Monday, July 30, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
I got my visa!!!
Last week I made the long awaited 6 hr trip to Chicago. To my surprise the entire visa process was much less complicated than I expected! We parked on the 11th floor of a parking structure (barely found a spot!) and made our way to the plaza on Michigan Ave where the French Consulate was located. On the 37th floor, there were two windows. The really nice french guy calls you up to the window, asks for all your documents, looks over them for about 4 minutes...and tells you to return in an hour and a half to receive your passport back -- with a visa in it!
Seems kind of ridiculous to drive 12 hours in one day, just for THAT, but I was so excited to get this over with and start packing, that I didn't care.
: ) I'm going to France!!!
Seems kind of ridiculous to drive 12 hours in one day, just for THAT, but I was so excited to get this over with and start packing, that I didn't care.
: ) I'm going to France!!!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Campus France Confirmation...finally!
When this Friday rolled around, I began to get nervous! My visa appointment was 4 days away, and still no word from campus france. After compulsively checking my e-mail all morning, I finally decided to call and inquire about my status. The lady on the phone told me that I've been approved for almost 2 weeks now, and should've gotten an e-mail. I felt immediately relieved and asked her to e-mail it to me again.
Of course to ruin the excitement something had to go wrong...and I didn't get the e-mail for about 4 hours! But it's finally here and I am ready for my visa appointment!
From this experience I learned 2 things:
1) If you need something from CampusFrance - CALL, don't e-mail--they ignore e-mail!
2) Don't be afraid to be that annoying caller and keep calling back when you're not sure about something - they might hate you - but you're much more likely to get what you need.
If I would've followed the advice of one of the people that picked up the phone and rudely dismissed me to voicemail with "you have plenty of time," I would've still been waiting for a confirmation, not ever knowing that they didnt even GET my application!
Now on to the next and final step! I'm going to Chicago on Wednesday for my visa appointment. I'm excited to finally (and hopefully) get this whole process over with, but I'm also nervous because I have a complicated situation with my passport.
There's a rule that my passport must be valid for an extra 3 months after my study abroad is over, but mine is only valid for 1 extra month. So I applied for the renewal of my Russian passport, which takes 9 months (no joke!) and won't be ready until November! That obviously poses a problem, since I'm scheduled to leave on September 2nd.
I am counting on being able to get a long-stay visa ,(because technically it's only valid for 3 months anyways) and when I apply for my carte de séjour, I will have to make it valid until only the end of April...after I get my new passport I will renew my carte de séjour until the end of my program.
When I reason it out, I feel that there's no reason for me to have any problems with obtaining my visa...but bureaucrats make me nervous--so wish me luck!
Of course to ruin the excitement something had to go wrong...and I didn't get the e-mail for about 4 hours! But it's finally here and I am ready for my visa appointment!
From this experience I learned 2 things:
1) If you need something from CampusFrance - CALL, don't e-mail--they ignore e-mail!
2) Don't be afraid to be that annoying caller and keep calling back when you're not sure about something - they might hate you - but you're much more likely to get what you need.
If I would've followed the advice of one of the people that picked up the phone and rudely dismissed me to voicemail with "you have plenty of time," I would've still been waiting for a confirmation, not ever knowing that they didnt even GET my application!
Now on to the next and final step! I'm going to Chicago on Wednesday for my visa appointment. I'm excited to finally (and hopefully) get this whole process over with, but I'm also nervous because I have a complicated situation with my passport.
There's a rule that my passport must be valid for an extra 3 months after my study abroad is over, but mine is only valid for 1 extra month. So I applied for the renewal of my Russian passport, which takes 9 months (no joke!) and won't be ready until November! That obviously poses a problem, since I'm scheduled to leave on September 2nd.
I am counting on being able to get a long-stay visa ,(because technically it's only valid for 3 months anyways) and when I apply for my carte de séjour, I will have to make it valid until only the end of April...after I get my new passport I will renew my carte de séjour until the end of my program.
When I reason it out, I feel that there's no reason for me to have any problems with obtaining my visa...but bureaucrats make me nervous--so wish me luck!
Friday, July 6, 2007
A Dose of Pre-departure Bureaucracy
If you haven't already discovered the pain of red tape and bureaucratic hassles, as a traveler, you most likely will soon! In my preparations to spend a year in France, I have recently been submerged into the world of passports and visas. And even though I am pretty good at following directions and being extra-timely, I still found myself with MANY frustrations.
The steps for international students hopeful to study in France have recently changed. Instead of simply being allowed to apply for a visa right away, students are now required to complete an extra step in the process - Campus France.
This Campus France step consists of an online registration on the following website: http://usa.campusfrance.org/en/1.html . There you are asked to fill out a registration form and application, which includes questions about your past education, your goals, and other subjective topics (which I found to be somewhat pointless). After sending in a $60 check and a copy of proof of your enrollment in a French University, you are supposed to get your "Attestation" within 2 weeks, which allows you to actually go and apply for a student visa.
That step is where troubles began. Nearly a month passed, and there was still no word about my attestation. After 3 unanswered e-mails and daily conversations with an answering machine..or an operator that transfered me to the answering machine, I finally got through to a person who could help me. She told me that my application couldn't be found, and that I needed to send in another one. Frustrated and afraid of not having enough time to even get my visa, I sent in a second copy of my application by express mail.
Right now I'm still in the process of waiting for my 'attestation,' and plan to go to Chicago in 3 weeks for my visa appointment. Hopefully it'll be successful!
The steps for international students hopeful to study in France have recently changed. Instead of simply being allowed to apply for a visa right away, students are now required to complete an extra step in the process - Campus France.
This Campus France step consists of an online registration on the following website: http://usa.campusfrance.org/en/1.html . There you are asked to fill out a registration form and application, which includes questions about your past education, your goals, and other subjective topics (which I found to be somewhat pointless). After sending in a $60 check and a copy of proof of your enrollment in a French University, you are supposed to get your "Attestation" within 2 weeks, which allows you to actually go and apply for a student visa.
That step is where troubles began. Nearly a month passed, and there was still no word about my attestation. After 3 unanswered e-mails and daily conversations with an answering machine..or an operator that transfered me to the answering machine, I finally got through to a person who could help me. She told me that my application couldn't be found, and that I needed to send in another one. Frustrated and afraid of not having enough time to even get my visa, I sent in a second copy of my application by express mail.
Right now I'm still in the process of waiting for my 'attestation,' and plan to go to Chicago in 3 weeks for my visa appointment. Hopefully it'll be successful!
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