Visas Denied And Other Struggles

We had our visa appointments, as scheduled, and to my amazement, we were denied.

The woman I spoke with at the Mexican Consulate General of New York said that the Mexican government wants to know what I will be DOING in Mexico.

It was very strange because according to their website, all I need to do is prove my income/financial assets OR have a employment invitation letter from a Mexican company. Since my finances qualify me for entry, I shouldn't need an employment letter.

When she asked what I will be doing, I said I would be volunteering for a non profit there. She said I need a letter stating that I will need a letter saying so. Even though the website and even the paperwork she showed me says nothing of the sort.

I've been in frequent communication with the nonprofit in Mexico and they are trying to help but it turned out their registration number was expired and they had to go to Immigration multiple times and now they've filed the request for the new registration number but it takes two weeks to arrive and only once it arrives can they send me the letter. Oh, and the letter has to be an original. Not emailed, not scanned. On original letterhead with an original signature.

The day of our appointment was the day after Trump announced tariffs against Mexico. And we were late to our appointment. I was really frustrated with myself for that. But we still had plenty of time left since I had made three appointments for us and most likely, we only needed one for all three of us.

It definitely felt personal. She was looking for a reason to refuse me.

My friend Jackie got her visa without a single question.

If we can't get the visas, we will enter on a tourist visa and have to leave before 180 days has elapsed. Not the end of the world, but San Miguel is not near the border and Amelie can't tolerate a 10 hour bus ride to the border. So then we have to fly to a border, and pay for hotel rooms across the border while we visit the embassy there to apply, again, for a visa.

So I made visa appointments again for next Friday in NYC. Basically hoping that I get a different person -- which seems unlikely -- or else try again to plead my case. Which sounds like an exercise in frustration and stress. But I can't think of a good reason beyond that not to try. Being stressed is not as bad as spending hundreds of dollars on travel in six months. Argh!

I'm also having trouble finding renters for my apartment. I dropped the price and finally am getting more interest. Someone saw it a couple days ago and apparently loved it and tried to bargain down the price. I resisted initially but finally agreed... and now they haven't responded to my agreeing to their terms! Argh.

On a more positive note, I found my replacement at work! She is young and enthusiastic and spent the day with me today, seeing patients with me and learning all the documentation. I'm so relived to have someone great to take over.

I'm going out tonight with my four closest friends and really looking forward to that.

Today was my last full day of seeing patients. The students have a half day next week and then school is out for summer! I will work all next week but it will be very quiet. I'm looking forward to wrapping up! I am surprised to find that I feel not a shadow of hesitation or regret about leaving. It's definitely the right time for me to go.

Mug Shots

Every time I look at that photo of myself I think my nostrils must be flaring. So. Funny. Looking.

Anyway, we are ready for our visa appointment tomorrow with the Mexican consulate. I don't know why I am nervous but I am. Worst case scenario, we have to make another appointment and come back later. We still have plenty of time before our July 28 departure from Brooklyn.

But I really don't have to do that.

So I've got double copies of my retirement accounts and pay stubs and investment accounts and birth certificates and even called the RE's office and got a letter attesting that I conceived with donor sperm. 

Getting the photos was a bit of sh*t storm. Going to CVS with both girls after work/school and asking them to stand extremely still while the young CVS employee attempted to take a workable photo with a crappy camera -- no smiling, ears must show, no glasses, and obviously not blurry -- was ridiculous. And then their machine took forever to process each photo, and we had to repeat each one. Kind of a nightmare. The kids were tearing around the store, playing catch with the large rubber balls from the display. A store manager gently chastised Amelie for playing ball and she got scared and ran to me and buried her head in my shoulder and he felt so bad about it he said never mind and gave the ball back. My little maniuplator.

And then she started asking me if the twenty year old CVS employee if he is Daddy. (snicker.) She asks me that about every man he meets. So he says to Amelie, "Hi, I'm Dennis. What's your name?"

"Dennis," she replies. And won't change her answer no matter what.

Then Calliope volunteered that her name is Annabella Isabella. It probably didn't help their behavior that I was cracking up at the conversation.

They were pretty riled up by this point so finally it occurred to me to get a shopping cart. Amelie got strapped in the child safety seat and Calliope sat in the back. Peace at last. Mission accomplished after a good long wait for the photos to be printed very very slowly and cropped and rung up.

Then yesterday Calliope and I had to leave school early to go to the birth certificate office in downtown Manhattan because naturally I had sent many of my important documents home with my brother for safe keeping. Including, of course, Calliope's birth certificate. I was anxious we wouldn't get there early enough -- I love beaocratic offices that close at 3:30 -- but we finished with time to spare.

Now I just need to run to the ATM to make sure we have sufficient cash to pay our visa fees. And scurry home afterwards to meet another moving company for another moving estimate. Whew. The fun never stops.

Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly tomorrow and I cross another major item off the to do list!