Jumping through Hoops

So the process began over seven months ago to obtain a visa to live in Belgium. Before you read on, just be aware that there is a quite a bit of ranting to get out my frustrations from the whole procedure.

Eva and I discovered that there is something called a cohabitation visa and we set out to get one. Its a little easier for me to up-root, so we decided I would go to Belgium as opposed to her come to America. Most Belgians think we are both crazy when they hear the other option is California but life is long, there are options to do more than one thing.

The road to the visa has been filled with frustration, and Eva and I are glad to have it come to an end. On the Belgian Diplomatic website, we found out that I needed to submit 8 things, and she 5. That was way back in May when I was in Belgium, and we were hopping we could do it all from there and that it wouldn't take that long. We didn't really think that would be the case, but one can always hope.

Her documents were actually pretty easy to obtain. Because it is a cohabitation visa, my status is very dependent on her, and she had to submit various financial statements, pay stubs, proof of residence, etc.

For me, some of the things were easy to get, some not. Passport, Birth Certificate, fees (of course) and application, all easy enough. Doctors report, FBI report, and Certificate that I am not married, not so easy. Also we had to submit proof of our relationship, which we thought would be easy, but turned out to be harder than it should have been. We had to submit more info and pictures, the second time around about our relationship and at one point wondered if it wasn't easier to turn up at the consulate to have relations.

The doctors report was a bit of a challenge, because we were not sure at first if I could get it done in Belgium. We went back and forth a little bit about it, because ideally (according to the Belgian government) I was supposed to apply for the visa from my home country. But I was busy being in Belgium, trying to have a relationship with the Belgian citizen I was trying to get permission to cohabitate with. A bit of a catch 22 really, as they wanted me to prove time spent with her, but also wanted me to be in my own country. Eventually we sorted it out, and I got the report done in Belgium.

The FBI report required fingerprints to be sent in along with the application. I could not find anyone to finger print me in Belgium, except for the inconvenient, expensive embassy in Brussels. In the US, you can go to a police station and have it done, so we tried that in Belgium as well. They said the only reason the would fingerprint me was if I committed a crime. I didn't see that as prudent considering I was trying to get them to let me into there country to stay. So I printed fingerprint cards off the FBI website (they said this was allowed) grabbed an ink pad and did them myself. Again, and again, again. They only required one set, but I figured four would be better, and that they could find one set of usable prints from the four. They couldn't and sent them back to me, saying they were unreadable. They sent them back because I wanted something from them. If I had committed a crime and left four sets of prints, I bet they could have found me, but because I wanted something, I bet they didn't even try. Months later when I passed through home I got a set made in my home town of Fountain Valley at the police station, but this process was the biggest delay. Especially considering the FBI website (in the FAQ section) essentially says: Is there a way to speed up this (4 month) process? No!

The certificate that I was not married was the most frustrating of the lot. I had to have two of them. One was an official document from the county I was born in (Orange County= The OC) stating that they searched their records and I am not married. The document doesn't really prove anything as far as I see. Sure I'm not married in the OC, but what about other counties, what about other countries? This document also had to have attached to it an apostille. In the early 60's many countries joined into an agreement that says that as long as there is an apostille attached, that each other country is to recognize the document. Of course, each time any new document was introduced into the mix, a new few was as well. So maybe they realized this document wasn't proving much, so they had me write one myself, stating I wasn't married. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how someone else would gain by creating such a document. But of course it had to be notarized, another fee and of course it needed an apostille, another fee.

It might have been OK, if all this was able to be done in the same building on the same day. I realize they want to screw me out of more fees, but can't they screw me in the same building? I was dealing with the County of Orange office in Santa Ana and the Secretary of State in Downtown LA. I was also in the middle of my tour leading season and was only in and out of southern California, making it all difficult to accomplish. So here's the most frustrating part. I took my made up document, and my OC notary document up to LA, to get the apostille, and they told me it wasn't possible because my notary document wasn't authenticated. I said, isn't that what a notary is, an authentication? They told me that they needed proof that the notary was still active, I pointed to the notary's seal. Not good enough, I needed an authentication (another fee) document and for that I would have to go back to Orange County, because this was and OC notary. I told the clerk this was ridiculous and that it made no sense, and she replied
"Don't blame me, blame the government." I didn't even start with her about how silly a defense that was, and I said fine, I'll just do it over, here, today in LA with another notary down the street. She told me I would still have to go to the LA county office, IN NORWALK (30 minutes drive one way) to get the authentication. What sense does that make I inquired angrily. I have to waste my time, and gas money, and add more traffic and pollution to the city. Why can't you just have a notary in this office that is already authenticated (whatever that means)? Her response was (and I can't believe she said this) "well that's what these people (pointing to all the other people in line) have been working on all week. That is their defense? This incredibly wasteful and unnecessary system is still in place, because that's what everyone else is doing. Crazy, but that's the government for you. No wonder we have a budget crisis in California.

Anyway, enough of me ranting. Eventually we got all our ducks in a row and then played the waiting game. It took around 6 weeks at that point, which may have gone quicker, but it was over the holidays. So finally, with visa in hand as of last Friday, I made a plane reservation, and will return to Belgium, with visa, in two days.