My TAPIF Visa Appointment Experience
This post is derived from a Reddit post I wrote in July 2021 about getting my visa for TAPIF. If you would like to see the original post and the comments, it can be found here.
Please keep in mind that visa procedures and requirements can change from year to year and experiences can differ between different centers. Make sure you check your handbook for the most up-to-date visa requirements for you.
Here is a summary of how my visa appointment at VFS Boston went in July 2021.
List of things I brought:
- passport (US citizen)
- 3 copies of visa application, signed
- 3 copies of arrêté de nomination
- 1 copy of the appointment confirmation from VFS
- photocopies of my passport information page and any page that had stamps or a previous visa (I did 2 of each of these)
- unofficial transcript from my university, 1 copy
- resume/cv, 1 copy
- ID photos, 35mmx45mm (I brought a lot but technically we just need 2)
I got to my appointment and a VFS employee came out to check that I had all my documents. He only took 1 copy of my visa application and 1 ID photo. He DID ask for my transcript (or a copy of my diploma, but I just graduated and don't have it yet) and resume so I'd recommend bring those even though the US handbook doesn't mention them. Once he had verified that I had all the needed documents, he had me fill out 2 forms: 1 giving the address to send my passport back to (and waiving my right to blame VFS if my passport is damaged) and the other was just a basic form saying I understood what was needed for my visa. I was then allowed into the waiting area (where no electronics were allowed! Bring a book).
I first did the "interview", which was basically just a second employee telling me that I had all my documents, asking if I had any questions, and I paid for their courier service to return everything back to me ($38.50 USD). Then I did the biometrics, which was my fingerprints and a picture. If you have bangs like me, I'd recommend bringing a headband to pull them back since your whole face has to be in the photo.
I paid $38.20 to book the appointment and $38.50 for the courier service, so just under $80 USD for the whole visa process. My appointment was only supposed to be 15 minutes, but I was in there for at least 45 mins since my VFS was really understaffed (my center had only been open for a week after being closed for Covid restrictions) and I had to wait a long time, so I'd recommend planning for it to take more time than expected.
My appointment was fully in English and no one spoke a word of French to me, so no need to worry about that.
I definitely didn't need all the copies of all the stuff I made multiple copies of, but I'm just a bit paranoid and thought it was better safe than sorry!
When I was applying for my visa, there was a lot of discussion about ID photo size; US passport photos are 2 inches by 2 inches (50mm by 50mm) and French pictures are 35mm by 45 mm, and people weren’t sure what size to bring. Like I said, I had 35mm x 45mm (which I happened to have left over from a Photomaton while studying abroad), but no one at my center seemed to be checking that closely. If you are concerned about this, just trim down some US-size photos with scissors.
I hope this addresses some questions people might have about appointments! I know I was anxious before, but it ended up going smoothly. Good luck to everyone :)
