[pvigneault]

Yesterday my husband and I had our appointment at the VFS office in Los Angeles. Our appointment time was 11AM. We got there at 10:30, and we were called to the customer counter at 11:15. We were both done and out of there at 12:15 which included getting our biometrics (photo and fingerprints) done. Our observation of others waiting there, was if someone was prepared with everything on the checklist it was about 30 minutes total. Others who did not have all they needed or were from another country with a visa in the US, ended up taking a lot of time. The people working there were friendly and helpful.

After we handed in our "visa receipt" with the check list, then it was just going down the list and handing them the forms. We also had a second set each of all the documents but they didn't want them.

[*]Passport
[*]Copy of passport identification pages
[*]Photo cut of visa size 35mm by 45 mm (this is not specified on the check list and is different than a US passport photo)
[*]Signed visa application
[*]Letter stating not to work
[*]Letter stating why we wanted to go to France
[*]Petition letter from Social Security (we are 70 and 71)
[*]3 months of bank statements
[*]Rental lease
[*]Health insurance letter for ENTIRE time we are requesting the visa-this is IMPORTANT as there is very confusing information about this and I wrote to both VFS, who said only need 4 months of insurance AND the French Consulate in DC, who said we needed insurance for the ENTIRE time. So that's what we got through Insubuy.com. Not cheap ($2600 each because we are 70 and 71) and it had to be paid for the whole year up front. But we are confident it will pass the requirement.

We also added a copy of our airplane ticket to France

We paid the extra $35 to have the visa and passport mailed directly back to us. Much better than making another 3 hour drive to LA.

Thank you Mrs Canoe for your detailed post a few months ago. After being cautioned about checking the box that says "more than one year" we hope we will get the VLS-TS visa. Will write an update.

 

[Bevdeforges]

Bravo, well done! :clap2::clap2::cheer2::cheer2:

It usually comes down to the planning, and it sounds like you did yours.

Keep us posted how things work out for you and when you are due to arrive!

 

[GraceS]

Yesterday my husband and I had our appointment at the VFS office in Los Angeles. . . .

After we handed in our "visa receipt" with the check list, then it was just going down the list and handing them the forms.

[*]Photo cut of visa size 35mm by 45 mm (this is not specified on the check list and is different than a US passport photo) . . . .

[*]Health insurance letter for ENTIRE time we are requesting the visa-this is IMPORTANT as there is very confusing information about this and I wrote to both VFS, who said only need 4 months of insurance AND the French Consulate in DC, who said we needed insurance for the ENTIRE time. So that's what we got through Insubuy.com. Not cheap ($2600 each because we are 70 and 71) and it had to be paid for the whole year up front. But we are confident it will pass the requirement.

Glad things went well for you! This is helpful info and similar to my recent experience at VFS Boston. I'll add that:

For the photo, the size is not just different from the normal US passport photo size, but it's also different in size from the outlined "attach photo" area on the printed-out French visa application form itself. I didn't worry too much about that, but while waiting at VFS for my interview, two different applicants also waiting, asked me worriedly about this.

For health insurance, I went the same route as the OP, using Insubuy. Easy purchase process, and I almost immediately received a "Confirmation of Coverage" letter, plus one-page "Declaration of Medical Insurance" that were perfect to include in the application.