My husband and I mailed our Spain Non Lucrative Visa applications last week and want to share our experience with BLS Houston. We live near the Houston BLS office and dropped by a few times to personally ask questions of the staff while we put together our documents. We hope future applicants find this post helpful.
- BLS takes walk-in appointments for a fee of $70. The staff recommended that NLV applicants arrive at 8:30 a.m. However, we were advised that walk-in appointments are NOT guaranteed for NLV applicants. This is because NLV applications require more documents compared to other visas, necessitating longer appointments. Payment for walk-in appointments is not taken unless you are actually seen for an appointment. (See screenshot of BLS bulletin board).
- In spite of the pop-up on the BLS website, the staff advised us that they have no preference between mailed applications versus applications submitted via appointment. All applications will be processed in the order they are received.
- A number of you who have applied after the transition to BLS processing have noted a drastic change in the handling of FBI background checks. Some of you have been asked for NEW background checks because they would expire prior to your entry into Spain. This is NOT how the Houston consulate previously handled background checks. My husband and I—both lawyers—have planned to apply for the NLV for years now and have been familiarizing ourselves with the requirements for some time.
The Houston consulate (along with most, if not all, other US-based consulates) have accepted background checks as long as they were issued five (or six) months prior to the application submission.
The Houston consulate page even states that the background check “must be issued within the five months preceding the submission of the application.” (See screenshot of consulate website) The BLS website is similar: The background check “must have been issued within six months prior to the visa application.” We confronted BLS staff in person over their misinterpretation of this requirement, and we pointed to the language on the consulate/BLS websites.
The staff and office manager acknowledged they should be sticking with the consulate interpretation. The office manager said she would call and email the consulate about this issue. The relocation service we hired to help us is alarmed by BLS Houston’s new interpretation and has been emailing the consulate to complain.
Whether BLS changes their interpretation going forward remains to be seen. But just note that this could be an issue for you in the near future. A work-around in case your background check “expires” prior to your entry into Spain: write an entry date on your application that PRECEDES the “expiration date” of your background check.
Even if you actually plan to move to Spain at a later time, BLS won’t be able to verify that, and you can avoid being asked for a new background check. I am stressing this issue, because BLS Houston recently gave a member of this group 3 DAYS to submit a new background check with apostille, which is NOT possible.
Make your money order out to BLS International Houston, as indicated on the BLS website. We confirmed this in person with BLS staff. (The consulate website has not been updated to reflect this)
BLS is located in suite 350. If you Google the address, it’ll show you the suite number for the BLS Germany office, not the Spain office.
Don’t bother calling the BLS customer service line (516-888-1169). This number services ALL BLS offices nationally and is NOT Houston specific (we confirmed this in person at the BLS office). The answers we were given by reps at this number have NOT been accurate.
For example, they told us BLS Houston does not offer walk-in appointments, when they actually do.
Here is an email address posted in the BLS lobby to contact if you have missing documents info.houes@blsinternational.net (See screenshot of BLS bulletin board) Best of luck to all of you, and thank you all for sharing your own experiences! Your posts have been invaluable to my husband and me in our NLV journey. 🍀💙 Now we nervously wait for our application results 🇪🇸🫣
Before you all apply, I wanted to let you know that BLS Houston changed their application fees as of today (23 August 2024).
Also as of today, they no longer accept prepaid courier service (such as USPS or FedEx).
You must pay for their own courier service (even though the website says using their courier service is optional), and they will also make you pay for SMS service.
In short, you must now enclose a money order for $210.60 (Before today, money order was $152, i.e. $140 for visa fee + $12 for residence authorization. New fees include BLS service fee of $18.60 + SMS fee of $5 + courier fee service of $35. This is a $58.60 fee increase) I know this because my husband and I submitted our applications on Friday and got an email today stating that we had to submit a money order for an additional $58.60 to cover the costs of the additional fees.
We also enclosed prepaid overnight USPS return envelopes for our passports, so those are going to waste unfortunately 😒 See screenshot and BLS website
Questions and Answers
Q1: “Did you make a separate affidavit for you and your husband, and a separate written commitment for not working in Spain?” A1: “Yes, we had separate affidavits and commitments not to work in Spain. The language for each were pretty much the same, though. You each need to submit your own application packages.”
Q2: “Can we get FBI check or background check in Austin? We live in the Austin area.” A2: “Yes, you can request your background check online here: Electronic Departmental Order and then get fingerprinted at a local USPS office. Then request your apostilles from DC online: Office of Authentications. Good luck.”
Comments
From another Spainguru community member, not the author of this first-hand experience:
“My husband and I paid for a scheduled appointment, and we were glad we did. The process took a lot longer than we expected (2.5 hours) because BLS – Houston had only two individuals processing face-to-face, scheduled visitors. The process was slow but methodical, and we walked out thankful that both of us are the most anal retentive people we know. We believe that paying for the appointment secured our spot for as long as it took to confirm and collect our documents and was well worth the extra cost.”
There appears to be a preference given to people who schedule personal appointments. When we arrived at our scheduled, face-to-face appointment, we saw bins and bins (probably 5-6 in number) sitting on the floor of the same room where our documents were being collected and reviewed.
The bins were overflowing with mail-in applications and supplemental documents from people who did not schedule face-to-face appointments. My husband and I were shocked to see all of the unopened FedEx packages just sitting there — not being addressed.
Honestly, it was pretty scary. One of the processors pick up what we believed to be someone else’s application, and that person’s passport dropped onto the floor. Yikes!
If I had to do this process again, I would wait as long as I could to request the FBI background check (that also requires and apostille and a translation of the apostille and background check). We did this process first, and it took very little time (just a few days) to receive the results.
We could have waited until later. What took the longest time to process? A request to the Texas Secretary of State to apostille our marriage license. We waited and waited until a “time crunch” to receive and submit that document occurred. We ended up driving to Austin to receive the apostille within 20 minutes of appearing at the Secretary of State’s office.
Also, because a translation was “misplaced” during the process, we had to replace that translation ASAP. (Spainguru’s note: find recommended sworn translators here, including expedited translations!)
You are also able to pay all fees (by credit card) at BLS on the date you are scheduled for an appointment and the staff confirm that you have submitted all the necessary documents. We did this at the office, and it was not an issue.
We called the Houston BLS office two or three times. They were courteous and quite helpful. I will mention, however, that BLS Houston is horrendously understaffed, especially when one considers the states is services and the number of student visa requests (between 15,000-17,000) it receives.
We also nervously awaited the results of our applications. For an impatient person like me (also an attorney), the timeline seemed excruciatingly slow.
My husband received his visa exactly 8 weeks after his application was submitted. After the delay relating to the “misplaced” translation, I waited about 10 days before I received my visa this week. Obviously, we are psyched. We hope that you will experience this same excitement as we are experiencing right now.”
Conclusion
Navigating the Spain Non Lucrative Visa application process at the Houston BLS office requires careful attention to detail and patience.
Ensuring all documents are in order, understanding fee changes, and effectively communicating with BLS are crucial steps. Staying updated through community experiences can also provide invaluable insights and support throughout this complex
Please note: The image featured in this blog post is a conceptual illustration and not an accurate depiction of actual events or situations. The firsthand experiences shared by Spainguru members are personal and illustrative; other individuals may encounter different circumstances. Always verify official requirements and resources, and consider consulting an experienced immigration lawyer for personalized advice.
