Picture this scenario: You are in New York City, standing outside of an older, stylish looking building. Central Park is a block away and you can see the green trees swaying in a breeze that you wish would help you beat the heat. You are amongst a large crowd of people tightly packed near the steps of the building. The atmosphere is tense but filled with excitement. Everyone surrounding you has one goal in mind - to get into this building. Then the moment comes - the tall, burly doorman comes to the gate, opens the lock, and the crowd surges. People around you start yelling, pushing, pleading, doing anything in their power to get inside this building. But the doorman has ultimate power, and he quickly chooses the half-dozen people that he will let inside. He closes the gate again, disappears back into the place so desired by all and the crowd releases a simultaneous sigh. You were so close that time! You want to quit and give up out of frustration but you stay with it, stay in the crowd because you just want to get inside so badly!
Can you guess where you are? Perhaps some swanky night club where all the cool kids want to go? Ha ha - no - you are at the Russian Consulate in New York City, waiting to apply for your visa to visit Russia.
I knew that getting my Russian Visa was going to be complicated. First off, a person cannot just decide to go to Russia for tourism reasons and then apply for a visa on their own. No, you need to receive a letter of invitation to visit Russia. This letter is easy to get if you booked a tour, like me, but if you are just going on your own you need to pay an agency to supply this letter. I was not able to get my letter until 3 months before I was to enter the country, which unfortunately was less than 2 weeks before I was to leave for Ireland. You have to be very specific and careful when you are requesting to enter and leave the country. I have been told by many that if you enter the country too soon or too late (and it’s a small window) then you are probably going to be denied entry into the country. At the time of this writing, a single entry tourist visa was $150.…if you want to wait up to 20 days for processing. If you need it in 3 days like I did then you need to pay $250 (isn’t it amazing how fast the process can be sped up with some extra money?) The visa needs to be applied for in person and they keep your passport while the visa is being processed. The visa application office is only open Monday through Friday from 9:30-11:00 if you are not from a travel agency. All I have to say is that thank goodness I am from New Jersey and did not have far to travel to get to this consulate.
So, on a Friday morning I arrived a half hour before the office opened. The office is located in a nice location, East 91st street relatively close to the 86th street subway station. What struck me as interesting was the fact that there was no real line or any sense of organization when I arrived at the consulate, just a crowd of people, all speaking Russian. I felt nervous to say anything in English and admit to not knowing a single word from a country that I was applying to visit. I had no idea where to stand. Nothing was really labeled. I started on the right side of the gate (hmm…do you think I picked the correct side to stand on?) and was asked several times, in Russian, what I’m assuming was if this was the correct place to stand. I just kind of smiled and shrugged my shoulders. I fond out after 20 minutes that I was actually in the Russian passport line. So, I make my way over to the left side of the consulate, which is for visa applications and visa pickups.
Then the big moment of excitement - the entrance of the doorman. The lock of the gate drags on the concrete, making a bell-like tinkle. The yelling begins. Picture 5 small women, babushkas and all, bellowing at the top of their lungs, shaking their Russian passports and other papers in the air. Well these women certainly scared the crap out of me but the doorman would have none of that. He shouted right back at these ladies and the battle commenced. After about 5 solid minutes of Russian banter, the doorman would then shout either “passport” or “visa application”, let in a few lucky people that managed to push their way forward, and then shut the gate again. My emotions went from shock to humor. I just couldn’t believe that the consulate wouldn’t think to establish some sort of line system. I was amazed that it functioned by yelling, negotiating and favoritism. But this is the way it was and I knew I had to hold tight and roll with it.
I eventually met some other people who were not Russian. One woman was telling me that this was her third time at the consulate. The first time she was at the consulate until 4:30 before she could apply for her visa, the second time she was denied her visa because she didn’t have enough blank pages in her passport, and this time she was hoping that this would be the last as she waited to pick up her visa. Another man I spoke to was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the consulate…because he came here every day. It was his job to drop off and pick up visas for people willing to pay the extra cash. All I can say is that I understand! I also found myself talking with this young, dark, attractive Russian man who was surprised that I was not also Russian. Well….at least there was one highlight to this experience! I mentioned that I wished I knew Russian today and he said “no you don’t - you don’t want to hear what they are yelling. Besides, it’s more fun this way!”
The humor was starting to die and I was getting nervous 15 minutes before the visa application office was supposed to close. Then, I heard that clinging of the lock again as the gate dragged against the concrete. The doorman yelled over the babushka women “visa application” and I started pushing with all my might. I followed closely behind a nice German fellow and an older American man who were also in pursuit of the same quest. The yelling trailed behind me as I entered a much calmer room.
The rest of the experience was fine….even though I had filled out the wrong application form! Quickly I filled out the correct form, which was of coarse quite longer. Then my passport was taken from me and I was left feeling a bit concerned. Would I be able to go through all this again in three days? Would the visa be approved? Would I get my passport back in time to go to Ireland at the end of the month?
I go to leave and find that I had been locked into the building. Then came my burly doorman who opened my door and released me back to the crowd where I pushed my way to the freedom of the NYC streets.
During this experience, I went through a period of doubt. Did I really want to go to Russia? Was all this hassle worth taking the Tran Siberian railroad? But I held strong, enjoyed the moment and gained a memory that I can now look back and laugh upon. Let me tell you, that Russian Visa is now one of coolest pages in my passport and is evidence that I survived the New York City Russian Consulate!
