And you're making lists of things that need copied. Pictures that need to be taken. Requested documents that need to be located.
You're making sure that your birth certificates and marriage certificate are dated within the past 90 days. Because my original birth certificate dated the day I was born doesn't count anymore. But obviously I'm older than 90 days? Something doesn't add up. So you pay for the new record and then your appointment gets set for 5 months after you return with the documents. Now you need a new one. And then US Vital Records doesn't mail records to a foreign address so someone in Iowa has to give them to someone who is on their way to Vegas and then someone on a bachelor party has to bring it from Vegas to France.
You're figuring out whose appointment is first; who gets the originals; will there be time to switch before the other's appointment? They've got to understand right? We've got a lot of the same documents. Why are there new requests on the newest list we've been given? What even are these documents? Do we really need to take a language assessment? We don't have time to get this stuff!
And then you have to pay with these weird stamp things. Cash first; then the stamps.
In the end you hand over your complete identity in one folder, hope for the best and pray that you'll see the folder again.
We are pretty easy going around here - but sometimes you just want to yell "WHY ISN'T THIS EASIER? THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY!" and bang your head against a wall. But Mark has to deal with the frustrations way more than me. And most importantly, it's the rule and there's nothing we can do to change it. So tomorrow morning we will be visiting some beautifully architectured building hoping to get a piece of paper that says we can stay a little longer. And sigh with relief knowing we probably won't have to do this again this time around... hopefully!
But most of it's fun and games... well more like champagne and croissants!
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