I thought I'd post here the story of my yesterdays' attempt, it's kinda interesting.

My fiance and I agreed to spend a week together in Stockholm, where my mother resides. I got a visa invitation from her, got my docs ready and went to submit application for a guest visa to the Swedish embassy. I arrived at t 9:00 am and found a crowd of people at the gate giving passports to the guard officer. Having asked who's the last in the line, I was told that everyone had signed up IN ADVANCE on the “new website of the Embassy” (a piece of paper showing a strange URL was stapled to the information board). The guard officer told me that I cannot go in if I had not signed up, because lists with names were given to the embassy staff and they call in people by the list.

In the same crowd were, apparently, some reps of tourist companies who told me the sign-up is currently going on for June 16 (my ticket is for June 12!) and that I would do better going through a tourist company because they receive “preferential treatment”. I went away disappointed and called a few tourist firms. Some indeed offer a service of “carrying in the documents” for 115 Euro.

I also managed to talk to a representative of the visa dept of the Swedish embassy who was surprised to hear about the sign up and assured me I can submit documents on Thursday without any prior sign up. He actually thanked me for sharing my story and told me they'd look into the matter.

Who will venture a guess what's going on there?

Sounds like Russia to me!
Similar example, buying tickets at many venues, you come to the cashier before it opens and a sign posted on the window says all tickets are sold out that day, and scalpers go around selling the tickets at 2x to 5x the regular price. Then the cashier opens after a long lunch and the sign is taken down and regular price tickets are plenty available. It is amazing they do this at even higher venues like embassies!

Why not get a visa somewhere easier, like Paris? Book a trip through Expedia or something like that, get the Shengen visa through France, travel freely throughout Europe.

Easy as pie. Or, maybe not. Let us know how it goes. Good luck, I'm hoping to take my wife to Europe soon, so I'd like to see if this is easy to clear up or not.

Yup, thats Russia for ya. I was at a Aeroflot ticket office buying a ticket to Moscow. My fiance did all the talking, I hung out in the background. Originally the ticket was 2900 rubles but when the the ticket agent saw my US Passport all of a sudden she did not have any of the 'cheaper seats' left. All she had were seats for 5000 rubles. What a racket...

Paris easier?? You must be kidding. :-) They have a prior signup requirement posted on their official website and the waiting time is a few weeks, I guarantee you.
And why book an entire trip when I can get invitation from my Mom who is citizen of Sweden. But the Swedish embassy apparently has no idea that it requires prior signup. ;-)

So even those in the EU have learned Russian rackets?

No, I think they are as innocent as lambs. I think there is another explanation. But what puzzles me - the "signup website" is posted on their own information board, on their own gate! And the guards are barring people from entrance under their very nose!

How about a different Swedish embassy?

Well I arrived at 8 am today and there was indeed a list of names; I was 45th in line. After standing for 4 hours under the sun, I managed to get in and was given a ticket for one of the windows. Another half-hour of waiting and all windows closed. Right before my nose. The consulate officers were immovable. "Come tomorrow" and that's it.

Well hopefully my today's ticket will be good to get me through tomorrow ahead of the line.

And hopefully the US consulate will be a little nicer when my K-1 interview comes.

Of course! Americans grow money on trees, didn't you know that?



Best of luck!

They definitely need to improve their services...