How do I apply for a Schengen visa in the USA as an Indian?
I have applied for Schengen visa twice to visit Greece and Spain respectively. For both consulate you must book an appointment before travelling to the embassy. Greece embassy was taking appointment through telephone; however, Spain had a website to book the slot. Please ensure to book the appointment at least two months before the date of travel. Getting an appointment for Spain was difficult since the dates were very few. So, both the times, after getting the appointment, I took the following documents, to the nearest embassy which was Houston in my case. Visa application form. Fully completed and signed: Greece Embasssy required only one form. However, Spain required two copies of the same. Two recently taken photos A valid passport. Round trip reservation or itinerary: I reserved an itinerary on American to show my tentative dates of travel. Travel insurance policy. For Greece, my Aetna insurance from company worked. However, for Spain they require deductible for overseas travel. I took Mawista travel policy which is quite cheap. Proof of accommodation. Reserved a hotel for the times. Proof of financial means: Took bank account statements, credit card statements, tax statements to show the financial documents. Proof of paid visa fee. 60 dollars in cash is needed Letter of Invitation: In both cases I was travelling for a conference so I took the conference letter. For Greece embassy they just needed the letter of acceptance of the paper. However, for Spain I had to provide them Conference Invitation letter Prepaid envelope: To send your passport back to the home address. Greece takes any type of envelope. However, Spain takes only ups prepaid envelope. Since I work I had to provide documents as well: Employment contract. Leave permission from the employer. For Greece, I had a personal appointment with the consulate officer who was very friendly. She took my photograph and fingerprints and suggested me places to visit in Greece. After this, I got my passport in 5 days mailed to my home address. For Spain, since I did not had conference invitation letter, travel insurance policy and credit card statements, they asked me to send the documents through Fedex. Once I submitted them, the passport came in 5 business days. Just an observation, Greece embassy was quite cordial and friendly in comparison to Spain Embassy.