La Carte de Séjour (the French Green Card)

I got my receipt for my French green card (mon récépissé)!! Anyone who has been through the trials and tribulations of immigration bureaucracy knows that this is reason for celebration. Getting the récépissé means I can get paid. I should buy some champagne and some of those little crackers with bacon in the middle.

You might wonder how bad it can possibly be to get a carte de séjour. VERY VERY BAD. When I tried to get one four years ago, I must have made little mistakes every step of the way because nothing went right. I didn't get paid for over 2 months. Later I got my pay cut for 2 weeks because I'd forgotten to get my work authorization card. After I did apply for it, it got lost in the mail and I had to beg for a new copy.

This time was much easier because I'm not living in Paris and do not have to go to the crowded Paris prefecture where they process these documents. Instead, I'm living in the small town of Achères in Les Yvelines, a suburban district west of Paris. This means I get to go to the Versailles prefecture--yes, that Versailles with the famous château. I also have the amazing advantage of having my own personal French guide to support me along the way and interject when necessary in perfect French. Thank you sweet Gaby!

This is not to say that everything was rosy just west of Paris. First, we went to the wrong prefecture which was over an hour away by train. There, the fonctionnaire told us that their office processes cartes de sejour only for foreigners married to French citizens. Huh? We would have to go to the Versailles prefecture which opens at 8:45 everyday. Since they accept only about 20 applicants a day, it's best to arrive early to get a spot. About 5:00 a.m. would be fine. Sad face. We got up in the middle of the night and arrived at the prefecture at 5:30. Not a soul in sight. So we were first right? But after two hours, there was still no one else. Something was not right. At 7:30, the doors opened, so we went inside to ask about my green card. The receptionist informed us that the carte de séjour door was in the annex 2 blocks away. Indeed. Fifty people were in line ahead of us. So much for getting up early. I began mentally preparing myself to come back the next day.

The doors opened, the line moved quickly and we were inside by 9:00. And then the unexpected happened. At the reception, I found out that there was a special window for salaried workers like me (guichet 25) and that it would open at 9:30. There had been no need to arrive so early after all since not many salaried workers were asking for their green cards. What??! We could have come at 9:30 and been fine?? I could hardly complain though; I would have an appointment that day. In the end, the line was very short and the woman working at window 25 turned out to be okay. She gave me a list of all the documents I would need and told me to mail them to the prefecture. I told her I had all my documents with me and couldn't I just leave them there with her? She repeated that I needed to mail them. Gaby stepped in. She told me I could leave my documents there. Whew!

Several days later, I got a letter in the mail saying my file had been accepted and that my receipt was ready to be picked up. This meant going back to Versailles prefecture, but at a reasonable hour (ahem, 10:30). Everything went smoothly, I got my récépissé and now I will finally have money deposited in my new French bank account.

I consider myself lucky because despite the little inconveniences, Versailles got things done quickly. My poor American colleagues are still dealing with their nightmare prefectures in Paris and Nanterre and may not get their récépissés for least 2 or 3 more months. This means no pay for 2 or 3 months. These are the conditions for salaried workers who have work contracts. And for immigrants who are still looking for work? I imagine they're forced to waste precious time waiting in line every morning at the prefecture trying to get an appointment. And that's only the beginning.