Obtaining urgent Schengen Visa in USA
How to obtain Schengen Visa within 7 days in USA (through Greece consulate)
TLDR: Go to a Greece Consulate near you (even without an appointment).
The story is quite too familiar- you make a last-minute decision to visit a beautiful country in Europe because you unexpectedly finished a work project before time/heard from your friends that they are visiting Europe and you have a major fear of missing out/you suddenly decide with your significant other to celebrate in Europe. You check the cost of flights and they seem not too bad. You scroll through your friends’ photos to choose a country to visit. You look up the web-page of their Consulate and …… all your plans come grinding to a halt. The earliest available appointment is more than a month away.
If you find yourself in a similar situation and especially if you live in one of the cities with a Greece Consulate in USA, there may be a solution for you! All Greece Consulates in the USA have no online appointment system and rarely take appointments through phone (you have to be extremely lucky to connect to them, I tried and failed for 2 weeks). The Greece Consulate’s visa system is so informal that they schedule appointments with pen and paper. So if you are lucky, you could simply walk-in to get an appointment within a day or two, or better yet - apply for a visa then and there! I am not making this up- it happened twice in front of me at San Francisco.
So don’t give up already. Go on, purchase some refundable flights and hostels, and try getting a Schengen Visa from the Greece Consulate. And if you do get one, don’t forget to thank them for being cheerful, accommodative and so relaxed.
I have left some resources for the visa application below. Lastly, be aware that I suggest this process only as a last-resort. If you are able to plan your trip in advance, please do so. Your application will be much smoother and your mind will be much less frantic.
Happy travels!
Greece Visa Application Resources:
2.1. The quality and size of your photo does not matter, they click their own photograph.
2.2. Take the travel medical insurance proof seriously. Yes, they check, and yes, your insurance must have repatriation benefits. There are several online providers and it shouldn’t cost you more than $15 for 2 weeks.
2.3. The Consulate accepts only cash of this amount
