fee at the Foreign Office. Once the sponsor has obtained such COS number, they are supposed to assign it to whoever they want to come to the UK as a volunteer. It follows that the COS number has to be stated on the letter of invitation and I did not have that!!!!

Appealing, therefore, would not work since the consulate had a reason to deny my application. I wish I had known about the COS number before applying for a visa but it's too late now. The coordinator of the volunteer program acknowledged that it wasn't my fault I didn't get the visa, but the charity's for not doing what they're supposed to do. Needless to say, I am pretty dissapointed and upset.

So what happens now? The coordinator said that a different organization in London has openings for males to volunteer. This would be a different type of volunteering though. In Scotland I was going to spend time with people my age that have no social or independent-living skills in order to encourage them and be a role model. If I end up in London, then I'll be around adults with learning disabilities who want to live independently and my job would be to help them and give them moral support. I don't really have a problem working with adults, but it may not be as cool as being with people my age. Plus, living in London might be better than living in Edinburgh (No offense to y'all Scots, but I think Londoners speak better English) and I can always visit Edinburgh when I'm there.

Now I'll have to fill out a form for the new charity, have a phone interview and apply for a visa again. Since it wasn't my fault I didn't get the visa last time, the coordinator said I wouldn't have to worry about paying the application fee again. Hopefully things will work out this time around.