Passport Parcheesi

Well, I may not have to play visa roulette once I get to Russia. But until then, I am likely to be involved in a game of what I will call passport parcheesi.

A little after 9:00 this morning, the doorbell rang. I wasn't expecting anyone--in fact, since I'm on such a late sleeping schedule these days, I hadn't even gotten out of bed--but I got up to answer the door.

It was the FedEx man, returning to me something I immediately recognized as my Russian visa application materials, which I sent to Washington last Thursday. The website of the Embassy had led me to expect that processing of my visa would take at least six business days and possibly as many as ten. So I was surprised to get my materials back so quickly.

I opened the package to discover a note from someone at the Embassy. My materials were being returned to me, it said, because my passport was in such poor shape that the Embassy could not process a visa. I was instructed to get a new passport and reapply.

Now, the only thing wrong with my existing passport is that it's a little wrinkled. When I was living in Brooklyn, I had a window that, despite numerous attempts by the super to fix it, always leaked in a little water onto the sill whenever it rained. At the time, I used my passport as my form of identification to get into office buildings and so carried it with me every day. I tended to leave it on my window sill at night, and one night, it got soaked and transformed into its present, wrinkled state.

This passport got me into office buildings for years without comment. And despite all the problems I had with my visa situation in Taiwan, no one said or even suggested that the condition of my passport had anything to do with my failure to obtain the necessary tourist visa. The passport got me back and forth between Taiwan and Hong Kong with no problems. In fact, the only comment I've ever gotten about it was from someone in U.S. customs when I returned home. And even she only said it was "raggedy", not that it was invalid or unusable.

I suppose I should be thankful that the money order I sent to pay the application fee was returned along with everything else--that I at least was not charged $131 just to be told to get a new passport. But given the major hassle getting a new passport is likely to entail, I can hardly find this a cause for joy.

The regular process of getting a new passport takes 4-6 weeks. The State Department offers an expedited service through the mail that takes a mere three weeks. Or, after arranging an appointment in advance, one can apply for a passport in person at any of various passport offices around the country, which offices can issue a passport within a mere three days.

This last option is only available, however, for persons traveling within two weeks of the date of their personal application. From speaking with someone at a passport information hotline, however, I was able to learn that two weeks can be extended to three weeks if one needs to obtain a visa to one's destinaton of travel. And one needs proof (such as an airline ticket) of the date of one's travel plans.

These restrictions will likely rule out applying for a passport in person. I have yet to purchase a ticket to Russia, because I had yet to obtain a visa. I might be able to arrange a flight to Russia, although I imagine it would be difficult to get one that is refundable if I can't obtain a visa by my flight date.

After receiving this unwelcome package this morning, I e-mailed the woman at my school with whom I have been in contact about my visa and arrival plans. She had even more bad news for me. Because of my passport problems, the school will have to issue me a new Letter of Invitation in order for me to obtain my visa. They cannot even begin this process until they have a scan of the photo page of my passport.

The last Letter of Invitation took a month to be processed by the powers that be in Russia and to reach me.

All of this means that it could be as long as ten weeks before I set foot in Moscow, instead of the three or four weeks I had planned on.

I asked my school how they wished for me to apply for my passport but have not received a reply. The e-mail indicating I would need a new Letter of Invitation reached me at 10:00 AM my time, which would be 7:00 at night in Moscow. Chances are good that my school contact sent it out last thing before going home for the night. So I will likely not have a reply about how to apply for my new passport until tomorrow morning.

The school has been noncommital about the date they expect me to arrive in Moscow. When I made an inquiry, in order to purchase a ticket in advance, they would only say "as soon as possible" (though they did say at one point that I was right to wait until I got my visa to make definite travel plans). Until today, I thought their failing to nail down a date was due to some kind of misunderstanding of my e-mails, or a cultural misconception. But I am guessing now that it was due to their knowledge that things can be unpredictable when dealing with Russian bureaucracy.