This must have been one of the most stressful things I’ve done in my college career.

Continuing from my CampusFrance post, after I got the email telling me to start my visa process, I delayed for one or two days. Don’t ask me why. I don’t know. Then, I decided OK, it’s time to book an appointment. First off, searching for the online appointment booking system on the NY French Consulate’s website was difficult for me because of reasons beyond my comprehension. But it’s really simple. On the homepage, on the right panel, there’s a HUGE section with an image that says VISA APPOINTMENTS ONLINE. Click it. Then, click on online appointments. Scroll to the bottom and click on the VISA APPOINTMENTS ONLINE image again. It should lead you to this site. From there, input your info and choose a date on the calendar. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Book an appointment right away. (But no earlier than 3 months before your departure date.) During high season (such as the summer), appointment slots fill up so quickly. More so in NY than in other consulates. But still… The website said the next available appointment might be as far as 3 weeks later. But that’s an understatement. I tried to book one on June 15th, but the next available one was August 5th! That’s crazy.

I panicked and panicked. My parents wanted to go on vacation on August 7th. There’s no way that would happen if my visa appointment were two days ahead. Plan B was to leave on August 14th. But that was still too soon for me to receive my long stay student visa. I didn’t know what to do. I researched the HECK out of everything to see if there was an expedition process or something. Sorry to burst your bubbles, but there isn’t. The only thing you can do is constantly check back on the appointment booking system and hope that someone drops their slot. Then, you can swoop in and take theirs right away. Don’t hesitate. Otherwise, someone else might steal it right from your eyes!

First thing I did that night was email Ellen Hampton, the coordinator between MICEFA and students in New York, at least. (Many thanks to Ellen! I pommeled her with questions for a whole week. 😐 And she always responded right away.) I asked her if this appointment time was too late, but she said it was right in time for the start of the program on August 25th. Phew! But still, my family’s vacation plans…

I couldn’t do anything about this, so I set the appointment page as my homepage and began compiling all the documents. It was very late at night (past midnight) and I was a bit hesitant about getting all the paperwork done right then. I wanted to sleep and continue the rest tomorrow. But my conscience got to me and I jumped straight to work. Get it done now. If I wait until tomorrow, my energy might wear off and I will procrastinate. That night, I got so much done. (I’ll go into details a little later.)

And thank god I did. (You never know when an appointment will free up. Beggars can’t be choosers.) The next day, I saw a slot open up. But it was for 30 minutes before my appointment time… Not good. Then, I realized that one of my friends had an appointment for June 21st, however, she didn’t think that she would get the confirmation email from CampusFrance in time since she completed that process much later than me. Funny story: we arranged to switch slots, but the first time we attempted, nothing happened. My friend cancelled her appointment, but I still couldn’t access it. I thought, oh, I guess the system didn’t recognize it or something. Turns out that there was a second message to double check that you want to free up your slot that my friend didn’t see. So when she realized it an hour later, she successfully cancelled her slot and I got it!! Words cannot describe how happy and relieved I felt! And fortunately for me, I already had most of my visa documents ready. (See, it was very good that I listened to my better instincts and did everything right away. I was prepared for an appointment in less than a week.)

Before I discuss my experience at the consulate, let me brief you on what to prepare:

I got a lovely file folder to hold all of my important documents. You should too! You do not want to lose important documents or misplace them. Best keep everything nice and organized 🙂

http://www.consulfrance-newyork.org/LONG-STAY-STUDENT-VISA

I am currently looking at the consulate’s website for the list of documents required, but it has slightly changed. There was a PDF file of what to bring, but some of the stuff on that list conflicted with the things listed on the website. And that was the main source of my stress. For this post, I’ll just go down my list and expand on it. (I made two copies of each of these, one for my record-keeping and one because the website says to have a copy of every document listed. They DID NOT ask for ANY of those copies. But better safe than sorry.) This list only goes for MY experience at the NY French Consulate. Each consulate has different requirements.

LIST OF DOCUMENTS REQUIRED:

1. A copy of the official acceptance letter. Mine was the MICEFA certificat de scolarité because it fit all the requirements: it was addressed to me with my full name, it was printed on institutional letterhead, it specified the beginning and end dates, and it had the full contact info of the person who issued this letter of offer/acknowledgement with the contact info of the educational institution, signed and stamped. However, at the consulate, they asked me for the letter from Queens College too. (This one doesn’t contain dates.) Good thing I brought it with me, just in case.
2. The email message from CampusFrance. The one entitled “Confirmation Email.” Simple.
3. The receipt of payment issued by CampusFrance.
4. 2 application forms, completed and signed. They only took one form. But have two in case. Filling out the form is fairly easy. Everything is quite straightforward. There were some parts that I didn’t know what to put down, such as my address in France during my stay. So I just asked Ellen and she helped me. (On the website now, it says bring 1 not 2.)
5. 2 recent photographs. The PDF says U.S. passport photo format. The website, however, gives different dimensions (35mmx45mm). I brought in photos of both sizes. I did not attach them to the application form. And at the consulate, they only asked for one photo. I handed them the U.S. 2×2 one and everything was fine. (The website now says 1 photo, not 2.)
   

   Me going crazy with making visa photos (35mmx45mm). I didn’t even end up using any of them! -___-

6. Original passport and 1 photocopy. The photocopy does not have to be an official one, if such a thing exists. Does it have to be in color? I’m not sure. I erred on the safe side and brought in a color copy of the first 3 pages (where all my personal data is located). Your passport must expire at least 3 months after the end of your proposed stay and you must have at least 2 blank pages left.
7. Visa application and processing fee. There were multiple fees listed in different locations on the website. At the consulate, I paid $67 with my Visa debit card. In NY’s consulate, you can pay with cash or a Visa/MasterCard credit or debit card. Each consulate has different regulations on this. I think the general cost is the equivalent of 50 euros in USD, based on the exchange rate at the time of your visa appointment.
8. Proof of sufficient means of support. There are several options to fulfilling this requirement. (1) A most recent bank statement showing a balance of $820 per month for every month you are abroad. So, for me, at least $8200. (2) An official letter detailing your scholarship. (3) A notarized statement from a guarantor stating that they will provide the student with at least $820 per month, accompanied by their most recent bank statement. I submitted a bank statement along with a letter detailing my scholarship (since I have a full-tuiton scholarship and the travel fund from Macaulay). However, at the consulate, they took one look at my statement (which had well over $8200) and said they don’t need any other documents.
9. An airline reservation. At the time, I did not yet have an flight booked. What they want you to do is reserve a flight, but don’t pay for it. That is not possible. So either just buy it or do what I did: I reserved a flight on AirFrance with my intended departure date and the latest possible return date in June and printed out the reservation page before I paid for the flight. That is what I handed in without any problems. If you don’t reserve a flight, you can also write a letter indicating that you will not leave before your intended date of departure. I wrote one to be safe and got it notarized, but the reservation worked so they did not want my letter. (As you can see, I always overdo things to be safe.)
10. Positive proof of residence in the consulate’s area. Your consulate is determined by where you live or go to school. I go to school where I live, NY. So I only have one possible consulate. However, if you go to school in a state under a different consulate’s jurisdiction, you get to choose which consulate to go to. Lucky. Depending on which consulate you go to, you will have to show different proof of residence. Either your driver’s license for where you live, a lear or rental agreement under your name, a notarized statement from you leaseholder plus a recent utility bill under your name, or a valid student ID for where you go to school. Have the original document plus a photocopy. I showed my Brooklyn College ID.
11. The French Immigration OFII form. This is the form. This is a super important piece of document that you will need to bring abroad and complete it in France. At the consulate, I was quizzed on this form! The guy asked me, do you know what the OFII form does? At first, I was shocked by the question, so I responded, Ugh, I have that form. He snapped at me and said, I know you have the form. I’m asking you what it does. So I said, Oh, uh….it’s a residence permit. It allows you to live in France. He added, It also allows you to work there. Then he asked for my form. That situation completely put me off-balance.

Aside from the above, you also need to bring in your receipt for appointment booking. This is just to allow yourself entry into the building.

Unnecessary things I brought in case: CISI letter (stating that I have insurance for overseas) – this isn’t necessary for long stay students; my birth certificate, and my learner’s permit (because I don’t have a driver’s license yet…).

GOING TO THE CONSULATE:

Now, onto my experience: I left my house extra early to arrive early at the consulate. I was about 40 minutes early. You don’t have to be that early, but 30 minutes is good time. The visa building is separate from the rest of the consulate. It is located on 74th St between 5th and Madison. (10 East 74th St, to be exact.) The classy Upper East Side with its European-esque buildings. When you arrive at the building, the door is locked. You have to wait for the security guard to open the door. One person at a time. Intense security stuff.

This is the French consulate building.

This is the Visa section of the Consulate.

When I entered, I handed in my passport and my appointment booking receipt. Then I put my bag on a table for inspection, turned off all of my electronics, and walked through metal detectors. The security guard was very friendly to me. He joked about my bag being super heavy, as if I’m lifting weights. Actually, when I walked in, he was excited and asked me if I was on the website Plenty of Fish. That sounds like a dating site. I said no… He told me that he knew someone on there who looks a lot like me. This isn’t even the first time someone has told me that they saw me or a lookalike somewhere where I definitely have never been. These lookalikes! Ugh!

I bumped into a sign on my way up the stairs. Embarrassing! The security guard told me not to be nervous already. Haha, I wasn’t nervous. I’m just clumsy. (Really, I bumped into the same sign several weeks later. :P) Then I took a seat in the waiting area. It resembles a dentist’s waiting area. Chairs, layout, anxiety and all. The seating area was divided in two halves and for some odd reason, everyone would crowd in the right side although there were so many empty seats in the left side. Being the rebel that I am, I sat on left! Oh yeah. At first, I wasn’t nervous at all. But then, I started to get a bit anxious 15 minutes in. And the AC turned on and off every few minutes. Each time the AC turned on, I was scared that I would miss my number (14) being called out because it was so loud and the announcements were low.

I waited for an hour (however, I got there 30 minutes early, so really, I only waited 30 minutes past my appointment time). First I got called up to hand in my application, passport, and pay the fee. (They look like Chase bank tellers.) Then I sat back down. The man who took care of that was very no-nonsense. A bit intimidating, but I am a generally sensitive person. About 5 minutes later, they called my name through the loudspeaker for my interview. There was a cute, young guy there, but gosh, he was more intimidating than the first man. He sounded very friendly with the man before me, but to me, he was quite standoffish.

He looked at my application and said, “Tell me what your schedule will be like.” WHAT?! What does that even mean?! I had to ask him to repeat the question and explain it. I cannot remember what he said anymore or what I answered. But whatever I said, he accepted it. The fingerprints part was embarrassing. There is a small machine to the right where you place your fingers. He was explaining to me how to position my fingers, but I didn’t understand him. I was doing it all wrong. But the whole time, there was a photo right above the machine with images demonstrating how to position your fingers. When the interviewer told me to look at that image, I didn’t even see it until a good 10 seconds later. TEN SECONDS OF TORTURE. He was annoyed at that point. Then came time to actually get my fingers in the right position: index and middle together, ring and pinky. My fingers, however, refused to cooperate. My middle finger loves my ring finger. They never separate. So there I was trying to keep them separated and nervously laughing, partly from the embarrassment and partly from how ridiculous/funny this was. But he was not pleased. He would not have any of it and waited for me to just finish already. I wanted to drown in my embarrassment. Oh the awkwardness! When you’re laughing all alone. Haha

The rest of the interview consisted of him asking for documents, me handing them in, me offering additional documents just in case, him turning them down as if I wasted his time, etc etc. That took about 5 -10 minutes total. Oh, also, they took my photo. A white projection screen came out from above me and lowered behind my back. This was the photo that they then used for my visa. Not the one I handed in. And thank god I looked decent in my visa photo because I am not photogenic.

After all of that, the interviewer told me I was done and to come back starting July 1st anytime between 9AM to 10AM with my passport and the receipt. I was surprised. Did I really just get approved for my visa? Just like that? I didn’t want to frustrate him so I left assuming that’s what he meant.

Then, on July 1st, I came back, handed my passport and receipt to the same guy. Told him my departure date hasn’t changed. Sat down. Waited maybe 15 minutes. Got called back. Received my passport and visa. DONE! This time, he was actually nice that day. And unlike last time, he smiled and said “you’re welcome” and “enjoy your trip” after I told him “thank you!”