The Last Hurdle?

I think Matt would agree that this Visa application process has been way more involved than we originally imagined it would be. The amount of paperwork involved is truly staggering, and it seems like the process has a never-ending amount of steps. It was the beginning of January when Matt first started work on the Visa, and even though he’s been constantly working on it, we’re still not even totally finished.


Today, though, will hopefully put into place the last piece of the puzzle. Matt, Frankie, and I are taking the day to drive to Denver to visit some sort of secretive government facility where they will initiate the final steps of the process: fingerprints and eye scans.

Eye scans. So futuristic!

The place itself can’t be located through the phone book or a web search… You can only find out about its location after you make an appointment to visit. There are only 100+ facilities like it throughout the country. Some people have to travel a long way to make their appointment. We’re lucky to have one so close. Still the secrecy is a little weird, don't you think?

When we finish up there, we have to FedEx all of our paperwork to Los Angeles for final approval. We’re sending a huge file full of 100 plus pages of documentation, all of which we’re gone over with a fine-toothed comb to make sure everything is accurate. If all goes well, the Visa will be approved and FedExed back before our departure date next week.

Whew!

The only potential snag is the timing of everything. Technically, our eye scan and fingerprint appointment is for Monday, not today. We were a lttle worried, though, that a Monday appointment wouldn't give us enough time to get all of our travel documents back from Los Angeles. So, we're planning to drive down to the facility in Denver and just show up, hoping they will take mercy on us and squeeze us in. It's kind of a gamble, but Frankie is awfully cute... How can they resist her? (We tried a similar technique a few summers ago, using Frankie's cute little smile to charm our way past a security guard and onto a private beach in The Hamptons. Apparently, we're not above a little low-grade child exploitation.)

So... That's the scoop. Check back tomorrow to see if we were ushered away by armed guards.