French Visa Appointment at NYC Consulate
 

Hi, does anybody have an appointment for a long-stay visa at the French consulate in NYC during the week of Dec. 16-20 and is willing to switch with me? The only appointment I was able to get (Jan. 7) is set after my departure date and I am really panicking about getting everything done in time.

Ouch. Good luck.

Oh, I hit "send" accidentally. When did you request an appointment? Could it be that you waited too long? (No, I am not condemning that -- it can happen to anybody.)

Have you tried to phone them to explain the situation? My niece was in the same predicament you are and she phoned and got an earlier appointment and got her visa in time.

I see you're in Connecticut. You could try the Boston consulate as that used to be walk in without an appointment, even when the NYC consulate required appointments. Phone first before you go.

Are you going through your school? If so, call the school and see if they can help or post on other forums, such as Thorntree where there are younger members and some of them may be students.

My experience with the consulates is that they are not as flexible as some here suggest. It may take more that one visit to meet all of the requirements demanded of you. After the interview is complete and your dossier is ultimately approved, it could take another week or more until your visa is processed and you receive it. I was advised by consulate staff to start the process 3 months before my planned departure date.

At this point you have little to lose by calling and asking both NY and Boston about expediting your application. You might also ask about any canceled appointments which might become available to you at an earlier date.

Generally these are government offices and personnel are not always sensitive to the special requirements of foreigners who need their services.

Thank you so much for your responses! They really have helped during this process. I'm still working towards finding an earlier appointment but calling the consulate helped a lot.

The consular services response to requests vary greatly according to the consular representative. I had to attest to my mother's existence who lived in NYC. The SF consular officer refused to even give me the blank form to fill out. In NYC they could not understand the problem and let me fill out the form without the presence of my mother who was by that time in a nursing home and mentally incapacitated. I did not even have to have the nursing home attest to my mother's presence at the facility.