France to the United States
Consulate General of France in San Francisco
Alaska - Northern California - Guam - Hawaii - Idaho - Montana - Northern Nevada - Oregon - Utah Washington - Wyoming
Biometric visa in San Francisco
DO NOT APPLY MORE THAN THREE MONTHS BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE DATE; applications cannot be processed that far in advance
IMPORTANT NOTICE: VISA APPLICATIONS ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTED AT THE CONSULAR AGENCY IN SEATTLE.
NOW VISA APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN PERSON AT THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF FRANCE IN SAN FRANCISCO WITH AN APPOINTMENT. NO APPLICATION BY MAIL!
YOU MUST BRING ALL THE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS FOR THE TYPE OF VISA FOR WHICH YOU ARE APPLYING PLUS PHOTOCOPIES ON THE DAY OF YOUR APPOINTMENT. THE DOCUMENTS YOU MUST BRING ARE LISTED ON THIS WEBSITE FOR EACH TYPE OF VISA
Security is our common goal.
September 11th 2001 reminded us that our security may be challenged at any time. We must therefore continue to improve our control systems for the safety of travelers and international transportation.
For this reason, the European Union decided in June 2004 to implement the Visa Information System (VIS) by the end of 2006, requiring biometric data in every visa issued by the Schengen States. The biometric data consist of fingerprints of both hands and a photograph of the applicant. This new system gathers all of the information in a single European databank.
These measures improve the effectiveness and the reliability of the common European visa policy, prevent and deter threats and thus reinforce security for all. They also help strengthen the fight against fraud and ease the controls in and out of the Schengen territories.
In this context, the consulate general of France in San Francisco was selected, alongside six other French consulates around the world, to experiment the introduction of these 2 biometric data in the issuance of visas starting in May 2005.
This new procedure requires the personal appearance of ALL visa applicants, with no exception, regardless of their place of residence or their status.
Biometric visas improve traveler security and facilitate their access to the Schengen states.
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