Clearly, I don’t fully know as I trekked up to 74th and 5th Avenue today, armed with every type of official French document me and the hubby possess (in the pouring rain, no less)—and it still wasn’t enough. I walked away with no visa, soaked boots and two Heidi Klein bikinis that were on sale. I guess every cloud does have a silver lining.
Here are ten steps to obtain your visa (if you married a Frenchie like me):
1) Go to the French consulate online and make an appointment
2) Make sure you have EVERY piece of documentation they require. In fact, go above and beyond. Birth certificate? Definitely. Electric bill? Sure. Hubby’s grade school report card? Can’t hurt. Whatever you got that proves you married an actual Frenchie who lives in France. Make photocopies of everything. And don’t forget to bring passport pictures
3) Arrive a few minutes before your scheduled appointment. Listen to other people in line whining about how rude they are for only letting people in on the half-hour. Refrain from saying the obvious, “Hello, they’re French!”
4) Go directly to Window #1
5) Hand in your papers
6) Sit and wait until your name is called
7) Get fingerprinted, thumbs and all, and have your photo taken
8/) Sit and wait until your name is called again
9) Hand in more papers. Hold breath. Either you’ve got everything or you’re told to come back another day with even more papers, which is what happened to me
10) Stomp out and grumble to self (and sister on the cell), “I don’t even want to become French anymore!”
OPTIONAL:
11) Notice a cute swimsuit shop around the corner from the consulate, try on several bikinis (they’ve got skinny mirrors and great lighting in the dressing room) and buy these two (at a mayjah discount). Cheer up considerably.
I am going to get that French visa yet—even if I have to wear one of my new bikinis in the consulate to do so!
ADDRESS:
French Consulate of New York (Visa Section)
10 East 74th Street
New York, NY 10021
Tel 212 606-3601
Fax 212 606-3670
Heidi Klein
1018 Lexington Ave
New York, NY 10021
(212) 327-1700
1 Comment
Monday, October 20, 2008 at 2:22 am
[...] so great. It was a madhouse at 10 am and they somehow lost the fingerprints and picture I took the last time I was there. I definitely was not ready for my close-up, but I figured, “Who’s going to see this [...]