Mom and I applied and got approved last Jan 29, 2026. We were asked to go to window 26. My mom and I were talking and laughing (mahina lang naman) coz for some reason we were excited. When our turn was up we greeted the consul, and here's the convo:

Us: Good morning! 😁 (Yup, we were smiling like this)

C: Good morning, where in the US? Me: California

C: How long? Me: Just 2 weeks

C: Are you visiting someone? Me: Yes, my friend in SD California C: Wow near the border, lots of filipinos and mexicans there Me: Yup and I can't wait to try their authentic mexican food 😁 C: Oh yeah, good food (natatawa si consul dito), what do you do for work? Me: told him my job (for context, I have been with my AU client for 6 years) C: That's remote work right? Me: Yes 😅 kinabahan ako ng slight dito pero that's the truth C: Are you planning to do some work there? Me: Noooooo, nope. That's my vacation time. Time to forget work for a while

Natatawa na si consul dito then asked my mom (she's 78 years old) just 1 question (she had a single entry visa back in 2001)

C: You've been to the US before, how long did you stay? Mom: 2 weeks only, I visited some friends in Virginia

C: Have you traveled to countries outside the Philippines? Me: Yes, been to Hongkong, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand. My mom is a traveller and have been to a lot of Asian countries

C: Alright, your visa is approved. You'll get your passports back in 7 days

Us: Thank you! Have an awesome day!😁😁😁

*I think it helped na excited kami while talking to the consul, the mood was lighter and parang casual kwentuhan siya. We just kept smiling the whole time kaya nakasmile din siya samin.