Visa applications of an outdated software engineer with the attention span of a fruit fly.
There are gazillions of similar posts out there but with the recent news that the applicant’s social media details are now part of the requirements and how seemingly hard it is to get a US visa in the Philippines, I thought I should share how the process went for me (before social media came in, that is). But before anything else, ready your twang! See what I did in the title of this post? Demn right, I did. See what I just did again there?! Demn.
So I stumbled upon my Australia visa e-mail notice and apparently it was around this time a year ago (and five days, to be exact) when I lodged my application. And the visa? Granted just after a day. As paranoid as I am when it comes to visa applications (after getting denied when I first applied for one for Japan), I mustered all the requirements that I could, thinking that it would minimize the possibility of additional requirements from being asked. And I think it paid off.
My trip to Taiwan with three good old folks from college almost a month ago would’ve been my second overseas trip for the year had I also been granted a Japan visa. Getting rejected on my very first visa application turned out traumatizing that I had to read multiple blogs and consolidate all the requirements for the application. My pessimism worsened when my friends started getting Australia, US, and Schengen visas. Ultimately, I was granted a Taiwan visa and below were the requirements I prepared. You can only guess which ones made the cut.
