Introduction to Hungarian Bureaucracy

April 6, 2010: Decided to go to the Hungarian consulate in LA to deliver my visa application paperwork. The website for the consulate said that the consulate is open for visa application submission two days a week and Tuesday is one of them. I drove 45 minutes across LA to get to the consulate and when I asked the security guard in the lobby which floor the consulate is on, he informed me that the consulate decided not to accept visa applications this week. Not one to take things sitting down, especially after having driven 45 minutes across LA, I accepted the security guard's offer to use the phone to call the consulate from the lobby. The lady who answered the phone reiterated that the consulate would not be accepting visa paperwork this week. However, she did ask me when I was planning on travelling to Hungary and when I responded mid August, she told me that even if they were accepting visa applications, they do not accept them any earlier than three months prior to my arrival date! No reason was provided for this rule, but I took note and will travel to the consulate some time in May. Needless to say, I will call the consulate before travelling there to make sure that the rules haven't changed yet again!