How to Get a Spanish Visa the Hard Way – Part Four
1. Check mail. Yes! An official looking letter from New York; it’s probably my marriage certificate and the Apostille form. Open. NOOOOOO! They just sent it back. Whyyyyyy? The letter says I need the notary and clerk signature. But they are clearly RIGHT HERE on the paper. What the…?!? Well, it’s Friday after 4pm. Nothing to be done until Monday.
The washing machine chooses this moment to break.
2. Monday. Call New York as soon as the family leaves at 7am. Time difference working for me. On hold 12 minutes. The guy is nice, even as he is explaining that I’m pronouncing “Apostille” all wrong. He tries to transfer me to another department but only succeeds in hanging up.
AAAAARRRG!
3. Call New York again. On hold 30 minutes. Insist the operator wait on the line while I’m transferred… to an answering machine.
AAAAAARRRRG!
4. Run downtown to pick up Rob for our fingerprinting and criminal record check. $50 to wait in dingy office and be man-handled by soulless government employees. And I get to come back in 3 days to pick up the results! Good times.
Rush to pick up kids, rush to piano, rush to meet washing machine repair man.
Check mail. Our passports arrived! Yes! YES! So lucky! I really thought this would be our biggest wait.
5. Tuesday. Call New York, again. No hold time! (OH. I need the county clerk signature and notary instead of the city clerk signature and notary. Sigh.)
6. Back to the post office. Explain my nesting doll situation. (Okay, I need to send this paperwork to Ithaca, which includes an addressed stamped envelope to Albany ,which includes an addressed stamped envelope to Austin. Got it?) Pay $20, then sit in the car quelling an anxiety attack about not spending $90 on express mail.
7. Call health insurance to check up on proof of international coverage. They can’t email it. They can’t translate it. Copies on their way by snail mail. Sigh.
8. Call doctor to see if I can move my appointment earlier. Nope.
Yikes… this is a nail biter.