Journey to the West-- Part 1

So as usual I have quite an interesting story to share. I had planned to go to America for 4 days. For now I will keep the reason to myself. In order to successful make my trip, I had to cross several hurdles and that is where the story begins.

The first hurdle was to get a Visa. Now I am sure you have heard of all the horror visa stories, yes so have I. Nevertheless it was a big piece of the puzzle. So the process is you pay for your visa fees at Standard Chartered Bank, get an appointment date and then turn up to be interviewed for the Visa. Sounds simple right? Well unfortunately due to the large demand for US Visas in Ghana there is quiet an interesting twist.

The easiest part is paying for the visa. Well that part is easy if you have the money. Currently the visa fee is 170 GHs.
Now getting an appointment date is a nightmare. Well if you don’t plan ahead. So appointment dates are released periodically but now due to the demand people book them as soon as they are released. So my advice to you is that if you want an appointment date book early. Or have someone monitor the internet 24/7 for you :)

So I managed to secure an appointment date by determination and help from my mother. Now the big interview.
So my appointment was at 7:30. Since I don’t practice GMT (Ghana Man Time), I was there 30 minutes early. But to my surprise, the door opens at 7:30.So I had to loiter around.
I met a woman who told me not to go far since at 7:30 when the gates are opened people will start to run. Run! Can you imagine? I mean Ghanaians is Ghana that bad. That people have to run for the chance to get an American Visa. I know America is a land of opportunity and hope but still we can make Ghana better than America or any other country.

So after the 100 meter dash to form a queue, we went in batches of 10 at a time. Ok so I thought with the appointment system you would walk into an office, meet with your interviewer at the appointed time. Man I had quite a shock. So the structure is like bank with teller points.

You first present your documents at one point and then all your fingers are scanned into the system. Then after a while, you are called for the interview.

For those who think the interview is a private affair, then think again. You do this interview in front of everyone. Well in all honesty you can keep the matter private if you speak in a low tone. But of course at that point especially when the interview is not going well, trust me people raise their voice.

I had to hear a young lady pour out her personal issues and in the end she was refused a visa. The refusal process can also be public. This is because they will give you back your documents if you are not getting a visa. If you are getting a visa then you get a white slip. You are then asked to come back.

So if you are going for a visa make sure you have a genuine reason and you can prove that you will come back to our good motherland.

This is the end of phase one. Well I got the Visa and my four day adventure to the US begun.

But that is another story.

Keep Reading things get really interesting…