Knowing that the Consulate of the People's Republic of China visa office has a very narrow window of hours we got ourselves up early and braved Monday morning NYC commute. Thankfully our departure location was a tad closer then home and we managed to arrive a few minutes after they opened at 9:00am. Traffic was as expected but it moved along fairly quickly and it wasn't long before we pulled into the pier 83 parking garage.
After crossing the busy Henry Hudson Parkway we made our way to the visa office entrance on the Sid of the consulate. A long series of two lines had already formed along West 42nd St. One line was the visa application line. The other was for completed and approved Visa pickup. The line moved in spurts and before we knew it the security guard was checking to make sure we had the correct application before letting us inside. Next we passed through airport style security with a metal detector and baggage scanner. They temporarily confiscated my camera but since phones and pictures were strictly forbidden I wasn't bothered. I collected my claim check and proceeded to the next line to pick up a number for the visa applications. Our number was C166. They were currently on C130 when we all set down.
The room reminded me of the DMV where they called numbers at a series of windows and you sat on chairs lined up in rows waiting for your number to finally be called. It took roughly an hour before our turn came. Thankfully the young lady processing our visa application was very efficient. After reviewing the documentation she issued us a receipt and advised us we could pick up our passports and visa's this Friday. With a busy day in the Big Apple planned we made our way to the door where I claimed my camera back before leaving. It was a painless process since we were prepared. So many people were obviously not prepared and slowing down the lines. Now it's just a wait and see.
- - - - -
Flashing forward to Friday. This return trip my parents decided to stay at the beach house and sent us to the city to retrieve all our visa's at the Consulate of the People's Republic of China. As we did earlier this week we braved the NYC morning commute once more. After successfully parking at the Pier 83 Circle Line parking garage we made our way across the street to the consulate.
Immediately we noticed that the lines were significantly longer then they had been on Monday. The pickup line was twice as long as the drop off which was the complete opposite. Thankfully the line moved along quickly and before we knew it we made it through security and got in line 9 to turn in our pickup ticket and exchange it for a number. With a number now in hand we got in th second line. I assume this turn in your receipt and grab a number was a way for them to pull our passports instead of having us stand at the window waiting.
On Monday we noticed a fair number of people cutting the lines delaying our turn at the window. Similarly this time a gentleman tried to cut us but annoyed enough from our previous visit I prevented him from succeeding and sent him to the back of the line. He was clearly irked that I called him out but went to the back of the line where he belonged.
When we got to the window she already had our passports ready. After a quick swip of my credit card everything was paid and we left passports in hand. As a joke I called my parents and told them "we have a little problem. Everyone got their visa's but dad. I immediately sensed their panic and quickly told them I was kidding" I'm not sure they found it as funny as I did. Now we just have to look forward to the trip and the exciting adventures that it will include.
