It was like I won the lottery. As soon as word broke out that the US Embassy granted yours truly a ten-year multiple-entry visa, authenticated by its stamp on my passport, friends, family, and colleagues gave me the proverbial pat on the back.

Call it the fortune of the indifferent, but I wouldn’t have been devastated had the US Consul given me the infamous blue slip of rejection. My trip was, after all, work-related, which meant I hid no ulterior motives of scurrying off as an illegal alien. I have every intention of coming back. My only regret in a possible rejection was the disappointment my 80-year-old aunt would feel; for years, she had pleaded and asked me to visit her, and my impossible work schedule kept forcing me to say no.

Until this one time, when my trip to the US was actually work-related and company-sponsored. That the home of my aunt was only a couple of states (and several hours’ drive) away from my official itinerary was icing on the cake.

The full impact of the privilege that I had been given hit me a few days later when a friend of mine who used to work in the US Embassy told me point-blank that I was lucky. Maybe I was in my early forties, but I was single, had no children, did not belong to any millionaire’s club, and therefore, in the eyes of some consul, a prime candidate for TNT (tago-ng-tago). Looking back, I could say I was blessed. A US Embassy spokesman estimated 2,000 applicants entering their hallowed halls every single day hoping to get a B-1/B-2 or tourist/business visa. My friend said that less than 10 percent are given one, and a fewer still are granted the favored ten-year multiple-entry type.

How did I do it?

There are no easy answers or one simple formula. There are a lot of documents to prepare, but ultimately the “get a visa” pass depends on the ten-minute interview with the US Consul. The dozen or so Consuls may not ask the same questions as each case is different. Regardless of their approach, the burden of proof is on the applicant. As one US Embassy spokesman phrased it in one conference: “How committed is he to his place of work, community, or family in the Philippines?”

In short, the applicant must have every good reason to come back, be able to show solid documented proof backing this up, and then prove it again during the interview in a ten-minute question-and-answer that would leave no doubts in the Consul’s mind.

One of the alleged acid-test questions poses this challenge: “What guarantee do we have that you will come back?” A friend of mine pointed to her braces that must be treated in a Philippine hospital in three months’ time. Though I was not asked this question, my prepared, truthful reply would have been, “I’m an editor who juggles multiple projects that give me a comfortable life in the Philippines. My work is respected and valued. It’s too late to start life in your country my age. Why would I want to be a proofreader at the age of 40?”

The first step in any official trip is preparing your homework. Plan your itinerary well. Get and print a confirmation of appointment or invitation to attend a conference from the organizations you will visit in the US. Document the names, their addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses. List down your travel plans from the time you land in the US to the first hotel you are staying to the actual places you will be visiting.

Above all else, be honest. Do not fabricate names, contact information, and institutions. Make sure that the itinerary you show during the consulate interview is one that you will truly keep.

Second, book your appointment with the Embassy at least three months before your planned trip. This means that if you plan on leaving by April, secure the interview schedule January at the latest. The appointment slots are filled in fast. Should your initial application merit a rejection, you will still have time to reschedule a second interview.

Third, give yourself enough time to prepare the required documents. Spare yourself the stress of cramming. If your interview is December, start working on your papers as early as September.

Perhaps it would be advisable to work on this backwards while giving yourself a lot of prep time. Let’s say that in October 2007 the company greenlights your attendance in a conference in Virginia scheduled for March 2008. Work backwards. Schedule an interview with the US Embassy December 2007. That leaves you barely two months to work on your papers. It’s tight, but doable.

Fourth, obtaining the interview schedule can be done either through phone or by online. I did mine through the Internet as it’s faster and easier to plot my own schedule. To get more details, click on http://philippines.us-visaservices.com. This link will also lead to a couple of application forms that you have to download, fill up, send online and/or print and bring to the Embassy.

Fifth, prepare your documents carefully and thoroughly. True, the Consul may not ask for them, but best be prepared at all times rather than create a reason for doubt. These include:

• For a Business Trip – a letter from the U.S. organization indicating the purpose of the trip, the intended length of stay, and the firm’s intent to defray costs, if applicable. Applicants traveling on business for a Philippine-based employer should present a letter from the employer outlining the travel and business plans, including dates of travel.
• For a Pleasure Trip – documents concerning purpose and length of the trip and ability to cover the costs of the trip.
• The printed copy of the confirmation from the US Embassy website detailing your interview schedule
• Bank statements for the last three (3) months and both current and former bank account passbooks
• Employment certification including salary, tenure and position
• Form W-2
• Income tax return with Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) or bank stamp
• Audited financial statement with BIR or bank stamp
• Pay slips for the last three (3) months
• Credit card statements for the prior three months
• Vehicle registration with official receipt
• Land titles (no certified copies please)
• Pictures of family, home or business
• Wedding photos
• Marriage certificate printed on the Philippine National Statistics Office security paper, if applicable
• Birth certificate printed on the Philippine National Statistics Office security page
• For students, certificate of school registration
• Certification of membership to legitimate organization(s)

Sixth, come to your interview schedule two hours ahead of time. My slot was 2 p.m., I entered the premises 12 noon, and left with a smile on my face 4 p.m. That was four hours of lining up, answering questions from Filipino embassy workers who make sure that the application forms you’ve prepared are correct and thorough, fingerprinting, the actual make-it-or-break-it interview, and finally for the lucky few, the last hour of filling up the forms for a courier who will bring your visa to your designated location less than a week after your interview.

Seventh, follow the website instructions and do not bring your cell phone, recorder, iPod, or any electronic equipment that will make the receptionists at the outer gate stop you from coming in. Leave them in your car or at home. I’ve seen one family who was already at the gate sent back to the end of the line because one teenage son could not be separated from his iPod; the boy had no choice but to lock up his precious device in the car compartment, which he should have done in the first place. If you want something to help you pass the boredom, bring a book.

Eighth, the MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) ushers are there to help you. Don’t ignore or blow them off. Listen carefully and the tips that they freely give around are really very helpful. They remind you about the cellphones that you can’t bring in, advise you to bring (or buy from them) a black ballpen which you will need should the Visa be given, and caution you that your ears should be visible (and not tucked beneath your hair) in the 1 x 1 photo.

Finally, remember what I said about homework? That will come in handy not just during the Consul interview but the prior screening with the Filipino embassy workers as well. They will look at every blank space and check every seeming inconsistency. If they act tough, bear in mind that they are there to help you, because their job is to make your papers as acceptable as possible when they are handed to the Consul for your interview. Properly filled applications also save time. One argument between an embassy worker and an applicant can take 10-15 minutes – which may seem like an eternity to the rest of the people standing in line.

Last but not the least, pray. Miracles can and still do happen. At the end of the day, after you’ve done your homework and rehearsed your answers and made sure all your loose ends are tied up, just relax and leave it to God. Should the Visa be granted, smile, jump, leap and dance. If not, there’s always a second appeal. To console yourself, remember that this application was made for the benefit of the company; personal fulfillment comes only second.

For comments and feedback, email cora.l@jobsdb.com.ph