Before celebrating your one-year anniversary in France, you need to apply for a carte de séjour to ensure you can stay. What a lovely gift from the French government! However, the process of preparing begins many months before your visa expires.
UPDATE 2019: Since this article was first published, the OFII process has been changed in certain ways. Based on reader comments, I have put UPDATES in the relevant sections, so be sure to read thoroughly. However, I am not an immigration lawyer, so every change…
UPDATE 2019: Since this post first came out, the French government has started outsourcing US visa applications to a company called VFS Global. The company has instructions on how to apply for French visas here. In the comments of this article, you can find readers…