What's the deal with the kid???

Here's the story:

I applied for our visa in June - we supplied complete information for both of us - duplicate information with a just a few things changed to personalize the forms.

I had my visa approved days before we left. The kid's was not. Not a problem - the consulate assured me it was just because her visa was dependent upon mine and as mine had been approved hers would be completed within a few weeks. Additionally, as American citizens we're allowed here for 90 days without a visa... it would definitely be issued before then!!

So, time went on - I called, wrote, and emailed the consulate for updates and their response went from being erratic to non-existent. After a long period without being able to reach a person capable of providing an answer I spoke to the consulate... this would be in November as we were approaching the end of the 90 days... He let me know that 3 months prior the Foreign Police decided they wanted more information for the kidl... and said, sorry but someone should have let me know. He also told me that after 4 months from the time the application is submitted the FP can arbitrarily deny your visa... they do that in order to keep their record of timely decisions.

GREAT!!! I'd talked to numerous people had hadn't bothered to tell me I needed to submit more info. I got the list of what they wanted and was shocked - everything they wanted they either already had or was legally impossible for me to provide. I had to talk to more and more and more people about what to do as I didn't know how to proceed.

Finally I hired an agency to help - this is their sole reason for existence... assisting expats with visa related issue.

That didn't get me very far.... we were aiming to be in the clear prior to our return at Christmas. Didn't happen. BUT we did whittle the list down to one item - another copy of her birth certificate.

I had supplied a certified copy with the application. They wanted another certified copy and another translation. Got it, did it. They wanted another certified copy with a specific endorsement - I was referred to the embassy, got it, did it. They wanted another certified copy with the apostile which can only be issued in our home state.

Time to fly home. At the airport we met the police as the kid had overstayed her 90 days. Fortunately they did not issue a stamp barring her return (which would have been legal to do as we were in the Schengen Zone and had overstayed, but they were relatively reasonable after the explanation and proof of her visa application...)

Once we hit California we went to San Francisco, got the apostile, got the translation, FedExed it all to the consulate and waited... the week after Christmas I was able to speak with someone who told me it had not been delivered.... the week after that I was able to speak with someone else who told me the other person was wrong and that it was there... and had been for nearly two weeks, sitting on someone's desk, waiting to be shipped off to Prague to be processed by the FP... I was already back in Prague by this point. Alone. The kid's flight had been rescheduled to January 14th - time enough I thought, for the paperwork to be completed and her passport returned. They told me it would take about 3 more weeks.

She is now, tentatively, scheduled to return here January 29th. This is the longest I've ever been without my kid... and quite honestly I'm less than thrilled about it... and not too pleased with the FP.... and we have to start getting ready to renew our visas as they expire in May, I believe...