Operation "Paperwork"
The paperwork has been gathered, at least as far as we can tell. The plan was to apply by mail around April 1st. Different Spanish consulates have different rules and requirements for visa applicants. Even within the US there are differences. LA will ask for your tax returns for the last 3 years, Chicago will require proof of private school enrollment for kids, another consulate will want a 12 year lease contract. You don’t get to pick where you apply. You have to apply in your consular district based on your residence. Houston is our consulate, and I might say we got lucky. The DC consulate seems to be the most reasonable one, but Houston isn’t bad. For example, it doesn’t currently require any of the above mentioned things. They even used to accept mail-in applications. Until April 1st this year. Which is exactly when we were ready to mail in ours. All of the visa paperwork goes through BLS – a third-party company – and only through them. You’d think they would streamline and standar...