Easy Tourism Countries for Green Card Holders who Need Visas?

[The White Fiance 22]

It looks like the UK uses VFS in Atlanta.

 

Basically, if we want to see Europe, and they DID throw out all her biometrics without entering them, we will be starting with Greece because the consulate is close to us, or we will try Switzerland, because they're in Atlanta, not Miami or DC. A bunch of countries work through Atlanta. Switzerland is the only one I want to see again badly enough to make the drive. I wouldn't drive to Atlanta just to get a chance to visit England.

 

If we can get into Greece, we can hit Paris on the way home. That's a pretty good trip.

 

If we decide to give up on Europe, we'll see if Japan or Taiwan will work with us. I wish we could go to Israel, but this is obviously not the time.

 

I put together this list of Schengen countries and the places where people who live in Florida have to apply.

 

Austria - VFS Miami
Belgium - Atlanta
Czechia - DC
Denmark - VFS DC
England - VFS Atlanta
Finland - DC
France - VFS Atlanta
Germany - VFS Miami
Greece - Tampa
Italy - VFS Miami
Luxembourg - DC
Netherlands - VFS Miami
Norway - VFS DC
Sweden - VFS DC
Switzerland - Atlanta

[Boiler 45,451]

FYI England like Florida does not issue Visa's.

 

And is not in the Schengen area.

 

Europe, well that depends on which definition you are using.

 

[top_secret 2,413]

54 minutes ago, The White Fiance said:

It looks like the UK uses VFS in Atlanta.

 

We are in the middle of the UK visa process right now trying to pull off a tourist trip.  VFS cleverly tries to lead you into costly "added-value services" that are not required or even helpful in many cases. Read the fine print and chose the "free" (well included at no extra cost in the $152 visa fee) free biometrics at a USCIS Application Support Center, and free self-upload of documents, and pay for and print your own UPS return label and mail it off to New York City.    Or.......  I could pay $82 extra and drive 2 1/2 hours to Los Angeles to unnecessarily pay them for the "added-value service" of VFS scanning and uploading the documents for me, rather than me just uploading them from my PC.

 

The application is all online, the only required fee is $152.  The only required appearance is biometrics at the same USCIS ASC they got biometrics done for removal of conditions, the only required interaction with VFS is the free self-upload option, and you pay round trip UPS to send in the passport to VFS in NYC and prepay UPS for a return label..

[The White Fiance 22]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

FYI England like Florida does not issue Visa's.

 

And is not in the Schengen area.

 

Europe, well that depends on which definition you are using.

 

Not helpful.

[Verrou 1,962]

16 hours ago, The White Fiance said:

Turkey and Egypt let us fill out forms online.

not for commonwealth contries, schengen countries. all strong countries required in person biometric. i will say for UK slightly different. i applied few months ago and i can do biometric in local USCIS field office and have to send my passport to NYC to VFS. there's no other way. USPS magically " lost" my passport, i have to get a new one ( travel to NYC in Person to do biometric), and of course the day i went to NYC to get a new passport, USPS "found" my package. 

 

 

[Verrou 1,962]

11 hours ago, top_secret said:

 

 

 

The application is all online, the only required fee is $152.  The only required appearance is biometrics at the same USCIS ASC they got biometrics done for removal of conditions, the only required interaction with VFS is the free self-upload option, and you pay round trip UPS to send in the passport to VFS in NYC and prepay UPS for a return label..

i just did UK visa last july 2023. $136 at that time filed the first day im eligible to apply ( 3 months before the trip)and already completed the trip in October. if u wanna save money for shipping, u can send with whatever mail service TO NYC. it doesnt have to be UPS. i bought UPS 2 DAY AIR ( u cant do 3 days ground ), either 1 day or 2 day air, via shipstation and just put the label inside the envelope. only cost me $10 ( new england). VFS such a racket but unfortunately many countries use their service. their customer service is super horrible. its like they dont understand english. i asked A, they answered Z.

 

usps "lost" my package for 2 weeks before they found it. by then i already did new passport ( need to go to NYC !) so i just role the dice, and they actually approved my application and put the vignette / visa sticker on my old passport that's void. what i did when i enter UK, i brought both old passport + visa and also my new passport. no problem

Edited December 29, 2023 by Verrou

[The White Fiance 22]

Here's something funny. I emailed the Hungarians, and they said we could apply in New York, like it was across the street from Florida. I emailed back and conveyed my regrets, noting that it was 1000 miles away. They suggested DC, which is only 850 miles away. That's totally different. I'll get in the car right now! Instead of two days on the road, it's only 1-3/4 days. Game-changer there.

 

Many Europeans have no idea how big America is. They're just like Americans who think Johannesburg is a short drive from Lagos.

[OldUser 6,614]

27 minutes ago, The White Fiance said:

Here's something funny. I emailed the Hungarians, and they said we could apply in New York, like it was across the street from Florida. I emailed back and conveyed my regrets, noting that it was 1000 miles away. They suggested DC, which is only 850 miles away. That's totally different. I'll get in the car right now! Instead of two days on the road, it's only 1-3/4 days. Game-changer there.

 

Many Europeans have no idea how big America is. They're just like Americans who think Johannesburg is a short drive from Lagos.

Well, if they only have consulates in a few large cities, what else can they offer for in person application? 

 

I know Russians suffered a lot few years back when only one consulate was left open in the US and they had to renew their passports in person. So few options is not bad at all.

[The White Fiance 22]

If other countries can learn to use technology, so can the Europeans.

[top_secret 2,413]

Just today my wife and stepdaughters UK applications are formally sent off to Home Office UKVI for adjudication and their passports are in the possession of VFS in New York City.  I will reserve any recommendations pending the outcome which we expect to hear in 15-18 days but the process has been pretty easy so far by challenged passport visa application standards.  You can start a dummy application online here https://visas-immigration.service.gov.uk/apply-visa-type/visit just to see what you are getting into.  Until you submit it nothing is permanent.  Their biometrics was at the local USCIS ASC Tuesday and we sent their passports to VFS New York City by USPS Priority Mail.  VFS got them today and emailed us that the processed visa applications were forwarded to UK Visas and Immigration today.  Now we wait.

 

If UK comes back successfully we are doing a Schengen visa from Germany also for the same trip.  That one looks like 'maybe' we can do by mail since my wifes biometrics were taken in the Philippines in 2019 for her Netherlands visa, and her daughter is under 12.  Germany uses BLS not VFS and once we are ready to submit the application, BLS has a phone number you are supposed to call and verify the biometrics are re-usable.  If yes it can be done by mail.  If not, it's a 2 1/2 hour trip to Los Angeles for us since that is the nearest BLS application center.  It looks like it would be Miami in Florida.  But at least you can call and find out if mail is an option with previous biometrics.

[top_secret 2,413]

Going back to my earlier recommendation of Japan, it seems that as of December 15, 2023 Japan has instituted entirely online eVISAs for US Permanent Residents which seems to eliminate even the mail in step.  My wife still has a 5 year multiple entry visa for Japan granted to her in the Philippines so we haven't tried online but it does seem like a very promising development.  Japan is a really cool tourism destination. 

 

https://www.evisa.mofa.go.jp

[The White Fiance 22]

If Greece won't cooperate, we'll have an acceptable backup. Thanks again.

[JimmyX 11]

I know it's an older thread, but if you're still looking for places to travel, my fianceé is Zambian and we visited Dubai in January. Her flight was on Emirates and they have a simple UAE visa application process you can use. Also I know you mentioned you don't want to go to the countries that are visa-free for her, but South Africa doesn't require visas for either of you and Delta has direct flights from Atlanta to Johannesburg (daily) and Cape Town (2-3 times a week) that you can generally find for under $1,000 if your scheduled is somewhat flexible.

[The White Fiance 22]

Thanks for the help, but we definitely don't want go to go Africa after spending two years getting her out. Neither of us wants to visit Africa. She really wants nothing to do with South Africa.

 

She is interested in Dubai. I'm not. It's a last-resort destination for me. It's like they took a big sandbox where there was nothing to do and added tourist attractions. She claims Zambians go to Dubai so they can see if KFC is better there! I don't even like KFC in America. The food has been no good since about 1970. They stopped frying chicken in beef fat and started using powdered potatoes.

 

Quote

  It looks like it would be Miami in Florida. 

 

Unfortunate, because as I said above, "I used to live there, and there is no way I will go back even briefly unless the other option is death." I really hate that city. I won't go even for funerals.

 

We have a consulate interview coming up. Hoping for the best. Surely they can tell the difference between a wife who hasn't left Zambia and a permanent US resident in Florida.

 

Our solution to the problem of being forced to provide airline bookings, which is impossible in the US without paying for the tickets, is to buy refundable tickets, get our visa, and then return the tickets and buy cheaper ones. Buying fraudulent tickets is sort of unfair to the airlines, but we didn't make the rules. We also booked a bunch of refundable rooms. I can't even recall all the times we've canceled reservations because she could not get a visa.

 

We went to Mexico recently to get her some dental treatment. They let her walk right in. Unfortunately, it's a pretty bad destination for tourists, except for American kids who like to get drunk in loud bars. The cops kidnapped three American girls while we were there and made them pay ransom. The dental clinics are great.

[The White Fiance 22]

I have a follow-up.

 

I have come to believe the whole Schengen tourist visa business, for people from countries Europeans don't like, is a racist scam. The actual purpose of the process, at least in the countries we have dealt with, appears to be to find excuses to keep certain applicants out, especially Africans. They do not want Africans on their continent, but they want to virtue-signal and hide the truth, so they encourage people to apply, and then they find any excuse to reject their applications.

 

We went to Greek consulate. We brought all sorts of things they hadn't asked for, in addition to the things on their list. We thought we would try to be prepared in case they tried to sandbag us. Then they asked for other things we did not have with us. They would not let us sit down for an hour in their waiting room to download things, and they would not let us drop a missing item off the next day. We were able to prove we had many, many times the assets needed to pay for a brief trip, but they suddenly decided they had to have tax returns, which I don't carry around with me.

 

We had paid hotel and Airbnb accommodations for every destination, but they demanded to see tickets to show how we would get from country to country inside Europe. They said airline tickets were better proof of where we intended to be than hotel receipts. That's idiotic, since refundable airline tickets can be changed very easily, but a good hotel booking in a peak month is like gold. If you have one, you will do anything to hold onto it.

 

I went home and requested refunds for all our bookings, and now we are giving Switzerland a shot. Greece said we could try again, but my feeling is that if you're going to suffer like this, it should be for the best possible destination, not Greece, which is perfectly fine, but not on the level of Switzerland.

 

We are applying mainly for the purpose of getting my wife's biometrics into the system. The Swiss are very responsible, so even if they don't accept us, I think they'll obey the law and keep her biometrics. The other countries we applied to spat on the law and threw her fingerprints out, so we know they never actually looked at her applications, although they did encourage us to give them money for doing nothing. They just took her papers, set them aside, lied to us about processing them, and threw them out after rejecting her.

 

We may apply for a Japanese and/or Taiwan visa simultaneously with the one for Switzerland. Maybe if the Swiss let us in, we won't even go this year. At least we'll be in the system.

 

I got some information from an Indian who has been through this mess many times, and he told me the tricks to watch out for, so maybe we'll eventually see Europe. He said I should give my wife a sponsorship letter and notarize it, which is moronic and has no legal significance, but I will do it next time. He said I should bring our marriage license. Crazy. As it happens, I did take our license to the consulate, because I was paranoid.