I'm fairly sure it's a well-established and time-honoured rite of passage that anyone attempting to get a US visa has to run the gauntlet. I believe this because of the occasional jokes I hear, the way people roll their eyes when the topic comes up, and because it took 4+ months for me to get the paperwork giving me permission to apply for the type of visa I need.
So when there was some kind of computer system issue at the consulate causing just enough delay that we had to change our flights, I was prepared. But when they accidentally failed to return a document to me, a document that I need in order to enter the country, it caused some serious stress. Especially since I only found out about the importance of this document by luck, and we could have easily ended up stuck in LAX trying to convince people to let us in. This problem was discovered with exactly 1 working day available to remedy the situation.
Happily, the people at the consulate were quite helpful and apologetic, and eventually accepted that sending the document to Palmerston North would not be optimal, since we are in Kerikeri and leaving from Auckland. They even let me start returning their calls on a number other than the dreaded 0900 USVISA (@ $3.62 per min.). I'm pretty sure it was the special number for American citizens with emergencies.
Crossed fingers everything goes smoothly from here.....
Sigh. I have rum now.
2 comments:
can i have that special number???
your new facebook friend,
marj
I'm scared they'd know it was me.... Also you have to know the extension and name of the person you want to talk to if you're not an American citizen.
Post a Comment