Visa Anyone??

IN PROGRESS...

If you are a US citizen then you probably have never experience this before. Let me tell you this really stinks -_-

For our honeymoon, we are going literally around the world. From LA to Germany, to Spain, to France, to UK, to India, to Thailand, to Taiwan, and finally back to LA. This means for every country that does not do on-site visas for Taiwanese passport, I will need to get a visa prior to getting there. Thus begins my visa hunting adventure.

India Visa: (SF consulate)
This was easy. They took a look at all our documents “stamp, stamp, come back in 3 hours to pick up your passport.” Very nice people.

European Visa: I didn’t know that most of these consulates are only open from 9-12… (is this how all the government offices work in Europe)

German SF consulate:
I should have known not to go up to the window after the consulate lady just yelled at the man in front of me… a bazaar conversation but it goes like this ( not that I was listening in on their conversation)
Officer: here is your passport
Man: where is my wife’s passport?
Officer: when you return and turn in your passport then I will give you your wife’s passport
Man: but why would I want to go to Europe without my wife? And she is the one that wants to travel more.
Officer: then give me your passport and I will give you your wife’s passport.
(at this point the man was about the cry). I am very busy so please step aside.
Man: but…
Officer: that is your business…
(my heart is racing at this point… can another nicer officer come out like… NOW!!!)

Batter up…
Officer: what are you here for?
Me: I am applying for S. visa. And here are all my documents.
Officer: did you take a number?
Me: Number? (looking over my shoulder… yap there is that little number paper machine)
Officer: take a number and take a seat (she turned around and started talking to her friends in the office)
Eric and I took a number and sat down…
Officer: Who is next?? (looking around the room, there is us and the other man she just yelled at earlier… I guess we are next)
Offiver: (took our number) so where are you going?
Me: on our honeymoon around the world (gave her our itenarary).
Officer: Where is your final destination?
Me: Taiwan? LA?
Officer: NO! Where is your final destination in Europe?
Me: UM…. None… We are just transiting through.Officer: (I can see the steam coming out of her ears) where in Europe are you going exactly ( I repeated my intenarary again), No where are you staying the longest?
Me: Ummm… Ummm… I guess Spain (5days vs. 4 days in Paris)
Officer: ( red in the face) you are in the wrong place, you need to get it from the Spanish consulate.
*** 1.5 hours later nothing was accomplished in the German consulate****

Spanish SF consulate:
This time we got smarter. We called ahead of time.
Eric: when are your office hours?
Officer: 9:00-12pm
Eric: When do you stop processing visa applications?
Officer: 9:00 am
Eric: When is your office hours again?
Officer: 9:00-12pm
Eric: and when do we have to drop the application off by?
Officer: 9:00am
(hum… that is weird… So we decided to get there just a hair before 9:00 to make sure we get our application in)
When we got to the Spanish consulate, there were already 20+ people waiting outside of the consulate. Some of them had blankets and some had fold out chairs…kind of like when people line up the street to wait for Rose parade on new years day.
A sign in list has already started and the earliest person that was there arrived at the consulate 2:00am that day…. Craziness. It turned out that the Spanish SF consulate’s jurisdiction expands all the way up to Alaska. Some people are flying in from Seattle to get this done… -_-

9:00am the office door opened. The consulate officer stepped out, took the sign in list and said all the people who are on this list will be processed today… and if you are not on the list then you can go home.

Poor girl walked in at 9:02… too bad.

Finally the application in processed, the officer said,”come back in one month to pick up your passport or we can mail it to you in 6 weeks.”
Me: but we are leaving in 4 weeks.
Officer: well come back in 3 weeks, same day 2pm. Step aside now.
* 4 hours… at least we turned in our application and are at the right consulate*

3 weeks later:
I was a little worried about this whole pick up at 2 pm thing because their office hours ARE 9-12pm… I didn’t want to show up after 12pm and have the office closed already. So I got there at 11:30.
Me: I am here to pick up my passport.
Officer: do you have an appointment?
Me: Yes, it’s today.
Officer: When?
Me: at 2pm
Officer: Is it 2pm right now? Come back later.
Me: but I thought your office hour is 9-12… I didn’t want the office to be closed, besides I am just picking up my passport.
Officer: come back at 2pm

@ 1:45pm
Me: I am here to pick up my passport.
Officer: When is your appointment.
Me: at 2pm
Officer: is it 2 pm yet? Go have a seat.

@ 1:58pm
Me: can I pick up my passport now?
Officer: you have 2 more minutes.

@ 2:02pm
Me: Can I pick up my passport now?
Officer: Is it 2 pm… o I guess it is… Hold on…
Finally…

I guess I will not belabor you on my visa experience in the British consulate… but lets just say it was an experience pretty similar to the Spanish consulate…

Good Luck to all you out there getting visas ^_^