Embassy Update

[bjarvis]

This morning, I headed to 5th Street & Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington DC for the next stage in my passport saga.

While there was a line of 20 people waiting for visa services to open at 9 AM, I was the only person waiting for consular services. After turning off all electronic devices --it's no secret cell phones and pagers are the work of the devil, but heaven knows why suddenly it's necessary to kill them all when entering an office-- and being scanned in a metal detector, I was directed to a small room more like a large telephone booth.

Seated in the booth, I followed the instructions on the card on the video-phone:
1. Press "Start."
2. Press "1" and "Talk"
3. Look directly into the camera and speak clearly.
4. When finished, press "End."
I've never seen a system quite like this, and I can't say I know why they're using it. In any case, once I announced myself by the video-phone, a consular agent came down to the service desk.

She was clearly Canadian civil servant material, stamped out of the same civil servant DNA desired so much by the Public Service Commission: late 30s, about 5'7", dark hair in a tight, well-ordered bob, subtle make-up, big smile of perfect teeth, fluent English with a trace of a Montrealais accent and a very calming and assuring presence. At least, as near to calming as one can be from behind a 1" thick bulletproof window surrounded by polished stainless steel counter & window frame with a metal service drawer for exchanging documents.

She proficiently took down my information about the lost passport and assured me that she would have the Passport Canada database updated immediately. If I were to find the passport, I should bring it to the embassy as soon as possible; under no circumstances was I to actually use the old passport as it will set off alarm bells on both sides of the border.

I was warned from other sources that Passport Canada is about 4 months behind in processing passport applications. The consular official however indicated that they have ramped up production and are now just a bit over one month behind. With luck, I may have my passport by the end of October.

Comments

[cuyahogarvr.livejournal.com]

Of course, you do realize that now that you've applied for both the replacement green card AND passport, the "lost" ones will magically reappear.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

Yes. They will materialize in the center of the living room this afternoon. And they have some explaining to do.

[jss]

No they won't. They'll only appear safe and sound after you get both the new green card and the new passport.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

The money has already been spent and the old cards invalidated... there's no advantage to them waiting any longer. Of course, if their vacation in a parallel universe isn't over yet, well, who am I to interrupt?

[jss]

They'll still wait, just to piss you off.

[rwgill.livejournal.com]

I predict they will reappear when you are getting ready to leave for your next cross border trip.