visa interview
October 7, 2015 • 24 comments • 5595 viewsHave you ever wondered how we ever lived without Instagram? Or our phones?
Well I had to go through that yesterday for 3 hours!
Dean and I are going to the US soon and we had to get our visas done. The moment they said “Please place your phones in this basket” I knew I’d be in a badmood for the next few hours. We were put in a waiting room with a bunch others and our number was 043. The number it was at? 001. *cries blood*
But actually, it really depends who you’re stuck with when you’re phoneless. Dean and I ended up having a blast laughing about everything. We were bored at first, talking about how the clouds were white and the trees were green. Then we got a bit depressed because we really wanted to check on Daniel and Mariam but no phones allowed. Then I got even more depressed because I couldn’t post my ootd on Instagram. I mean seriously, you could do nothing but sit and stare. And then, a guy came to sit in front of us and we saw his number: 092.
Dean and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. We were thinking the same thing…
“I feel so sorry for him,” Dean whispered to me.
“I know… he’s going to be here foreverrr!” I whispered back suddenly thankful for our 043.
“Why’d he wake up so late?” Dean whispered back and we both laughed.
We are really annoying to be around huh?
Then Dean got me scared, asking me things like “So do you know the Vice President of the US?” “Have you rehearsed their national anthem?” “You know, they’re going to ask you that later right?”
-___-” (they didn’t, don’t worry guys).
After what seems like years, we got called up and suddenly I got nervous. We are law-abiding citizens and we are not doing anything wrong, but interviews always get me nervous. I mean this is the US Embassy, none of the guards just now smiled. It was a serious thing. If you do something stupid, you can go to jail. Some of my friends got denied the visas and they’re nice people too!
“Ok this is it. Remember, don’t you dare say the T word ok!?” Dean said to me.
“What T word?”
“You know… the T word! We talked about this! If it comes up under any circumstances and you absolutely must say it, say naughty Muslim and wiggle your index finger saying uh-uh it’s not me.”
“Baby!”
I burst out laughing. I mean seriously. We have to get the visa, it would be absolutely ridiculous if we were not allowed in. I just want to go to Saks Fifth Avenue and eat halal hot dogs from street carts, for crying out loud! And I’m not planning to stay! You can see my passport, I have literally two stamps in the entire book; clearly I love to stay in my country.
It turned out the visa interview was short and sweet. We had all our documents prepared to show that we have work and commitments in Malaysia and we were not in any sense, naughty. I gulped a few times scared if I answered the wrong things, but finally when she said with a smile “Your visa has been approved”, I swear I almost did this in front of her.
Yayyyyy! Any recommendations on where we should visit? It’ll be my first time in New York.
what i like the most is, they approved the visa for 10 years.i had mine until 2020 before it expires. i had only one day in NYC ( was visiting buffalo & dc) before heading back to kl .only had time to visit times square tsk tsk. should go there again i swear.. wajib ootd with the yellow taxi tau.hahaha.
bestnya g NY..my ex boss adalah wife duta kat New York..have fun vivy.
haven’t been there for almost 10 years but here’s a list of some places that i went (was 20 then so maybe it was interesting then but now mehh…):
1. grand central station
2. Steps at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (gossip girl lunch steps http://gonyc.about.com/od/bustoursofnewyorkcity/ss/gossip-girl-sites-tour.htm#step3)
3. central park
4. niagara falls (but considering it’s winter it’ll be too cold and nothing much to do, no cruise in winters)
statue of liberty (duh..)
empire state building (then again it’s winter..it’ll be so cold up top…take the tower tour to the top but buy express tickets..if not the line will be ridiculously long)
but if you’re planning to go somewhere other than just new york but still within driving distance..try going to
1. harvard
2. washington dc
3. chicago
hope this helped a bit
you should try Halal Guys ‘s Nasi Arab at 7th Avenue (if im not mistaken) in Manhattan.. It was so good..
what is t word? NY? shoppingggg!
Woodbury Common Premium Outlets (DUH!) hahaha.. Bring a suitcase if you go there hahaha easy way to shop! hahaha
Of course some of the must do – Times Square, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, Go on the subway haha, halal carts, Rockefeller Center, Empire State Building, Grand Central Station (re-enact some of the gossip girls scenes!!!), Madison Square Garden, Brooklyn Bridge, must go Toys R Us to buy toys for Mariam and Daniel, especially those not available in Asia!!! And of course, shopping at Barneys and the lots!
Eat at the Halal Guys!!!!!
1. Halal Guys
2. MOMA, omg this is so fun
3. Holocaust Museum, educational but life changing
4. Egg shop cafe
5. Empire State Building
6. Staten Island (just to get around the Statue of Liberty)
7. Totokaelo, Bird, Steven Alan and Creatures of Comfort
8. Big Gay Ice Cream Shop
9. Momofuku Milk Bar
10. Ask Asma cos she’s there now hihi
Wonderful! I’m in New York, too for the UN – and the funny thing is I get comments all the time on my duckscarves! I wear them most of the time for meetings, and I get questions like “is that a duckscarf?”
You’ll love it here.
Woodbury outlet
Gotta say Central Park. Eat Halal Guys!!
Oh you don’t need recommendations! You’ll have loads of fun just exploring. I recently stayed on the island for almost two weeks and I still had lots more to do! I really miss Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea Market, W 34th St and just walking, taking the bus and subway. Tak puas! You’ll have the time of your life regardless of the weather. Enjoy!
PS: there were a few Halal Guys carts near the Hilton when I went. And they were all claiming they’re the real one. Haha
I live in NY, Long Island to be exact, although my hubby and I both work in the city. Go to the highline park, the cloisures, MOMA, the MET. After you’ve seen the city, rent a car and drive out to Montauk, on the way there are a bunch of vineyards where you can taste the best of NY as well as pick you own pumpkin. And if you want to shop, go to the Americana Manhassett which offers more of a private shopping feel that the stores on Fifth Avenue in the city. Also, go to Brooklyn and Queens because you can’t come to NY without visiting the those two boroughs. Good luck!
1. Brooklyn Bridge
2. Watch Phantom of the Opera at Broadway
3. Times Sq
4. Rockefeller
5. Museums
6. Statue of Liberty
7. Empire State
8. Top of the rock
9. Grand Central
10. Central Market
You can buy their city pass and will save a lot of money rather than buying separate entrance tickets for each attractions.
I studied in United States for 4 years and am so excited knowing you are going to New York. It is my favorite city! Eat chicken over rice from The Halal Guys food truck, they are the best ever! I went to New York 5 times before and everytime I’m in NYC I ate their chicken over rice every single day! haha. And also don’t forget to visit the museum and eat Wafel & Dinges. Make sure u download an app for their subway system because it is a bit confusing for me.
U make me miss NYC even more 🙁 Please post lots of photos in your instagram Vivy!!!
I was in NYC 4 months ago and fell in love with the city! I think you will enjoy it tremendously as well 🙂 Just wanted to pass you some of my recommendations:
– Central Park
– Sightseeing & Shopping in Times Square (But, of course)
– Watch The Lion King on Broadway (Fantastic, fantastic experience)
– Chelsea Market
– The High Line (Lots of spots for #ootd)
– Shopping at Soho
– Flatiron Building (Iconic NYC building, you’ll see it a lot in TV shows and movies)
– Sprinkles Cupcakes ATM
– Georgetown Cupcakes
– Momofuku Milk Bar (Please try their cereal milk soft serve!)
– Walk down Fifth Avenue (Lots of luxury brands! Go to Barney’s & Bergdoff Goodman)
– The Plaza Hotel (Shopping & Food and desserts at their beautiful food hall)
– FAO Schwarz (Toys & Candy)
– Niketown
– New York Water Taxi Ride
– Jane’s Carousel (Vintage carousel – good for #ootd!)
– Luna Park & Deno’s Wonder Wheel @ Coney Island
– Madame Tussauds (I don’t highly recommend – crowded with tourists & nothing special)
– American Museum of Natural History (Not recommended – boring & too large to explore)
– Empire State Building
– Top of the Rock (If you can only go to one observatory, this is the one to go to)
– Magnolia Bakery (Please try their banana pudding!!! So, so divine!!!)
– Grand Central Terminal
– Junior’s Cheesecake
– Museum of Modern Art (Highly recommended! Not an art enthusiast but I enjoyed this)
– Liberty Island – Statue of Liberty (If you want to take #ootd with Statue of Liberty up-close
– Ground Zero – 9/11 Memorial (North & South Pool)
– Brooklyn Bridge (Another #ootd spot!)
– Halal Guys food-cart (Must try! It’s a rite of passage for everyone who is exploring NYC)
Research well, and may your travels be happy and safe always! <3
I remembered during my interview session few years back. I was alone and freaked out. I just wanna visit my hubby at Houston. I saw few candidates got denied and I gulped a lot. I got tonnes of documents with me. I tried to be as cheerful as I can. I walked to one of the window and got my application form reviewed. “Owh, you work with IBM? Not a prob at all, I’ll give you 10 years then.” He smiled! And I? Thought of doing the same pose as the statue! Hahaha! (Well, he didn’t even screen my supporting documents though…)
You should really go to Halal Guys!!! They’re the best, seriously. And also Laduree, it’s near Central Park, they have the best macarons 🙂 I personally prefer the Rockefeller Center (Halal Guys is just a few blocks from here) to the Empire State Building if you want to get a nice view of nyc, or you can visit both if you have the time. There’s also this doughnut shop, called Dough on 19th Street, it’s a really nice place that sells artisan doughnuts, not sure if you’re up for doughnuts, but they’re really really good! And if you’re driving, you should really drive up to Philadelphia (it’s less than 2 hours away) for the best halal philly cheese steak in the states, the place is called Saad, I still dream about their philly cheese steak sometimes 😉
serendipity 3 frozen hot chocolate! just because oprah says so.
Was there about 7 years ago for a trip. I looovvveee New York!
Here’s places to go:
Shopping:
– Macy’s
– Premium Outlets. There’s two. One is Woodbury and the other one is Jersey Gardens in Newark.
– Saks 5th Avenue
– Bergdorf Goodman
– M&M’s World, Hershey World & Toys R’Us for the kids – all within walking distance of each other.
Sightseeing:
– I took the hop on hop off bus for 1 day just to get the touristy feel.
– Statue of Liberty
– Central Park
– Grand Central Station (Good for OOTD’s)
– Niagara Falls
– Ground Zero
– all the major districts: Soho, Village, Financial District, Hell’s Kitchen, Tribeca
– if you have time, do an overnight stay to the Hamptons. Just because.
-Empire State Building
-Rockafella Centre
– Catch a broadway show.
Food:
– Halal Guys
– If you head towards Madison Square garden or along The New Yorker Hotel, there’s a lot of Halal food.
– On broadway there’s a delicious Thai/Indian restaurant called NanKing. The owners are Muslims, so their food supply is from halal sources. They’re also listed under Zabihah.com. it’s near broadway, between 50th and 51st Street.
– Lexington Avenue is like a small Arab district.. so there’s also a lot of Halal food restaurants. And they have a mosque there too.
If u need toilletries or medicine supply, your best choice of pharmacy would be Duane Reade.
Hope it helps! Have fun and share lots of pictures!!
I say this to all my friends who will be visiting NY:
1/ Serendipity cafe for its frozen hot choc (225 E 60th St, New York, NY 10022, United States)
2/ Magnolia bakery for its banana pudding
and of course Central Park
SoHo, for all your shopping and OOTD needs!!! Lots of cute, quaint cafes and stunning sidewalks.
Other people list down the common must do’s already. I love central park, grand central terminal and brooklyn bridge. Trust me, those places will awe you.
If you want something different, I would suggest you to visit Columbia University. A hidden gem in NYC! I used to visit more than 30 US colleges back then, and Columbia is my personal favorite.
I also vote for Halal Guys!! 🙂
been there like 8 years ago by fg ship.
kindly visit philadelphia,it was so much fun v! its called historical city of america.mural were evrywhre .hv fun v!