Very difficult to get help. Excessively reliant on keeping anxious help seekers at arm's length. They are inflexible, and rely almost entirely on a Kafkaesque website for hard-to-find answers. They adhere to inconsistent, ambiguous rules (my relative in the UK was given a legalization/apostille service with no problems at the Edinburgh French consulate, whereas the Los Angeles people refuse to acknowledge their error in refusing to provide that service, while completely ignoring the fact that their UK colleagues' provide it). Very disappointing and frustrating. Bad for France's image abroad. read more

Wow. They are so rude. I called to ask questions because I had 2 separate appointments scheduled for 2 different needs. I had to be there at 11am and then later on at 2pm, so I asked if there is a coffee shop in the building or a seating area where I can wait for a long period of time, and the person was very rude and told me I can figure this out on my own. Politeness / kindness is free. There is no need to be rude to people. Very disappointed. read more

They are not nice, no indication . If you arrive earlier you wait in the hall with the guy barely talking to you . Poor service . Also I called the emergency line twice, no one answers !! read more

This office along with the website are completely unhelpful. It is insane! After three months of getting all documentation together both in France and in the states, they don't help and just send all your documents back--unfinished. read more

My visit was just okay. I'd actually give more stars for the front desk man of the building. He was really nice and courteous. We were about 45 min earlier for our appointment, and he still let us go up to the consulate. However, the receptionist up there didn't let us wait in their lobby and sent us back down. So, the front desk man nicely pulled out some chairs and sanitized them for us as we waited until our appointment time. Up at the consulate, we sought notary services. We were done within 20 minutes. The legalization lady was friendly and spoke mostly in French. I'm glad it wasn't a long process in person. read more

Consulate General de France - Embassy Near Me - Los Angeles, California

If you need a passport or a renewal you better pray you don't get the woman but the young guy. Otherwise be ready to have typical french administrator with a special hautaine nasty attitude and will make you feel you are worthless. And if you have the courage to complain to her supervisor don't expect any support. Then when you receive an email about " please tell us how satisfy you are from our services, it's important to us...." the questions and proposed answer are so biased, no matter how you answer it make the look good. And then they can claim the positive stat. And of course there is no comment section in which you are allowed to elaborate. read more

Very bad experience, employees not very nice. I tried to call many times during business hours no one answered. Very poor service

If you want to experience every unpleasant stereotype of French culture, this is it. Arrogance, obstructionism, and disrespect. These people hate their jobs. It began with the security guard, who repeatedly refused to speak loudly enough to be heard through the faulty microphone in the plexiclass barrier. He became visibly impatient and even angry. The women who 'helped' us did not even bother to introduce herself. When asked for her name, she got visibly annoyed and said it so fast it was not understandablle. Throughout the visit she took pains to make it clear that it was beneath her to be working with us. When it became necessary to explain anything, she literally rolled her eyes, pursed her lips, and shook her head. She made everything so difficult, we were unable to complete a simple task. read more

Horrible service, which is worst than no service. They won't be bothered assisting with appointments and refer one to their Troov online appointment system, which is pathetic, saying appointments are released 40 days in advance. Unfortunately, the system can release ONE appointment only for the 40 days and one is left to check again the following day. Or, it will show an appointment the following day which makes it impossible to attend unless you live in LA and have nothing to do. It truly is a horrible representation of France and the service they should provide because one cannot renew passports elsewhere! 0 stars would be more appropriate. read more

Bonjour! This consulate though small I have to say is quite organized, the staff was very friendly and very accommodating. I went to the consulate to get my Schengen Visa for my upcoming euro trip, though It was not released as I am well ahead of schedule (90 days before the trip), I have to say that I was very impressed with the staff that assisted me, he checked all my docs to see if I am missing anything and confirmed that All my paperworks are set for my next appointment! I was impressed and thought that was very nice customer service for him to take the time to review all my paperworks even though I wasn't even supposed to get my visa yet. Anyway, they get high marks from me for that alone as in this and age, amazing customer service is quite hard to come by. PS: make sure to make an appointment online, it is very convenient. Merci! read more

impossible de contacter quelqu'un au telephone (temps attente de 43mn) puis enfin quelqu'un decroche et qui me dit que le consulat ne repond pas aux appels telephoniques et qu'il faut d'abord prendre RdV par le site web et uniquement lorsqu'on recoit une reponse se presenter sur place. J'ai depuis mai 2024 envoye 4 emails demandant le renouvellement de ma carte didentite. Sur 4 emails une seule reponse me disant que pour renouveler un passport il fallait prendre RdV !. Je ne damandais pas le renouvellement de mon passport mais de ma carte d'identite. ------------------------- conclusion : le redevable doit etre au service de l'administration du consulat et non pas le consulat au service du redevable!. ------------------------- curieuse facon de fonctionner : si vous n'avez besoin de rien vous pouvez prendre contact avec le consulat et vous serez satisfait, mais si vous avez besoin de quelque chose, redoublez et redoublez et redoublez de patience ... peut etre qu'un jour!... read more

MAL AIMABLE, ça fait bizarre quand on a l'habitude de la gentillesse des américains on redescend vite avec une bouffonne au téléphone qui a 0 customer service skills, sans parler des horaires d'ouverture, ridicule WORST, feels weird when u're so used to Americans friendliness to have such a rude person at the phone who has 0 customer service skills + their opening hours, ridiculous Good luck read more

I had a 5 star experience at the French Cosulate in Los Angeles. Natalie was punctual. attentive, courteous and effective. Merci Natalie! You're the best ! Monique B. read more

I'm not one to write negative reviews but but this was the worst experience I've ever had at a French consulate. The receptionist was friendly but the rest was awful. I had one of the first appointments of the day and they made me wait 45 minutes. Once they finally took me in, the blonde lady who looked over my paperwork was extremely rude and obnoxious for no reason. I had all of the papers I needed and despite that she was rude and condescending. If you can avoid her I highly recommend doing so. read more

This has been the worst experience I've ever had with the French consulate. The third party VFS appointment centers make receiving a VISA a major headache. They have moved from this location; I believe at least twice since May of this year. Which adds to the sketchiness of the third party VFS. When I applied for my student VISA four years ago, I had no problems. All my documents were collected at the appointment, they took a picture of me there (because the pictures I brought with me were not correct), and I believe I got my VISA back within a week's time. This time I was applying for a long-term student VISA. I had the worst time rummaging through the different websites and trying to understand the correct documents needed for the appointment. Unfortunately, the list of documents online were not the same as the ones my appointment consultant asked for, and though I brought my banking information with me, she did not collect those papers. This caused a ripple in my application process as a week later the Washington Consulate emailed me to gather the banking statement. I received an email stating I only had one chance to send in this paperwork. A week went by with no response. I wasn't even sure if anyone received my paperwork or if I had sent it in correctly. Two weeks after that, I received my passport back with a denial letter. This system needs to be looked at because it is wasting people's time and money. I have paid for my school in Paris, I have paid for my housing in Paris and quit my job to move to Paris. This VISA process is seriously messing with people's lives and it's not right. I had spoken to the VFS office about the lack of communication and the had admitted this happens all the time. If that is so, why has no one fixed it? read more

I had applied for Schengen visa on July 20th, 2018 in Los Angeles for my upcoming vacation which was due yesterday!!! It's been over 6 weeks and no passport! Nobody answers the phone or replies any emails. I missed my flight and all my connecting flights are non refundable. My vacation is ruined. I cannot make any further travel plans since the French Consulate is not returning my passport. The reference number says my visa is still under procedure in Washington DC! Why DC? I reside and apply in Los Angeles. Never ever experienced something like this in my life. Get your Schengen from another European country because France obviously doesn't give a damn about your travel plans and thousand dollars of losses. read more

Went here for a visa and the people were pretty friendly. Overall, had such a pleasant experience. The entire process took 10-15 minutes. They called me back the next day with my visa approval news and that was pretty awesome! Remember that they let you make one appointment per person and not per family, so my hubby and I both had to make individual appointments. The guard can be a little iffy, so just ignore him. Don't worry about parking as there is 3 hours free parking in the Century city mall. The Consulate is just 2 blocks away from the mall. read more

Merci Kenza pour votre aide. Efficace, rapide et super gentille. Elle a répondu à toutes mes questions en vérifiant mon dossier.

Excellent service. It was fast. They were on time (both times : I went once for me and once for my son). The person who took care of my papers was very nice. read more

Super accueil en tant que nouvelle arrivante à Los Angeles, avec une aide claire, efficace, et bienveillante. Merci! read more

I came prepared and organized all my documents including copies. The security guard was so nice and even said good luck to me. The process took around 10-15 mins because I had all the documents in order. I just waited 20 mins because there was this lady who asked a lot of questions and took her so long to finish. The guy who received my documents was so polite and asked me the dates I'll be traveling. I gave him a folder of documents with post it notes so that he can easily find the document he needed. Plus, I gave him a FEDEX EXPRESS envelope with a prepaid overnight shipping label address to yourself ( both sender and receiver ) This is my Timeline for Schengen Visa: March 6: Appointment at Embassy March 9: My visa has been shipped March 12: Received my visa So basically 4 business days. Overall, I'm satisfied with the whole process. read more

Looks like talking to a wall, There is no one who take phone calls. Sending emails, and all the responses are the same thing and not helpful at all. The problème, we are 6 hours drive each way and we can not afford to go there and find out that we are missing this or that! I spoke to a lady in a different service and she told me that they are 3 people handling 25 states, so they don't have time to answer phone calls, she was rude and make me feel it was my fault. Somebody should do something, Macron Or the guy representing the North America french community. It's wrong, and very bed service. Shame on you. read more

Ours was a very smooth experience. My wife and I went for our Schengen visa for France/Germany . We were out in 15 mins without any problem. The consul officer was really sweet and helpful and even explained a bunch of things to us that we need to take care of when we actually travel. I am on H1B with and expired stamp and my wife has a valid F1 but has since switched to H4. Both of us have valid i797 for extensions. I was concerned about this but the officer was very knowledgeable and understood this situation without us having to even explain anything. We had all our documents in order including the copies so everything else was pretty smooth. We also were entering through Germany but spending more days in France, so she explained what we might need to tell the German officers regarding the French issued Schengen visa. All in all as smooth as one can expect. One caveat: A lot of people have had mixed experiences with the security guard. Luckily for us we had an 845 am appointment and he wasn't even in by then so we escaped that and the consul officers handled our entry :) But while we were there we noticed him treating everyone fine and no issues as such. Also, the couple in the window next to us got sent back but that was becuase they didnt have proper travel insurance. It seemed like they just got some letter from their current insurance provider stating that they would provide coverage in France. But the consulate needs this proof in a certain format which they have mentioned clearly on their website and its really very simple to get this online specific to conforming with Schengen Visa requirements. So i cant really blame the officer for asking them to come back with the proof the same day or schedule another appointment. read more

I almost couldn't believe it yesterday when I went to the French Consulate in Los Angeles and I had a great experience. More than that, I had a wonderful time! Thanks to Marie-Jo Halty (Notaire consulaire.) It was a premiere for me because when I lived in New York, I always had a very stressful time dealing with the French consulate and its employees. But, not here! I had a meeting with Marie-Jo Halty because I had some legal paperwork to sign. When I arrived on the 4th floor, in front of the Consulate entrance, I had to ring the bell 3 times before someone opened. I thought: "OMG, here we go again." After, I passed security, I wrote down my name on the registry and sat down. I had taken a book with me so I was prepared to spend a lot of time waiting. But, it didn't happen. After a few minutes, Mrs. Halty arrived and, with a genuine smile, kindly introduced herself. We shook hands and went to the very large conference room. We sat next to each other and she began explaining every line of the contract I had to sign. I was astounded. I didn't expect that she would do this so thoroughly as she did, and with such benevolence. She even gave my tips about inheritance taxes. I was with her for two hours. She really went above and beyond. I loved it and I thank her for it! Merci. read more

My overall experience was pretty good, I'm giving the 4 star because of the LONG wait time for scheduled appointment. My appointment was on Wednesday for schengen visa at 11:15am so I was there by 10:45. Security let us inside by 11:10 and just checked passports and said just wait until they call you, waiting took forever finally they see us around 12:50 Interview process was pretty smooth. French officer asked couple questions for general information about trip, I provided all the documents they need, they took fingerprints, picture etc. all this process was about 15 minutes. Appointment was on Wednesday and received my passport with visa on following Monday. read more

9:40 am visa appointment can be very busy. Make sure you give yourself enough time for 405 traffic. The visa section is outside to the left of the main building. Parking is available in the structure or a few spaces of metered parking. Better to park in the structure. Expect to spend about an hour for your appointment. Staff is courteous and friendly. Got mine mailed in a week. read more

The French Consulate was extremely helpful in getting my son his passport to return to France for school. Though the process is rather involved, their instructions were clear and we received the document in plenty of time. Credit where credit is due - Chapeau! read more

Boy I hate going to the French Consulate of Los Angeles. Don't mind that it's small but the atmosphere is cold, snobbish and feels unwelcome. Except for administrative paperwork for Native or Foreigners (expects delays even with an appointment, wouldn't say that it was aleatory but reception and ease of your matters depend a bit of personal affinity), there is not much to inquire like you might see it in other foreign consulates (Do not read too much on the info and help that may lie on their inaccurate website). Shame really. That's why there are no real French community, just the same elitism system present in the metropolitan France. read more

I booked an appointment here right when I got my Philippine passport at the Philippine Consulate. I put myself in a difficult situation by getting my passport renewed and getting my visa at the last minute. I got all my papers ready in such a short amount of time but made sure I had everything correct. My appointment was at 10:40 AM. I took a risk coming from San Diego and working graveyard the morning before. I had to run errands before I head to the Consulate and I barely made it. I came inside, the security was actually nice and funny. Made a joke here and there with me. When it was my turn to turn in my application, the lady had me redo my application. I thought she was gonna make me come back because of it but she had me sit down and do it again. They also needed a current balance statement on my bank account and needed another form from FedEx and she was kind enough to let me know I can just email it to them instead. They're cut off time is at 4:30. The bad reviews I've read on here is what got stuck onto my head but they were actually really helpful and nice. Hopefully my visa gets approve right away although I've been told by the lady who interviewed me said I'll be able to get my visa after 2 weeks. Crossing my finger. *Update: Got my visa after two days! read more

If you are applying for a Schengen Visa, don't be afraid. I read the view of this place online and was terrified. I pictured that I would receive rude treatments or some other things. However, I was so wrong. From the security to the workers, they were all extremely nice. I forgot to purchase my return legal for my visa application, this female worker just told me "it's okay, you can buy it later and email it back to us". I was so grateful. And I received my visa within 10 business days. read more

It might just be me not paying attention, but please note that the visa section of the consulate general of France has relocated to: 8530 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 450 Beverly Hills I am a college student about to study abroad in France this coming Fall. This was my first time handling any visa process at all on my own. Naturally, I was very anxious & had a lot of fears about what might go wrong. However! My experience was so good that here I am, fresh out of the consulate, writing my first yelp review. I encountered so many great people during my visit. I unfortunately did not get the security guard's name, but he was very friendly & gracious in welcoming me. It was Bruce who helped me with my paperwork. He was so warm & funny & kind & went to great lengths to ease all of my concerns. By the time we had sorted everything out & I was getting up to go, I felt like I was saying goodbye to a friend. Roman helped me with the brief biometrics process, and was efficient as well as sincere. On my way out, Bruce & I said goodbye again & I also got to say goodbye to the security guard. When I got into the hallway I jumped around a little, super relieved & so thankful to everyone who made it so easy. I know this may all sound very corny & dramatic, but I left genuinely wishing I could give everyone there something in return for the goodness they shared with me. read more

OMFG!! where do I even start?! I had to go to the French Consulate last year for a Schengen visa. Because of traffic in LA, I arrived an hour late for my appointment. I had to the bribe the doorman just to let me go inside. He literally told me, "$10 is fine." After I got inside, a French man took my itinerary and began to count my days of duration with his fingers. I had to wonder, "if I stay more than 10 days, will he take off his shoes and count his toes as well?!" Later, he asked for my health insurance. I gave him a copy of my insurance policy (Aetna PPO), which clearly stated "in case of an emergency, you are covered anywhere in the world." The man looked at it and told me "this does not say France on it." OMG! Is France on the effin moon?! In the end, the French still weren't pleased with my application (which had everything their website asked for). They even asked me for my ferry ticket from Dover to Calais. How could I possibly get that ticket before hand!? I ended up having to go back to the consulate again. read more

Before it was great, not it's a little ridiculous here. At least talk to people face to face. LOL, you talk to them through the wall. My husband went here to get his passport renewal. The process was painless. We made the appointment and it was about a 2 month wait. He received his passport within 10 days of his appointment. You have to schedule a time for pick up after that. We recently moved to Las Vegas and the closes Embassy is here. We called a few times and no one ever picks up the phone. There wasn't an email address for getting notary. We decided to drive in here to have it taken care of. We were wrong. The whole process was terrible. We came about 20 minutes before opening, there were already people waiting ahead of us about 4 groups. They told the security guard downstairs not to let anyone up until they were open. We came up when they were open. You can't go into the place. Now, you have to press the mic button and wait for someone to answer you. It took about 10-15 until someone responded. It's super weird now, you can't see the person and talking through a wall, they're literally on the other side of the wall. Well finally when it was our turn the girl asked us if we had an appointment and we said no, that we drove here from Las Vegas to get notary done. We called several times...no one picked up and there isn't any detail information online about the notary. She instead us to go online and write an email to the notary person, we should look again. We told her there isn't a place to write or make an appointment online. We went online again there wasn't an much again. My husband decided to just email a few people since there were some email addresses on the site. We got a response after 20 minutes, saying the notary guy is in France!!!! He won't be back until next week and if we want to schedule an appointment. I don't understand why this lady couldn't have told us that in person. Then they told us they charge $600-700 per page. Our document was 6 pages, she told out document and made it 8 pages. This is super ridiculous! We instead purchased 2 plane tickets to Paris. I don't know how people deal with them if they're on vacation. This place opens late and closes early! Won't be dealing with them until the passport renewal in 2025! LOL read more

Trying to help my mother get a tourist (Schengen) visa for France has been an utter NIGHTMARE! They are unhelpful, rude, we have reached nothing but recordings. It has been impossible to make on online appointment because (despite having all of the hardware/software requirements) I only get a blank screen. I have been using and programming computers for 20 years and I can't figure this out. The people who answer the phone have no heart and it seems to me they could care less if anyone other than a person with a US passport wants to travel to their country. They should take a tip from the UK Visa Bureau. It was easy, quick and they actually have Visa Centers all over Southern California, not just at their consulate in LA. I don't hate very much in my life, but I can add the French Consulate in LA to the list. They take arrogance to a higher level! read more

The appointment was on a Monday morning. I booked this appointment over a month ago and started gathering all the requirements as what it's on the website, make sure you have copies and originals with you and the key word in here "Be organized" arrange all the requirements according to the numbering on the web, as they will be asking for. Do call the consulate if you have questions, email them which I had done for couple of questions, they respond quickly. The Guard and Lady at the counter very courteous and very professional ( not Snobbish ) Make sure do your appointment separate, it was 10:15 for my husband and 10:45 for me. The guard will only let you in one person at a time. So my husband went in before 10:15 and I went in just before 10:30, the guard told me that I could have joined my husband when he came in, so the guard told me to catch up with my husband at the window and they will process it at the same time. Again, the key in here, bring all documents what is required mentioned at the website and BE ORGANIZED. The whole process for me and my husband is only about less than 20 mins. We found ourselves driving home at 1050 which I was my appointment. Monday morning was our appointment, FEDEX came on Thursdays morning. The whole process PAINLESS read more

There are so many mixed reviews on here. The horrible ones stuck in my mind and definitely made me nervous for my upcoming appointment. However, I'll keep this short & sweet: I went in on a Tuesday morning, came 30 minutes early (Be aware of / prepare for LA traffic!) The evaluation process took about 25 mins. Now let's get some things straight: -The security officer I came across was so nice & friendly AND -The workers are calm and not rude, though they do occasionally mumble some French to one another Please prepare, prepare, prepare. The application process canNOT be done last minute. Be courteous, professional, & organized and bring ALL necessary docs + back ups + copies. If you do all of this, you'll be fine. read more

I called the consulate a few weeks ago! It was extremely frustrating getting some answers ! The customer service was terrible !

As long as you have your paperwork and copies, I see no problem. Yes, they aren't the nicest people, but I don't think that's a necessity for what you're trying to get done. Make sure not to smile in any picture, Europeans don't like it. Really, they told me. They told me it would take 7-10 days processing. My appt was on the 24th, I received my visa the 30th (it was an au pair/long stay visa). Bonne Chance! read more

The process is quick and painless, just make sure to follow the instruction and have all the required documents ready. The staff are friendly and informative. The only sore is the security guard. It is a hit or miss with him, depending on if you catch him on a good day. I think the power trip is over his head since he is at the front door. He can be very rude and disrespectful. I did find him to be so rude it is funny. Very odd person. Well, I will send in a comment to the visa section. read more

They are efficient, which at the end of the day is all that matters. I like the British Embassy better, because you can process it all over mail! However, it's not as bad as the Portuguese Consulate, where you actually have to go in person. Do: 1.Bring ALL required documents and extra copies (trust me on the extra copies!) I recommend you have everything ready EXACTLY as the website says and hope she doesn't find something wrong with your documents, because she's looking, trust me. 2. Keep checking their appointment website as people cancel all the time. 3. Get a FedEx account. They have FedEX envelopes in the waiting room that you can fill out and pre-pay using a registered FedEx account. Don't: 1. Expect hospitality or cheerfulness. You have to realized that being fake nice is an American thing, and people in other countries are more...efficient. If you have everything ready to go and are on time they are nice, including the guard. 2. Forget anything! If you're missing anything the lady is very rude and will treat you like an idiot (even though their website is ambiguous (don't buy plane tickets yet/bring all copies of plane tickets?!). I printed my flight reservation and she said it "did not show everything," she asked where my name was, the plane number, the destination...but it did! it was all there!!!! She was just being fussy. I had to go back a second time and it was super fast and processed quickly. read more