Applying for a US Visa In Singapore
We visited the American Embassy in Singapore on Friday to apply for my US L1 Visa. I finally received the approval to work in the US after months of wrangling with bureaucracy, so this was the final step.
Because of the paranoia and xenophobia in a post September-11 era, I read the embassy’s website carefully to make sure I followed all procedures. The Singapore embassy has a well-documented procedure for all applicants including all mandatory forms and fees.
Armed with all all necessary documents, the whole family (including 7-week old G) arrive at the gates of the embassy at 9.30am. OK, we had hoped to arrive an hour earlier, but a baby’s feeding can’t be rushed. We parked at Tanglin Mall, because there was no indication that there was parking available at the embassy (that’s not true - there is a small 15 visitor carpark outside the gates of the embassy)
On arrival, we were shocked to see a long queue outside the gates - there was a white tent under which around 50 people formed a line. There, we sweltered in the tropical morning sun for about an hour before we were allowed into the compound. At 10 a.m., the queue was closed for the morning - no more applicants for that day.
The guardhouse consists of the typical airport-style security scan, and they took our handphones away too. Once inside, there was a comfortable air-conditioned waiting room where various applicants waited to be interviewed for their visas. Depending on the visa type, some applicants are grilled at different intensities. Fortunately, our L1 visa obviously didn’t merit a detailed scrutiny (or perhaps it was me carrying an infant that helped?), and once our turn was up, it was a mere five minutes of basic questions.
Once the application was approved, we were told to turn up two days later to collect our passports. It took 2 1/2 hours to complete this process. I heard conditions are much better at the Singapore embassy than at other places, perhaps because most Singaporeans do not need a visa to travel to the US.