Hi guys! I'm not the first one asking about USB wifi problems, but I haven't been able to find a post dealing with my particular issue.
Since I currently don't have any idea what possibly might be wrong, any insight would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

:: KALI
Oracle VM VirtualBox
64bit OS, 20 GB virtual disc, i5 (2,5Ghz), 3.8 GiB RAM (designated to Kali, 8GiB in total)

:: HOST
Windows 8, lenovo Z500
USB wireless TP-LINK TL-WN722N
official Windows8 driver (host computer)
disabled Windows automatic driver installation

:: PROBLEM
I can see wlan0
I am able to access my wifi & work for about 1min
a) USB connection fails, usb wifi stops blinking (i.e., not alive) | host (Windows) message: the last USB you connected to this computer malfunctioned, and Windows does not recognize it
or
b) Kali still sees the USB & reports full wifi signal, but the application I'm currently using "freezes" (possibly because it's waiting for connection) and/or reports network timeout (e.g. fern wi-fi cracker updates)

The problem seems to be in the USB but my knowledge of the host/virtual architecture is very limited.
In the first place, I'm not sure whether the problem resides in the host and/or the virtual OS.