Kia Ora!
It has been a while since I've posted on this blog! In the meantime I have been to Singapore, Malaysia, and the South Island. I have also got my Visa! I tell you what, it was a bit of a mission - it's not hard, just many steps, time consuming steps!
I filled out the form online, and you had to submit a photo, a digital passport photo with all these requirements on the proportions etc. I had no idea where I would get a digital copy of a passport photo unless I scanned in an actual picture (as far as I know, I haven't heard of the pharmacy store passport pictures being put on a USB or anything). So I schemed and I plotted and decided I would give it a go by myself, I didn't want to be forking out money on passport photos or be having to scan them in and somehow find they weren't up to scratch. So one afternoon I propped my camera up on a shelf and set the self timer; I sat cross legged on the floor in front of a plain wall and took photo after photo, experimenting with the flash/no flash and other simple settings. I loaded them all on the computer and tinkled around with them, cropping them to what looked to be the right dimensions. Then I submitted it on the visa application's convenient 'test photo' section and I had it approved immediately! I was thrilled! I have proved that you can do it yourself, and I recommend you do that too if you are looking for a cost-cutting way of filling out the form.
Once that was all completed, I booked a time to go to the consulate, they are very very busy and times were booked up weeks in advance. I managed to find a time that suited me and fitted in nicely with when I got back from overseas. I had to take time off work because they only see people in the morning, and only on weekdays. I got there and you are greeted with x-ray scanners and security guards, I then found out that in addition to the documents I had to bring, I also had to have a small pre paid courier bag in which they would post back my passport - for me this meant a hurried dash to the nearby postshop! When I got through and was able to get into line for them to check all the documents, I noticed that some of the workers were expecting you to have a hard copy of your passport sized photo - on photo paper! Of course I didn't have one, and I had visions of having to run downstairs again, run to a passport photo place and have my photo taken again! (Some other people in line had to do this). Thankfully, the worker I saw didn't even mention anything about that and I was let through to the interview stage. For the interview, you just wait in a waiting area until one of the booth consulate workers calls your name, then you simply go up, they ask you a couple of questions like "What will you be doing in the US?" "Have you been there before?", it takes literally 2 minutes and they tell you right then and there that you are approved. Then you are free to go!
A couple of days later I got my passport back, with my new visa inside! How exciting! I am so glad to get that over with! Now I can just focus on packing, getting rid of all my stuff, and finishing off the working year!
Good luck with your visas! Will blog again soon. :)
Gina
