AFTER 9/11, applying for a USA tourist visa is not easy. But an all-clear will be given once you have met all the stringent requirements.I recently applied for and obtained my American visa which is valid for 10 years.
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| US VISA approval process |
1. Each applicant, including children, must pay a non-refundable, non-transferable application fee of RM500 and a Visa Facilitating Service (VFS) charge of RM32. These are payable at Alliance Bank only. Applicants living in smaller towns where there are no Alliance Bank branches face the hassle of getting a bank draft from branches in the nearest big town. Most travel agencies, however, will do this for you, for a fee.
Please visit www.sanjoras.com for more tips and details about this.
2. Fill in all the boxes in the three-page application form, by typing or printing in the details rather than writing. Application forms can be obtained from travel agencies or down-loaded from https://www.vfs.my.com. Attach a 5cm by 5cm unmounted full-face personal photograph with a white background.
3. The application can then be submitted electronically and if all details are in order, you will be issued a date and time for an interview appointment.
4. On the day of the interview at the American Embassy in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, this is what you can expect:
- Be there 15 minutes before the appointment time. If you are early, you can sit and wait on benches outside the embassy. You can eat your breakfast, check your documents, read the newspapers or watch the world go by.
- At the appointed time, show your application forms and identity card at the information counter at the gate. A security guard is stationed outside to keep order! You will then be asked to stand in queue. The main gate opens every 10 minutes to let applicants enter in batches. The embassy is open on weekdays for visa interviews only between 7.30am and 11am. The earliest appointment time is 7.45am.
- Once through the gate, all bags, including handbags, go through a scanner as is done in airports. Switch off your cell phone and surrender it, along with any camera you may have, to the counter personnel. In a register book, write down how many items are handed in and you will receive a plastic identification token in return.
- Walk across the courtyard, passing the American flag hoisted on a tall pole, and up some steps into the main building. A security guard will check your bag(s) again and give you a number. You will be asked to go to a waiting room where there are comfortable seats, a TV set, toilets and a water cooler.
- Within 30 minutes, your number will be called and you will be directed to a second waiting room and Counter 1 where your passport and application forms will be re-checked. Then you will have to wait another 15-20 minutes to be called to Counter 9 for finger printing. You will be asked to first put your left hand on a square electronic device, and then your right hand and lastly your two thumbs.
- Then you sit down and wait some more. Within 30 minutes you will be called for that all-important interview. There will be four or five counters open, each not wider than a ticket booth at a cinema hall, where applicants STAND and answer questions. A perspex shield separates the interviewer from the applicant. The interviewer speaks through a microphone and the applicant answers clearly and quite loudly. However, this means everyone in the same waiting room can hear all the questions and answers! The interview lasts no longer than five minutes. Please see Useful Tips below for some of the questions asked during my interview. You can opt to be interviewed in English, Malay or Mandarin.
- You will then be given a green card with a serial number if you are successful in your application. If you get a red or yellow card, it means some of your documents are not in order.
Time to arrive 15 minutes before 3pm and take the lift to the 19th floor. There are no chairs for you to sit and wait here. If you arrive too early, you can have a cup of coffee first at the Kopitiam on the 4th floor.
- About five minutes before 3pm, the security guard will ask applicants to queue up outside the visa collection room. Then, on a first-come-first-served basis, you will be scanned with a hand held scanner as is done at airports. Your bag(s) have to be kept in a locker outside the collection room.
- Inside the collection room, you will be asked to sit on chairs in the order you are allowed in. The personnel at the two counters will view your card with your name written at the back, locate your passport with that precious visa and hand it over.
Please visit www.sanjoras.com for more tips and details about this.
US VISA Approval Tips
1. Here are some possible questions you will be asked at the embassy interview:
- Why do you want to go the US?
- Do you have any relatives there? What are they doing there� and details about them.
- Questions about your family and other personal details to find out what will bring you back to Malaysia and to show that you don´t harbour plans to work illegally in the US.
- Businessmen will be asked questions about their companies and whether they have letters requesting them to go the US on business. Other questions are: What is your salary? What is your highest level of education? How long have you worked in your company? What industry are you involved in?
- Students will be asked about their previous schools and courses taken and why they need to pursue a further degree. They will be asked details of academic results obtained and any extra mural activities as well as their intentions after they have finished their education.
- If you are going to the US on holiday, you may be asked your holiday plans and itinerary.
Interview appointment letter
- Visa application form (EVAF)
- DS-157 for male applicants of 16-45 years of age
- Validated Alliance Bank receipt of visa application fee
- One photograph (5cm by 5cm) with white background
- Current passport (remove passport holder or cover)
3. During the visa interview, DO NOT hand the officer any document until requested. But do bring along supporting documents like holiday itinerary, flight tickets, marriage certificate, proof of employment, pension/military/student card, photocopies of FD certificates, salary slips, income tax payment, emails of relatives or friends inviting you to the US or any documents you think will verify your answers at the interview.
Please visit www.sanjoras.com for more tips and details about this.
4. On the next working day, during the collection of your visa at Wisma MCA, you do not have to show these documents or application forms again. All you need is that green card with your personal serial number. Write your name at the back of this card.
5. You may also have your passport (with the visa attached) sent to you by ABX Express courier service for a fee of RM30 per passport.
6. The four most common types of US visas applied for by Malaysians are Tourist/Visitor/Medical Visa, Business Visa, Working Visa and Student Visa. The B1/B2 Visa that I obtained was for business-cum-pleasure.
Very nice and helpful article. Thanks for sharing...
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