(the misadventures of an expatriate corporate dropout)

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

don't leave home without it!


That, my friends, is what an official French long-stay visa, good for one year and prequalifier for the Carte de Séjour residence card, looks like.  And its mine, ALL MINE!  in my hot little hands.  which tremble with excitement and good cheer!

that is all.

22 comments:

La Framéricaine said...

Oh, girl! Do let me be the very first to congratulate you here in your special French contemplation place!!! You must be on Cloud 9 and feeling so very accomplished. Hurray for you, Kimberlee!!! Three cheers! And don't those official documents make it all feel REAL? Now for your next trip, I will watch you pull a driver's license out of a hat!

Amitiés et bonne continuation,

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

thanks LF! yes it is feeling more real everyday. tick tock!

La Belette Rouge said...

I need details. Which consulate office did you go to? How long between your appointment and getting your visa in your hot little hands?
I am so excited for you!!! Congratulations!!! Hooray! Our appointment is on June the 5th. Wish us luck!

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

My appointment was 4/22 at the SF Consulate. I submitted 2 add'l requested documents (more insurance documents, flight itinerary) by mail during the next week. So they had everything by approximately 5/1. And today I received the visa, in the self-addressed Fed Ex that I was required to pay for and submit. *does a cartwheel* Bon Courage and Bonne Chance, LBR - it will happen!!

La Belette Rouge said...

What more did they want in the way of insurance? I have 2 letters from the Insurance company one in French and one in English. Do you think that will be enough?

Did you pre-buy the Fedex envelope before you went to the consulate or did they sell you the Fed-ex envelope there?

Thanks so much for all the details. I am so lucky to learn from you!! And, I am so happy for you. You are official!!!

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

lbr-They did not like my american insurance which stated I would be covered for medical emergencies. I had to buy an insurance policy specific for living abroad with complete coverage; and yes I had to have a letter in french and english. the policy ran about $500 for one year. They gave me the Fed Ex paperwork there and collected the fee. Any other questions you have feel free to ask ... you can also send them to me via my blog contact if you prefer to ask them 'offline'.

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...
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Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

LF-I forgot to mention that I am planning a road trip to Colorado in June to visit a friend! *wink*

La Belette Rouge said...

Thanks, JNRR! You've been very helpful!!

Anonymous said...

YEAH....congratulations....i bet you were so excited to get the Fed x package. You are so close girl...so close!

Stacey said...

Whoohooo! congrats!!!

Stephanie said...

Hooray for you!
Question: Did you conduct your interview in french or english. it's probably in your original post but i'm lazy...
Oh, i sooooooo need to get cracking on my visa app. I don't really care for the LA consulate (the one that processes for New Mexico) and my mailing address after June 12th is going to be in Ohio (even though i'll be hangin in the desert for a little while), so i just might be able to go thru the chicago consulate, which moved faster than LA. .

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

OJL-yep, major milestone.

Stace-thank you!

Stephanie-My appointment was in English. I provided a sheaf of papers in triplicate, which for the most part they only took originals so I left with a big stack of papers. Which I now see I will probably need copies of most everything for the prefecture in order to get my carte de séjour. Oh, and they fingerprinted me ... thanks for the hoorays!

Unknown said...

As our friend Keith would say "w00t!"

Anonymous said...

it's so crazy how different my experience was...they asked me maybe 2 questions and didnt even want to see all the paperwork i had brought...didn't fingerprint me either.

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

Di-WOOT is right!

Alisa-I know, isn't that strange. And it was one of those new fingerprint machines, the digital kind. So I assumed it was something req'd by current security guidelines. I didn't have a ton of questions, but pretty much down the list of what the consulate has on their website.

Randal Graves said...

All that time, paperwork and bureaucracy filtered into cette petite carte. Don't lose it! :)

Anonymous said...

OMG... Well damn! I am speachless with a bit of envy. Can you see that? WOW. so. very. happy.

DivaJood said...

Congratulations! I am green with envy.

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

RG-from your lips to my ears. I am already envisioning the countless missing visa episodes...if you only knew me, you'd know how close to home that hits.

FOT-I DO see a big cheshire grin. Now get back to French plotting, I want to celebrate with you en France.

divaj-Welcome to my insanity! and may I add that green becomes you? lol

The Spicers said...

SO jealous!
Good for you!

Non Je Ne Regrette Rien said...

Iheart~ Welcome! don't be jealous, come visit! and thanks for your well wishes...