Trip to LA to get my visa

I am spending more than 3 months in France and therefore I need to obtain a visa.  There is not a French consulate in Colorado, so I must travel to Los Angeles to to obtain the visa.  There is a consulate in San Francisco and I was already planning to visit that area for a conference, but I could only obtain a visa from the consulate that handles applications from Colorado.

When I arrived, I went to the main entrance, expecting a grand lobby and an ornate waiting room.  I was informed that visas were at the back entrance.  The windows were blacked out and there was a door with a paper sign instructing me to ring the bell.  A fuzzy voice responded over the intercom, "what do you want".  I told him that I had an appointment and the door buzzed.  As I walked in there was a metal detector and a security guard sitting at a desk.  He asked for my passport and then grilled me for a few minutes.  I was told that there was no eating or drinking allowed and was told to wait in the next room.  It was a small 10 x 12 foot room with white walls on three sides and glass windows on the fourth.  Behind the windows sat two workers, one for student visas, and the other for all other visas.  Because I am not studying as a registered student in a French University, I needed to obtain a "scientific visa."

I had brought all the paper work that the required.  I had found their website a little confusing, but I brought extra copies of everything.  If they rejected me, I would have to buy another airline ticket to LA that is not covered in the expenses the fellowship pays for.  There were only about 5 others in the room and most of them were waiting for student visas.  I only waited for a half an hour before the clerk was available.

She was very nice and helpful.  I handed her all the documentation and my passport.  She went through the paper work, returning the documents that I had too many copies for, and helped me fill out the forms that were in French.  I had only partially filled in the blanks of the fields that I understood.  Once all the parer work was accepted, they took my fingerprints electronically and my picture. I now have all ten fingers and my picture filed with the French Government.  Because I was a Chateaubriand recipient, the clerk made sure that all the information made it past the first checks in the computer system.  At that point, I was finished.  But, I had to leave my passport.  They would FedEx it back to me (I had to pay the bill) when they finished reviewing my application.  At this point, I can not leave the country until I get the passport back.  They say it can take over a month when the number of requests is high.

I did not have to wait long.  About 10 days after I visited the embassy, FedEx delivered my passport and visa.  I am read to go to France.