After getting back my Passport from the Congolese Embassy, I immediately turned it around and sent it out to the correct location for an NJ resident looking for an Egyptian Visa, the Egyptian Consulate in NYC. It went in the mail on Tuesday, September 8th. I mailed it in a flatrate priority envelope from USPS, and included in the package another flatrate priority envelope from USPS for return shipping as well.

A few hours after I dropped it off, I realized that the postal worker had ONLY given me the tracking info for the outbound envelope, not the included return shipping envelope.

Crap.

Amazingly, my tracking showed that my passport arrived at the Consulate the next day though, so I wasn’t too worried since it stated on their website that it was only a 6 business day processing period. I figured that would be perfect, and I’d have it back at the latest by 9/17.

HAH!

Of course also in my nervousness, I tried calling the Consulate starting on the 15th to make sure it had been approved or was at least on track for approval…. and the Egyptian Consulate in NYC simply was NOT answering their phone. I called three times per day at different hours and all that would happen was beeping. On all three different phone numbers that the Consulate lists on their website.

Exasperated and upset, I started making plans to head to NYC to the Consulate in person next week so I could find out what was going on with my passport. In a last ditch, figured-nothing-would-come-from-it effort, I called the Consulate again yesterday at around 2pm.

To my ABSOLUTE shock and surprise, the phone started RINGING. Then, even more surprising, someone ANSWERED!

The Consulate employee who answered the phone asked what I needed, and I explained I was looking for the status of a Visa application. She then asked for my name and as I was spelling it, she interrupted with, “OH! You! You emailed earlier this week!!”

………

Yes. Yes I did because I am FREAKING OUT that my Visa won’t be here in time!!

She then said she’d spoken to her colleague in the Visa department but hadn’t gotten a response yet, so she’d transfer me over to her.

The phone then rang for 4 and a half minutes.

I hung up and called back.

Amazingly, the same girl answered the phone. I told her what happened when she transferred me, and she put me on hold, presumably to go talk to this colleague, and then she came back and transferred me again.

Her colleague answered almost immediately this time, and was happy to tell me that she DID in fact have my passport but it’d been sitting on her desk for a few days and she hadn’t had a chance to process it yet.

*deep breath*

I told her that I’m flying to Egypt on Wednesday (I know, a white lie, but I REFUSE to be panicking until Friday), and she asked me if sending it on Monday would get it to me on time for my flight. My response was, “Well, sending it today would be better!”

Apparently this was the right answer. I got put on hold again so she could go talk to her manager.

When she came back, she told me that it wouldn’t be a problem, they’d get it out to me tonight.

AWESOME. Elated, I happily hung up the phone.

Then about an hour later my phone rang.

Since I’d dialed it so many times this week, I instantly recognized the Egyptian Consulate’s phone number. Crap. What went wrong?

I picked up the phone and determined that it was the girl’s manager on the phone — he was calling to make SURE that Monday wouldn’t be good because “[their] printer isn’t working.”

E.X.C.U.S.E. M.E.

THE PRINTER AT YOUR CONSULATE ISN’T WORKING!?

*deep breath #2*

I chatted with the manager for a bit explaining what was going on, and he said he’d do his best to get it out last night, and if it had to go out Monday, he would overnight it to me.

Again, I got off the phone feeling pretty positive, but still relatively apprehensive.

I didn’t hear from the Consulate again that evening, so I assumed it didn’t go out.

HOW WRONG I WAS.

This afternoon my housemate came pounding up the stairs and knocked on my door — WITH A PRIORITY MAIL ENVELOPE. 

“Thought you’d want this,” he said as he tossed it over to me.

I’m pretty sure my joyous shriek temporarily deafened the dog population in a 1 mile radius.

MY PASSPORT IS BACK WITH MY EGYPTIAN VISA.

I’m in a bit of disbelief that it all worked out, and now I know I can safely leave the country in SIX DAYS!!!

Shit’s starting to get real.