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.

Requirements

Okay, enough of that bullshit. The first thing you need to do is to get your arse to this page and go through all the text in it. I’m not gonna reiterate what’s in there (I’m not from the US embassy now, am I?) so do yourself a favor by reading. And if you do, at the end of it you should start preparing the following:

• Valid Passport
• Appointment Confirmation
• DS-160 Confirmation
• Recent 2″x2″ Photo (if it doesn’t pass because your pores are very visible, there’s a Kodak booth inside the embassy; or just bring extras like I did #pores)

Documents

As ideally one shouldn’t go to war without any ammunition, you should take the initiative of bringing supporting documents even with the utmost likelihood of not being asked for any at all. The list below comprises my weapons of mass destruction if it ever came down to it.

• Stamped Old Passport
• Employment Certificate
• Appointment Payment Receipt
• Latest Income Tax Return
• Bank Statement (last six months)
• Payslips (last six months)
• Company ID

The Process

No form of gadget which can be turned on and off is allowed inside the embassy (sorry, fellow selfie lords, no #ATM posts for you) so I just took the LRT to United Nations Avenue Station and walked to Roxas Boulevard from there on the day of my appointment. I was early so I killed time at the Starbucks at the end of the avenue and read the Lonely Planet book I brought (no social media, remember?) in a backpack together with my documents. Little did I know that the entrance to the embassy for US visa applicants is on the far left. Fortunately I realized it in time and brisk walked to it as if doing so would prevent Thanos from doing the snap.

There were actually a few more minutes to spare before my schedule when I arrived but they were already letting people for that schedule in. For that reason, don’t even think about coming late. Just right outside the embassy are people who offer safekeeping of gadgets to applicants who didn’t do their homework. A colleague left his Samsung to one when he applied so I guess it’s safe? According to him, the fee depends on the cellphone. Now ain’t that inneresting.

There’s an X-ray machine as you go inside so by now you should already know that you shouldn’t bring a hip flask what items are prohibited. I was right on time so I didn’t bother with the seated people in the rows of chairs outside the building and simply wondered who among us all will turn out victorious and bring back half of the universe had Thanos done the snap.

There were three steps: information verification (where the photo with your visible pores will be collected), fingerprint scanning, and the innerview. No fret there, mates, as there are Filipinos inside who guide the applicants all the way. My book proved very handy when our group was seated while waiting for the queue to the innerview. It concealed my thumping (and emotional, huhu) heart. Before very long, it was on.

Interview Guide

What will you be doing in the US?
» Visiding friends. (Notice the use of ‘d’ instead of ‘t’. Because you know, tweng.)

Come again?
» Visiding friends. (Pinanindigan na ni kumag. Haha!)

What is your job?
» I’m a software engineer at XXX. (How I wish I’m in the industry.)

And how long have you been there?
» More than three years now.

How much do you travel as a tourist?
» Uh, I’ve been to around ten countries with Maldives and Greece as the most recent ones. (“Uh” for candidness.)

What were you doing in Tajikistan?
» Oh, official business. (Another element of candidness there.)

Do you have any relatives in the US?
» No. (With a poker face and eyes staring straight into the consul’s soul.)

Visa approved. Thanks, sir.
» Thank you! (With a smiling face this time!)

And that. Was it. Let’s now break that down from my Category: POV. Oh, before that, let me break it to you (gently, if you like) that having a twang is of course not required, meaning you don’t have to be good in spouting English. In fact, I’ve read that some consuls actually know local languages (it’s such a shame I didn’t see one in action) for applicants who find it hard to express themselves in English. In other cases, the consul could also call a Filipino at the embassy to translate (not interpret, because it’s not a pageant, yeah?).

• The question on what you’ll be doing in the US is basic, so you should be prepared to answer what it is, where you’ll be staying, and how long you’ll be there.
• You should be able to support yourself financially while being there, unless you’re being sponsored by someone. I have no way of proving it, but I think your job tenure (if you’re employed, obviously) is a good factor. At the same time, having a sponsor is not a guarantee.
• They usually ask for any history of travel overseas. Personally, I think it helps if you have one.
• (If you just landed on a new job or don’t have any travel history, that shouldn’t stop you from applying. If you wanna do it, do it!)
• Stick to your answers in your application form and don’t even think about lying. If you did your homework, so did they. All they wanna see is your intention of going back to the Philippines.
• Answer directly to the point. Don’t explain anything when not asked. If you wrote essays in your application form, don’t transfigure them into speeches. The more you talk, the more chances of you winning in failing.
• I may not have been asked for any document like what I read in a lot of places but this is something that definitely doesn’t happen all the time as that colleague I was referring to was asked for his company ID when he applied.
• Be prepared to lose your application fee on the fly (it was $160 when I applied). At the end of the interview, it’s either you make it or you don’t.

The whole process took me an hour. I applied on a Friday and by Tuesday I received my passport with the US visa valid for 10 years. As I said, it’s a gamble; you fail and lose your money, or you pass and gain multiple (usually) access to the United States of America. The wonderful thing about having a US visa is it actually grants you access to a handful of other countries. That could be one of your considerations.

Overheard

Okay, this post is now way longer than expected but below are snippets of other people’s interviews (yes, that’s right, you don’t have to overhear them because you will hear them).

• A family application (with a family member in the US) where the consul brings up their history of applying for a Canada visa (where they also have a family member) ended up in all of them getting denied.
• “Why is your husband not coming with you when this would be a great opportunity for a vacation together given that he’s retired?” I didn’t catch what followed but she was approved.
• The guy in front of me had a long interview and the consul had to walk away for a few minutes, probably to validate something. This guy has been to the US before but it wasn’t a reason for him not to be denied this time.
• “Has he ever been here in the Philippines?” asked the consul to a woman about her American boyfriend. She didn’t make it.
• An applicant who’s going for official business got denied while her colleague got approved.

And the highlight? Thought you’d never ask.

Consul: What’s your job?
Applicant: I’m one of the country’s most valuable Microsoft professionals.
Me deep inside: K

I don’t have anything against the guy but when he said that, there was naturally that “Ikaw na!!!” moment. Haha! (Please, I’m betting my balls you would’ve done the same if you were there. Don’t meh.)

If you still got all the time in the world because ikaw na like him, you may also wanna read how it went for Cha when she renewed her US visa.

The post US Visa Application Interview Guide for Filipinos appeared first on Itinerant.

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.

Requirements

Applying for an Australia visa was the most convenient visa application process that I’ve experienced so far. It’s a no-show; you just have to create an ImmiAccount, fill in your details, upload your supporting documents, pay for it online (135 AUD then), and wait. Of course, notice from the embassy differs for each applicant, but my friend also had hers granted in just a day. She was as paranoid as me, by the way. Haha. I lost hers but below is the full listing of the documents I submitted.

• Accommodation
  You can easily book via Booking.com and cancel it when your application gets denied (not that I’m Negatron) after the outcome of your application.
• Round trip plane tickets
  Not required, but since we already had ours (for a very good price of ‎₱7,884.40), we submitted them as well.

“THIS IS A TRUE AND ACCURATE COPY OF THE ORIGINAL DOCUMENT.”

The text above, together with a signature, was what I wrote on my approved leave request, payslips, and expired and current passport pages as they’re supposed to be certified true copies. You can do the same wherever you deem appropriate. Also, I think it helps that in the application form you get to put the names of the people you’re going with (if any). They could review your applications together and if one of you already has an Australia visa, that could be a big factor.

Lastly, Australia visa is simply a printout and not a sticker on the passport. And you don’t get stamped there. Sarry.

The post Australia Visa in One Day for Filipinos appeared first on Itinerant.

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.

Documents

• Authorization letter
  One of us has an Australia visa (let’s call him Aussie) while another has a US visa, making them exempts. They only needed to present a printout. The remaining two of us decided to apply together in hopes of increasing our chances. Aussie applied on our behalf since he’s available during the day and it turned out that no such letter is necessary.
• ✔ Taiwan visa application form
• ✔ Two recent 1.5″x2″ photos with white background and signed at the back
• ✔ Passport valid for at least six months
  I included my old passport and photocopies of the bio page and all stamped pages of both passports. They were not deemed necessary though.
• ✔ PSA (NSO) birth certificate
  Like the requirement for a Japan visa, it was stated that it should be a copy issued within the year. You can easily request for one at e-Census. (Honestly, though, I didn’t find any indication on the copies that they were newly issued.)
• ✔ Bank certificate
  And it’s the dreaded show money. As a rule of thumb, the amount should be enough to cover your expenses throughout your stay overseas. I’d say it doesn’t necessarily have to be six digits.
• ✔ Certificate of employment
  I had my income (hourly rate, in my case) and purpose indicated on it.
• Payslips/invoices for the last six months
• BIR Form 2316
  Since I’m on a consultancy setup, the forms I submitted were my 2307’s (Certificate of Creditable Tax Withheld at Source) for the last four quarters. I even included my 1901 (Application for Registration) and 2303 (Certificate of Registration) forms. All of them happily stayed in my brown envelope.
• Airline tickets
• ✔ Accommodation booking
  There are places you can book and cancel up to a particular date in Booking.com absolutely for free.
• Photocopy of company ID
• ✔ Proof of leave approval
  We don’t have any HRIS to log and track leaves at work so what I submitted was just an e-mail approval.

All original documents had their corresponding photocopies but only that of the PSA birth certificate was received, making a total of nine requirements submitted. It may have been a bit of an overkill with the number of documents I prepared but I was simply too terrified of another rejection. After all, requirements can vary from one applicant to another and it never hurts to come with more than just your war paint.

Embassy Location

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines
41F, Tower 1, RCBC Plaza, 6819 Ayala Avenue, Makati City, 1200 Metro Manila
(02) 887-6688
Filing time: 08:45–11:45
Processing in 3 working days for ₱2,400 (they also expedite for only a day)
Releasing time: 13:45–16:30

Update

November 2017: Starting this month until July 2018 further notice, Taiwan will be visa-free for Filipinos.

The post Taiwan Visa Requirements for Filipinos appeared first on Itinerant.

So my mom and I decided to apply for our US visa renewal upon learning that Donald Trump might be the next US president. He has spewed several racist remarks which made us think that getting a tourist visa could be difficult under his administration.

Our Background

• Mom
  • She has been to the United States six times since the 80’s.
  • She has traveled to other countries which include Germany, Vietnam, and Singapore.
  • She has secured a Canada visa in the 90’s but was unable to use it.
  • Her length of stay in the US has never exceeded six months.
  • She has been denied of a US visa when she was a teenager during the 70’s.
  • She has been a government employee for 33 years and is already in her 60’s.
• Me
  • I’m a government employee whose earnings are just enough for someone with a few vices such as eating out, traveling, and shopping (of course!).
  • I was an exchange student for 10 months in the US under AFS Intercultural Programs where I lived in Missouri with a host family. During that time, I was also able to travel to other states before returning to the Philippines to proceed to college. I only had a student visa.
  • Prior to applying for a tourist visa, I have only traveled to Malaysia and Singapore.

Documents

Filling up information in the embassy website should be done in all honesty, which we did, of course. On top of that, we prepared documents that may be needed during the interview.

• Interview appointment letter
• Unexpired passport
• Employment certificates
• Income Tax Return
• Land titles
• Bank certificates and statements
• Family pictures
• Government ID’s

The Process

Just like what most people say, for a successful US visa renewal or application (and not just for US for that matter), applicants must show strong ties to their country, that there’s enough reason for them to go back. I was scared as I have so many red flags: I’m single in my very late 20’s (sorry, the exact age is classified, haha) with a mediocre job and compensation in the government, I have no child, and I barely have any savings. I actually had to borrow some money from my parents to put in my account.

We were able to book an appointment for the interview two weeks after submitting the forms. Since we’re not from Manila, we had to book flights and hotel accommodations (additional gastos!). We stayed at Bayview Hotel because of its proximity to the embassy. For people who don’t live in Manila, it’s highly recommended. Since the embassy prohibits bringing cellular phones, we only brought our documents and money in a plastic envelope.

It only took us 15 minutes to reach the embassy at eight o’clock for our 08:30 appointment. Aside from the many people already waiting for their respective schedules, there were also vendors around the premises, with some selling pens. There’s no need for any pen as there’s no need to fill up anything inside the embassy. Those with appointments at 08:30 were called and started falling in line 15 minutes before the schedule.

The line was divided into two: immigrant and non-immigrant applicants. The necessary documents are checked at this point. We indicated in the application the we are applying as a family but since I’m of legal age, I thought that I would be given a separate number from my mom. We were surprised (and happy at the same time) that we weren’t separated after our documents were checked.

Inside the building was an area with seats and a few kiosks for food and picture taking (in case you need to retake your picture if instructed by the consuls). While queueing for our fingerprints, we clarified with a Filipina embassy employee if indeed we’ll be applying as a group. When she confirmed it I wanted to “Yaaay!” on the spot. Hahaha. Anyway, having the fingerprints taken was a breeze. Then came the dreaded interview portion…

Contrary to what our friends told us, we no longer needed to sit and wait for our number to be called. We were simply instructed to line up. An employee directs applicants to the window where they will be interviewed. In our case we lined up at a counter where the two applicants ahead of us were denied. The first was a mother and son. They were carrying their passports away from the counter which meant that their application didn’t make it. The next one was a doctor. She was interviewed for around 10 minutes. The consul was obviously skeptical of her reason in visiting the US (heard from a grapevine that doctors have a hard time securing visas because some of them do TNT or tago ng tago, doing jobs illegally). In another counter I heard another applicant getting denied because she had a history of overstaying (more than six months for a tourist visa). The consul explained to her that she could not be granted a visa because anyone who overstayed in the US has a 10-year ban.

Interview

And then it was our turn! We approached the counter, smiling. The consul’s questions were:

1. What’s your purpose in visiting the United States and how long?
2. She asked my mom why she stayed for two months when she last visited the US.
3. She asked me when I stayed in the US as an exchange student and for how long.
4. Where are you both currently working and for how long now?
5. Where will you stay in the US?

She then tinkered her computer for a few seconds, looked at us, smiled, and said, “Your visas are approved, please wait for five days for the delivery.” We thanked her and left the embassy smiling ear to ear. We were not informed of the details of the visas granted to us and did not even bother asking as advised by some friends. Baka daw kasi bawiin. HAHAHA! It was only five minutes past nine o’clock when I checked the time, which meant that it took us just 35 minutes to finish the whole process! All I could think of after was “Hindi nasayang gastos namin! Yaaaay!!!” After four working days, we received our passports with the US tourist visas, multiple entries valid for 10 years. Now doesn’t that deserve another “Yaaay!”?!

Tips

I am no expert in applying for visas, but I want to share some tips (based on my experience lang ha!) in applying.

• Be on time. Don’t be late. But don’t be too early either. You will be waiting outside the embassy with the possibility of being under the sun. So it’s much better to arrive just around 15-30 minutes before your schedule.
• Be prepared. Bring all the possible documents that can establish strong ties to your country: family pictures, birth certificates, land titles, official vehicle receipts, bank certificates and statements, ITR’s, employment certificates, and business permits. However, don’t expect that the consul will check all or any of them. In our case, she only took our passports.
• Answer politely, clearly, and straight to the point. Don’t give lengthy explanations when not asked. Most especially, don’t argue with the consul.

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