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Visa Documents and Visa Interview Preparation

Basically I wish to tell you the things to do/aVisa Officerid before u go for ur visa interview.

First of all n most important thing is your VISA FORM !

 Remember that there have been cases in which visa has been rejected because the form wasn't filled correctly as the persons inVisa Officerlved could not give satisfactory explanation for what they had written. So take care before you fill it up!

 The important questions on the visa form where u must take care are:

 (I don't really remember the exact wording of the questions. It's been almost a year  now......but u will come to know which question I m talking about )

 1) Who is going to sponsor your trip to USA?

--> Write the name of your sponsor and your relation with him, I saw many students had written just "father" in the box. It's wrong! Write full name of the sponsor and the relation with the sponsor.

 2) What is the intention of your study??

--> Master's Degree in _________. Don't write higher education, advanced studies etc. Be specific. 

3) How long do u intend to stay in USA??

--> If u r going for master's write 2 years. Don't write 4 or 5 years just because it has been mentioned on your I-20. The officer will certainly think that if the course is of 2 yrs why the hell on earth would u intend to stay in US for 4 yrs? And that certainly signifies that u r going to look for job.

 4) Any relatives in USA?

--> My candid opinion is u should not disclose ur ties in USA because that certainly takes u to the ring of potential immigrants. (I remember my counselor had told one of the students that u should not hide anything from 'em. Anyway it's ur choice because u might find it ethically wrong! )

 Moving on.... the second thing is preparing the documents for visa and arranging the file.

 First of all I had bought the harmonium type folder (file..whatever).. for 300/- .. yes .. i still remember that ...lol...anyways...

 I had arranged the documents in the following order.

1)

 a) Interview appointment letter,

 b)Passport

 c) I-20 (school copy)

 d)Admission letter

 2)

a)GRE score

b)TOEFL score

 3)

 a)10th marklist

 b)12th marklist

 c)F.E. to B.E. marklists

 d) Degree Certificate

 4)

 a)Summary of Finances

 b)Affidavit of support

 5)

a) IT-returns for last three years with form 16 attached

b)Bank Statement (Balance Confimation Certificate)

c)Bank Passbook(s)

d)Fixed Deposit Receipts (all originals)

 6)

a)Admit letters of the other Univs.

b)I-20 of the other univs.

 7) Reject letters (be sure to carry them with u)

 8)

a)Transcripts (university as well as college)

b)SOP

c)Resume

d)Experience certificate

 9) Emails from the professors. (if u don't have 'em ..do let me know .. i can do something about it ..)

 Now the third and last thing is your visa interview.

 I had given three mock interviews before going for the actual one!

 (Remember don't forget to speak out your answers in front of the mirror or one of your friends! it really helps...)

 I am giving some sample questions with ideal answers

 1) Which univ are u going to ??why ?

ans: I am planning to pursue my master's degree from san diego state university. I have also received admits from.__________university,_____ and Univ of _____ offering similar course structure but the program offered by san diego state university is closer to my area of interest. I am interested particularly in _____.(my area is networks so further part is according to that) SDSU has an advanced networking lab called as ATM lab. The experienced faculty in the lab is one of the prime factors to opt for this university.

 (now in this question the officer might frame the question as "whr r u going ??".. don't start ur answer as ..i am going to san diego state univ. it's grammatically wrong ..and the americans hate grammatical errors... add whatever technical info u can ... make sure that u don't use the phrases like "this is the best school,good school,pretty good.."etc.. they know which school u r talking about better than u do ..)

 2) what will u say @ CS course,profs, etc...

Ans-> As I have already mentioned I have got admits from 3 more universities. But the main reason to opt (don't use the word choose) for this university is the extensive course structure. I am interested in the area of computer networks.I have already gone through the course structure and found out that the courses offered by this university are close to my area of interest.The advanced networking lab is the key feature to the CS course.Also the experienced faculty in the department like Prof Mark Vuskovic is himself a renowned man in the areas of networks. 

> 3)Why will come back after MS.

ans:- I am really focused about my career.After finishing with my master's I might earn money as well as good reputation there in US but the most important thing for me is satisfaction. and I can't live a satisfied life without my family since I am very close to my family Hence I will definitely go back to my home country (don't use the word INDIA ) I plan to work in the Indian software industry for 3/4 years and then I plan to start my own consultancy. (again here he might ask u the question from where will u raise the funds for ur own consultancy ?? .. tricky naa.. )

 > 4)what about the univ ranking.

ans->Yes,I do agree that SDSU's ranking may not be that impressive(actually try to aVisa Officerid the word ranking,but here we assume that he has asked baout it.. anyway...never use the phrase"low ranked") but the important point for me is the program that is being offered. There are very few universities which offer such an extensive program inclined towards the students who are interested in networks.And sir,you will also agree with me that the education given in American universities does not need the measures of rankings,the differences are really marginal.

 > 5)do they have some nice projects going on so that we could mention this also.

ans:- Yes,the computer science dept and especially the ATM lab certainly has promising projects.The important areas are IP over ATM (IPOA),wireless ATM,network security and Real time traffic over ATM.

(find out the projects in ur area of interest... if u don't find u can do one thing .. go to the sites of few univs and just scan their sites for the current projects in the dept .. mention them..he is not going to cross check...lol) 

>6) Do u have any mail from any professor etc.. to show during the visa.

ans :- Show whatever correspondence you have with the professors. If you don't have anything, just type some fake mails in MS word and take print-out.

 I have a few more questions.. Be prepared with answers for them as well.

 *why US and why not UK ?

 *what if an American falls in love with u and wants to marry u ?? (this was asked to one of my friends.. she was engaged so didn't find it difficult to answer..)

 *what have u done to take care that u will perform well in the intended program??

 *what are ur future plans??

 *what are ur recent academic achievements?

 *who is ur sponsor? what is his/her annual income?? (According to IT returns/ form-16)

 *once u finish ur MS what do u think as the possible salary that will be offered to u in India?? 

If your answer to this question is lets' say - 50K per month. In that case he asked one of my friends.

 *u will probably earn 10 times more than this in America then why will u come back to India ??

.. Give the ans for "y will u come back?" again.....

 * I see heavy transactions in your bank account and sudden rise in the balance over past few months? is this only for visa ? And how have u managed to put so much money in bank??

 *How many admits and rejects??

-- here if u name some top schools be prepared to answer the following question too ...

 * it seems that the top schools in the field have rejected u hence u r going to this low ranked univ. It clearly suggests that top schools think that u r not competent enough. What do u have to say about this?

 *SDSU is in Silicon Valley, there are number of job openings, what will u do if u get a good job offer there??

 *What were you doing for the past one year?

 *What if I reject your visa? (Very important question.. let me know ur answer for this question.. i had discussed this particular Q with my counselor)

 One Real Interview at Mumbai Consulate July,2003 - :

 XYZ: good afternoon Sir

Visa Officer: goodafternoon

Visa Officer:so u r going to sdsu haan

XYZ:yes Sir

Visa Officer:how much does ur father earn

XYZ.Rs xxxx 

Visa Officer:what does he do

XYZ:xxxxxx

Visa Officer:what does ur mother do

XYZ:xxxxxxx

XYZ:sir their combined anual income is xxxxxxx

XYZ: Sir both my parents r sponsoring me

Visa Officer:ok

Visa Officer:how much money in fd

XYZ: sir i will give u the summary stat

Visa Officer: I have not asked for it cant u just tell me how much u have as FD( in a very loud,scary and harsh tone)

XYZ:sorry sir

XYZ: the amt is xxxxxxx

Visa Officer:ok( took around 3 to 4 min sto scan it ,was in a very bad mood)

Visa Officer:how much liquid u have

XYZ:sir xxxx

Visa Officer:proof

XYZ: here it is

Visa Officer:other assets

XYZ: here is the list

Visa Officer: I do  not want this crap prepared by the CA,give me the proof of every asset

XYZ: yes sir

Visa Officer: ok (took around 5 to 6 mins)

Visa Officer:show ur IT returns

XYZ: here sir

Visa Officer:ok,I think u have enough money with a smile at last

Visa Officer: ur visa will be issued in 2 days time

XYZ: thnx a lot Sir.