Houston, you have our visa applications

After months of worry and obsessive perusal of websites, some more helpful than others, our hopefully complete applications for a student visa and an elective residence visa are now in the hands of the Italian consulate in Houston.

We were up until just after midnight last night, going over our packets again and again, cross-checking our documentation against various (contradictory) checklists received from both the Italian consulates in the United States and our own research.  At 6:30 this morning, off to Houston we went.

Luckily, finding the Italian consulate in Houston was no problem.

Husbear and I had to check out our paperwork one more time...

It was kind of strange to see a consulate in an office tower.  My mental image of consulates is the stately free-standing ones you find in Washington, so finding this door in an office building was a little unsettling, but kind of comforting - a reminder that these consular officials I've been so intimidated by are just people going to work.  (Even if these people do have the power to make our trip a lot smoother.)

Walking through the door, we saw a pretty standard waiting room; panoramic shots of different Italian landmarks covered the walls, with a table of magazines (mostly newsmagazines about the recent Torino olympics) in the middle of the room.  We signed in and sat along the side of the room.

The office deviated from the standard waiting room in that there were two glass-paneled doors, behind which were tiny rooms used for meetings with the consular officials.  Though we signed in, we were apparently also supposed to keep track of when our turn came up, since no names were ever called.

When our turn came, we approached the window with our documentation.  The official asked Husbear - "So, you are applying for a student visa?" - which we confirmed; then, turning to me, he said "And you want to follow him?"  I nodded.

"Well, you can't."

>!!@!#&@($&#(&!#%^$%^%&%&(*%)($)@*$)!$&((&#*(&#??????????

I showed him the requirements the Italian Consulate in Houston sent me for an Elective Residence visa, along with our marriage certificate (I hoped this would show why I want to move to Florence with husbear?).  He perused the paperwork and said, "Oh.  Yes, this is usually for old people.  But yes."

Phew.  I passed each piece of paperwork through the slot as he asked for it; the whole time, he was telling us about his favorite Italian chefs.  It was actually a very interesting conversation.  $59.60 and I was done.  Hopefully.

But then - we came along to Husbear's application.  Husbear passed all of his information through the slot, and our friend went through the pile, clucking.  First, he pointed out that Apicius apparently thinks that Husbear's a woman, as all of the documentation refers to him as a studentessa.  Ooopsie!  He told us he'd have to go check on some information with his colleague, and left.

We stood there.

And stood there.

When he came back, he told us that Husbear's documentation did not make clear whether he was applying for a student visa or a work visa.  Uh-oh.  The official told us we'd have to have the school clarify which visa he needed.  We tried to show him the course schedule included with the information, along with a certificate showing Husbear to be enrolled in the school from August 2006 - May 2007; but apparently a letter included addressed to the work ministry threw this all off.

So, out into the hallway and on to the phone.

A little late in the day to be calling Florence - but the right time to be calling California, where Study Abroad is located.

The visa contact Husbear reached laughed out loud when told our story - she said the letter in question was only included because of the insistence of the Italian consulate on documents showing that the student did not plan to work and was only applying for a student visa.

So, right back into the consulate office and back to the window, where we relayed this information to the official... who said "Wonderful!  Thank you!  All cleared up!"

Well, o.k. then.  We could have stood outside yodeling and practicing a patriotic tap routine for all he knew, but that's beside the point.

We should know if our visa was granted by the beginning of July; please keep your fingers crossed for us!

After we were done with all of this, we met up with Husbear's cousin and his lady for a Mexican lunch, where we indulged in a 99 cent margarita or two (you'd be surprised how weak a 99 cent margarita is!) then back to Austin.

We had an odd encounter on the way home, one which I'm hoping doesn't have any implications for our visa quest.

It's like Jaws, but more mammalian.  Or fiberglassy.  Still pretty scary, though!

Dum dum dum dum dumdumdumdum

(If you're curious, it's an ad for Oak Farms.) (I'm pretty sure I saw a flap in its belly.  My money's on Trojan Cow.   What evils has it wrought? - L. Pants)

girlie

Comments

[auntie]

LOL LOL LOL when you segue to the cow chasing you ....

LOL LOL LOL

auntie

[Robert Clark]

Gee wizzzz.....I hope we won't have to go through all that to come stay with you guys for 3 months!!! Cuz that just wouldn't be cool!!!

[Boots in the Oven]

Robert,

BRING IT! No, you can legally go for up to 90 days without a visa - so you're all good. (Really, bring it!)

Auntie,
Thank you! Scary, bad bad cow.

girlie

[amanda]

I've never been more frightened by beef in my life! :-) do you know if you need a visa when flying to mexico for four days?

[amanda]

I meant passport! not visa! Thanks!

[Boots in the Oven]

Hey, Amanda! How did your move go?

I didn't know the answer to your question - but I was curious, so I did some research. Check out this page:

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html

It says you will need a passport when traveling to Mexico as of December 31 of this year - but:

"The Government of Mexico requires that all U.S. citizens present proof of citizenship and photo identification for entry into Mexico. However, some U.S. citizens have encountered difficulty in boarding flights in Mexico without a passport. The U.S. Embassy recommends traveling with a valid U.S. passport to avoid delays or misunderstandings."

Hope that helps!

girlie

[amanda]

Thanks girlie! i guess that means it would be in our best interest to get passports before t's work sponsored trip to mexico! and thanks for doing the research for my lazy ass! :-)

[Boots in the Oven]

No problem, Amanda! work-sponsored trip to Mexico? Sounds like it could be lots of fun!