Today, I paid my second visit to the Peruvian Consulate in San Francisco for my tourist visa. I went there a few days ago for the first time, simply to ask a few questions regarding applying for a visa with my status (as the staff NEVER picked up phone calls, and the message box is always been full).
I took a number, sat down and waited along with a handful people (seemingly all Peruvians for passport issues). Two long hours later, I was still sitting there, and still 20 numbers ahead of me. When I tried to tell the staff I was just there to ASK questions about visa, she told me to sit and wait for my turn. Before I could get a hold of any staffer, they were about to close at 2 pm.
After I got home with all the questions unanswered, I looked up Google and Yelp reviews about Peruvian consulate in SF. Turns out, everyone had to go through the same pain of waiting hours at the office, and some didn't even get the visa on the same day. If Peru was not our first destination, I would simply give up applying in SF and just do it in other countries such as Columbia. Looks like my only option is to get all the paper work ready - have it flawless, and just give it my best shot!
Thanks to my super duper organized husband, over the past few days we had everything ready. This morning, I packed the LP book in my backpack, along with bottle water, some bread, and even chips as I was prepared to fight the day-long wait. I managed to arrive at the office before 9 am, and there was only one Peruvian man in front of me renewing his passport. I waited for half an hour, and it was my turn!
The interview went smooth, except for the lady kept doubting my flight itinerary was fake. We bought the tickets from LA to Lima from Spirit Airlines (which I have never heard of) because it was cheaper than LAN. Apparently, she never heard of this airline either, and thus believed this airline does not fly to Peru! Thanks to his co-worker who Googled the airline's name, I was saved a speech. Then, she kept typing on her computer at a snail’s pace, and asked me for ticket leaving Peru. I told her we are going to take a bus to Bolivia, and showed her the hotel reservation in Bolivia. The other thing is that I quit my job six months ago, so I cannot provide employment letter. Instead, I brought our marriage certificate, my husband’s employment letter, and his pay stubs. She bought it (it would have been a problem if her co-worker checked the airline confirmation and it was fake, but since the itinerary was real, I didn’t worry about that). I was moved to a different desk to take a photo and fingerprint, then finally she walked out with my visa. The entire process took one hour.
On the visa page, there are 30 pesos postal stamps (indicating that I paid 30 USD for it? LOL), and the visa is good for 183 days. But she also wrote that I will be going to Bolivia from Cuzco on September 16 (as I told her about my trip plan), so I'm not sure if this will actually end my visa validation on this day.
Anyway, I felt very lucky that I didn't have to wait for an entire day to get the visa. And it did help that I had every possible document ready.
Here are some tips for a non-U.S. citizen with a green card to apply for a Peru tourist visa:
- Passport that is valid for at least another 6 months + photo copy
- Green card + photo copy
- Flight confirmation both in and out of Peru
- Hostel reservation (better to cover entire trip in Peru)
- Detailed statement about trip planning, especially important to prepare this if you don't have air ticket going out of Peru like we did not.
- Detailed bank & credit card statement with name highlighted
- Employment letter
- 1 passport photo
- $30 cash for visa fees
It really helps that I have a permanent resident card (green card). If, I was on an F-1, J, or B visa, then I will have to go back to my home country China to apply for the visa.
Peruvian Consulate in San Francisco
870 Market Street, #1067
San Francisco, California 94102
(415) 362-5185
