7-8-09, 8:00AM (or the US embassy story)

(or, also, how to apply for a US visa.  yes, there's a guide there somewhere. just read between the lines.)

- - -

this story is a BIG THING for me.  i am the only one in my immediate family who has travelled outside asia.  our family is not well off, totally middle-class, shifting between lower-middle and middle-middle depending on the circumstances.  we may be a wee bit well-known back in the province, but as far as my childhood goes, vacations within the country was "it".  i was not fortunate enough to visit disneyland when i was a kid, or to spend weekends shopping in hongkong, or to go to the singapore zoo to see my first giraffe.  and while i was growing up, i never dreamed of living abroad because no member of my immediate clan (brothers and sisters of my parents) lived outside the philippines.  but boy did i imagine myself just travelling... just getting on a plane and visiting all those places i would learn about in school and read about in the encyclopedias and magazines and novels i would devour page by page.  naturally, i want something more for rauf. so much more.  and now that i have my tourist visa, i will make sure that rauf will not feel like a kid when he visits disneyland in anaheim or orlando just like i did, because he will still be a kid when he sets foot there. 

- - -

i got my spanking new, fresh machine-readable passport from the department of foreign affairs last february, after i decided i was pushing through with my plans to fly to the united states this year because i was planning to take the new york bar this july. (incidentally, the exam is two weeks from now. good luck, m!)  well i tried to study and prepare for that bar, but rusty study skills and rauf's first birthday party planning resulted in my finishing only two subjects after two months. yes, one subject per month.  not good.  i just couldn't hack it.  if i would take the bar, i'd make sure i'd pass. (oh, how easy to say! hahaha!) so i decided to shelve the nybe dream.  but i had a new passport. (yeah, yeah, you know...) and it was clean, and unstamped. and unmarked. 

for some reason, i belong to that group of people who need to make sure that the travel stuff they possess have some semblance of utility value. (or is it just me?)  i remember i got my old green passport two weeks before flying to germany in 2003 to attend a student conference.  for that, i received my schengen visa a week before flying to frankfurt.  and my official red passport?  i only applied for it five days before leaving for the us in 2007.  our A2 visa was issued a day before we were to fly to los angeles to attend another conference in uc riverside, among other reasons for travelling (foremost among which was the fact that the trip was fully paid for by our very generous committee chairman).  in short, what would i do with a "useless" passport?  i wanted to travel but no one wanted to come with me to hongkong or bangkok or cambodia.  so pending other planned and more concrete asian trips, i decided to get a visa.  even if i had no actual scheduled trip out of the country, having a visa would still be a marking, a stamp on the clean, pristine pages of my new passport, albeit an expensive and stressful (and yes, mayabang) one.  besides, i've been wanting to get one since i visited in 2007.  also, i had reasons to go.  the resources?  Fate will provide. i so know it will.

but because i was vacillating about my (real? contrived? imagined? fantasized?) reasons for going to the us, i put off applying for my visa up until end of may when i had some down time at work and decided to just go to BDO to pay the $131 visa application processing fee.  i paid the peso equivalent (PhP 6,288.00) of the application fee, and then i went online and paid $10 to enroll at the visapoint site to schedule my interview.  (trust me. everything is there in the us embassy site.)

most of you know by now how i put much faith in Fate and the signs it throws my way.  so when i went online and saw that the next available interview schedule was july 7 onwards, and that i couldn't possibly choose a tuesday because my car is coding on that day (english ba yun? car is coding???), i naturally chose july 8.  the circles were auspicious. (hey, i'm chinky-eyed when i smile.) it was fate.  i clicked the date and 8:00AM was the earliest schedule left.  hmmm... all those 8s looked darn good to me, never mind that when i was doing the scheduling, i only had around PhP 180,000 more or less in my bank account, under my name.  i confirmed my interview appointment right then and there. 

i didn't want to go the embassy unprepared.  everyone around me who knew about my application would tell me that i had nothing to fear.  i'm a lawyer who works for the government.  i've been to europe, and around asia, and the us (though i always reminded them that it was on an A2 visa - other government official class).  i never overstayed.  i always came back.  according to them, it was a sure thing.  but this was a different thing:  all my previous visas were practically pre-approved.  i had never been really interviewed for a visa. (my schengen visa didn't count. i was seated on a couch, telling the consular officer i was sorry i hadn't filed my application sooner because i wasn't sure i could raise my fare money.  and that was it.) and this was the first time my reason for applying would be "vacation/holiday/pleasure".  i was scared shitless.  i hate being turned down.  so i buckled down to get ready.  angels helped me along the way, and am i ever glad to have them on my side.

certificate of employment and service record, check. 
bank balance certification, check. 
certificate of time deposit, check. 
ITRs, check. 
certificate of admission to the bar, check. 
certification from an waray (just in case i open my big mouth), check. 
car papers, check. 
rauf's picture and birth certificate (hello. my son's not coming with me. who told you i don't plan to come back???), check. 
articles of partnership of our law firm, forgotten due to MP-AJTMD crisis (haha). 
real estate properties, zero. (i prefer to be liquid. yeah right. haha.)

mentally, i had this picture of me standing in front of the embassy counter in my usual friendly-but-still-mataray apryll mode.  my friend wryl, a former consular officer for the italian embassy, told me to be formal but cool, not to be too eager, to smile at the appropriate times, and to dress in casual business attire.  in short, be the usual me.  and act as if you really didn't care whether you get the visa or not.

despite all the psychological stuff going through my head the day before the interview, i had to attend an emergency firm meeting over dinner (when its anything and everything about the MP, it must be a firm matter).  it was also the night of the michael jackson memorial, and i had decided that i wouldn't miss it for the world.  with an 8:00AM schedule, i was supposed to be at the embassy at least one hour before.  so i told my mom to make sure i was up by 5am.  but i waited until after usher, jermaine jackson and paris made me cry... and until after that reverend gave the closing prayer before going to sleep.  it was 4:30am and i was scared i wouldn't wake up.  after all the planning, wheedling, and strategizing, i couldn't believe i would miss the interview only because of michael jackson.  (mom finally made me get up from bed at 6:15, because i refused to open my eyes earlier than that. no kidding.)

i drove like a madwoman from quezon city to roxas boulevard in under 15 minutes (yes, even if it was a wednesday-baclaran day morning), texted my mom i was already parked across the embassy, hid my cellphone in one of the compartments (no cellular phones and any other electronic equipment allowed) and after an obligatory last cig because smoking/lighters were also not allowed inside (and boy did i have a reason to puff my nerves away), i walked towards the embassy which represents most pinoys' quest for greener pastures.

frankly, once i was in line and was entering the embassy gates, i wasn't nervous anymore.  when i crossed the width of roxas boulevard, i knew that this was a done deal for me.  approved or denied, what matters is i tried.  there were already a lot of people inside, but you wouldn't feel
disoriented.  these embassy people had the procedure down to a science.  i was so lucky to see golda, a batchmate from law school, and nino, a college dormmate and orgmate, there.  it wasn't going to be an arduous, lonely wait for me. whew.  so i was pretty much relaxed while waiting, talking to golda about the many apprehensions that led to that day and that time.  we were swapping stories about lawyers we knew whose applications were denied for reasons we couldn't fathom.  and we all wished each other luck.

oh.  as an aside, i got ticked off (but i didn't tell golda lest she mistake me for a really, really oc-oc person and leave me) when the woman in pre-screening FOLDED my DS-156 & DS-157 horizontally and stuck it between the pages of my passport.  after DAYS of making sure my forms were crease-free, that woman didn't even have the sensitivity to fold the forms cleanly and evenly. (tabingi!!! bad trip!!!)  after taking a few deep breaths, i let it go.  what mattered were the contents of the forms, not how they looked. hehehehe.

after finger-scanning (Good Morning! Full name please. Okay, left fingers please.  Okay, right fingers please. Okay, thumbs please. Thank you!), the long wait started.  there were some people in line between me and golda so we lost each other just when i needed her the most. (hehe. totoo 'to, promise. kahit may dala akong libro, mas masarap may kausap 'no?!!!)  i was seated beside a nice enough guy, a bit older than i, who was travelling to the us for an important business meeting.  it was also his first time.

thirty minutes into the wait, a special counter was opened to accommodate some government employees/officials who were travelling to the us to attend conferences: 2 policemen from laguna (i'm guessing, because their patch had the image of jose rizal's bust) and 5 lawyers/staff from the bureau of customs.  it was so weird, because their interview questions were broadcast for all and sundry to hear.  (it would have been really fun if we could have heard their answers, i swear.)  suffice it to say, everyone waiting had a blast "eavesdropping."

to policeman1:  How sure are you that attending this conference will help you in your job?  Can you be specific?  So is the government paying for your trip?
to policeman2:  You've been to the US before for training.  Now you're attending a conference.  Can you tell me about any specific application to your job that you can get from attending all these conferences?

to customs1:  Are you sure you are doing your job apprehending violators of customs laws?  What specific violations of the IP Law have you handled?  How many cases have you actually filed?
to customs2:  Before you joined the bureau, you were into private practice?  So why did you move to the Bureau?  (silence)  Oh, because it's more stable?  Isn't it because of the pay? (laughter...)

all these interviews ended with "okay. i am approving your visa. just wait for our ___ division to send you back your passports..."

when it was almost my turn, i stood up, stretched, and meditated.  not for anything else, but i REFUSED to have my application denied.  and i told the Universe and the Fates just that.  i found golda and we talked a bit, wished each other luck again, and my number came up.  i said a quick prayer and walked to the counter at the other end of the room.  my consular officer was a woman.  for some reason, i so wanted her to be a man.  i'm more charming with men! (e totoo naman di ba?)

Consular Officer (CO):  Good morning!
Me:  Hi! Good morning! (smile)
(clackety-clack-clack-clack-clack....)
CO: Oh, so you've been to the US before? What visa was issued to you?
(clackety-clack-clack... i wonder if it was true that she was
seeing/reading something on her computer monitor or that's part of
their psychological shit.  pero maingay yung keyboard nya, promise.)
Me: Yes, in 2007. I was issued an A2 visa.
(clackety-clack-clack)

CO:  How long did you stay there?
(clackety-clack-clack)
Me: Just three weeks. It was my first time so I just saw the usual sights.
(clackety-clack-clack)

CO:  Why do you want to travel to the US?
(clackety-clack-clack)
Me: I need a vacation.  I haven't travelled outside the country for almost 2 years now.  I figured I'd do the big thing and spend my holiday there. (smile widely)
(clackety-clack-clack)

CO:  Who will you visit there?
(clackety-clack-clack)
Me: My uncle lives in Orange County, in Mission Viejo.  And i plan to visit my friends both in the east and west coasts. (o di ba? eat your heart out. may pera ako!)
(clackety-clack-clack)

CO: How much do you earn in the House of Representatives?
(clackety-clack-clack)
Me: (ooooopppssss. says measly amount.).  But we have a lot of allowances and bonuses (significant pause)  and i have a private practice.  (at this point, i just wanted to shut up because i didn't have our articles of partnership with me)
(clackety-clack-clack)

CO:  Hmmm. You've been working at the House for how long?
(clackety-clack-clack)
Me: Almost 10 years this year. (beams. oh really. believe me.)
(clackety-clack-clack)

CO:  Do you have family here? (i was seriously imagining her seeing my numerous pictures with rauf posted online. honest.)
(clackety-clack-clack)
Me:  Oh yes! I have a 1 year old son and my whole family and I live together here in manila. (smile smile, thinking, "cute ng anak ko 'no???")
(clackety-clack-clack)

pause...

CO:  Okay. (smiles) I'm approving your visa.  Enjoy your holiday in the US!
Me: Thank you. I'm sure I will.

it was over. done. in less than 5 minutes.  all my documents were useless.  but boy were they such a source of comfort and confidence on the days leading up to the day of all days.

after that, i went to golda and just hugged her (hehe, close na kami siguro. pwede na ba yun, golds?), because i was relieved i was done and because i thought my good luck might rub off on her. (ngyark.)

so golda got her visa.  and that guy beside me. and nino's baby.  so everyone who more or less mattered to me that day left the embassy grounds happy, and PhP160 short, after paying the air21 courier fees.

three days later, i couldn't believe my own eyes when on page 25 of my spanking new machine-readable passport, there was a new sticker from the united states of america:

entries: M
expiration:  july 2019

i got the big cheese. and the big apple awaits.  rauf has his life way easier than me, indeed.  and i'm having fun in the process.