Lawless lands

It is widely believed that the country I currently live in is essentially lawless. Do not get me wrong - ostensibly there are laws and rules and some people are even inclined to think there are more regulations than even a decent country with advanced culture would be able to survive. The thing is that the order is still missing to such an extent that occasionally I am surprised the laws of physics are valid here :)

Now, while the global trends inspire philosophical thoughts the small things tend to be rather irritating in day-to-day affairs. Today I have had one more opportunity to enjoy the uniqueness of this place. Having received the originals of my H-1B application documents I decided to arrange an interview in the Embassy as soon as possible - it is all well and good to have an approved petition but few things can be as soothing as a stamped visa.

Surely enough I foresaw inevitable troubles in making an appointment and they did not disappoint me. It turned out that a local freight agency which holds a monopoly on delivery of papers to the Embassy (BTW quite an arrangement - I have not heard about similar arrangements in American embassies in other countries) flatly rejects electronic visa application forms generated by the official site of US Department of State. Well, I can understand why in this retarded place even Americans lower their usual standards but why on Earth not a single warning is found anywhere? I am looking forward to running across something equally dumb - tomorrow I am filing my documents once more.

Apart from consular entertainment my progress seems to have been less spectacular than achievements of my former colleagues. One of them got her Canadian visa and is going to relocate in autumn. Another got an offer from the financial firm in London and is likely to move there from his present job in Switzerland shortly. As for me, I was rejected by that company after four interviews and I still wonder if I really messed up or it was just a pretext - the very same company is taking me to the US, head-hunting for that London firm and simultaneously employs me (remember the M&A in May?) - talk about the small world :)