Hahaha thanks vik!

how did it go?! did you guys get the visa?

Not quite. Some mysterious form that our French organization says we dont need. We didnt know. Should've thrown out some broken French!

«Sacrebleu!»

they also asked for other papers that we would have brought had the website told us. mercifully we can just mail them the whole lot.

wow! i am glad you don't have to go in for a second interview though

so that means if you mail them the missing forms they will pretty much grant you the visa, that is a great thing. if you had been denied a visa, they would have told you already. missing forms is usually a yes

i know this process is stressful, it is always stressful and time consuming, but in my experience, it has always worked out in the end. just breathe and be patient!

"missing forms is always a yes" - wow I wouldn't have known this, go cat!

yes! if it is a no they will tell you right way, if they ask for extra documents it means that's all they are missing in order to grant you one, especially if they don't make you come for a second interview

this a really good sign

also it helps that you guys have the support of an organization, that kind of sponsorship, even if it is only vouching for you and not financial, usually helps a yes

it is a safer bet for them to let you in lol

we have 4 organizations vouching for us... it was getting a little crazy.

'oh you want this form... HOW ABOUT FOUR, TAKE THAT FRANCOIS!'

lol

also- one of the students there (who got sent away and i suppose was told to come back) said goodbye to the visa worker and he said 'Ok, goodbye princess!'

so i looked at her and laughed and she said 'well at least he ended on a happy note!'

do you also have to mail them your passports? if that is the case, it is likely they will just mail them back with the visa on them already

lol yes cheerfulness is also a good sign

although i have never been called princess by a consulate worker

they have the passports so they will be mailed back with the visa.

he didnt call anyone else any names... perhaps she smelled faintly of macaroons.

excellent, then you are 100% in

they would not take your passports if you weren't getting the visa

also, i do believe i've made two french-isms in the last minute. shame on me.

oh and they made us pay.

though the sign said you had to pay regardless they didnt make anyone else pay when they sent them away.

for american embassies at least paying doesn't mean you are getting the visa, and the fee is not refundable, but it is possible for france that that is the case

i mean that you only pay if you get it, they are nicer? lol... but the fact that they took your passports is the key there, i think

no, it was clear. you pay before you start the process.

awesome!

i think they just dont have time for that stuff. i truly felt for the foreigners (non-french/non english as a first language) people who were there.

i really felt like the schools they were with either did a poor job of preparing them or they just were lazy

did some of them get denied while you were there waiting?

Denied as in sent away to try some other time. I didn't hear any flat out denials but there were lots of 'go home and come back when you have {this this or this}