So my letter of appeal (and accompanying evidence) was sent off today, and should arrive at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs tomorrow. At which point we can, after 2-3 weeks, start opening our email inbox with some hope again, to see if they've written to tell me they changed their mind and will give me the business visa after all. Or, I guess, that they're sticking with their original decision and declining the visa. We'll see.
Even if they don't give it to me, I'll be able to return on May 21st on a new tourist visa, so it's not make-or-break, but if that happens I'll only be able to stay 90 days — until late August — before having to leave again. If I get the business visa, I'll be able to stay (at least) an entire year, which would be wonderful. It's been so long since I've been able to just relax and sink back into my life. I'm looking forward to that feeling.
As for my chances ... who knows? I think my arguments in support of my request for a business visa are absolutely compelling, and I'd say, on the merits, I have a 90% chance. But of course chances of a formal appeal of this nature, in a legal/governmental/bureaucratic context, are famously small — no more than 5-10% chance at the most, so on balance ... I assume I have a 25-50%. And of course, you factor in the effect of our current President on the general level of enthusiasm for Americans right now, and ... ugh.
Oh, several people have asked me how long the appeals process will take, and ... I have no idea. I joke that I could hear as soon as tomorrow afternoon, but probably it'll take at least several weeks.
Before we move on from this subject, a brief summary of how efficiently and enjoyably this whole process has played out:
- After applying for the visa in early November, and considering the advice of my friends in Europe who insisted I would definitely receive the visa, I decide to move to Europe before a decision is made on it — the one mistake to which I will concede in this entire process. THEN:
- Although the Czechs have told me they would give me an answer after 90 days, they do not. My tourist visa expires after about 100 days, so I have no option but to leave the country, without any idea of when or if a visa will be coming, and thus any idea of how to pack or where to go.
- After another 28 days, the Czechs tell me that my application has been denied ... but only informally, and they tell me that further information about why it was denied, and how and to whom to appeal will be included in the formal letter coming soon.
- It's not until over a week later that they send the formal letter of notification to me, at the address I'm using in Tucson.
- They send it on a Wednesday — signature required — which means it doesn't arrive until SATURDAY, and instead of taking the envelope to the house to get a signature, the mailman leaves a card in the mailbox asking for a signature. The following day is — of course — a Sunday. Monday he returns to pick up the card, but without the letter, which he then only brings back the next day, Tuesday. Which means, because of the time difference, I only receive it overnight on Tuesday.
- I scramble to prepare my response and all accompanying evidence I need, asking two friends and the lawyers at the Czech law firm who helped me register my Czech companies to provide letters of support. One of my friends — the one, ironically, who's on vacation in NYC and doesn't really have the time — gets it back to me almost immediately.
- The other friend forgets about it, then, when he does get it to me on Monday evening ... has forgotten to sign his letter. That's ok, though, because the Czech law firm, that was supposed to write a letter to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs ... writes their letter in English. Neither of them can get me corrected versions until the next day.
- They don't get the letters to me on Tuesday until late morning, when it's too late for me to print them out before walking all the way across town to my dentist appointment, so by the time I do get to print them out that day's DHL delivery has already left. I stop by the Montenegrin Post Office to mail them there, and am told that they don't have express delivery to other countries, so it'll take 5-7 days. That's too long, because it puts the tenuous deadline in doubt ... and it means ANOTHER week until anyone can even take a look at my appeal.
- So I walk BACK all the way across town to the DHL office, arriving 10 minutes before it closes, only to be told that DHL can't deliver to a P.O. Box (which is all that the Czech Ministry has given me).
- At this point, David essentially has a break-down, not being able to fathom how consistently everything has gone wrong after that one first bad decision.
- I stop at a different Montenegro Post Office and send the letter after all, getting a receipt showing at least that I *mailed* it before the deadline. Then, that night, I decide to send the documents to my business partner in Prague and ask him to sign my name on my letter and put them all in overnight mail to the Ministry. He promises to do it before 10 am the next day.
- But then DOESN'T, and only gets it to the Post Office the day after — so, today.
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