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How to get a US visa with a baby in the Philippines

My wife already has a multiple entry US visa. I want to get one for myself and our baby (11 months old). My parent company in the US also invited me for a training so we aimed for a B1/B2 visa.

I hope my notes below can help.

TIP #1: Smile, look people in the eye when you are talking, make your voice loud and authoritative. BE HONEST!

My schedule is 7:15 AM (I noticed Consuls are in very good mood first thing in the morning).

Arrived at ~6:45AM, immediately went to the entrance. Still made to line a very short line before the 7AM line. I was given the E card (i think because of the baby).

First guard check: make sure you comply (bring only documents)

Filed using an envelope filer and labelled with Post-it or something so you can quickly retrieve

With baby: diaper, wipes, burp cloth
You can buy water and food inside.

Made to wait in the waiting area after the 7AM line. This waiting area is not air-conditioned and it is VERY HUMID so wear clothes that can breath. There is food, water and drinks here.

From this point, always prepare your passport because it is the first thing they ask in every window.

STEP 1: First in line, made to enter door for non-immigrant visas. Second guard check.

Go to checking booths. They will make sure your documents are compliant especially the PHOTO! Bring photos that comply with US visa guidelines just in case.

Q: when picture was taken? Around a month ago.

Q: where is the mother of the baby? (mother can accompany the baby even if not transacting)
(Filipina lady said the consul might look for the mother and I said she is across the street and there is
no way to reach her)

[If photo is rejected which can be likely from what I saw, there is a photo booth in the waiting area]

STEP 2: Queue assistants tell you to use the hand sanitizer first before the finger printing.
Left hand (four fingers sans thumb) first, then right hand. Lay them flat and close.
Thumbs together. Lay flat and close.

STEP 3: INTERVIEW

I was made to line in lady Consul. Line was stuck because grandmother in front of me has difficulty understanding English and accent.

Made to line in another lady Consul. Motherly, judging from how she compliments babies ahead of me.

Q: are you renewing? Explained that it was a special visa before attending a science and engineering competition

Q: where your old passports and visa? Lost in Europe / Rome

Q: is the mother going with you? Yes

Q: (asked details about my wife--birthday, how many years married, baby's birth certificate)

Bring your wife's passports (new and old). Consul tried to look for my wife's visa in their records but she could not find it because my wife got her visa when she was still single. I volunteered my wife's passport.

Q: what is the purpose of your visit? company invited me for a training

Q: What is the name of the company? XXX

Q: what do you do? I am a Cloud  Devops / Systems Engineer. We help clients architect their systems in the cloud.

Q: Do you have a bachelor's degree? (bring transcript)

Q: Tell me about the training? It is Amazon Web Services Well-Architected Program. We are cloud solution architects. Amazon is going to train us on the well-architected framework. The keywords are:
1) automation: we help our clients automate deployment and management of their systems in cloud
2) Best practices on: scalability, performance, security, and others

Q: Amazon the shopping company? Yes , but they also have a cloud platform service

Q: How much do you earn? Around XX dollars

Q: Why dollars? We are a consulting firm and most of the time paid hourly. What I gave you is what I get in average in a month.

[So I suggest you give in Pesos, did _not_ ask for contracts]

Q: How long you have been working as a contractor? ~X years

Q: Do you work here in the Philippines? Yes, Company has a branch in Manila.

Q: Are you doing any work in the US? NO! Purely training!

Q: Do you have an invitation? (gave company invitation consisting of two pages with the tentative schedule / itinerary attached) [read from top to bottom, no questions]

Your visa is approved! Thank you!

---

Documents scrutinized by the Consul:

- my wife's passports (new and old)

- baby's birth certificate

- invitation from my parent company in the US

Content of the company invitation:

- describe the nature of the company: type of business, address, how many staff, where based, where clients

- company is inviting person approx. when and when expected to depart; where training, how many days, what is the training about; who is the point of contact in the US (email, phone number, address)

- state that invited person has a contract since when; job title; earning how much

- where staying in the US, who will be paying for expenses, airfare, lodging, food and others

- if visiting a relative in the US: state company grants paid time off, indicate duration, when expected to report in the office in the Philippines

- have invitation signed by company CEO

- attach tentative itinerary: day X: what to do on day X, include weekends

Documents in my envelope filer:

- photos, printed DS-160 confirmation, printed appointment confirmation, receipts of payment

- invitation from my parent company in the US

- contracts with the company

- PH corp GIS (you will not need this; but bring just in case;
           notice I did not mention the PH corp and my position as a director in the corp!
           I only said US-based company with a branch in Manila)

- Board resolution on office move from Makati to QC and election of officers (you will not need this; but bring just in case)

- office rental receipt payments (you will not need this; but bring just in case)

- AWS certificate and exam schedule (if renewing or moving up to Professional)

- birth and marriage certificates

- old passports with VISAs of other countries
(affidavit of loss, police report, printout of pages IF LOST)

- assets documentation: car, house, real property taxes paid

- bank certification (you need to go to the bank and get this!)
certification will cover current balance and transaction for the past 3 months

- credit card statements

- IDs: university ID, Postal ID, Driver's license

- Certificate of employment of my parents [to show we have a good life here!]


---END--

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