Thanks for your input everyone. According to the residence director at my school in Italy, my birth certificate is needed to register at the city hall there, as an EU citizen. I was told, however, if I leave Italy then try to reenter without a Visa, I would need a permit of stay, only issued to those who hold a visa. So I'm guessing I'll be registered as an EU citizen (which I am), in Italy, but it won't officially say so on my passport. I have been in touch with my Italian consulate here, they are 3 hrs away and they told me that I will receive my visa within 2 weeks of applying. The consulate is in Miami and is the official one for Florida, so they won't be sending anything elsewhere, I just have to go, apply, and wait for me visa to come. The consulate said that "I would be fine" in terms of my leave date (August 30th). The visa will take no more than 2 weeks I was told. Now, I am more than willing to drive down and apply, but am really worried that my passport/info might take longer to process for some reason, or be delayed in the mail. Since the school in Italy did confirm that I would be taken care of, only can't leave the country then come back (which I wasn't planning to anyways), I think the best option would be to leave it as it is now. Thoughts?? Do students really receive visas in such a short amount of time?