I have a very good chance on being in the eternal 'dog house' with the mrs. I am hoping folks on the forum can help me find out if there is a way out!

We have a baby moon trip planned for italy. We are set to depart on 3/11 (wed). I have Indian passport (and US perm resident). Just realized I would realize a schengen visa to travel. The mrs. is a US citizen, so she doesn't need any visa. Now I realize visa related questions are best answered by the consulate, but given its the weekend and not much time left in case I have to reschedule our plans, I was hoping someone can share any thoughts on their experience with processing times for getting a schengen visa. In reading up, it seems processing times can take anywhere between 1 day to 3 weeks for tourist visa < 90 days. Has anyone been able to get visa next day or in 2 days? I am applying in the Italian consulate in chicago, currently they don't have any online appointments available for Monday, but I am going to call them on Monday and see if I can be added for an interview for Monday.

You might also want to be at the consulate in person when they open on Monday; b prepared to wait. If you see a last minute appointment, could you otherwise get there instantly?

thanks for your thoughts.

Yeah, I plan on getting there first thing in the morning and plead to be seen/interviewed. But the second hurdle would be whether they process visas same day or next day. I wasn't sure if there has been any precedent with folks who had received expedited visa processing or something similar. For what its worth, I have travelled to several countries, but just first time to europe, so i don't anticipate issue with getting the visa, but concerned with whether it would be processed before wednesday...

Be sure to bring paper copies of your flight itinerary, airline ticket receipt (with ticket number, to show that your ticket has actually been purchased and is not just a reservation), and copies of hotel reservation confirmations. [It might also be a good idea to bring documents (hard copies) for anything else that you have reserved or prepaid or anything which is a special event during the period of your travel (such as a wedding invitation, if applicable, or opera/theater/festival tickets).] You will probably need these documents to prove immediate travel.

Be prepared to pay for the visa and any rush or special handling fees in whatever method of payment is accepted by the consulate. For instance, do they accept or refuse cash? Credit cards? Require a certified check?

Please report back on what happens.

ADDED: Another idea of something to do today is to try to phone some of the major visa service agencies (you won't use one, I don't think since you're located near the consulate and might need a personal interview) to see what they say about how quicky one can get a schengen visa for Italy given your passport and residency details. Act like your trip is slightly farther in the future (so that you could be a customer of their service) or act like you're considering the purchase of tickets for some last minute trip that suddenly became available to you and wondering whether the visa would be possible. Sometimes FF award ticket availability opens up at the last minute.

I suggest being at the consulate when they open, and being really nice to the staff! Bring copies of your itinerary and all of that, plus your passport and green card. Ask if there's anything they can do. Provided you're not setting off red flags, of course they want you to be able to visit Italy (and spend money) - but you will need some bureaucratic help to get everything processed in time.