TERRY and TAMI MORSE
WBF Missionaries to
FRANCE

May 27, 2004

Dear Friends,

We ask your prayers for our cartes de Séjours.  As we are visitors here in France, we must renew them once a year.  After 10 years, according to the Prefecture in Chambery, we can apply for a 10 year Séjour.  This is the first time that the government has told me this.  We were told before that one must be here three years, then they just changed the law last November that says one must be here 5 years consecutive.  Well, it seems that all changes because we are visitors, thus we must wait 10 years.  We would nearly have that, but for our first furlough I did not understand all that was involved or was not told, and thus we left France for a year in the States.  If we have shortened that time just a bit, such as for 10 -11 months, we might not have had to renew our visas, and could have had 7 years of continuous cartes de séjours.  As it was, we started over at zero with the Embassy in Chicago. The person at the Prefecture in Chambery did tell me that they refuse no one, as long as the papers are filled out correctly, and there is no reason legally (for example, breaking the law) to refuse it.  Anyway, we could have shortened the whole process by 4 years if we had known in 2000 what we know today.   Well, that is called the learning curve, I guess. 

The problem this year is that my passport expires in Dec,  and thus the cartes will only be good until then, instead of lasting until next June, like normal.  Then we would have to redo the whole process, probably in November.  That is not a problem, but involves all the paperwork again and the fees, which are about 40$.  I contacted the United States Embassy in Lyon, and they have sent to me the paper work to renew my passport. Normally it takes 4 weeks.  We have try to send it by special mail, and thus save 2 weeks. (I believe it goes to Paris, then to the States and back.)  If it arrives in time, we will not have to redo them in December. Because of the new requirement for US Passports, I assume that the process is a bit longer, but I am not sure.  There is a cost involved, I am sure, but I do not know the price for renewing the passport. 

Thus we would appreciate your prayers on our behalf.  Thank you all!!!

Terry Morse and Family
Le Verney du Pont
73660 St. Rémy de Mne.