The secret in getting a US Visa

/ iamsupercarla / Leave a comment

I had a really good week last week.  After some encouragement from a friend, I filled out and filed my application for a B2 US Visa at the Manila Embassy this June 27.  She encouraged me to be brave and so I scheduled the interview that very Monday, June 30.

The DS-160 application is pretty straightforward.  Name, address, occupation, purpose of visit.  But just as any single working under 40 Filipina, I am quite afraid of the MOB stereotype (I can’t even bear to spell out the meaning of that acronym, but feel free to message me so I can share it with you privately.)

The appointment confirmation only required five (5) things:

  1. All pages of the appointment letter
  2. DS-160 confirmation page with photo printed on it
  3. Valid passport
  4. 2”x 2” color photo, against a white background
  5. Original machine-readable visa fee receipt

At the time, I paid for my visa application fee of US$160 at BPI.  They have a flat exchange rate, so payment was for Php7,200.  You will generate the receipt number here, and you will need it before filling out the application form online.

Anyway, just to be sure, I also prepared the following documents.  It’s quite funny actually, as if fate is pushing me to get the application, because all these documents I managed to collate and complete on the same day I applied.  Which very rarely happens in government.

  1. Employment certificate
  2. Statement of gross annual income
  3. BIR Form 2316
  4. Bank statements of the one with significant holdings
  5. Old passport, which contains my previously issued visa 10 years ago (I am old fuckit)
  6. Birth certificate

I left the office at around 11am for my 12:45pm appointment.  The line wasn’t long; there’s a line that will attach a bar code to your passport upon presentment of the DS-160 confirmation page.

You will be given a number and asked to wait.  I really liked their waiting lounge, even if it’s the open air.  Despite the fact that it was nearing high noon, the space was well ventilated.  I cannot imagine waiting during the peak of summer though; that must have been a completely different case.

An embassy personnel will call out a batch of numbers for the initial screening.  You will then be led inside the embassy, and the first window you will encounter confirms all the details you filled out in the DS-160.  Mind you, they’re quite particular with the photo you’re supposed to submit.  If they do not approve of your photo, there’s a photobooth by the waiting are for you to retake your photo.  Click here for the photo standards.

If you have any changes or errors in the DS-160 application, say it at this portion so they can correct it accordingly.

You will then be asked to line up for the finger scanning.  This took a while.  I think our batch had about 200 applicants.  I noticed that the interviews will be conducted on the same floor.  The consulate officers are prolly still on break at the time.

After the finger scanning is the anxious wait.  One by one, the windows for the interviews opened and I noticed that there are no more people coming in the hall.  We must be the last batch of interviewees.

I noticed that there was one window for work- and sympathy-related applications.  There was this one consulate that processed those asking for a quick leave to bury a relative and he was also the one who handled the flight attendants.

I was so anxious, because I can hear the other consulate officers denying each applicant.  And so I had to tune out and looked around the room.  There was an AVP playing and it kept saying that there is no secret in getting a US Visa.

You can be a college nursing student, with minimal savings, a pending petition, and bad luck that can go on for days and still get a visa.  Because they are only looking for one thing:  your ties to the Philippines.

When it became my turn, I went to my assigned window and saw that one applicant is still being interviewed.  It was horrid, for him.  It went like this, or at least the ones I heard.

Applicant:  I will go to California to buy supplies for my business
Officer:  What is your business?
A:  I own an electric cooperative in the province.
O:  What are you buying?
A:  Materials for the electric cooperative.
O:  Like…?  Give examples.
A:  Pliers, copper wires, cables…
O:  You need to go to California to buy pliers?
A:  These are specialized equipment, it can’t be any run of the mill equipment.
O:  Can you show me a list of the supplies that you will buy?
A:  (looks through stuff) I’m sorry I did not bring it with me.
O:  Where will you buy these supplies in California?
A:  In Company X, Store Y and Company ABC.
O:  May I see your appointment letters with these companies?
A:  I have not contacted them yet.
O:  Where are you staying?
A:  At my brother’s wife’s house near Santa Monica.
O:  Where is your brother?
A:  Here in the Philippines.
O:  Why can’t you buy your supplies in China?  Taiwan?  Europe?  Why the US?
A:  Because those are of poor quality, not like the US.
O:  Who will be paying for your trip?
A:  I am.
O:  It’s for your company right?  Why is the company not paying for it?  Why you?
A:  I can afford it, no need to bill my company.
O:  (types stuff) I regret to inform you that your application for a US visa has been denied because you cannot establish the purpose of your travel.  You may reapply when you have a firmer purpose and itinerary of your visit.  Thank you for your time.

This took about 7 minutes.  And they’ve already started the conversation before I even fell in line.

The guy could not do anything!  He just stepped back and thanked the consul and the next thing I know, it was my turn.  Here’s how my interview went:

Me:  Good afternoon! (smile, but not the overeager kind lol)
Officer:  Good afternoon, how are you today?
M:  I’m good, and you?
O:  I’m well too, thank you for asking.  So why are you traveling to the US?
M:  To visit my relatives… (slightly awkward pause and then stammered) and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
O:  I see.  Diagon Alley is about to open.
M:  Yes!  I think next week!
O:  Have you been to the US before?
M:  Yes in 2004.
O:  How long did you stay there?
M:  2 months.
O:  What is the work that you do?
M:  I’m a bank officer at the GHFK Bank.
O:  How much do you earn every month?
M:  Phpxx,xxx
O:  Who will be paying for your trip?
M:  I am.
O:  (types) Thank you for your time.  Your visa will be ready in a week.  Enjoy your trip.
M:  Thank you.  (backs away slowly, starts internal happy dance)

My interview was 3 minutes long.

I have read blogs and other experiences about their visa application and I can say there is only one secret to getting one:  be honest.  It is also the message they have played over and over in the screens that you can view while you wait for your turn.  Honesty (and a good dose of confidence) will really show during the interview, and firmly establish your ties in the Philippines.

I received my visa last Thursday.  10 years.  Multiple entry.

I was very blessed last week.  Perhaps rewarding my honesty.  But seriously, those who say that they have a quota, that they are profiling applicants, those are just suspicion and opinion.  Just be honest.  When you have nothing to hide and no intent to deceive, it really shows.

And who knows?  Maybe it would work out for you as well as mine did. :)

The perils of government service

/ iamsupercarla / Leave a comment

Okay, so I thought it’s about time I write something like this.

The Philippine government has been dominating (yet again, or as always?) national (and some international) headlines as of late.

PDAF Scam
Janet Napoles and her infamous list
Singing senator
Impeaching chief justice

And then there’s the privileged kin of the corrupt

Jolo Estrada, including his diplomatic passport
Janet Napoles’ daughter and her amazing lifestyle
And let’s not forget the consenting adult

It is also not a secret that more and more citizens are calling for a proper clean up of government offices.  Heck, even a radio jock’s sarcastic banter was taken so personally that these corrupt officials buried themselves in deeper shit.

All of these are frustrating (and entertaining, to a fault) because I work for government.  So when people say those who work in government should burn in hell or die or off themselves, I cannot help but be affected by it.

In the past, if you asked me when I was in college, I would never have dreamed of working for a government institution.  13 months of hardcore management training and a renewed appreciation of good governance, especially for countryside development, changed that.  I have been in government service for almost 5 years now.

And these corrupt fucktards are making me regret my decision.

To be honest, when I see those criticisms posted on my Facebook wall — BY THE BEST OF MY FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES NO LESS — I just ignore them.  I have never stolen or coveted or pocketed a single penny.  But if I will be persecuted by the number of Post It flags that I took home, I will be guilty of it — all 12 of those.

I come to work as early 7:30 in the morning.  I work till 5.  There was an entire year that I would also come in Saturdays, because the work has become so burdensome that it no longer fits the regular 40-hour work week.  And I am the “lazy” one because I have seen my officemates; some of them stay at work for so long, their love and social lives have turned moot and academic.

I diligently observe the No Lunch Break law.  My department makes sure that there’s always someone manning the phones and addressing inquiries.  My boss and I take turns in official travels because there has to be an officer left in our department to handle official matters.  Our small team of 4 handles the ATM network of our bank, all 300+ deployed nationwide, including the hundreds of thousands of cards and the hundreds more ATMs to be deployed within the year.

We made RA 9184 our bible.  We follow it to a T.  We are the mainstayers of the Bids and Awards Committee meetings because our acquisitions are always expensive and high profile.

We love being audited.  How else can we see our errors?  How else can we find ways to correct them?  If there’s no one patient enough to play the role of the devil’s advocate, how can our projections be fair and impartial?

We serve well.  I serve well.  And apparently, I should eat my friend’s shorts, kiss their rear and suck stuff (among others).

I worked ceaselessly for three years to afford a Paris trip and the first thing that welcomes me when I get home is a Facebook message from a (former) friend, asking if I enjoyed burning his taxes in Champs Elysees.

It makes me so angry.  The corrupt politicians are ruining it for all of us!  They’re ruining it for the account officer that deserves that performance bonus.  They’re ruining it for the janitor that stays extra late to clean the halls.  They’re ruining it for the security guard that does not charge his extended hours as he waits for his reliever.

Corruption is ruining it for the employees and other government officials that travel and leave their families — sometimes, for weeks — while they conduct research, close accounts, guide investors, and bring in the money for their institution.

They’re ruining it for the traders, the treasury people that gain the biggest in the stock market and remit 100% of their earnings to the Philippine government.

They’re ruining it for the government institutions that supports scholars, the impoverished, the entrepreneurs, rural banks, schools, highways, farm to market roads, ROROs, and all the other things simple government workers cannot even brag about BECAUSE A HANDFUL STOLE SO MUCH.

It pains to be in the service of people who have become ungrateful.  And you cannot blame the Filipino people for feeling that way.  We feel that way because WE GET TAXED TOO.  THEY STOLE OUR TAX MONEY TOO.  THEY DID US WRONG TOO.  US.  THE ASSISTANT MANAGERS.  THE MANAGERS.  THE RANK AND FILE.  THE JANITOR.  THE MANANG.  THE GUARDS.  THE TELLER.  THE DRIVER.  THEY STOLE FROM US TOO.  THOSE ARE OUR MONEY TOO.

So I guess I’m just venting here.  Because it’s hard to be in government service.  Because they make government service look bad.  So if the time comes when we leave and move on with our lives — migrate, retire, marry and settle down at home — who will replace us?  Who will do the hard work?  Who will do the research?  These people have demonized the posts that we hold at severe rates that NO ONE WOULD WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED BY IT.

Because of the handful corrupt, we are antagonized.  And if we get tired of being the “enemy”, when we get tired of being “thieves” and move out of our offices and into private practice, who do you think will run the paperwork?  The research?  The leg work?

No one.

Because if we won’t do it, who would want to?

To the hater

/ iamsupercarla / Leave a comment

I don’t have to defend myself to you.  Even if you keep saying I am not qualified for the position I hold.  Even if you mock my past work experiences.  Even when you constantly disparage my character in public, never mind that I am within earshot.  Your insecurity brought you there.

But I won’t pass up the opportunity to nail you solid in that position.

If it wasn’t for my TV show stint, I would not have appreciated actual physical and mental hard work.  Because unlike you, I was cut in half by making 80 cups of coffee in different personal mugs with different sugar/cream requirements.  Unlike you, I was taught that if the utility boy cannot lift that 10k cable to the van for the next shoot location, you have to lift that.  Unlike you, I learned labor.  Actual hard labor.  And rose to the expectation of churning out literature before the 13-hour workday ends.  Unlike you.

Unlike you, I passed one of the country’s most prestigious management training programs.  Because unlike you, that company left their biases and prejudices at the door.  Unlike you, they chose to hone me as an individual who wishes to learn.  Unlike you, I am humble enough to admit I do not know it all.  Unlike you.

If it wasn’t for my religious beliefs, I would have not exerted the effort in understanding your constant need for praise and attention.  I would have recommended a psychiatrist to visit your home as you badly need one.  That on top of Diazepam and a concoction of hypnotics, because I think you just need to rest your mind from the rumors you’ve been spreading.

Thank God I believe in him enough to not worry about your effect on me.  Because you have no effect on me.  Because you do not matter to me.

Unlike me to you.

No More Bullshit