Night before I got this queue number , I just could not sleep . Well I did , but I was so afraid I'd oversleep and end up being late for my 7.45 am appointment at the US Embassy ....and that's the end of it , that I just managed to shut eye for 2 hours or so .
The tour agent told me one lady had failed the interview before . Never mind , on top of that I let the net ( heck I read through as many blogs as I could both in English and Malay ) , yeah I allowed them all to influence me to such an extent that I honestly thought I would not be able to pull through .
Awfully wonderful way to go face the embassy officials eh ?
So how'd I make it ?
Just be yourself . Don't listen to the rest because their advice is based on their personality ok ? Do what you do best . If you like to yak a lot , do it. But that depends on the person interviewing you ok ? If you're all smiley and she's not ...hmmm. Tough one .
Well , I got the smiliest lady with hair like Blake Lively . And she saw that I am a genuine traveller because these people are trained to spot liars , so be completely honest with them ok ?
I'll update this post later on , but for now , this visa is like a trophy .
Check back for updates .
Right , here's my long winded account of what went on the day of the interview. Feel free to not read it .Heh heh .
By 7 a.m. I was already in queue . There were 6 or 7 persons ahead of me and we were seated by the garden chair .
Had taken the effort to dress up a bit and as did the majority of the ladies here .
Only , I followed the rules a bit too closely and ended up ditching my handbag for a plastic bag gosh . All the other women were not as stupid as me . I was the only one with a plastic bag dangling like a handbag. Jeez .
Inside that horribly unelegant plastic bag was an umbrella , a bottle of water , one packet of tissues , a file containing my documents and a clear clutch for my passport , ic , handphone and money .
Then the guard signalled for us to line up . Alas , the queue was for those with a 7.30 am appointment and I had to slink to the back and rewait my turn . Instructions were verbally given in both BM and English .
Didn't really have to wait that long really . In no time , I joined the queue to hand in my barcoded appointment letter together with my ic . The guard took a corresponding sticker , stuck it to the back of my passport and gave me a tag .
Next. Joined the inner queue to get me and my belongings scanned . Also to surrender my handphone .
That over and done with , up the stairs I went . To the left hand side we were all herded .
Few more rounds of queueing required , biometric fingerprints recorded , they instructed us to move to the room on the right, which was essentially a waiting room . Used the bathroom . Did not have to wait long .
Soon , it was my turn to be interviewed ! Wow ! That was quick !
Was so prepared to be rejected based on what the agent told me , as well as what I had read on the net .
One Malay blogger even went as far as to insinuate that Malaysian Chinese female applicants get rejected because the officers suspect that they are entering the US to go into the flesh trade ! What ? Yeah she really said that and while I blindly let it influence me , it made me more determined to prove myself to be a genuine traveller to the officer .
Told myself that if they accepted my application , man , I would consider it a milestone crossed ! A personal achievement .
Yes , heaven has someone looking out for me , I got the sweetest person ever .
When she'd finished evaluating me and said the magic words
" Your visa is approved , welcome to the USA ! "
I honestly did not hear it clearly.
Was in a daze .
Asked her
" What ? You mean I got it ? "
She nodded her head and I almost went ballistic with joy !
If you had seen me thanking her , you'd have thought that Obama had just crowned me Mrs USA Embassy Malaysia or something along that line . Confetti here and there .
Practically skipped and bounced all the way out . Just could not contain my excitement !
My spirit was high , I think it became so infectious ( when I'm happy , you will know it ) , I ended up confusing the abang guard in light brown tee with the tighest buns I've seen mmm mmm , until he started searching for my handphone in the ic bin !
Yep , I witnessed another man slap his forehead in front of me . Lol !
From what's posted online , I expected my appointment to drag on till maybe 11 am or worse till lunch .
But I was out by 9 am and boy oh boy , thank you US Embassy of Malaysia for granting me my visa .
:)
Anyway , more than 95 percent of Malaysian visa applications are approved by the Embassy . So don't be like me initially , don't you ever let anyone deter you from getting that visa stamp on your passport .
2 comments:
Do they ask any questions during the interview? Do they look at your bank statements, employment records, etc?
Questions are the norm . Of course it would be helpful to show proof of your financial capability ( I showed 2 documents at the most ) but most important of all , if you're applying for a tourist visa , you've got to reassure them that you are going to do just that . How you get your point across to them is how your intention will be evaluated .
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