India shopping trip prep - last minute shenanigans

So far, I think I’ve been a fairly calm bride. Frankly, things have gone relatively smoothly, especially the big decisions. The venue, date, and the photographer were actually quite easy decisions to make after the initial research and meetings. But as of a week ago, I officially started to freak out. And it’s all my fault you see, because I kind of made a boo-boo – I let my passport expire, months ago. This wouldn’t have been a huge deal if I just needed it for my yet-to-be planned honeymoon. However, several weeks ago, I decided to go to India for a pre-wedding shopping trip with my Mom. Super fun right? I wasn’t planning on it but my Mom convinced me “You’ll have an amazing selection of sari’s and lehengas and it will be SO much cheaper, we have to go!” And yes, I am now really excited to be going – in fact I leave this upcoming Saturday. Woohoo!

But back to the passport issue… because if any of you brides are in my same situation, I hope you will not make the same mistakes I did. I have a crazy stressful job and I tend to put off annoying things like paperwork and bureaucracy. Also, I live in LA (this will become relevant very soon). By the time I figure out how to renew my passport (about 4 weeks prior to my trip – plenty of time, right?), I discover that it takes 4-6 weeks to process a passport renewal via mail under normal processing times. Clearly this won’t work for my situation. Then I see that it can be expedited via mail – for a charge – to 2-3 weeks. That’s cutting it close and I’m really nervous about sending in my passport in the mail. What if it gets lost, then I’m screwed! Ok, so I hear that you can renew in person. Perfect. The website repeatedly insists that you cannot book an appointment until 2 weeks prior to your trip. I keep reading this and getting really anxious. What I should have done was actually call the office and talk to someone about my situation because then I might have found out that you can book earlier IF you also need a Visa. Long story short, I went in for the passport renewal last Thursday – 9 days before my trip. I pleaded my case and they said I could pick it up the very next day. Yay! Then I got the bad news… the woman at the Passport office said that all of the Indian people she had encountered at the office said they needed to get the Visa in San Francisco. Yikes! I assumed LA would have an office where I could do this, but they just mail it to SF. Oh, and the Visa office is only open Mon-Fri. So I booked a last minute trip to SF this weekend to go in tomorrow morning. Wish me luck.

Brides, make sure your travel documents are in order. Get your photos taken asap. Call and talk to a live person whenever you can. Bring your itinerary. For the visa, you need a copy of your birth certificate and proof of address. Fill out your forms online ahead of time (the Indian visa app in particular was very detailed – I had to list the dates of my last trip to India from my old passport and the address of where I will be staying in India.)

Can’t wait to share the spoils of my India shopping trip when I return!

**Update on the nitty-gritty details**

Show up early at the SF Visa office! It opens at 9:00. I showed up around 9:05-9:10 with an appointment at 11:20 but the manager allowed me to check in b/c there weren't that many people there. (Maybe 15-20 minutes later, she told my brother that he would have to wait till his appointment time.) You need to go through the process by 11:00 am for same day delivery. Then you stand in another line to get your ticket number. There is a one final main line where the application is processed. One one person was at each station. They say no cell phones or backpacks - the no cell phone usage is heavily enforced. Fill out everything online first to make sure it's a smooth process, but there are laptops there if necessary.