Onward to the Land of Milk and Honey

Today I got my passport back from the US Embassy.

My interview with the consul was not as pleasant as I had hoped. Friends of friends got a 3-month single entry visa, while some got a 1-year single entry. Considering I was given THE yellow slip after the interview, I already thought myself lucky compared to the thousands of people who are still denied a visa after the nth try.

Friends were egging me to get a visa since the news broke out that the interviewers are now younger and more pleasant. Besides, there’s nothing to lose. Yeah right. What about the $100 fee that goes to Uncle Sam even if I don’t get a yellow slip? I haven’t even gone to the US yet and already I’m throwing a hundred bucks down the drain.

I decided to apply anyway. It was raining on the day of my interview but the sun gave a little peep as I stared out the cab window on my way to the embassy. I got a newspaper to keep me company during the long wait and behind me I could hear people practicing their lines for the consul.

I had to try twice on the finger scanning apparatus which made me all the more worried. My number was up and I went to the booth to find that the person that came before me (together with his family) still being interviewed. The consul was older, straight-faced and a bit intimidating. I was hoping I’d face the younger ones. He denied the application of the guy because he found it strange for a person who’s only been with a company for 6-7 months to be granted a 2-month leave with pay.

It was my turn and the first question he asked was how long I’ve been with my current employer. He asked for my monthly salary, a certificate from my office where it states when I started with them, my bachelor’s degree, who my contact person was and whether she was an immigrant or a citizen, if I still lived with my parents, if I had a husband and kids, asked to see my company ID and my old passports, and what I did at work. Whew! Then he encircled the magic code: B1/B2 and gave me the yellow slip to pay the courier that will deliver my passport.Two days after I got a call from someone at the guard house saying he had my passport. With cold hands I opened the package and grinned ear to ear like a person in love. The old guy gave me a ten-year multiple entry visa!