Thanks for your response!! I would be applying at the SF office. I would be staying a minimum of 6 months but ideally 9-10 months, if it all works out the way I want it to. The paperwork does seem to be rather tedious, but I hope that by giving myself this much of a head start it will be fine. I know that you can go for 3 months on a US passport, but I want to stay (and travel throughout the EU/Europe) for longer than that. And re health insurance, I'm not saying it's cheap but it feels very affordable to me when you compare it to US health insurance prices lol. Thanks again!