Trip to USA_Before Traveling

I've been to U.S.A!! wuhoooo....it was a dream that came true, finally...Since it was a business trip, i did not travel much, but still i appreciate every moment i spent in the States..No worries i will be back for a vacation hehe..

Before travelling to the States, there is a list of must-do items.Visit http://www.ustraveldocs.com/my/, this is the most comprehensive and useful website that will guide you from A to Z. This is also the link to submit online U.S Non Immigrant Visa (in my case) and to schedule an interview appointment. It was indeed a hectic procedure so prepare early (as least 2 months before you travel). To make it short,

1. Pay the visa application fee to Standard Chartered Bank. This is the only bank that will accept your payment. The fee varies depending on which visa you applied. I paid RM450. Keep the receipt. Throughout the visa application, you need the payment code that is printed on your receipt.

2. Prepare all the documents. Fill Up, download and print all necessary forms.
a) LATEST EA FORM
b) LATEST EPF STATEMENT
c) PASSPORT PHOTOCOPY WITH INFO (more than 6 months validation)
d) 1 RECENT PHOTO (Different from passport and size 2 inch X 2 inch, white background, no polaroid)
e) INVITATION LETTER FROM US/WORKING OR BUSINESS SCHEDULE
f) ORIGINAL PASSPORT BOOK – OLD & NEW (validation more than 6 months from the date of departure)
g) FLIGHT ITINERARY
h) LATEST PAY SLIP
i) COVERING LETTER FROM YOUR COMPANY

3. Fill Up Online Nonimmigrant Visa Electronic Application (DS-160) form. There is a lot of questions so no rush. Before you begin, make sure you have all the documents listed above to ensure there are no hiccups when answering their Qs.

4. Schedule online visa appointment. Visa interview is done at the Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. Troublesome for me as i needed to travel to KL for this interview. Anyway, it was nice having my parents with me. Luckily they knew where the embassy was. I was too nervous then. My visa appointment was 9.30am. Though i reached early i was not allowed to queue. There are people with appointment at 8am. So i needed to let them in first. I waited and waited for my round. I guess the torturing part was not the interview, it was the waiting time that i suffered. I managed to have a few conversations with people around. Sharing their experiences eased my nervousness. I thought the interview will be done in a room but i was wrong. It was just like in a bank, a one- to- one section instead. I would say, it was a systematic and smooth process in the embassy. Yahoo..i got my visa approved! for 10 years!!!

Observations:
* not so friendly security guard. Shouted ppl at the queue to switch off their handphones. Aunty A who stood in front of me, said she will make a complaint to the embassy once her visa is approved.
* The place is not shaded outside the embassy. Those ppl will be soaked on rainy days. Poor thing!
* No parking.
* Aunties carrying LV bags was a common sight at the embassy.
* Allocate 3 hours to get your visa.


- to be continued...