Leaping From One Bureaucratic Victory to Another

I arrive in Chennai at 7am, dropped off my bags at the left-luggage counter, and made a mad dash over to the US consulate to renew/replace my passport.

I was prepared for the worst. You see, I have to get my visa to Vietnam (in Bangkok) by December 11. It takes 1-4 business days to process the visa, so I have to be in Bangkok by the 7th to apply at the embassy (just to be totally safe). Except that Air India Express for some odd reason decides not to fly from Kolkata to Bangkok on that specific day, so I have to fly out of Kolkata on December 6th.

Now, today (India time) is November 20. It takes 7-10 business days to replace a visa. Which means I can only be sure I would get it by December 4. And that's not including the Thanksgiving break, which might give them an excuse to delay longer.

So I would have to take a train (2nd class seating) on a 28 hour journey to Kolkata, arrive at 3am on the 6th, go right to the airport, and arrive in Bangkok at about 1:30pm.

That would be awful. Fortunately, it doesn't seem like that's going to happen.

Observe the following conversation:

Me: "Hello. My passport went through the wash and is somewhat damaged. I'd like a replacement."

Foreign Service Officer [looking at the passport]: "No you don't. This is fine. Picture, info, and bar code are intact, as is your Indian visa. You'll get back to the US no problem."

Me: "Actually, I'm going to continue traveling, and I hear that if some of the visa pages are washed out, the Vietnamese Immigration Department goes into panic mode.

FSO: "Yea, that's true. They have a reputation for being fussy. It will probably pass muster, but no guarantees."

Me: "I need a guarantee. But how soon can I get it?"

FSO: "Officially: two weeks [Dec 4]."

Me: "Unofficially?"

FSO: "75% chance one week-- next Friday. I'll send it to the US today."

Me: "Even with Thanksgiving?"

FSO: "Passport services work 24/7."

Excellent.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Walking around the consulate, I saw a lot of American FSOs doing visa work. I too had considered becoming a Foreign Officer back in DC.

I talked with some people from State Department about it, and the answer was unanimous: sure, but take your time.

Most people join the Foreign Service in their late twenties, and from the people I saw, this seemed true.

So the goal is to build up your skillset and resume, get some experience, and then try your hand at their infamous written and oral exams.

Something for me to consider in the future.