Seems I haven’t found other subjects yet, but I just got a new camera lens and the garden is full of pretty flowers. The tulips are done, so now I got azaleas, lilies of the valley, and a cute bumblebee that fell off his flower as I was taking pictures but managed to get back on… not easy being a heavy bug with tiny wings! I finally brought some of the beauty inside and the little bouquet of lilies of the valley really gives a nice scent.
I’m writing out of anger and frustration dealing with the issue of getting visas for Ramzi and Mazen to come to Sweden. We have an upcoming wedding there and the visas are still not done mainly because the process of applying for one is really a deterrent to ever want to visit Sweden.
First, let’s discuss the Swedish embassy’s service hours. You can call the visa office Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri between 11am-12pm. Yes, a whole whopping 4 hours a week to service all of the U.S.! That’s not counting that they were in fact closed on Good Friday and the following Monday due to Easter. Now, the lack of opportunity to talk to someone at the embassy is probably not a huge problem as Sweden probably doesn’t have that many visitors, and the fact that the lack of service-mindedness and hospitality are doing nothing to improve that. For us it was certainly inconvenient. Their automated phone message keeps referring to check their website for all the information needed. Ok, that brings us to the second problem.
Let’s discuss their website, and I will now refer you to the screenshots above. The left side shows the page with information regarding visa applications. There are links on the top of the page that will take you to the specific information regarding the type of visa you are applying for. Below the link there is information saying that if you are applying from any of the U.S. states listed you should apply in person at the Norwegian consulate in San Francisco. Let’s first assume that we are not like the 99% of people that would just click on the link that applies to them, let’s assume we actually get to the second half of this page. One problem is that the paragraphs before the list of U.S. states describe what you should do if you are planning to visit Denmark, Iceland, or Norway. Now, the 99% of the 1% of users who made it here would realize that this doesn’t apply to them as they are planning to visit Sweden and they would click the link above. Ok, let’s say we make it all the way to the list. It says: “Applicants from the below states should apply at the Consulate General of Norway in San Francisco”, and then there’s a list of western U.S. states, including CA. The question now is the term “Applicants” does it refer to all applicants to Nordic countries, or the ones listed in the paragraphs above, that is Norway, Denmark, and Iceland? It’s not clear that visitors to Sweden should apply there.
That’s not the only problem, as stated earlier, a lot of people wouldn’t even make it down to that information as it’s displayed below links that navigate away from that page. We clicked on the link regarding visas to visit friends and family, which takes you to the information about applying for such a visa. On that page, there is a heading that says: “How do I submit my application?”, and under it, it says the application can be submitted in person or mailed to the Swedish embassy in D.C. So which is it? Norwegian consulate in SF or Swedish embassy in DC? The website clearly states both as valid options. To me, the specific information that pertains to the visa for family and friends seems to be “more valid” as it’s listed on the page about that particular visa type. But that was apparently wrong!
Ramzi’s and Mazen’s applications, that were submitted to the Swedish embassy in Washington DC, were returned with stamps in their passports that says their visas are “Cancelled without prejudice”, and notes that say they have to go to the Norwegian consulate in San Francisco in person and turn in their applications! They are now driving up to SF overnight to turn in their applications and then back the same day. Both will miss work.
I called the Swedish Embassy to point out the inconsistency of information on their website. The person I talked to wouldn’t even recognize that the information is inconsistent and confusing. He kept referring me back to the first page that lists the states whose residents should apply in San Francisco, and I kept retaliating that I’m aware of that information but it’s conflicting with information on the specific site for visiting friends and family. Oh, another funny thing he said to my point that they will probably have this problem in future cases if they don’t change the information on the website was that “no this is not going to be such a big problem, because we only have about 2 applications per month”. Needless to say the conversation was completely useless.
Now, this was not the first time we applied for a visa for Ramzi. He’s successfully obtained visas on three occasions to visit me and my native country. So I also asked the person on the phone if these were new rules, and if so, why isn’t there a highlighted section on the site, that says something like “NEW VISA PROCEDURES!”. To that he replied that “oh no, this is not new, it’s been in effect since at least 2010″. LOL, ok it’s still early 2011 now moron, how often do you think we check the visa requirements? every month?
Well if there’s one positive thing in all of this, it’s that Ramzi and Mazen live in southern CA so SF is just a 7 hour car trip away. Had they’d been in Alaska or Hawaii, the trip to get a visa would be significantly worse!
The time and money spent on this mission is ridiculous, and it’s clear we will not be visiting Sweden again while these visa rules are in place. Had it not been for the wedding, we would have definitely given up a long time ago. And thank you once more Swedish bureaucracy and service for reminding me and reinforcing my decision to emigrate!
winbladh’s photostream on Flickr.
I just spent a couple of hours learning to use my camera. I got this nice Olympus camera from Ramzi when I graduated in June, and now I finally made time to experiment with its features. The photo subjects today were plants in the garden. Not only were they close at hand, but today they were extra spectacular with their bright colors and glittering raindrops. So I learned to work the aperture and focus and it was really fun. I want to take more and extend my repertoire to not only include plants, we’ll see what I find next time. 
I got blisters under my feet today as I premiered my new sandals in an insanely long walk through DC. But DC offered its nicest weather and scenery today, so it was all worth it. It’s like every leaf grew over night, everything is green all of a sudden, the birds have returned and are chirping, and the air is saturated with sweet flowery scents from tulips, dogwood, lilacs, and other flowers. So where did I walk? I walked from the Smithsonian, to Georgetown, across the key bridge and all the way to Ballston! I was not alone, there were people strolling, running, and biking on every street, sitting with their noses towards the sun on every park bench, laying out on every grassy area, and filling every outdoor café. I think everyone is happy the long winter is over and spring is in full force!
After various meetings on Thursday, I hurried to my car and drove 5.5 hrs south from Delaware to Norfolk VA. On the way I got to experience the countryside with radio stations playing songs about beer being better than women, Palin 2012 stickers, and I passed through three states Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. What I had been looking forward to, and what caused me to speed part of the way, was to take the Chesapeake tunnel bridge before sunset. The bridge tunnel is 20 miles long, where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean, and has two tunnels that break up the bridge to allow ships to cross. It’s pretty darn cool, especially in the middle where all you see is water. I had been wanting to see this engineering marvel for some time, but never had a reason to make the drive, until now when the NSF organized a workshop down in Norfolk. As it is sort of out of the way and far from what I would normally call interesting places, I was happy to finally see it, and thankfully it was a gorgeous day, I had my windows down and enjoyed the fresh marine air that filled my car.
DC cherry blossoms! Although still cold, today was beautiful sunny skies and pale pastels in DC. As a bonus I got to hang out with Vesna and Kenny from Cheryl blossoms to coffee to excellent modern Vietnamese.
After a bike ride around the block, I set up office outside. Spring is finally here at least for a couple of days. The air is still cool, but it’s warm to sit in the sun, birds are chirping, buds and flowers everywhere.
I made sure to go out and enjoy the ca sunshine while in California. Ramzi and I discovered a beautiful trail through turtle ridge/rock, whatever it’s called. 8 miles! I realized light pink isn’t my color after a long winter
