US VISA APPLICATION PART 2

FEBRUARY 22, 2009

After I visited the location of the American Institute of Taiwan in Taipei, I just decided to take a taxi ride from my University on the day of the interview.
WHY??? because I went there by bus and then by mrt PLUS a very long walk
and it was so tiring.

I wanted to look fresh and not tired for my interview..hehehe

FEBRUARY 23, 2009
THE APPLICATION

So I woke up at 6am, ate a chocolate bagel and had a glass of milo.
I showered and left the dorm at about 7:15am.

The taxi ride took only about 20min so I was already outside the AIT office at 7:35am.

Some 50 taiwanese were lining up already for the 7:45am schedule.

So I waited for my 8:00-am appointment.tsk..tsk..tsk..

Finally, it was my turn to enter the building.

No cellphones allowed, the shoes were removed for the security check and my bag was passed through a security scan..

Some personnels were there to assist you so the whole application is so orderly.

US is really concern with security because they take the 10 fingerprints for each person.

Then the wait for interview...tsk. tsk. tsk.

Since only two counters were openned, the wait was about 20min.

At this time I was already constantly praying that I would get a visa at the same time I tried to memorize the summary for my research because my Filipino friends were asked that question...(my prayer goes like this, Lord, please help me get my visa....Rice bran is the outer covering of the brown rice which contains a lot of nutritional compounds....Lord, unta sa good me na consul...It is the phenolic acids, which are antioxidants that I am extracting.....etc..)

I was more afraid when a lady consul openned another counter and for the 1st interview, she told someone in English that she did not ask for that information and it is irrelevant..hays..I had to pray harder that I would not go to her counter but to the two other guy consuls.

.....and then my turn for the interview.

THE INTERVIEW

Smile. smile. smile.
submitted my application form and passport. smile. smile.smile.

The interview was like this:

Consul: What is your purpose in going to the US?
Cynthia: To do an oral presentation in the conference of food engineering
(then I submitted my supporting documents, like letter of invitation, research abstract, C. V. and documents for the financial support from the university)
Consul: (looked at my documents) How long have you been in Taiwan?
Cynthia: Almost 3 years.
Consul: What do you do here?
Cynthia: I am a PhD student.
Consul: (looked at my supporting documents again) So are you a teaching assistant here?
Cynthia: No, I am like a lab assistant because I do research for a project or for a company.
Consul: (looked at my supporting documents again, I put in my CV that I am a scholar of the University and a candidate for graduation) So what will you do after graduation?
Cynthia: I already applied in the De la salle University in the Philippines.
Consul: So you are going to teach there.
Cynthia: Yes, I will be teaching in the Philippines.
Consul: Do you have relatives in the US?
Cynthia: None that I have contact with.
Consul: Have you been to the US?
Cynthia: Never, Sir.
Consul: Ok (he gave back my supporting documents and the receipt for the courier service)
Cynthia: Thank you!

Just that...And I left not knowing If I get the visa but a good sign because they took my passport and I just applied in the courier service for its return.

He did not even ask about my research and I was not able to recite my "Miss Universe" answer about antioxidants in the rice bran..hehehe

Time to leave AIT....took a deep breath..just about 1 and a half hour! wheeww!!

I went to a nearby park - Daan park to catch my breath and then I went to a church to light a candle. (It was also the death anniversary of my father so I uttered some prayers for him and a prayer of thanks for my interview).

back to NTUST..

and told everyone that my interview was ok and I just have to wait for 3 days for the courier service to return my passport.

My friends told me that I would already get my visa but I still couldn't believe because my interview was so short and simple.

>>>>to PART 3