I am an Indian passport holder (with a green card) and live in the USA. What is the process to get an Argentina Travel Visa?
I am answering my own question here based on my experience of getting an Argentina visa from the consulate in Los Angeles.
I am writing this post because I had these questions before I got the visa. The visa experience is from Nov 2014 and might be different depending on when you read this post.
The Argentinian consulate in Los Angeles, CA caters to some 11 states. If you need a visa from them, you have to make an appointment at the consulate. They do not accept walk-ins, nor can you apply by mail.
To make an appointment, send an email to the consulate.
I sent an email to visas_clang@mrecic.gov.ar, but this would be different for other consulates.
The consulate is very busy and hence replies to emails very slowly, sometimes even after 2 weeks. In my case, they replied after a week. Given sufficient time for them to respond and to get an appointment.
A young and old couple doing the Tango
Tips On Communication
When communicating with the consulate, please highlight in the subject that you are requesting for an appointment, and when your date of travel is. This might help you get their attention if you are in a hurry.
The consulate will give you a list of requirements for the visa. They will also give you a date and ask you to confirm it. I took the date they gave me and did not try to change it.
I live in San Francisco, so had to travel to LA for the appointment. On the day of the appointment, I went to the consulate. The consulate is in a good area of Los Angeles and is well connected by public transport. There is parking at the consulate if you decide to drive.
I took public transport. There is a Starbucks if you reach early and need to wait, and printer services outside the consulate, if you need to take any missing printouts. The consulate has restrooms as well.
When you go into the consulate, you need to sign in. they have two lists, one for appointments and one for those without. Sign into the one for appointments. Wait for your name to be called out. You won’t be called before your appointment even if the person handling the visa
is not busy. When your turn comes, a consulate person checks your papers to make sure all required documents are submitted. You are then asked to wait to be interviewed by the consulate officer. I had to wait 20 minutes, but a person before me had to wait for an hour or so.
The consulate officer asked me basic questions as to why i am going there, how long, if i have been there before etc. But he did check to make sure I have all the hotels booked. I had made a list of all the dates and hotels in addition to the hotel reservations. This made him happy.
The officer was very courteous. He approved my visa. I asked him for a multiple entry visa, and he gave me one for twice the number of days I asked for. The passport will be mailed back to me (you have to submit a prepaid USPS priority flat rate envelope) in 7 days. You can ask for 3-day processing for $40.
Pro-Tip: The visa fee is free for Indian passport holders. Therefore, you can ask for a multiple-entry visa, since you don’t have to pay anything extra.
Note: You can carry a backpack to the consulate. So if you are traveling to LA from another city and need to check out from your hotel or just reach there in the morning (by bus or plane), you don’t need to keep your bags in a locker or something. Good luck!
Author Bio
This is a curated post on visa requirements. The author of this article is Ksach and this answer first appeared on a TripAdvisor forum. Some changes are made to make this article more useful.
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July 12, 2019 3:29 pm Leave your thoughts