I’m gonna tell you how I got my US Visa in 1 week!

But before that I will share with you what happened before I received my visa. Last December 2016, I was scheduled to have an appointment at US embassy. I arrived earlier than my scheduled time.  The company that I was an employee of at that time was Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. My boss wanted me to come over to our Miami office for strategic meetings. I applied with my company’s guarantee letter and Certificate of Employment for a B1/B2 Visa type.

But unfortunately, I got rejected for no apparent reason. You will receive this blue slip:

But I didn’t lose heart as I applied again. I changed some information on my application form and got approved within 1 week! And tada! Here’s my US Visa with 10 years validity multiple entries!

 

Without further ado, below are the steps on how to apply for a B1/B2 visa:

1.) Register on their website at U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs:

2.) After successful registration, you can now fill out your information whether you’re applying as an individual or family/group

2.a) Next is to create a New Application/ Schedule appointment. And select Nonimmigrant Visa

2.b) For visa type, click Business/Tourism

2.c) Select Visa Class : B1/B2 – VISITOR FOR BUSINESS AND PLEASURE

2.d) You’re now required to fill out your personal data

Please make sure you enter all required fields. You can as well add your family members if you’re applying together. Then after that, you may select how you would like to receive your passport.

3.) Complete the DS-160 application form

Kindly click this link to proceed to the webpage: DS-160 Application Form.

3.a) Start a new application a remember your application ID.

This is very important as you might need this as your reference. Also, prepare your soft copy of 2×2 photo.

4.) Answer the form completely and truthfully.

This form contains questions about your personal information, passport travel, travel companions, previous US travel (if you have), US contact, family, work / education / training and security for background check. Take note that during the interview they base their questions on your answers here.

5.) Print the application form.

After completing the form and ready for submission, you may now print the application form.

6.) Pay the U.S. Visa application fee ($160)

This fee is non-refundable whether you got approved or not. This payment depends on the current conversion rate. I paid around Php 8,160.00 that time. So it’s really a risk. But take heart! Pray and hope everything will be okay 🙂 You can pay in cash over the counter or do an online transaction.

For OTC- please go to this link http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/pmisdepositslip.htm?amount=160&country=philippines and print it. Present this to the bank teller and keep your copy (their partner bank is BPI). Please make sure that you secure this as this is one of the requirements.

Please check this link: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/BPI.pdf for instruction.

For Bancnet, click this link: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/Bancnet.pdf

Once completed, you will receive a confirmation email from them. Make sure to print this email to present this at the US embassy.

7.) Confirm your payment

Go to this link to confirm your payment: https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/confirmreceipt. Enter your receipt number as soon as you paid.

After confirming, you will need to wait sometime depending on the payment process you chose before booking an appointment.

8.) Select your appointment date

Go to this link: http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-niv-appointmentschedule.asp to book your appointment. You will see a calendar view to select your preferred appointment. You will also receive a confirmation email of your appointment. Please print this and bring on your interview date.

9.) Prepare your documents

• Passport at least valid for 6 months
• DS-160 confirmation page
• Payment receipt
• Appointment confirmation
• 2×2 photo

You can also bring any additional documents to support your travel. If you’re going on a business trip, ask your company for a guarantee letter. Other applicants bring land titles, bank certificates and statement of accounts, business documents that could vouch for their tie to their home country. But the consular officer rarely asks for these documents. But just to be prepared, bring these documents.

10.) Come prepared for the interview

Please take note that they don’t want applicants to bring in gadgets such as mobile phone, digital camera, laptop, music player, PSP, and the like.

Also, as I said earlier in this post, come 15 minutes before your schedule. Before you could enter the embassy, you might need to fall in line on the signage that indicates your time. Embassy staff will ask for your DS-160 form. Listen carefully and pay attention to the staff guiding you inside the embassy. Observe proper decorum. Another staff will also ask for your appointment form, passport, and 2×2 photo. They will attach a sticker on the back of your passport for tracking purposes. Once inside the embassy, you will also fall in line for pre-screening. Afterwards, they will ask for your finger prints.

11.) During the interview

You just need to be relaxed. Don’t be too nervous and look too excited as these are one of the things that could reject your application. And as previously mentioned, the consular officer will base his/her decision on your DS-160 form and your answers in the interview. Typical questions they ask: where do you wanna go to the US? What are you going to do and how long? Do you have any family/relatives or friends in America? How you been to other countries before? My tip is to answer them in a straightforward manner and prove that you will be coming back to the Philippines. One of the things that could prove your ties to your country is that you have a job in here. Otherwise, they might reject your application.

For more additional information visit : http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-niv-typeb1b2.asp

Got questions? I’ll try my best to answer you 🙂 Leave your comments below.