Visa

This is going to be a long one.
Today, I was scheduled for a visa interview at 9.20 am. My college counselors told me to be at the American Embassy not later than 7.30 am, as the queue would be long and I'd have to do a lot of waiting. So, I got up at 5.30am, groggily left the house at 6.15am and traveled along the quiet streets of KL before I finally reached the embassy, which was at 7.00am! I was beyond early. I was one of the only ones standing there. -.-

The guard told me I needn't come before 8am since my interview was scheduled for 9.20. Either way, I went somewhere nearby and chilled out (almost dozed off) until 8 am, and when I went back to the embassy, a queue had already begun outside the building. For those of you who haven't been to a visa interview, I'll walk you through it. It's a step-by-step procedure.

Punctuality really plays a role in this case because there are always hundreds of people going to the embassy everyday for various reasons, and you don't wanna wait any longer than you need to. So it's best to be at least an hour early, or if you can help it, two hours early, so you get to beat the crowd and finish off fast.

So, first, I had to queue up outside the embassy and then surrender my IC at the counter. When I did, I was given a tag which I had to clip onto the front of my shirt. If your purpose is to get a Student Visa (not a business/travel visa), you won't have to queue up along with the others. It was a good thing I told the guard that I was here for a Student Visa, because he then placed me in the front of the line, along with another guy who came to get his American passport renewed. So, life is made easier for students and American citizens. Lol.

Then I had to enter a small room and go through a screening test, where they made sure I wasn't carrying anything harmful and bla bla bla. I had to surrender my phone and then I was given a square piece of rubber with a number on it, and that would come in handy when you want to redeem your phone/carkeys/whatever stuff you surrendered.

After that, I was free to go into the main building, which is where the interviews are conducted. Well, first I had to go through a second screening test at the entrance of the building, then I was told to take a number from that automated machine (the kinds you see in banks). There are two waiting rooms in the building, directly across the hall from each other. I had to go into the one on my right first, and then after 10 minutes or so, my number was announced, so I left that waiting room and walked to the other waiting room. That's when everything actually starts. The LOOONG wait that everyone warned me about.

There were 9 counters in the room, all prison-style (when the prisoner has visitors, he is only allowed to speak to his visitors through the glass); each counter had a glass panel seperating the interviewer and the person being interviewed. There was a small gap at the bottom of the panel, spacious enough for sliding documents across. There's no way a bomb could get through. Every counter had an electronic banner above it, signalling the number being announced. So I went to Counter 1, as I was told by the automated voice, and handed my current passport, I-20 and a few other stuff. Then I had to sit and wait for a verryyyyy looooonnggg time. So, bring a book or something to kill time.
Or, be friendly and talk to strangers. Time passes rather quickly when you're chatting with people. At least, that's how it felt to me. Haha. After 30 minutes or so, my number was called again and this time I had to do a digital scanning of my fingerprints. It was a very quick process, and once that was completed, I went back to waiting again.

I met a lady who was traveling to Stanford, New York for a 1-week conference sponsored by her company. She was really nice and cheerful. Then I met a guy (the same guy with the American passport) who was born in Manhattan, New York City. Like, OMG. Lucky dude!! He's lived in New York all his life. He came back for a quick holiday with his family but had some problems with his passport so he came to renew it. He was telling me all about New York and how awesome life was over there, which made me want to go to New York City even MORE. Sigh. One day la, okay. When my dreams come true. Lol. Shouldn't be greedy. I should be taking this one step at a time. Although Arkansas doesn't have the charms that New York City has to offer, it's still a blessing to be able to go there and finish my degree. :) I'm still really glad I'm going there. Thankfully there was a map hanging on the wall, because I had to point the state out to Mr. Manhattan and Ms. Stanford because they had no clue where it was. Hahaha. Well, they do now!

Okay, back to the boring waiting room story. I'll talk about the interviewers now. There was a Chinese guy wearing headphones and a microphone. Everyone in the waiting room could hear what he was saying. He was the only one who was speaking through the mic the entire time, even during interviews. I think he was the one that interrogates people and asks them loads and loads of questions. Haha. Interviews are usually short and they take up to 2 or 3 minutes. But I noticed that the people who were assigned to his counter had to stand for 5 to 7 minutes because he was showering them with questions. Well, they're pretty strict about letting people into the States so they ask all sorts of stuff, just to be sure. But there's nothing to worry about. Just be yourself, answer the questions, tell them what they want to hear and you'll be okay.

And if they ever ask if you're intending to work there, the right answer would be a "NO".

I was lucky that my interviewer was a nice Eurasian guy. Probably another American-born Chinese, too? He was nice and only asked relevant questions like "Why are you going to this university? What is your major? How long have you studied at Inti? What was your best subject?" yeah little stuff like that. Nothing like "are you gonna work there? do you have any relatives in the States? what are your plans after graduating? You SURE you don't want to work in the States when you finish?"
It's still best to come prepared with answers for questions like those. Then he took a few more documents, handed me a little green card and told me my visa has been approved :) His parting words were, "All the best and good luck pursuing Journalism over there!" Very nice guy.

And then I was free to go! When I got out, it was 10.15 am. There was a group of people with huge cameras and other types of equipment outside the embassy. I thought they were filming the exterior of the building, but later on I found out that they were actually setting the props up for a protest that was going to take place. YES, THIS APPEARED ON TV TODAY! Wow. Protesting outside the American Embassy in downtown Kuala Lumpur? America is always going to be favored and hated, and that's the way it's gonna be.

So, that's my Visa experience, all summed up in 11 paragraphs. I'm relieved now that the major paperwork part is over! Whee. :) Will be going to KL tomorrow to collect my visa, and then I'll be booking my flight. All the best to those who will be having visa interviews soon, and trust me, it's going to be alright =) Just remember to be punctual (well just come after 7.30 am), carry all your documents with you in a folder (double check them the night before) and take along a magazine or something to keep you preoccupied.

Toodles!