June 8, 2015 is a dreadful day for me. I have been anticipating for it for over a month now. It wasn’t actually more than a month but since my husband submitted his petition to USCIS. As they say, this is the BIG day during the immigration process. My appointment at the US embassy in Manila is 6:15 am. I woke up before 3:00am though I almost did not sleep the whole night. I arrived there before 4:30 and was so surprised of the long queues. There was a line for Immigrants that has 6:15 am, one line for seafarers and the other line for 6:30am. I am kind of anxious but was so surprised for not feeling really nervous which I was anticipating for days. There were people who will tell you need to leave your gadgets such as cell phones, tablets, laptops, flash drives, food and water. They would even convince you print the DS-260 confirmation. There were still people who were being lured to their baits. How could a page of the DS-260 confirmation costs 400? I was surprised of their tactics just to make money from applicants.
Anyway, the guards told us to prepare the first page of Ds-260 confirmation and the first page of the appointment letter. They let us go in at 6:00 am. They checked our bags. There was line for getting the number stub. I will never forget my number 6048. We went inside the embassy and there was another bag checking. A man collected our letter to drop at Window 38. We waited in a queue for finger scanning. The windows just started to open. It was conducted be mostly Filipinos and one American. I guess the American guy has a bad morning. He was kind of angry especially when the applicant could not hear what he was saying or does not follow his instruction.
After the finger scanning, we were told to go to step C. I did not realize it is already the pre-screening. Filipino consuls are conducting it. I was in line when I overheard the interviews. Wow, the consuls were strict and asked endless questions. It feels like you are being fried on a hot pan. I was suddenly so anxious at this time. When it was my turn, the lady asked for my, CENOMAR (I am so glad I brought it even though it was not on their requirements). She then asked for my Marriage and Birth Certificates and NBI certificate.
All of the sudden, she just told me that my NBI has correction. She said that my middle name and surname are the same. I told her that was what the guy wrote at the NBI office. I even insisted that the guy told me it should be the right one. I did not argue. Should I still blame that guy when in fact I did not see him at the NBI office upon getting my second certificate? The consul put a question mark on my NBI certificate. She then asked for the affidavit of support and found out that my husband’s income did not meet the requirement. I told her if they were accepting assets. Yes, they do but I could give the papers to support the assets my husband put on his Affidavit of Support form because the supporting evidences were not there. The lady said I will need a co sponsor and she looked unhappy. I felt so weak and defeated. I tried to digest what she just said. I asked myself if I was being denied. She then told me to proceed to Step 3. I walked away with a heavy heart. I am doomed. I brushed away the tears that were about to fall from my eyes. For a moment, I did not mind the things happening around me. I was there quietly sitting. I could not even stare at anyone. I was so depressed. After a few minutes, I consoled myself that whatever happens, the important thing I have done my part to this whole process. Whatever the outcome will be, all I know is I will finish what Troy and I started.
Step 3 is for the oath taking. We went into a queue to recite the oath written in 3 languages we were comfortable to read. I chose Filipino. After the oath, we were told to come back to our seat and wait for the call. After few minutes, we were told to go to a queue for our final interview. This time, I was not really anxious. All I think is I will be denied. I was kind of trembling because of too much cold. While we were in a queue, I could overhear the interviews going on. There were 4 consuls at the windows as to where we are standing. Two of the consuls were serious and strict. They don’t smile a bit. Some applicants spent like half an hour during the interview. The questions were hard too. However, two consuls have pleasant personalities. They smile from time to time and ask easy questions. I prayed silently that God will lead me to the nicest consul for the interview. My prayer was answered when the consul I was asking for will actually interview me.
He asked me how my day was. I said I am doing okay. I am a little bit nervous at this time but because of his bubbly personality, I shooed away any nervousness I felt inside. These are the questions I remembered he asked me:
What is your name?
When is your birthday?
Is the petitioner your husband?
When did you two meet?
What dating site?
When did you meet in person?
When did he propose?
When did you last see him?
Was he married before?
Do you know when did the divorce get finalized?
What are the names of his kids?
Can I see your pictures together?
He was amazed that my husband proposed after 5 days of seeing each other in person. This time, he gave me a pamphlet about abuse. He then asked me if I know the number to call in case of emergencies. I told him 911 and he smiled. He said I am good to go but I have to submit a co sponsor for the affidavit of support and a corrected NBI certificate. Until then, they could issue the visa.
