US Visa – The Interview

Yay, my visa application is approved! But not without drama. Headache and nausea is what I got along with a pink slip to collect my passport in 2 days’ time.

The day started early for me. A 5.15am alarm from my phone woke me up from my deep slumber. Too early to eat, so made my way to the US embassy by 8am. Went through security checks, surrendered my handphone, then got a queue slip, (#726), handed in my forms and had my fingerprints scanned. So far so good. And then I waited for my number to be called for interview.

And I waited.

And I waited.

One by one, numbers after 726 flashed. 736….744….757…… What in the world is happening? Did they misplace my file? Are they trying to verify the contents that I wrote in the application form? And as I waited, my stomach started to growl, and caffeine withdrawal symptoms began to kick in. By 11am, I realized they may have misplaced my file, but I couldn’t go up to the counters and just ask because they were still calling out numbers, and will surely ask me to sit down and wait for my turn.

At 12pm, the number of visa applicants in the room dwindled to a handful, and I was resigned to wait till the last one is called (#810!!!!) before approaching the counter for help. The officer looked surprised, and quickly asked the backroom staff to hunt for my file. They found it after a while, and finally did my visa interview. The officer sounded a bit apologetic about me waiting for so long, and did a quick interview. In the end, he stamped his approval, gave me a collection slip (it takes 2 days for them to process and stick the visa on my passport), and thanked me for my patience(!). Finally stepped out of the embassy at 12.30pm. 4.5 hours in the US embassy!!! By then it was 16 hours since my last meal…. was headache-y and nauseous from the lack of food and caffeine.

Stumbled my way to the hospital across the road; no, not for medical treatment, but for food, as it was the nearest establishment with a cafeteria. Slowly sipped my coffee and chewed my lunch, as I was still queasy. Made a phone call to HubbyMaisy to give a summary account of my ordeal, and finally took a cab back to the office for work.

Finally, I can check out cheap tickets to LA, and start to dream about Disneyland!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “US Visa – The Interview”

  1. Janet says on September 18th, 2008 at 4:32 pm :

    Hi! i am planning of applying for a visit visa to the US ti visit my brother but I am having apprehensions since I do not have a good bank account.

    Anyway, is there anything you can advise me or may I ask some of those questions during your interview? just to have an idea.

    Thanks!

  2. furrymaisy says on October 15th, 2008 at 8:31 am :

    Janet:

    Sorry for the late reply, I went to the US on the 20th, and only came back last week :)

    Most importantly in the interview, you have to talk confidently, only give short and simple answers to their questions, and not give too much details unless asked. Do not ramble on and on, they’re not interested.

    Typical questions can be:
    1) Where are you going?
    2) What is the purpose of your trip?
    3) Do you intend to look for a job in the US? If not, why?
    4) Who is financing your trip?
    Think of plausible reasons for you NOT to stay in the US, e.g. taking care of aged parents here, have a stable life here, etc.

    Another important factor, even if your bank account balance is not that great, bring along your payslips from your current job. It helps if you work for a well-known company, like MNCs, or for the government.

    Hope this helps :)