So after putting off a visit to the US for various reasons - I've finally confirmed my big trip there. But first - the annoying visa application...

I am a holder of a Malaysian passport. The US consular office in Melbourne rips you off in phone charges if you dare call up for visa info so here goes...

On the DS-156 form, I am asked details of my previous visits to the US. I have not been to the US ever since I was very young and hence have little memory of previous visits, apart from vague impressions of Disneyland and the Statute of Liberty. Therefore I cannot remember the exact details of the visit they require - such as dates the visit occurred, specific visa information relating to those visits etc.

What would you suggest I do in my circumstance? I definitely cannot legally say that I've not been to the US...

And I'm entering the country at ORD, is customs there harsh?

I would estimate the dates of your visit as best you can and make a note to that effect. Err on the side of thoroughness.

Depends. I've only had my bag searched once, when my form indicated that I'd been to Bolivia. Most of the time they just say "welcome home" to me but I think treatment really varies depending on US citizenship or lack thereof.

Just tell them what you know.

Customs can be harsch, if you bring fresh food, fruits, vegetables, meat ....
Immigration should be fine, you have a visa....you should have a return ticket and give a good reason why you are coming to US.

I've one of those blanks on my visa applications, a trip sometime in the 1980s, maybe two weeks or so in the US, probably on a visitor's visa. I've never encountered a consular officer who'd care about this. In fact, you can probably use the 'vague memories of Disneyland' story as an icebreaker -- these people have incredibly boring jobs, and chatting with them can be a great strategy.

Cool - thanks a lot.

As to evidence of the purpose of my trip - if its purely recreational, I suppose copies of air tix/hotel reservations should be fine? I am also going to sign a statutory declaration stating: 1) That my trip is recreational; 2) That expenses incurred during the trip will be entirely covered by myself and that i will have sufficient funds by the time the trip occurs; 3) That i intend to return to Australia, citing my enrolment at my present uni as a 'strong link', and perhaps my current job.

As I travel to/through US on visa waiver I'm not sure how much more detail they require for a visa. However, I've never been asked for anywhere near that level of detail before, even when I've had some very strange itineraries. Generally they asked a bunch of questions and looking for consistent answers and not showing signs of lying to them or having something to hide.

Maybe I'm just making too big a deal out of it, i mean the forms could all just be formalities. But then I've never applied for a tourist visa to anywhere in my life, except that school trip to china where the teachers or agent who helped organise the trip did everything anyway. So I guess I'm now merely following what's required on the check-list on the online visa info service. Hopefully they'll understand the needs/habits of FTers if they question my (relatively) unusual itinerary during the consular interview.

I don't think you'll have a problem. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they give you a 10-year (or indefinite) multiple entry visa.

One other poster gave good advice about estimating when you visited Disney.

As long as you show ties to your current domicile--an intent to return--you won't have a problem getting in. Now, if you've been naughty, done some criminal things, that's a whole other story.

I enter the US about a dozen times a year on international flights and have never had a problem with customs. Just don't bring in food or agricultural products. If you haven't visited a farm in the past month, you will be fine.

Have a great trip!

Cheers all for the very insightful responses.

I put '1992' in the year section as the date when I last visited the US. I left the day/month sections blank and will probably come up with the Disneyland recollection when questioned. Was only 6 then...gosh its been a long time.

Will update y'all when I get everything done including the interview, which will probably be sometime in August as I do not want my passport to be stuck in the consular when I have confirmed travel plans in June and July.

Thanks once again for being so helpful.

The US Consulate in Melbourne gave me a single entry visa to cover the entire duration of my trip. Then I was advised that Malaysian citizens usually get multiple entry visas that range from 10-15 years in validity, and in order to get such a visa I have to apply at the US embassy in KL where they'd supposedly find it easier to assess my ties. I find it odd that they assume ties = place of citizenship in my case because both my parents do not live in Malaysia any more, although they're there from time to time. And I've presented lots of evidence of my ties outside the US (including my pay slips and the fact that I'm an Australian government employee, my enrollment at uni, my parents' addresses, my bank account statements etc etc).

I do intend to visit the US more often, after getting over myself and realising that the security paranoia is here to stay. And I was hoping to get a multiple entry visa as described above for my next application. Should I then physically fly up to Kuala Lumpur for my next application, or stick to the US Consulate in Melbourne in the hope that they'd realise I'd followed the rules and am a genuine traveller? Such a visa would remove the need for paying an AUD130 application fee every time as well as the hassles involved in organising each application, and wasting passport pages.

The weird thing is there's such a difference in how visa applications are treated in both places. It took 2 weeks (10 working days) for passport/visa to be posted back to me from the Melb consulate, but at the KL embassy I'm told that the norm is that I'd know the results of my application at the end of the interview and collection of passport/visa is ready 'next business day.'

Thanks,
Keith

ps and as for the 'previous visits' question, the consular official stated that it's preferable, but not necessary, that I present copies of old passports. Trouble is I probably travelled on Mum's passport back then.

That's interesting what happened to you in Australia. Sometimes I think (and most will probably put the word "know" instead) it's just this HUGE moneymaking operation....

There's an awesome site here in the States that takes care of visas you might want to contact. I used them for EVERYTHING and a phonecall when you get here might just answer your questions. You can also visit the site and look around.

www.traveldocs.com

They are incredible.

I live in Chicago and go through customs all the time, then I started getting flagged which would delay things greatly and I couldn't understand it (I wouldn't have any checked bags...). Finally, they once set me aside and asked me why I was doing day trips to Geneva, then Dubai, then Singapore. It was interesting they even knew I was flying first class. As soon as I told them what business I am in, it stopped. Like someone else said on this, don't bring ANY food.

Best wishes and have a great time here.

UG

Good to hear that your experience was reasonably ok.

The requirement to demonstrate sufficient ties is fairly laughable, but many people have problems when applying outside their country of citizenship. Hopefully, you will find that the consuls in Malaysia are more generous. Make sure to have demonstration of your ties to Malaysia, not Australia!

I'd fly to Kuala Lumpur. The US folks in Australia are not likely to treat you any differently than they did last time. The US does not follow the tiered approach often reported for some Asian countries (e.g., China): first, you get a single entry, then, a dual entry, and finally, an annual visa.

It's common to learn about the outcome of the interview right away (in fact, for many nationalities, the visa interview only takes some 30 seconds); and often the passport is mailed out within 2-3 days. The pick-up requirement in Malaysia may be due to a perceived (or actual) weakness of the postal service.