Hello guys,…
Our interview appointment was set on March 15, 2012 at 6:30 am…
We decided to stay overnight, I chose the closest hotel that I could find,
Picked Bayview Hotel, which is in front of the US Embassy, on March 14,
Upon arrival to the hotel, I decided to take a walk to the embassy, in order to familiarize myself to the area, and to the processes that might happen the next day.
Woke up at 4:00 am, prepped up with my teens, by 5:30 am, we were already crossing the street to go to the embassy. By the time we got there, the line was so long, a line for the Non-immigrant applicants, and another line for the Immigrant applicants, in my estimate, there was around 200 or more in each line, so we fell in line in our category, Immigrant applicants on the 6:30 time…
The first stop was at the gate, you’ll have to present your appointment letter, as well as your passport, you will also be given a sheet of paper, a 2GO form, wherein you’ll fill it up on where your passport and visa would be sent. After that gate, you’ll get inside the building to be checked, all electronic gadgets are not allowed inside, flash drives, iPods, cameras, cellphones, or simply any electronic gadget, you’ll be scanned and body checked…
After that procedure, you’ll be led to a window wherein you’ll be given a stub with a number, that number will be flashed on a LED screen inside the waiting area, when your number flashes on the screen, it will also tell you what window you should go into.
Inside the building there are almost 80 or so windows, half of it are for the applicants for tourist visa and the likes, while the other side is for the Immigrant applicants. The first procedure we did when our number flashed on the screen, was taking our Biometrics,
They scanned our fingers, and checked out our identity… Then you’ll have to go back to your chair, and wait again for your number to flash.
The second procedure when our number flashed on the screen was to a window where a Filipina was there waiting for us, we were very courteous to everyone we met, that before approaching their counter, my teens and I would greet them Good morning and smile, seems a smile can definitely go a long way… Anyway, going back to the story, the woman started of by asking our names, age, and from there, she asked for our passports and then she asked a whole bunch of personal questions, our conversation were very light, the woman was so nice, but I know that she was reading our every answer and expression, on whether we were telling the truth, some of the questions that I can remember are:
1. What is your name
2. How old are you
3. Your address is…
4. How long have you been married
5. When did you get married
6. You only have 2 kids,..? Biological ones,..
7. So how old were you when you got married
Then she asked a couple of questions to my teens, she even said how beautiful my daughter was, as well as my son is good looking too, that I should be proud of them, and she even commented that I did got married at a very age, but she also commented that life then was pretty different compared to our generation now, she also told my teens, to study hard and finish school first, as she was asking some of the questions above, she was jotting down every answer that we were giving her, and then she continued with some more questions…
1. Do your kids ever fight before, I said no mam,..
2. Even when they were little, yes mam, they never fight..
3. She smiled and told my kids that we really are beautiful family, do you have pictures of your wife, and I showed her a LOT of pictures taken from different dates and locations, coz we often go out of the country when my wife comes home for a vacation.
4. She asked if we have been to other countries,
5. Have you ever worked abroad,..
6. Is your wife an immigrant or a citizen now,.. as she continues looking and jotting down our answers, she said that my wife is really beautiful, no wonder you have beautiful kids, she also commented that she was envious coz her kids were still toddlers and I only 37 yet I already have 2 teens…I answered her, thank you mam, and yes, my wife is an immigrant po,…
7. I then saw her flipping through the 3 inch thick documents, I am pretty sure those were the documents that we sent through NVC then, I saw her flipping through the I-864, coz I saw my wife’s handwriting, she then asked, sir, nagpadala ba si misis ng latest ITR nya, I said yes mam she did, so I gave her the copies, the ones my wife filed was 2008, 2009,.. so I already have a copy of the 2010 and 2011 ITR, she then saw that under my folder was a copy of my wife’s W2, she requested that I gave her a copy as well, and commented, “ohh a W2, very good,..” then she proceeded with some more questions,…
8. She asked me if I brought along a new NBI clearance, I said yes, and gave her a copy…
9. Then she asked me about my wife’s status, is she an immigrant, I said yes,.. Alam mo ba kung paano sya naging immigrant, I said No mam, sorry I don’t, coz when I married her, she was already an immigrant, ohh ok, then she kept of logging those information as well…
10. And what does your wife do, I answered she’s a nurse mam,
11. So kelan naman sya huling umuwi ng Pilipinas, I told her last year mam, she smiled and said, natatandaan mo ba kung kelan, I looked at my daughter to confirm, and my daughter side commented na umuwi po si mommy last year nung graduation ko, ahhh yes, March 24, 2011 nandito po sya nun, she smiled and logged that as well…
12. Then she asked me the ONE THING na hindi ko inaasahan na itatanong sa akin, sir, may dala ka bang CENOMAR,… Nagulat ako, but I smiled at her, and said yes mam, may dala po ako, (days before our interview, I was a tad hesitant to bring a CENOMAR because I thought this is not a requirement kung minsan ka lang naman ikinasal at hanggang ngayon naman ay kasal kayo, but thanks to MR.BLU, he advised me to bring one along at baka hanapan nga daw ako, dahil sya ay na-delay ng 2 weeks dahil hindi sya nagdala ng CENOMAR at hinanapan sya…) I was so happy at iniabot ko yun sa kanya…
Then after almost 30 minutes of questioning (hindi ko napansin ang oras dahil nalibang kami talaga, its like having a friendly chat with a friend, but still you have to maintain respect and courtesy at all times, and SMILE..) The woman then told us, everything is perfect, everything is in order, GOOD LUCK in your final interview, we smiled and went back to the waiting room, and wait again for our number to flash on the screen.
After just a few minutes, some of the closed windows stated opening up, then some applicants were called to that opened window, an American consul was there to start the interview process. So we were just observing all the other applicants that were called in front of us,… Then after just a few minutes, our number popped on the screen, stood up and went to that window, we greeted the lovely looking American woman, she was so very young, blonde and with blue eyes, we greeted her Good morning mam, she said “Oh hi, good morning,.” She then asked us to raised out right hand to swear in that all the information that we will be giving her would the truth and nothing but the truth…. So after swearing in,
1. She started by asking for my name and age,…
2. How long have I been married, and then looked at my teens and said, oh you got married quite early, I smiled and answered yes mam,…
3. She then looked at my teens and asked how are you, my son answered 14, and my daughter answered 17 mam, she then smiled and joke ahhh TOO YOUNG TO GET MARRIED, and we all laughed and agreed,
4. She then asked me for my old and new NBI clearance, so while I was looking for it in my envelope, she fired away again with a question,
5. Have you been to other countries,..? I was still busy looking for the NBI clearance, so I told my daughter to answer her, my daughter smiled and answered, yes mam, we’ve been to Hong Kong and Singapore,
6. She then asked did you guys worked there, my daughter replied No mam, we just went there for a vacation,.. I found my NBI clearance and gave it to her, like the previous Filipina woman, she too was jotting down some things from our answers.
7. Then she asked me is your wife an immigrant or an American citizen, I answered she’s an immigrant mam,.. she then smiled again…
8. Then she asked me is this your only marriage, I answered, yes mam… she kept on logging those too…
9. She asked me what does your wife do in the US, I answered, she’s a nurse mam… And then she smiled and said, “OKAY, Congratulations, You’ve all been approved for a US VISA,..” Just wait for your number to be called again…
Upon hearing those MAGIC WORDS, we all smiled and said, Thank you mam,…
The Lovely American woman, was so nice, and so sweet, the interview with her lasted for only 3 minutes, As we turn our backs, I can’t help but feel that a huge load has been lifted off me, I gave my daughter and son a high five as we moved backed to our chairs… With smiles flashing on our faces, we settled back into our seats, then without 5 minutes, our number flashed again on the screen, so we went to that window to be greeted by another Filipina, she then double checked our identities again, and informed us that everything went really well, I saw her holding all our documents, and she instructed us to take a seat again, and wait for our number to be called again, in a few minutes, our number flashed again, and went on to a window, where we gave her the sheet of paper that was given to us in the beginning, it was actually the 2GO counter, so she checked all the details and data on the paper, and told us that we are done and we can just wait for our visa to be delivered, so we marched off the building with a smile and went back to our hotel. We were rushing to get back into our rooms because we were so happy to break the news to my wife who was waiting for a call from us, and also to break the news to our families and friends who were praying for us in this adventure…
Well, that’s about it,.. The only tip I can give you is to be honest with them, tell them the truth, cause they can definitely read you when you’re lying, and be sure that all your documents are in order and all legal, don’t forget to smile and be courteous eventhough there will be times that some would be rude to us, just smile and keep your focus. A smile goes a long way, always be respectful… And lastly PRAY,.! We won’t be here if not for him, we won’t have the courage nor the knowledge if not for his guidance…
Well, that’s our adventure so far, our waiting game begins now for our VISAS to arrive..!
Cheers and God Bless….
