The thing is it is NOT a bad consulate to deal with IF you don't have a history of living here on back-2-back visa exempt or tourist visa entries.
True they do have a high financial requirement for a tourist visa (1000USD in a bank account) AND they do take 3 days to get your passport back (turn it in one morning, pick it up two days later in the afternoon) butt that's about it.
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-Tourist-Visa.html