Process of Mystery
Our annual "process of mystery" is in full swing, also known as the Federal Visa Process in the country we live in outside the USA. Even after 20 years (yes it has been that long!!) there is no signage, no designations on the doors, no instructions, no directions, just an entire floor of identical doors that lead to angry people who have no patience for anything or anyone disturbing their peace, even though without us (the customers) they would no longer have a job.
This is obscure and nearly impossible on purpose. It lays ALL the burden and responsibility for "figuring out the system" on those required to pursue a Visa, and thus leaves the people behind each door free to sit at their desks and find the smallest minutia and reason to "fail" the application. Even after 20 years of doing this and having professional assistance at every step of the process, we still had to return to the notary today for one additional stamp. (I think this was just a token command to just remind us of who has all the power here)
Yes every country has the right to create a process that it deems necessary and prudent to insure that the Visa process fulfills the values and expectations of said country. But having the most oblique process in the world doesn't make you a world class power, it makes you a bully. Unfortunately, they do this kind of stuff to their own citizens as well. Don't even get me started on the process of registering a car! The net result is not a better nor more efficient process (and yes I understand that such values aren't necessarily the goal in many places around the world), it is instead a mind-numbing waste of time, when we all could be producing something meaningful and important. At the very least list the requirements and process somewhere no matter how complex they may be, and the transparency along with understanding may make everyone's life more manageable. Ok rant over.
Our annual "process of mystery" is in full swing, also known as the Federal Visa Process in the country we live in outside the USA. Even after 20 years (yes it has been that long!!) there is no signage, no designations on the doors, no instructions, no directions, just an entire floor of identical doors that lead to angry people who have no patience for anything or anyone disturbing their peace, even though without us (the customers) they would no longer have a job.
This is obscure and nearly impossible on purpose. It lays ALL the burden and responsibility for "figuring out the system" on those required to pursue a Visa, and thus leaves the people behind each door free to sit at their desks and find the smallest minutia and reason to "fail" the application. Even after 20 years of doing this and having professional assistance at every step of the process, we still had to return to the notary today for one additional stamp. (I think this was just a token command to just remind us of who has all the power here)
Yes every country has the right to create a process that it deems necessary and prudent to insure that the Visa process fulfills the values and expectations of said country. But having the most oblique process in the world doesn't make you a world class power, it makes you a bully. Unfortunately, they do this kind of stuff to their own citizens as well. Don't even get me started on the process of registering a car! The net result is not a better nor more efficient process (and yes I understand that such values aren't necessarily the goal in many places around the world), it is instead a mind-numbing waste of time, when we all could be producing something meaningful and important. At the very least list the requirements and process somewhere no matter how complex they may be, and the transparency along with understanding may make everyone's life more manageable. Ok rant over.
