An important business I had to do in Mexico was to have my expired work visa for the US renewed. With some research and preparation, it was not too difficult a process. It just called for some due diligence… and stamina.

I arrived in Mexico City on 14 December, a Sunday. The visa business was the first thing I wanted to attend to and get off my mind before I could really enjoy my vacation. Today, almost all US visa applicants need to go through an interview at an embassy or consulate. I had made my interview appointment at 10 am on Monday. I brought with me all the documents I knew I needed and I was all ready for my embassy outing.

The embassy was only about 15-20 minutes’ walk from where I stayed. I arrived early – that was the good news. The bad news was there were so many people, like me, who were trying to get a US visa at the embassy that day, that there were already people waiting in line outside the embassy.

The embassy staff must have been very used to dealing with situations like that. The entrance to the visa department was right next to Marriott, separated by a street. That street had been cordonned off and one was not allowed access unless one could show that he or she had an interview appointment. There was a designated queuing space outside the embassy, in this restricted area. There were lines drawn on the ground, where visitors could form 5 files. Since there was a limit of 5 files and there were really many people that day, we had to form a line outside the restricted area before we were let in as the files clear.

When I was let into the restricted area, the embassy staff directed me to stand in File Number 5. There were already people standing in Files Number 1, 2, 3 and 4, each file probably some 25 metres long. As I joined those people, another embassy staff was talking to them through a loudspeaker, apparently in the process of going through the fields of the DS-156 (jargon for the visa application form), instructing them what to fill in the fields. A while later, the people standing in File Number 1 were asked to proceed into the visa department’s office.

The rest of us stood and waited in our files. After a long while, another embassy staff came out and addressed us. He instructed applicants who met certain requirements to step up and join File Number 1. With my limited Spanish, I had to strain my ears hard to listen to him and verify with people next to me that I understood correctly what he was saying. I confirmed that the instructions had nothing to do with me – it was for first-time applicants, applicants with infants, lost visas or something like that. So I contentedly remained in my position in File Number 5.

It was only not long after that it began to dawn on me what it meant to be in File Number 5. The people who just joined File Number 1 were soon asked to proceed into the office. As for the rest of us, people in File Number 2 was asked to shift themselves to File Number 1, File Number 3 to File Number 2, Number 4 to Number 3 and my line moved from Number 5 to Number 4. So, File Number 1 was where I needed to be for entry to the office to be imminent. I was still so far away.

I probably stood in the line for 2 hours or more before being signalled to proceed towards the visa department’s building. Before entering the office, the embassy staff checked each of our documents to make sure that everything was in order. We had to leave cellphones, metallic objects and other prohibited items at the baggage check before we were allowed to enter the building. There, we each received a “queue number” and had whatever was left is our bags screened.

I could understand that they were keeping people out of the building because of limited capacity in the office. However, I was still surprised by the number of applicants present in the visa department after they let us in. There were so many people! I waited for my “queue number” to be called to have my photograph and fingerprints taken and then I had to go to another section to wait to be called for my interview with the consular officer. I was not holding much hope that it would be quick and when I saw there there were some 200 “queue numbers” to be called before me, I was telling myself that luckily I brought with me something to read.

For a wait that long, the interview itself was quick! Just a few questions from the consular officer, who happened to have lived in Atlanta before, and presto! She approved my application!

With this volume of applications they handle in a day, it was understandable that the embassy did not have the policy to have applicants return to collect their passports. They engage a courier service to have the passports delivered to the applicants. This was the next major hurdle I had to go through. That was to somehow communicate to the Spanish speaking staff of the courier service, explain that I did not have an address in Mexico, that the consular officer has expedited the issuance of my visa and that I had to collect it in the next couple of days instead of the normal 7 – 10 days.

I think I managed to communicate that information to the lady at the counter and I managed to catch the instructions she gave, but I was not sure. I thought she was telling me that I could collect my passport from her company’s collection office in Mexico City and that I could call their hotline to find out if my passport was ready for collection. There was no English speaking people within my reach to help me then. After leaving the counter, I went looking for someone from the embassy to validate the information before stepping out. This was such important information.

Finally, I left the embassy with some comfort level of knowing how to retrieve my passport. 6 hours after I arrived in the morning, I felt so drained even though I really did not do much over there. Walking out the embassy, I felt a sense of relief that this business was finally over. A hawker approached me asking if I needed any covers for my passport. I was smiling from ear to ear and told him politely that I did not. There was a Starbucks round the corner from the embassy. I couldn’t help walking right in for a cuppa (mocha, though) and indulge in a cheesecake to take a break from a long day. A long day, just so that I may return to the US to work.