France Consulate General in Miami – French Visa Guide for US Residents

Introduction

Visa applications submitted in the United States are processed by the France Embassy Washington D.C, France Consulate General in Miami, Consulate General in Boston, Consulate General in Chicago, Consulate General in Houston, Consulate General in Atlanta, Consulate General in Los Angeles, Consulate General in New York, and Consulate General in San Francisco.

France at a glance

For centuries, France had emerged as a global leader; be it literature, arts, philosophy, science or any other aspect of human society.

French Revolution—in the late 80s of the 18th century—left an undeniable mark on the world and has remained a source of aspiration for those struggling for a just society and system.

France is Europe’s third and world’s 7th economic power and enjoys veto power on the major global platform i-e United Nations.

France is also part of the Schengen Area.

Wordatlas reported that a mammoth 86.9 mln tourists traveled to the French territory in a year. Paris—the fashion capital of the world—topped the chart of most visited cities.

Who can apply for France Visa from within the USA?

As discussed in many articles, there is no need whatsoever to obtain a visa for entering the French mainland if you’ve got a permanent citizenship card in your pocket. But that facility is extended by most European nations including France for a period not exceeding up to 90 days i-e short-stay visa.

Contrary to that, if you’re mulling over staying in French mainland for a period exceeding 90 days, then you’ve to apply for a long-stay visa.

Now moving to the third scenario under which you’re currently residing in the USA but the issuing authority of your passport is a third country i-e neither USA nor France, then you’ve to apply for both short-stay visa (French Schengen Visa) or long-stay visa (French National Visa).

Visa Application Process At France Consulate General in New York

Now that we’ve clear all ambiguity pertaining to whether you need a visa or not, let us explain to you the French Visa process. Almost 80pc of the process of applying for French Visa from the USA is completed online.

Only you’re required by France Consulate General in Miami to submit your French Visa application file in person.

Step One

Franceintheus.org is your first online stop to acquire French Visa from the USA. On the top right side, there is an icon Visit France. After clicking on it, you will see five more option. Pick the top one i-e Visa.

Step Two

The server will redirect you to the new window. Look out for blue-painted and bold text France Visas. Now that you’ve found it, click on it without waiting a single moment.

Step Three

You will now move to visa guide comprising as many as four steps. Though we’ve already explained the “Do you need a visa”, but still recommend you to click on it to find out a list of supporting documents for visa application.

Basically, the Visa Wizard do the following things for aspirant:

• Requirements for visa procedure
• Visa Fees
• List of supporting documents

After finding out all the prerequisites, the aspirant for French Visa from the USA needs to enter a username and password and if you don’t have one, follow some simple steps to and create one for yourself.

Step Four: Submit Online Application

As soon as you enter the username and password, fill a simple form and then jump back to the home page and click on Submit Online Application.

A new window will enlist names of the continents and the countries located in the respective continents. As this article deals with the French Visa from the USA and to apply for the same in France Consulate General in Miami.

The online appointment will be acquired visa VFS Global Centers. After scrolling down, you will see Miami section [as you’re going to apply for French Visa from the USA in France Consulate General in Miami.

Please note that appointments times and processing duration for applications can vary, depending on your nationality and type of visa applied for. We recommend you to apply well in advance of your trip, at least 15 days, but not more than 90 days, prior to your intended departure dates.

Step Five: Prepare Your Documents

Now that you’ve received a date for submitting a French visa application, prepare supporting documents in accord with the list generated by Visa Wizard.

Application form: Fill it online. It should be signed and dated.

Passport:  Make sure that the said document holds a minimum validity of 90 days after your planned date of return from France. It should not be allotted to you more than 10 years ago. The passport should contain two blank pages.

Cover Letter: Provide an outline of the aim of acquiring French Visa from France Consulate General in Miami. The letter should encompass all necessary information but must not contain any additional words.

Flight Reservation for visa application: Obtain a verifiable Flight Reservation for visa and attach it with your visa application.

Flight Reservation is of two types. Roundtrip Flight Reservation and One-Way Flight Reservation. Attach the one in accord with your visa i-e Roundtrip Flight Reservation for short-stay French Visa and One-Way Flight Reservation for long-stay French Visa.

Travel Health Insurance: For acquiring a short-stay French Visa from France Consulate General in Miami, attach a travel health insurance offering minimum coverage of 30, 000 euros or USD 50, 0000.

Hotel Booking Reservation/Proof of accommodation: Staffers at the French Consulate General in Miami wants you to sort out means of accommodation for obvious reasons. To alleviate their confusion, submit a Hotel Booking Reservation for acquiring French Visa from Visa.

Funds: Funds mean that you’ve enough cash for either visit, study, treatment or business purpose. Submit a valid bank statement encompassing transactions of the past six months.

Affidavit of Support: There is no need to panic if you don’t possess financial means to support your trip as there is another way around. Ask your friend or relative who is residing in France and holds permanent citizenship to produce an affidavit of support for you. Attach it with your visa application to further your cause.

Means of subsistence: It means to provide evidence to the French Embassy or consulate that the applicant has sufficient amount or financial resources to bear his/her expenditures during his stay in the Schengen country. In the absence of proof of accommodation or hotel booking, the applicant is bound to attest to the French Consulate or Embassy that he possesses daily cash equivalent to 120 euros.

The amount plummets to 65 euros per day if the foreigner—seeking entry in France—displays proof of prepaid accommodation.

The amount falls further to 32.25 euros per day if the applicant holds evidence of cheaper means of accommodation.

If employed:

Attach a job contract

A bank account statement

ITR

If self-employed:

Valid license copy of your business,

Company’s bank statement of last six-months

Income Tax Return (ITR).

If a student:

Enrollment certificate;

A letter from your education institute expressing willingness their willingness to free you for a certain period of time.

If retired:

6-month pension statement.

If applicable:

Regular income generated by property proof of the latest 6 months.

Recent nationwide criminal history check.

US work permit

Confirmation of participation in any type of event or activity

Self-addressed, pre-paid US express mail envelope (if applicable)

Documents proving the legal status in the US – original Alien Registration Card (Green Card), a Green card Stamp in your passport, an Advance Parole, or a valid US Visa must be provided along with a valid I-94 departure record. Students should also submit the original validated I-20, DS-2019 or IAP-66.

The US residence permit or visa should be valid at least 3 months beyond the intended departure from the Schengen member state territory.

Letter of continued employment including income statement. If you are self-employed a business license and tax return forms are required.

Step Six: Submit File

Now as stated in the aforesaid paragraphs, you’ve to submit the file for French Visa from the USA in person. It means that you’ve to arrive at France Consulate General in Miami to submit your visa application and to appear for an interview.

If you have already submitted your biometric data in the period not exceeding 59 months, you don’t need to do it again. But if you haven’t, appear in person to ensure that staffers collect relevant biometric data in VIS.

Exemptions for the fingerprinting requirements are granted to:

• Children under the age of twelve;
• Persons for whom the collection of fingerprints is physically impossible;
• Heads of State and members of National Governments and their accompanying spouses, as well as the members of their official delegation when invited by Member States’ governments or by international organizations for an official purpose.

Step Seven: Track your Visa

Use the VFS online tracking application. To obtain information about your application, you will need to provide the reference number given to you and your last name.

Address of France Consulate General in Miami

1395 Brickell Ave #1050, Miami, FL 33131, USA

Phone: +1 305-403-4150