How long does the D-4 take to process?

End to end, plan for 10 to 14 weeks from sending your documents to holding the visa. Here is where the time goes.

1. Documents to school, admission letter issued: 2 to 4 weeks. Faster if your file is complete; every missing document adds a round trip.

2. School applies for the Certificate of Confirmation of Visa Issuance (CCVI) at Korean immigration: 2 to 4 weeks. This is the step students do not know about and it is often the longest. The school does it, not you, and you are waiting on Korean immigration, not the consulate.

3. You apply at the consulate with the CCVI number: 5 to 10 working days at most consulates, longer in peak season and longer in some countries.

4. Add the apostille time before all of this — 2 to 4 weeks in most countries, which is why apostilles should be started first.

So the realistic backward calculation for a fall term starting in early September: documents fully sent by mid-June, apostilles done by early June, application started in May.

The peak-season warning: everyone applies for the March and September intakes at the same time, so June to July and December to January are the slow months at both immigration and the consulates. Add two weeks to every estimate in those windows.

Whether you can still make fall depends on today's date and your apostille status. If your apostilles are already done and your school accepts a complete file this week, it is tight but usually possible. If you have not started the apostille, fall is at risk and the winter or spring intake is the safer plan — arriving late to a term is worse than starting the next one.

The single biggest cause of delay we see is not the authorities. It is an incomplete document set going back and forth. Send everything at once, correct the first time.