Getting your Visa

So for future Auxiliares de Convercacion who will need to get their Visa through the NYC consulate I will outline for you what you need and how to go about getting it to save you the trouble that I went through to get mine - which will save you from stressing and wasting money doing the same thing over and over again!

1. You are getting a long term student visa and this is the link to the NYC consulate requirements for this visa
http://www.maec.es/subwebs/Consulados/NuevaYork/en/MenuPpal/Documentaci%C3%B3nRequisitosparaServiciosConsulares/RequirementsEntrSpainVisas/Paginas/Visas.aspx
You Will need to make an appointment as soon as you have received your nombramiento letter as the appointment slots fill up instantly for months to come.

2. Begin compiling all of the documents you will need to apply for your visa.  I started with the easy things like making photocopies of my passport and all the papers in my nombramiento letter, filling out the application and taking the pictures, saving the medical certificate I had for the application.  Here is where I made the mistake: you must get your doctor to rewrite the medical certificate again so that it is less than three months old when you apply for your visa. (I was actually turned away because my medical certificate was from January and my appointment was August 3rd) And I bought the $140 money order.

Then all that's left is dealing with the FBI Background check apostilled.  This part was exceptionally annoying because I wasted time waiting to get things back, I wasted money sending things in again and again and I literally was given the run around going to several different places in NYC trying to get everything in order - not to mention I wasn't even really sure what an apostille was!  I was full of anxiety because I wasn't entirely sure how to go about getting it done because I got a lot of different advice from other Auxiliares.  But the truth is that the whole process varies from state to state, even city to city! So for all those New Yorkers I will clue you in on how to avoid all that stress and unnecessary run arounds!

Here is a step by step explanation to go about getting your FBI Background check Apostilled if you live in NYC. It will save yourself time and money to get it done in person in less than 48 hours!

Step 1: Go to your local police station and get your fingerprints taken (this may be free or it may be $10 depending on where you go)
Step 2: Send them in to the FBI by following these instructions
Step 3: Wait patiently for your results to come back - hoping that the prints are not smudged or too distorted for them to get to your rap sheet! This didn't happen to me, but it did happen to a few people and it was horrible to have to start the waiting game all over again
Step 4: Once you get your rap sheet back saying that you have no criminal record you will go to
                                              60 Centre St 
                                              New York, NY 10007
                                              Room 300 (on the 3rd floor) to the  Notary Public.  
You are going to fill out an Affidavit that states you are who you say you are and they will notarize your document.  This will be a total of $3.00 and it is done right in front of you.
Step 5: You will walk the few blocks between 60 Centre Street to 123 Williams Street which is about a 10 minute walk. Tell the doorman you are getting a document Apostilled and he will direct you to the 19th floor.  I highly recommend you get there in the morning when they open - it is a first come first serve basis! Fill out the form they direct you to, wait on line, give the clerk your notarized FBI background check and $10.  Depending on how many people are there it could take 10 minutes or about an hour - but either way your document will be Apostilled right there in person! 

BOOM! Saves you 6 weeks of waiting and mailing in your bg check to Washington DC and playing the waiting game again! 

Apostille

This is what the Apostille looks like: just a piece of paper stapled to the front of Rap Sheet. 


From there you have all that you need for your visa appointment; and since you already made your appointment you are all set! Make sure when you give in all your papers at the Visa appointment you give them the copies of these documents as you will need the originals when you get to Spain. But you will require the originals at the appointment just to show them.


I opted out of having them send me back my passport in the mail and made arrangements to pick it up in person (save me the $25 for the prepaid UPS label to have it sent back to me)


And viola! That is how New Yorkers go about getting their visa in a timely and reasonably cheaper fashion! 
And this is what the Visa looks like!