i got my visa, not the credit card

When I got back to work, I found that my visa, at least the short-term one to enter and piddle about (read: work) for a few days (or weeks? or months?) Anyway, I still don't have a good timeline nailed down so I'm trying to pull off a scenario where I can burn the rest of my vacation time. Oh, and contrary to what I had been told at first, housing is not provided. Argh. My frustration is not with having to find a place to live, but with trying to get three quotes to move my stuff. And I still won't move all of it. Probably.