US Visa thread 13

[huit]

Hello, sa US Visa Application online, ok lang may fill out muna bago mag bayad? I mean like sa Australian Visa, pwede rin siya i-save bago magbayad?

Also, has anyone here tried applying for a US Visa na mga 100k lang ang nasa bank? I know hindi naman kadalasan hinihingi yung bank statement pero just to be sure. hehe.

[sdee]

hello mga sis, meron na ba dito nakatry na yung US Visa is still under maiden name sa old passport na expired na then yung new passport ko is under my married name na. I can still use the visa right kasi hindi pa nman expired.

[cl1995]

Just had my interview at 9am

VO: Good morning
Me: Good morning too, sir.
VO: Purpose of the trip
Me: Vacation
VO: where
Me: Florida
VO: do you have a visa before?
Me: Yes
VO: May I see?
Me: (gives my old passport with my recent visa)
VO: (stamps with "Cancelled without Prejudice") (gives back to me)
VO: What is your longest stay in the US?
Me: 20 days
VO: where will you go to Florida
Me: at my mom's friend.
VO: do you have any other relatives?
Me: my cousins in New York
VO: who are you going with?
ME: with my family
VO: parents?
Me: also with my 2 brothers.
VO: Do they have a visa?
Me: Yes. They renewed their visas through the Dropbox. I was not qualified because I was 12 when I got my recent visa.
VO: I see. What do you do
Me: (explains)
VO: How much do you earn
Me: (states my salary)
VO: You will get your visa within a week. Enjoy your trip.
Me: Thank you sir!!

Renewal lang ng visa to ha pero ang daming tanung sa akin lol. Yung 2 kasunod ko denied. May family din na denied.

[minatay91]

^ lol without understanding anything, I would have probably looked super devastated at the "cancelled without prejudice" hahaha. Do you know why? do you have an older visa? Or your older passport is invalid na? (coz you have another)

[cl1995]

^ I have an older visa. They just cancelled it because they will give me a new one

[fall2pieces]

ask ko lang ano mga questions kapag K1 visa?  may mga nadedeny ba dito and anong reasons? thanks po.

[ayi21]

Anyone here is currently processing their h1b visa?

[mountainlily]

I had my visa interview just this Thursday. I was approved for my tourist visa renewal. By Friday, the embassy has emailed me that 2GO has collected my passport. Today, Saturday, they have delivered my passport to me. I got another 10 year multiple entry B1/B2 visa.

Initially, I tried via the dropbox method. My family decided to do this since we all qualified for it. Their tourist visas were renewed with no hassle. It took around a week for them to receive their passports after we sent them to the embassy.

However, they returned my documents and passports on the 3rd day back to me. They said I had to come in for an interview. I suspect it was because I had a J1 visa before and I stayed there in the US for a year. But that's just my speculation. Could also be because I was a single mother and I was self-employed.

My interview was fast though. It didn't take more than a minute maybe.  The whole process took about 45 minutes. The consul didn't even ask for my salary. Just what I did. And what I was gonna do in the US. I answered straightforwardly. I said I have a business where I earn my passive income. But currently, my parents and I are busy building our bed and breakfast in Palawan. She asked how long my longest stay in the US was. I answered 1 year (for my J1 thing). She asked how long "as a tourist". I said 3 months. She then asked what I was going to do in the states in October. I said I wanted to shop for our bed and breakfast's decor and clothes. And she said that things there were cheaper. I mentioned a store I loved to shop at. And she gushed and said she loved that store too and she misses it. She then said my visa was approved. Then after two days, they sent it to me.

This is the first time I got interviewed for a tourist visa alone. I went with my family for my past two tourist visas. Although I did get interviewed on behalf of my son a few years ago. He was a year old then when I got him a tourist visa. He was also granted 10 years multiple entry. Even if I was a single mom.

I noticed that they like it better when you answer candidly and not too formally. For my interview and my son's interview before, I kept it very casual. I didn't like coming off as if I just memorized my answers. Mas gusto nila yung hindi ka masyadong stiff. Pansin ko yung mga masyadong rehearsed yung sagot, sila pa yung mas maraming tanong and mas nadedeny.

In fairness, I felt bad when I see lolo's and lola's getting denied. Nakakalungkot tingnan faces nila. Marami akong nakasabay na medyo may edad na who got denied.

Anyway, good luck to everyone.

[Pink_Sugar]

May nadedeny ba sa immigrant visa interview?

[momofafour]

Hi! Is it easy to apply for a change of status in the US? I have a relative who went to the US on a B1/B2 visa and is planning to change to a student visa?  Is this possible?

She went there to work as a nanny for a 'friend' and was promised that her employer/friend will send her to school.  She was also told that she can get a work visa later on and will be able to petition her family.  I already warned my relative that these promises may be too good to be true but she is pretty confident.  Im just worried she'll get exploited.

What do you guys think?

[mountainlily]

^ That is really iffy. First of all, you can't "work" on a tourist visa. You can do business (B1) with it as in have business meetings in the US or even go to conferences and the like but you cannot go there under a B1/B2 visa and earn money by offering your services there.

That in itself is visa fraud. Because you made the authorities at the port of entry believe that your intent in the US was for leisure. Yet, she went there and started working.

Applying for a change of status with her circumstances would be difficult too. For you to be able to change your status from a tourist to a student (F1 visa), you would need to prove that you had no preconceived intent to study before you entered the states. That in itself is hard to prove because you should show them proof that she only thought of studying after she came to the US. But you said she was promised to be sent to school by her employer. That fact shows a preconceived intent to study. In addition to that, she's being promised too that she can petition her family after being granted a student visa, and that as well, shows an intent to immigrate. Those are all red flags. And that will most likely get her denied. On top of that, it'll put a bad record on her name. These are the kind of scenarios that the US government, especially the one now, does NOT want to happen. If she would like to work there, she should get a legit job and get a valid work visa. Or else she's courting a deportation dilemma. The Trump admin is on a crackdown against these kinds of people.

If she is indeed wanting to get an F1 visa and wants to legitimately study there and not use that student visa as an excuse to work there and stay longer, she's better off going back here and applying for the student visa at the consulate in the Philippines. Because I'm pretty sure they would look at her case without mercy because there was immigration intent from the get go yet she went there with a non-immigrant visa.

Better be careful.

[momofafour]

Thanks for the reply, MountainLily! I also told her about the preconceived intent regarding change of status requests.  She was advised by her employer/friend, however, that it would be easy to process COS there. 

Also, she gets 600$ for being a nanny! Per month! I said that allowance is low since legit nannies charge 500$ per WEEK, she said it is fine since all her needs are free.  I told her that she needs to make sure everything is legal and dont be out of status because if she does that, then there's no turning back.

[Lady Sansa]

Mga sis may problema din ba kayo sa page ng D160? Laging session timed out sakin

[cheezecake]

my brother is asking me to visit him. Sagot na daw niya ang food and house. Ang mahal ng visa tapos 3 kami. I plan to visit march to may sana. Advisable ba kumuha muna ng ticket baho mag apply?

[darna88]

pag added visa lang for my 2 other kids ages 7 and 5 year old mas mahirap ba or madali maapprove? i already apply tourist visa   3 years ago  together with my husband and our eldest daughter already 8yr old now.. and we all approved got multiple 10 year ...now im thinking na kuha kona din yun second and bunso ng visa...mas madali kaya maaprove ang minor? and pwede koba isama si hubby sa loob ng embassy pati yun panganay na meron ng visa during the interview? how much na pala rate for tourist visa application? ty po

[kwistinmarie]

I just paid the U.S visa fee (B1/B2) the other day thru BPI 8,320 pesoses, sakit sa bangs!

May question lang ako girls, in scheduling an appointment online, papano pag family? my husband and my 2 kids. Dapat ba sa group Scheduling request option?

[kukii]

Is anyone here applied for a US visa pero working as freelancer/home-based? I'm trying to weigh my chances kasi kung hindi. Di ko na itutuloy yung application 

Purpose of my visit is: attending a training in CA that is sponsored by my US based employer. I've been working for her for almost 3 years now. Magtatayo siya ng physical office dito sa Pinas early next year and wanted me to manage the team hence the Project Management and Leadership training.

[snowflakes08]

my brother is asking me to visit him. Sagot na daw niya ang food and house. Ang mahal ng visa tapos 3 kami. I plan to visit march to may sana. Advisable ba kumuha muna ng ticket baho mag apply?

Not advisable na bumili ng ticket bago mag-apply. Ang best way is to apply muna ng visa then buy the ticket later kapag approve na kayo. Mas mahal ang ticket compared sa visa fee per person

[simang]

Is anyone here applied for a US visa pero working as freelancer/home-based? I'm trying to weigh my chances kasi kung hindi. Di ko na itutuloy yung application 

Purpose of my visit is: attending a training in CA that is sponsored by my US based employer. I've been working for her for almost 3 years now. Magtatayo siya ng physical office dito sa Pinas early next year and wanted me to manage the team hence the Project Management and Leadership training.

I think may chance naman, make sure lang you have an invite from your boss, and all the necessary supporting documents (training program, registration proof, etc). Certificate of employment might be helpful din.

[kukii]

I think may chance naman, make sure lang you have an invite from your boss, and all the necessary supporting documents (training program, registration proof, etc). Certificate of employment might be helpful din.

Thank you simang nagkapagasa ako! HAHA Also I'm engaged and getting married next year can I say that to the consul as well?