Guess who's holding a US VISA?

Yep, you guessed right. It's moi! Can you believe it? Neither can I. And what's amazing about this whole thing is the fact that they gave me a 10 year, MULTIPLE entry to the US. Talk about lady luck smiling widely at me.

Here's the full story: About three weeks ago, our team got the shock of our lives when we were told that a writing workshop is in the works for all regional marketers of the Firm in light of the Branding Project. As part of the Global Writing Desk, we were expected to help in the preparation and facilitation of the workshop to be held in Chicago. So, to make the long story short, a colleague and I had to renew our passports (which entailed waking up in the wee hours of the morning and queing at 4am at the DFA so that we would be included in the 450-applicant cut-off for the day) and get a US visa real quick.

Since our company is enlisted in the Priority Interview Program of the US embassy, our team was immediately scheduled for the visa interview. My interview was scheduled last April 9 at 9am and after four hours of wait, I finally faced the consul. She looked at my papers (which the company had prepared for me) and then asked me a few questions.

Consul: What is the purpose of your visit to the US?
Me: (Thinking disneyland but answering...) Basically for business. Our team has been invited to attend the Global Marketing Summit of the Firm. So...
Consul: Who's paying for your trip?
Me: (Thinking ofcourse hindi ako!) The company.
Consul: How long have you been with the company?
Me: Almost a year.
Consul: How much do you get in a month?
Me: (thinking, not much really) Ofcourse I gave a number but I won't put it in this entry hehehe.

The interview took less than 3 minutes. When I held that yellow slip of paper in my clammy hands, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. So now I am an official holder of a ten year multiple entry visa to the US. I still am not sure if that will affect my life or my career plans but one thing is for sure. After 31 years in this planet, going to Disneyland is now one plane ride away.