Tips on How to get a US tourist visa
Loving the Philippines doesn't mean I wouldn't be interested in going to other places like the US. We have a lot of relatives in the US and having a US tourist visa definitely makes things easier for those who like exploring and traveling to different places and discovering different cultures. For instance, when you apply for a Schengen visa for travel to Europe, they ask for a photocopy of your valid US visa at the interview. Although it's not officially listed as one of the requirements, they do ask for it during the interview. I interpret this to mean that having a US visa bears some weight with the consul of other countries and will persuade them to grant you their visa. Admittedly, the most difficult visa to get is the US visa.
Although we are focusing right now on discovering the Philippines, a great part of my kids' education focuses on cultural tolerance. By exposing them to other cultures, they learn to accept that people who have different beliefs and practices are not necessarily wrong in those beliefs. The beliefs and practices they develop are borne of experiences in their daily life in an effort to survive the daily struggles of their own unique situation and environment. As usual with Filipinos, if we have funds for travel, we usually travel first to other countries. So we traveled first to other countries. But later appreciated the Philippines more for its unique natural beauty, which remains its competitive edge in the tourism industry.
I'm sure a lot of you are already eager to know my experience getting a US tourist visa so let's get on with the story.
I renewed my 10 year visa in 2007 so my experience in 2007 is no longer valid. The rest of my family, which includes my husband and 4 kids, had visas expiring November 2010, so I'll share with you their experience renewing their visa last week. Although my tips pertain to renewing a tourist visa, I'm sure the information below will help those attempting to get a US tourist visa for the very first time. At the end of the post, I will give tips for first-time applicants to give them greater chance of getting one. So do read on till the end of my post.
THE APPLICATION PROCESS
I will talk about the process in chronological order so you would know how to prioritize the tasks. With the new system in place, which requires everyone to electronically fill out the application form, you cannot do things simultaneously. It needs to be done one-by-one, and in the following order:
2 months before the intended date of interview:
1. Have your photo taken, saved in CD and printed in 2 x 2 print.
This is the first thing you should do because you cannot electronically submit the application form and get a confirmation number without uploading your digital photo. Visapoint (the website where you get an online appointment schedule) requires that you upload the photo before you can submit your application form. After you submit your application form, you get a confirmation number. You need to have a confirmation number before you can see the appointment availability at visapoint.
2. Fill up the DS 160 form electronically.
Do not fear filling up this form because you can edit the contents and edit your confirmation number until 2 days before the interview date. By filling up the form, you immediately get a confirmation number. When you have a confirmation number, you can get an appointment through visapoint.
3. Log in at visa point, purchase a pin and fill up the form.
4. Get the appointment date.
The dates open at visapoint are only until 2 months from the date you get inside visapoint. Do no think that the embassy is fully booked beyond 2 months. They simply don't open the booking facility beyond 2 months from the time you log on to visapoint.
In our case, we made sure we were able to log on at visapoint 2 months before our intended date of interview just to make sure we get the desired date. The kids don't have classes on sem break so we planned to renew the visa at that time to make it easier to arrange our schedules.
From our experience, Thursdays are usually the slowest time in any government agency. So we got a Thursday slot. We also got the 1st slot, the 730 am slot, because it usually has the shortest wait time. Logically, if you have the 1st slot in any line, your wait time is shortest. My husband and 4 kids got the 730 am slot and they finished the interview at 10am. I got the 1030am slot in 2007 when I renewed my visa and I finished 3pm.
1 week before the date of interview:
Review the application form.
Just to make sure that I filled up my kids' form correctly and accurately, I reviewed the contents of the application form and resubmitted it and got a more recent confirmation number. You need not do this. But being my obsessive self, I had to do this to make sure everything is perfect. Remember, you can change the confirmation number through visapoint until 2 days before your interview.
2 days before the date of interview:
I paid the visa fee just 2 days before the interview. Why 2 days before? The embassy website suggests that you pay 2 days before the interview to avoid large fluctuation in currency exchange. You will not be accepted for interview if the amount you pay in peso is insufficient. You pay your visa fee in peso and not in US dollars. In US dollars, the rate is fixed. But if you pay in peso, you are subject to currency fluctuation. Since the US embassy website, suggests you pay 2 days before, they cannot argue that you didn't pay the sufficient amount because you only did what they suggested.
THE DAY OF THE INTERVIEW
1. Do not be late.
They require that you to be at the embassy an hour before the interview.
They require that you to be at the embassy an hour before the interview.
2. Do not bring electronic devices like cellphones.
There's no place within the embassy to deposit it. You will risk depositing it with strangers outside the embassy for a fee. Being the resourceful Filipinos that we are, there are a lot of people doing business outside the embassy as depository for cellphones and electronic devices. They hold on to your cellphone, give you a claim stub, and pay them a fee. Of course, it's risky since these people are strangers.
DO'S AND DONT'S AT THE INTERVIEW
No matter what the US embassy website says, I still think that with the new process installed by the US embassy, a lot of people have been pre-qualified already, meaning, when you arrive at the interview, those who are renewing their visa and has not violated the terms of their visa, already has a very big change of renewing their visa.
Why do I say that? What's different about the new system?
1. You cannot edit your application information and submit a new confirmation number 2 days before the interview.
Two days before your interview, you can no longer change the confirmation number of your application form at visapoint. Therefore, the application form with the confirmation number submitted with visapoint is the final application form that the consul will refer to at the interview. Therefore, 2 days before the interview, they are already privy to all your personal information and could already judge whether or not you qualify for a visa. In 2007, when I renewed my visa, all the information in my application form is only submitted on the day of the interview. Today, they have that information already 2 days before the interview.
2. In the electronic application form, they ask whether you were given a visa before and what the visa number is.
To a certain extent, those requesting for renewal already has an edge, unless you're one of those who violated the terms of your previous visa.
If you're up for renewal without any violation of the terms of your previous visa, unless you bungle your interview, you will most probably get a new visa.
What to say and not to say at the interview:
1. Be truthful and be concise about your answer.
This means to just answer the question asked of you briefly, without elaborating. By elaborating, there's greater chance of error or contradicting yourself. Also, the consul usually takes around 3 minutes to interview each applicant so he/she has no time to listen to elaboration. By elaborating, there's also greater chance of annoying the consul.
2. When asked the purpose of your trip, be sure to state a purpose that is within the scope of your visa.
Basically you should know what purpose is within the scope of your visa. For instance, if you're requesting for a tourist visa, do not tell the consul that you are going to the States to go on tour and marry your fiance. They will immediately deny your application, because the true purpose of your visit to the States is to marry your fiance. What you should have applied for is a fiance visa and not a tourist visa.
3. Be honest about who filled up or encoded data in your application form.
It will not affect whether or not you are granted a visa if you declared in your application form that someone else filled it up for you.
It will not affect whether or not you are granted a visa if you declared in your application form that someone else filled it up for you.
There is a portion in the application form that asks who filled up the form or encoded the data. You should be truthful on this respect. It will not be taken against you if you admit that someone else filled up the form for you. What is important is that you read the contents and agreed to it. Those who had someone else fill up the form, and did not state who filled up the form, and at the interview admitted that they did not fill up the form, were asked to return the embassy after filling up another form declaring another person filled up the form for them. Imagine the hassle and the expense of doing so.
IF VISA IS GIVEN
You receive your passport with visa by courier 2 days after your interview.
MY TIPS FOR FIRST-TIME APPLICANTS:
The visa application form focuses on the 5-year period prior to the application for a US tourist visa. During the 5 years prior to your first time visa application, you must have the following history:
1. Work history
You must have worked for at least 5 years with enough income to support traveling to another country for leisure purposes. It will be an added advantage if you stayed with one employer for that length of time. It will strengthen proof that you will return to the Philippines after visiting the States.
2. Travel history
You must actually have traveled to a foreign country several times in the past 5 years and have returned to the Philippines afterwards. It will be proof that you actually can afford to travel to another country, have traveled to a foreign country and returned to the Philippines, and that you have a habit of traveling to a foreign country for leisure. I actually have overheard a consul deny the visa to someone who has not traveled to another country prior to applying for a US tourist visa and then suggest to the applicant that he travel 1st to a regional destination like Hong Kong before embarking on a long journey to the States.
In this context, I would also suggest that you travel to a "friendly" and "neutral" country like Hong Kong and Singapore 1st. Obviously, if you travel to Pakistan, or Yemen, where a lot of terrorist groups are present, it will send flags to the consul and you would most likely be denied a visa. Common foreign travel destinations for Filipinos are Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.
If you need detailed information, go directly to the US embassy in Manila website and Visapoint.
UPDATE as of November 27, 2012!!
CHECKOUT THIS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND VERY HELPFUL ARTICLE FROM GMA NEWS:
Tagalog-speaking US embassy exec debunks some visa application myths
