Update:
Ok I've done the tourist visa application process for Dianne and her family. They just have to wait for their interviews now. Keep your fingers crossed.
Anyway, if anyone is interested in getting a US tourist visa for a Filipino citizen, here are the exact steps that you have to do. I'll try to break this down as simple as possible.
1. First, you gotta fill out an application for them online called DS-160 by creating an account and following the instructions afterward, at this link below: (click on the Start Application tab)
https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/
Once you are done, you will have an application ID. Write it down somewhere or store it on your phone or laptop somewhere that you can easily access later. You need that application ID in order to reference it later. If you lose it, you may have to start the application process over again. As long as you have the application ID, you can retrieve the application entered into the database, and even use the same application again later if they fail the interview and want to re-apply.
2. Then you gotta pay the $160 fee at a local BPI bank branch in the Philippines. If you aren't in the Philippines, then they gotta pay it themselves at a BPI branch. You can just send them the funds to pay it if you want, through
www.remitly.com. But first, you gotta print out a receipt with a unique number on it and go to a BPI branch with it before the number expires. To print out the unique receipt, go to this link:
https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/pmisdep ... hilippines
Note: Each time you go to that link or refresh the page, the receipt number changes to a new unique number. All you need is one receipt with a unique number on it.
Then print out the whole page with the receipt and unique number on it. It will only be one page, with a customer copy for them to tear off and give you so you can keep, because you will need the unique number on it to enter into the next website below to schedule her appointment and interview at the US Embassy in Manila. If you don't have a printer, then save it as a webpage file and print it somewhere else, or use another computer to print it out. For more info on paying this fee at a BPI branch, see here:
https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-niv-paymentinfo.asp
3. Next, you gotta book her appointment for her interview online, using the application ID from step 1 above, and the unique number from the receipt paid at BPI. The appointment cannot be booked unless both steps above are completed. Here is the link:
https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/applicanthome
At that link, you gotta create an account first with a login and password. Then you enter the ID from the DS-160 form created in step 1 above, to connect this site to that other site. Then you fill in the applicant's basic info again. (It's a pain and chore I know, but that's government bureaucracy for you lol) Then at some point it will ask you to enter the unique receipt number that you paid at BPI. That receipt has to be paid first, or else you cannot book the appointment. Once you enter a paid receipt number for the applicant, you can then schedule an appointment. The site will list the dates and times available.
If more than one person is applying, such as the girl and her sister and mom for instance, you can enter all their information on the same account. Just add their info in the Add Extra Person section. That way, they will all be interviewed at once, in a group interview maybe, or one at a time on the same date. (I called them to ask about this, but they aren't sure and said it depends on the interviewer whether they will interview all of them at the same time or one at a time) Btw don't use the Group Scheduling Request tab. That is for tour groups of 5 or more people, as in an organized tour group, not for family members.
All the other instructions are on the site above. Hope that helps. Tell them they gotta show up dressed nicely and formal, dress to impress basically, and be relaxed and confident and answer all questions in English comfortably. If they are shy or nervous or don't speak English well, you should help them by doing mock practice interviews with them. Also have them bring a portfolio with a report cover or binder of supporting documents, like the ones listed here:
http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-niv-t ... ortingdocs
A lot of this is subjective. Basically if the interviewer likes them and gets a good vibe from them, they pass the interview, if not then they don't, even if they are wealthy. A lot of it is subjective and based on impressions, not objectively by the book I heard. So even rich people get rejected and turned down for some reason, whereas a poor girl with a cheerful disposition might pass the interview just because she's likable and gives off a good vibe.