US Visa Thread 12

[IamDindin]

^ IMO lang sis, better yata na mag apply kayo as family. Your business (make sure that it's established na when you apply for a US visa) and your husband's job are strong ties na para hindi kayo mag over stay.  The Consul might ask lang if you have properties here if you'll apply as family, para lang siguro maka siguro na may babalikan pa kayo dito.  Parang mas questionable kasi if you'll apply alone lang. 

[Annie M.]

@reendmcha, i agree with sis IamDindin. parang better chances kung mag-apply kayo as a family. show that your husband has a stable job here and earns a lot. tapos yung business mo dapat by that time maayos na yung papers and accounting.

about income, actually they really ask how much you make, so be ready with the figure. pero hindi naman usually nanghihingi ng ITR or bank statement. they simply ask how much you make. sa dami ng na-interview na narining ko, isa lang ang hiningan ng bank statement. pero lahat tinatanong how much they make here.

ang dami kong stories/info kasi yung upuan namin at that time was near all the interview windows. as in i heard a lot sitting there for more than an hour, waiting for our turn. si hubby tulog. hahaha!

[huit]

how much na ba ngayon ang US Visa and if na decline ka, do you need to wait 6 months before applying again?

Also, medyo 50/50 ba chance ma approve if bago lang sa company? Mas makakasama ba sabihin na may kamaganak ka and friends sa US?

[bonzaigirl]

^hi huit, what the US Embassy officials are looking for are reasons for you to return to the Philippines.  Reasons that you will not extend your holiday and you won't be a problem to their State if you overstayed illegally( TNT).  It may be better if you stay longer in your company before you apply for a US Visa.  If you do not declare that you've got relatives there, what they will be looking for are sufficient funds in your account.  They will be asking you where you will stay on your holiday.  It helps to be truthful. They are mostly trained on spotting people who lie. Of course there are some who do get away with it. Best of luck.

[huit]

Hmmm...pero not necessarily naman need na ng plane ticket na agad before applying di ba? =) Kasi paano pag na decline di ba? So if they will ask if how long do I plan to stay and where will I stay, I can just say na if ever I get approved, I just plan to stay for 3 weeks and of course stay in a hotel. Kasi wala pa naman ako ticket.

[snowflakes08]

^ Don't book any plane ticket yet hindi naman siya requirement.

Sa DS-160 form meron question na intended exact travel date then if you will stay in a hotel, ilalagay mo rin sa form yun like the address din.

Hindi rin makakasama kung sasabihin mo meron ka friends/relatives in the US as long as you can prove or show sa consul na babalik ka dito sa Pinas. 

[Annie M.]

@huit if you say that you will stay in a hotel, they may ask you for proof that you can afford 3 weeks in a hotel and also look at your income. may narinig akong ganyan sa interview. so kung $150 yung hotel per night, they expect na kayang-kaya ng salary mo yung $150 x 21 nights = $3150 (or P147,000).

in our case we said the truth, which is we're planning to "treat ourselves to 3 nights in a hotel in NYC"  then the rest of the time sa relatives kami sa new jersey makikitulog "to save money."

we were asked pala how much our budget for the trip is, and we said $200 per day or $3,000 for two weeks. we even said na we're budget travelers. this was realistic based on our salaries.

hope this helps!
   

[huit]

Thanks, Sis Snowflakes08 =)

Hello Sis Annie, paano pag AirBnB na mas mura, legit naman ba yun? hehe. Usually ba magkano ang budget per day? Kunyari 2 kami.

[Annie M.]

^siguro sabihin mo na AirBNB apartment or room yung ire-rent mo para sure. kasi pag "hotel" baka maghanap ng proof na you can pay $$$ per night.

parang sa mga narinig ko sa interview while waiting for my turn, the consuls really asked how much ang sweldo dito, then how may days ang stay sa US. i don't know what their formula is, pero in our case we based our budget on this:

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/money-costs

may narinig akong comment ng consul dun sa isang na-interview na "you cannot afford the US" or something, based siguro sa salary. kasi nga naman if a pinoy is only making let's say 45k a month ($1,000), tapos ang claim nya is he/she is staying for 2 weeks in a hotel that will probably cost $2,000 total, malabo talaga. shempre may pocket money pa. the consul will be concerned na that person will spend 2 months of his/her earnings just on hotels. 

kaya siguro it helps to declare na may kamag-anak ka to stay with if your budget is modest. or maybe make it clear na you're staying in a budget rental apartment via AirBNB, or even a hostel (beds cost $50 per night in big cities).

good luck, sis! basta tell the truth and you will surely get a visa.

[huit]

^

Oh okay. So no bearing pala if may savings ka no? Talagang basis nila is sahod. hehe. Matagal nga yung 3 weeks kaso ang bitin lang ng 2 weeks.

[iamlanie]

sisses, may problem ako although hindi ko alam kung slight ito or serious.

Yesterday, I paid our visa fee sa bpi. I photocopied my passport. It bears my name which is something to this effect:

VERONICA (given)  RICASION (middle) AZCUETA-TAN (surname/married name)

In short, I retained my father's family name with hyphen then my husband's surname.

The teller asked me to write down our names at the back of the photocopies of our passport. In my husband's case, walang problema. The teller did not ask me about my name so I thought okay na.

Paglabas ng receipt, I was so surprised to find out, ganito ang nakaprint:

VERONICA RICASION TAN

Nawala ang family name ko noong single ako. In short, hindi buo yung surname ko as it appears on my passport. Sinabihan ko yung teller na hindi yun ang complete name ko. She said that the receipt only limits the printing of name into 21 characters including spaces. So I asked if there would be any problem to be encountered at the Embassy. She didn't know what to answer. Tawag agad sa isang staff. They told me, what's important is the verification number and since attached naman daw yung photocopy ng passport ko with them, there will be no problem.

Sisses, anyone of you who encountered this? Okay lang ba talaga? 

Hindi pa ako nagpapaappoint kasi kinakabahan ako baka magkaproblema..

Thanks in advance.

[Annie M.]

^hindi hiningi yung receipt sa amin.

[simang]

Sa experience ko din, hindi hiningi yung receipt. Appointment letter lang

[iamlanie]

hay salamat. thank you, sisses.

[poshprincess]

how much na ba ngayon ang US Visa and if na decline ka, do you need to wait 6 months before applying again?

Also, medyo 50/50 ba chance ma approve if bago lang sa company? Mas makakasama ba sabihin na may kamaganak ka and friends sa US?

Hi sis. No you do not need to wait for 6 months before u can re apply. I initially got denied when i applied the first time. I reapplied after 8 days (it was for a business trip so my company paid for the visa twice). I got approved.

Visa fee can be pricey especially if you are personally shouldering the cost. That's why some people decide to wait a little longer to reapply. Also, there is no guarantee that u will get approved on your re application. Risk talaga.

I agree with bonzaigirl, it's best to be truthful bec they are trained to detect liars.

[huit]

Oh okay. Usually ba how much ang budget for a 3 week US trip? I read na binebase nila kasi sa sahod and sa number of days yung approval ng visa. =/

[simang]

^depende sa kung anong mga activities mo. when i went there, my expenses were around 900usd for 7 days. almost half nyan sa hotel stay napunta. i'm not sure if that's average. pero kasama na dyan food, konting shopping, everything

[huit]

^

I was thinking puro sightseeing lang. No Disneyland or any theme park na may bayad kasi nga mahal. Anong lugar ba jura mag stay sa US so we can stay there? We just want to see New York and San Franciso. I know magkalayo pero gusto namin mapuntahan Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, Central Park, Times Square, Golden Gate. =D

[bonzaigirl]

^ Both New York and San Francisco are expensive places to stay in. Better check booking.com and or airbnb. We paid nearly 300 USD for an overnight stay in San Francisco and that's just a motel-like place but that's because the location was just next to the SF Wharf. And that was in March of last year. If you've got relatives that you can stay with sana. Plus take car rentals into consideration as well.

[marshie]

^Scout for cheaper plane tickets early so you could save more.
Sorry for this off topic reply.

Anyway, when I applied for a visa, I was scheduled for 715am interview. I forgot the slip that serves as my proof of payment so I had to go back home and get it. I noticed that they also didn't check/requested for my slip when I went inside the embassy.
Instead of calming myself by being quiet, I chose to seat in the front row so I could listen to how the interviews go. The asian IO in my opinion is keen on asking for the gross and net pay so my suggestion is to be familiar with the two. If you answered the other way around, one question that she may ask is why are the two the same in amount considering that there should be at least taxes deducted. Also, details of past travels can be asked like what places did you visit in that country.