Yippee! The FedEx guy is here. It’s an envelope from the travel agent and that can mean only one thing – Chloe’s visa is here. The last piece of the puzzle, the thing that gets her on the plane into the country, no worries now.
FedEx Guy is backing his truck out of the driveway as I tear the envelope out of Chloe’s hands. She’s looking through her passport to see what a visa looks like while I’m reading this:
The Spanish Consulate has now required all students to appear in person. Please call them to make an appointment, be sure all your paperwork is in order. Once you have received your Visa please make a photo copy of it and fax to [fax number]. I am sorry this is a royal pain but has to be done. If you have any questions please e-mail me at [blackhole@travelagent.com – no phone number given, of course]. You can reach the consulate at . . . San Francisco. Thank you for your patience.
There is no way this is happening. I call the consulate to see if there’s a closer consulate location to Seattle than San Francisco. “Yes, San Francisco.” Then I call the travel agent. With the office number that I got from the receptionist last week. Her direct lines are of no use to me now.
What a chicken way to spring the news on us – a note in the package we expected to be the visa. I suggested that a phone call would have been nice, some advance warning: “Do you know how many kids I have?”
Despite the instructions in her note telling us to take care of it, she said she’s talking to her boss about her accompanying all the students to San Francisco because they have an arrangement with Alaska Airlines to waive all late reservation fees, etc. There are three kids from Seattle, two from Portland, and one from Alaska. But those are just the kids going from Spain.
Then I checked the Italian Consulate Web site. It also says that the visa applicant must appear in person. Andy’s mom said the travel agent (same office, different agent) e-mailed him on Friday telling him to expect a FedEx package today. They aren’t home, so his Mom doesn’t know if it contains his visa – the agent didn’t mention that in his e-mail.
The Spanish Consulate says that a visa applied for less than 45 days before departure will “forfeit any guarantee to have the visa issued on time.” We are at 23 days. And, one of the application requirements is confirmed reservations. The travel agent said they don’t order the ticket until they get the visa. Someone’s going to have to budge and I doubt it’s going to be the Spanish Embassy.
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