French Consulate 101

Here are a few tips to keep in mind for anyone going to their French consulate to apply for their visa.  There were a few people who made some of these mistakes and were sent home immediately.
 

1. Make sure you have your paperwork in order and everything is filled out correctly.  Check it a million times over and when you're positive that you have everything, check it once more.  Bring extra copies.
2. Ignore your scheduled appointment time and show up as early as possible.  Be the first person in line.  DO NOT SHOW UP LATE!
3. Mentally prepare yourself to be treated poorly and talked down to, even if you have all your paperwork in line.
4. Make sure you go to the consulate that is assigned to the address on your identification card.  Example: If your ID says you live in New York, but you're working/living in California, you have to report to the consulate in New York.
5. If the consulate in your hometown is booked full of appointments, do not go to the next closest consulate.  You should have booked your appointment earlier and not waited until the last minute.  You will also be asked to leave.
6. Be as courteous as possible, even when you're being treated disrespectfully.

I had my interview at the French consulate 2 days ago.  All-in-all is was a satisfactory experience, but I would never want to go through it again if I had the choice.  There is a stereotype that says the French are rude, and after my visit to the consulate I can understand why.  I personally don't think the French themselves are rude per se, but that humans are just assholes in general, and when you have people who are in a seat of authority they can get carried away.

I was the 3rd person in line and was able to get everything done within 2 hours.  I actually finished 15 minutes before my scheduled appointment time.  The first clerk that I had the pleasure of dealing with was extremely dictatorial.  His greeting, responses, and demands were short and assertive to the point of intimidation.  "GIVE ME YOUR APPLICATION!"  "GIVE ME YOUR PICTURES" "GIVE ME YOUR OFII FORMS."  He was literally yelling at me.  I forgot to fill out my work address on my long stay visa form, so he yelled at me to fill it out.  I had to look up my company address on my phone because I didn't know it.  The clerk harassed me for not knowing my work address.  I tried to explain to him that I just recently transferred into a new location, but he cut me off mid sentence and proceeded to trash talk me in French amongst his colleagues.  He must've assumed that I didn't understand a word of French, which was asinine of him.  Seriously, I will be living in France for a year.  Don't you think I would be able to comprehend some basic French?

The 2nd clerk I dealt with was just as bad.  She accused me of texting on my phone and not paying attention to my name being called for over 5 minutes.  This was absolutely ludicrous!  I wasn't even texting on my phone and I never heard my name being called.  I didn't want to risk getting kicked out or having them turn down my visa so I took the blame and apologized.  The lady repeated, "YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION AND STOP TEXTING!"  then she just stared me down for a few seconds.  It was awkward.  We proceeded with a few questions, she made me sign a few things, and then she tried to get my fingerprints with a scanner.  My fingerprints weren't coming out clearly and she was getting frustrated with the machine.  I kept quiet while laughing my ass off on the inside.  The skin on my fingers are in a constant state of peeling and regeneration and it was throwing the machine off.  She was oblivious to the fact that the problem was with my fingers and not the scanner.  These are what my fingers look like when they're "healed,"  2 days ago they were much worse.  You will have to use your imagination.

The last 2 ladies that dealt with me were extremely nice and made up for the lousy start to my morning.  I had all my paperwork in order so I was able to quickly get in and out.  There was however, one letter that I didn't have, but they let me slide as long as I fax it to them later on.  I am not sure if it was just my consulate or if this applies to everyone else, but for those who are applying to FERRANDI, our letter states that the class time is 5 months long with a 3-6 month internship.  The consulate told me that my internship could not exceed the length of my class time.  You will have to get an official letter from FERRANDI stating that your internship will be no longer than 5 months.  Be aware.