If you have any written acknowledgement of your applications to AM, you can try using those (copies) to demonstrate that your application is in process. If they don't like that, they'll get back to you. But don't delay submitting your renewal because you're waiting for documents.

Ditto on the apartment lease. Submit what you have and see how far you get in the renewal process. (There is probably a renewal clause in your apartment lease, which will indicate how and when to indicate that you want to renew the lease. That may satisfy them, but again, they'll be in touch if they need something further.

Get your renewal application in asap, as renewals are taking a while and you definitely want to indicate that you are acting on it.

 

If you have any written acknowledgement of your applications to AM, you can try using those (copies) to demonstrate that your application is in process. If they don't like that, they'll get back to you. But don't delay submitting your renewal because you're waiting for documents.

Ditto on the apartment lease. Submit what you have and see how far you get in the renewal process. (There is probably a renewal clause in your apartment lease, which will indicate how and when to indicate that you want to renew the lease. That may satisfy them, but again, they'll be in touch if they need something further.

Get your renewal application in asap, as renewals are taking a while and you definitely want to indicate that you are acting on it.

Thank you for your response and advice, @Bevdeforges! Yes, I do have letters from AM in both my wife and my name requesting additional documentation. The lease does have a clause indicating it is renewable for one year.
I will apply for renewal asap!
Thank you again for your advice, and have a great weekend!

 

We had this happen with AM, and we ended up having to renew our private insurance for purposes of the residence card renewal.

 

I don't think you are alone. I recall some people here having difficulty renewing their private health insurance and I think it would be a good idea for the OP to at least try to find out whether their private health insurer has any specific requirements in case they need to do so. Which is of course not to say that they should not go ahead and apply for their TDS renewal within the required timeframe to do so and making allowance for weekends, public holidays and the risk of the online system being down because of storms and/or other problems.

 

Thanks for this info, @JapanAmerica. May I ask if you were in a similar situation as mine or were your circumstances different? Also, I’m assuming your visa renewal with a private health insurance was successfully processed.
Thanks!

 

Reading your message, I think we were in almost the exact same position, applying for our first residence card (after the one year visitor visa) and waiting for AM to finish processing our applications. In light of the AM delay, we renewed our private health insurance for a second year and used that for the application. We also included documents showing that we were in process with AM, and our residence cards were issued with no particular problems. Once we received coverage from AM we terminated our private insurance.

 

Thank you for replying! Unfortunately, our health care insurance company had told me they cannot extend our current coverage nor will they insure us for another year. I at the time thinking that maybe this was a Europe-specific thing, so I dropped pursuing that idea thinking we should be getting our French healthcare soon. However, birth certificates from the old country took a lot of time.
May I ask which insurance company you had? I had AXA Schengen. Thank you!!

 

We used the US insurer GeoBlue. It was expensive, but we were turned down by a couple of others and were running out of time.

 

Don't forget that the devil really is in the details. Depending on what departement you're in, the proof that you are in process with AM may (or may not) be adequate. (Same goes for the renewable lease.) The point is to make the effort to get things started in a timely manner - and it's possible that your Carte de Séjour application may (or may not) fly. But whenever you are lacking the specific document They're requesting, it often helps to make an effort to provide proof (as much as possible) that you meet whatever requirement that document is supposed to prove. With processing times running as far behind as they seem to be lately, it at least shows that you are doing your best to get things started on schedule (and trying to be helpful).

 

Some private health insurers will not give you an additional year. Since yours won't, you should now start looking for an insurer that will take you on, preferably one that will allow you to cancel and give you a refund. It's not a good idea to leave your research until the last minute.

I'm inclined to doubt that your lease will be an issue (unless your Préfecture is particularly difficult), especially since you will still have a few months to look for something else. It would be a common situation for expats to be in this situation when they apply for their first TDS from within and I don't recall anyone posting here that this was a problem. If you have a standard one year lease for a furnished place, you can give a month's notice in the due form at any time during the lease period. However the landlord cannot do that. He can give you notice that the lease will not be renewed at the end of its term in the due form at least one month before it expires. If he doesn't do so it will automatically roll over for another year.

 

The question though is whether they would take you on, at least on that basis, when you are already in . This can be very difficult.

Edit :

Difficult enough to mean that you need to go with some insurer that will accept you, though if you can find such a company, one that would at least allow you to roll over your cover into a mutuelle. Otherwise the least expensive one that provides the necessary cover. This is why I believe it's best to start the research now.

In the end it will be cheaper than returning to the US.

BTW, it just might be a good idea to look to lease unfurnished accommodation, at least that would mean that you wouldn't have this problem for a few years, given standard unfurnished leases are for 3 years and the notice periods are 3 months, with the landlord being unable to discontinue the lease before the end of the lease and then only by giving you 3 months notice, whereas the tenant can give 3 months notice at any time.

 

why do you need to show housing for another year, as far as I you only need to proof you have an address using a utility bill and rental receipts for the last 3 months.
You should apply now, you are already late ! provide the AM document you have but it will not be accepted (I saw a case that sent the letter received from AM welcoming the applicant to the system with the number and all, and they sent back requesting the attestation of rights showing coverage for 1 year), you will get back a request to provide a 1 year health insurance hopefully by that time you will have heard back from AM, if not I fear you will have to find another insurance coverage ... usually they specify that if they do not get the required documents in certain time frame the request will be closed, make sure to send them anything before this timeframe ends ... may be a letter explaining delays from AM then hopefully you will get another request with another timeframe .... not sure how long you can do that before they decide to deny the renewal request ... but hopefully you will get something from AM by then and make sure to quickly open your ameli as they will need the 'attestation de droits'
good luck

 

Their visas expire at the end of August, we are mid June. AFAIK they must get their applications no later than 2 months prior to visa expiry, so they are not yet late with their applications but will be very soon and should indeed send their applications in straight away.

 

I thank each and everyone for your advice, opinions, and experiences! This information is invaluable and I am truly humbled!
I am so glad I posted my questions/worries yesterday. I have absorbed the info you all provided and will be applying asap!
Have a great Sunday! ❤