Visa!!!

Visa application time! It's seriously fun, I kid you not.

I'm not going to go step by step here, since someone else made a very good instruction already here: http://rishamfikir.blogspot.com/2010/05/f-1-application-walkthrough-malaysian.html

So I'm just going to write the mistakes I did and things I think people should know.

1. Make sure to have a valid passport first.

2. Make sure you have a correct I-20. I started scheduling for an appointment, only to delay it by one week, because I had to request for a new I-20. So, CORRECT I-20, OKAY?

*You can reschedule your interview appointment as many time as you want (there's no limit), provided you reschdule it before the dateline (which is before 12:00pm the day BEFORE your interview).

3. The new I-20 issued by a same university will have the same SEVIS ID, so don't worry.
Let's say you've paid for your SEVIS fee, but then you want a new I-20, the new I-20 will have the same SEVIS ID.

4. I made a mistake actually, in which I submitted my DS-160, then I paid the SEVIS fee, then the next day I went to the Alliance Bank.
PLESE DO NOT DO WHAT I DID! FOLLOW THE CORRECT STEPS!

5. I suggest you save your DS-160 application EVERY SINGLE TIME! You'll hear people whining about the online application, which, BTW, CAN be avoided if you save constantly.

* I think the visa picture has to be taken by professionals. If you're wearing tudung, make sure it's of dark colors. No pastels, no whites. Make it bright, contrasting, and bold. Preferrably not black though.

6. If you paid $131 fee before, there's an increase to $140. So make sure to bring RM31 if you've only paid $131.

7. I didn't bring any handbags to the embassy, because in the website, it stated that ladies' bags are not allowed. But in the embassy, I saw many people bringing handbags. So maybe you can bring a small handbag.

8. I don't know about the interview though. Mine was fairly fast. The intervewer was interested in my semester grade reports and JPA FAS letter only. Oh, and they WILL check your semester results you know.

9. If your visa is approved, the counselor will give you a card (I think there's no specific color here. I got blue. I heard there are also yellow and green ones).

If not, you'll get either a yellow paper (delayed), or a white one (rejected).

10. There's no parking space in front of the embassy. So you'll have to be dropped there by someone else. Or, if you're willing, you can park somewhere far away, and walk to the embassy.

11. Dress code: I think wearing something decent would be okay. I wore a skirt and a dress (dress?). Nabilah said she had problems because she wore baju kurung? I don't know about that though.

*~*~*

Hope this'll help. I had problems with my visa (mainly because I didn't read Ms. Sri's instructions, and because I didn't request for a new I-20 fast enough).

So good luck!

Don't procrastinate!

Just relax there. Everyone at the embassy is quite friendly actually.


P/S: I revived this blog for the sole purpose of writing about my visa experience. Good things must be shared...