7I have compiled the visa experiences shared by the applicants on various social media

platforms like whatsapp, facebook. Used only for educational purpose.

I have pasted as it is without any formatting as the list is huge to beautify it, bear with it
:p

If you find the compilation useful, free feel to ping me (8147007511 whatsapp) or email:
Karve.sachin@gmail.com

-Sachin

May you get your Visa approved !!!

Edit: 4th June

97.
VISA interview experience:
Appointment date: 31.05.2019
Appointment time: 10.30 A.M.
Place: Kolkata
Status: Approved

V.O. was in his 40s and American.

After waiting in the queue for around 1.5 hours, my turn arrived at around 11.25 A.M. ( It
was quite packed up that day)

V.O.: Give me your passport please

Me: Goodmorning Sir, and handed over the passport
V.O.: Goodmorning and pass me that i20 too.
Me: Sure Sir, passed it on
V.O.: (fixing his eyes on the computer screen) Ma’am please tell me when did you pass
your undergraduation ?
Me: in 2015
V.O.: In what course?
Me: Computer Science and Engineering
V.O.: (still looking at the screen) Oh I see you have worked with Infosys after that. OK
why did you decide to do Masters?
Me: (all the rehearsed answers didn’t help at all :P) Well,after I worked in the IT industry, I
realised I should enhance my knowledge and skill set further, and I want to specialise in
Machine Learning, specially Deep Learning. That has driven me to this decision.
V.O.: How many schools did you apply to?
aMe: I applied to six universities.
V.O.: Name them
Me: University at Texas Dallas, University at Buffalo New York, Arizona State University,
Indiana University Bloomington, University of Cincinnati and Stony Brook University New
York.
V.O.: OK. How are you planning to fund your education ?
Me: My parents have some savings...( couldn’t complete the sentence when he pitched
in)
V.O.: What does your father do?
Me: He’s into automobile service industry and owns an organisation XYZ which deals
with ....(told)
V.O.: I am still not convinced. Please tell me again what he does?
Me: ( my heart pounding faster than ever) clarified and explained the whole thing again to
the best of my ability and knowledge. He was looking at me and the screen alternatively.
V.O.:How many people work under him ?
Me: around 100-150
V.O.: Where is the office located?
Me: in Kolkata only.
V.O.: Oh.. Do they have a website?
Me: Yes Sir. You can check it online
V.O.: Wow that seems good. Name it.
Me: Told him the name of the website.
V.O. : Is your mother a housewife?
Me: Yes Sir. ( seeing him pausing for a while and staring at the screen I added one
sentence) Sir I also have an educational loan sanctioned for XX lakhs.
V.O.: OK. Ma’am your VISA’s approved and you’ll be notified in 2-3 days
Me: Thank you very much Sir!

P.S: You can rehearse as much as you like before the interview but those 2-3 minutes at
the counter, your impromptu skills will save you. There will always be 1-2 questions that
will come to you most unexpectedly. One thing will help you, try to analyse your
application and the probable areas you can be grilled in. Always put a smile no matter
what. Even when you are confused as hell and not sure of what you are speaking, make
eye contact while you speak and with a smile. That will show the VO how much you are
confident. Dress comfortably and answer crisply and in full sentences. I hope this helps!
:-)

98.
My Visa experience
Name: Payal Mehta
Profile: GRE:321, TOEFL:106, CGPA:9.13, work ex: 3 years at Barclays.
Date: 31st May; Consulate: Mumbai
Slot: 10:15am
In time : 9:30am; Out time: 10:55am
Interview took about a minute
Me: hello, good morning
VO: no response
VO: why are you going to new york?
Me: sorry? <couldn't hear clearly>.
He repeated his question.
Me: I am going to pursue my masters in computer science at stony brook University
VO: ah! Pass your F1 document.
Me: confused but I passed my i20
VO: Why stony brook?
Me: coursework, ranking, great professors in data science (which is my field of interest)
VO: how will you manage your expenses?
Me: I and my father will be sponsoring my education. We have a combined savings of 12L
and an education loan of 40L
VO: What does your father do?
Me: he is an accountant. He manages accounts and finances at a company in Mumbai
VO: Are you married?
Me: <shocked and offended a little 😅> No
VO: what are your plans after graduation?
Me: I want to come back and apply as a data scientist in India. We have abundant of
opportunities in our country but not enough skills. I want to apply my acquired
knowledge to work in a better role at my country
VO: do you have an existing loan?
Me: <confused as I just mentioned I have one> . Yes. I have taken one for my masters.
VO: okay. Your visa is approved. Have a good day! Bye.

99.
100.
Visa Experience
Consulate Kolkata
Date 3rd June: 9.45 am
University: UIUC
Work EXPERIENCE : 5 years

Reached consulate 1hr prior to scheduled time.

VO was a very friendly guy in mid 30s. ( Probably)

Vo: Come forward ( waving his hand)

VO: good morning, how are you

Me: very good morning sir, I'm fine , how are you?

Vo: I'm doing good. So you work at Mercedes Benz?

Me: yeah

VO: You recently joined though,

Me: yes,

VO: Do they know you are going to US?

Me: Sir I have accepted their offer before I got my decision about UIUC, so once I go back
I'm going to resign soon

VO: When and Where did you graduate from?

Me: WBUT, 2014.

Vo: looking at the screen, oh then you joined Cognizant, and then Deloitte, good.

VO: what, do they fire you or you leave them?( Laughing loudly)

Me: no sir, ( laughing) , I have switched twice for a better and senior role experience,
though I stayed in Cognizant for more than 3.5 yrs.

VO: So why this university

Me: told
VO: other University have you applied?

Me: yes, total 7 university

VO: how are you funding?

Me: My savings and my family is sponsoring me

with total savings of 64k USD, and I have a loan of 47k USD.

VO: What does your family do?

Me: my maternal uncles are sponsoring me, they have their own business. They are
government contractors in Civil and Mechanical Engineering department of West Bengal
govt.

VO: Writing something something, smiling and writing my name on a invitation card for
student pre departure orientation on 22june.

VO: collect your passport with 3days.

Me: Thanks a lot. Have a great day.

Vo was super Friendly and I almost forgot what all I have prepared. All I said was my
instinct

101.
3rd June
Consulate: Chennai
Time: 9.15 am
Status: Approved 😁

Note: Come only 30mins before your appointment. They will call you as per the slot to
enter into the consulate. I finished my interview by 10.30. Phones are not allowed inside
and I couldn't find any locker service as well.

Me: Good morning sir!

VO: Good morning. Pass me your passport.
Passed passport
VO: So, why US?
Me: To pursue my Masters in Computer Science with data Science specialisation.
Vo: Great! Pass me your i20
Passed I-20
VO: So, why USC?
Me: USC offers lot of research opportunities in the field of Data science and machine
learning. It has many research centres like the Institute of creative technologies where
they offer research assistantships. And, the course structure allows me to take up
directed research unit wherein I can take up research under a professor for the entire
semester.
Vo: So, How are you funding it?
Me: My father is sponsoring my 2 years of education for both my tuition and living
expenses. We have total svaings and fixed deposits of XX lakhs which is around xx
dollars.
VO: What is your father doing?
Me: My father is a businessman and he owns a company where they sell electrical
products to major industries.
VO: How much does he earn per annum?
Me: He earns XX lakhs per annum
VO: Good luck. Your visa is approved!
Me: Thank you so much!

Passed green slip with instructions to collect passport.

Note: Keep smiling, be confident and listen to questions carefully. VO didn't ask me any
documents apart from passport and i20. Don't listen to other interviews happening
parallely once you reach the yellow line near the counter as it might make you nervous.
All the best for those who have interviews coming.

102.
Visa experience

Location: Mumbai Consulate

Counter: 25
Date: 31st May
Time: 10:00 am

University: University of New Hampshire

Course:Computer science

Officer was a guy in his early 30's

Me:Good morning sir!!How are you?
Vo: Good morning sir. I am good. How are you doing?
Me: I am good too sir. Thank you for asking.
Vo: Please pass me your passport.
Me: Sure sir. Passed.
Vo: Pass me your i20 too.
Me: Here is the i20 sir. Passed.
Vo: Where did you do your bachelors from?
Me: Sir I did my bachelors from Pune University.
Vo: typing something...okk..how many universities did you apply to?
Me: I applied to five universities sir.
Vo: And how many acceptances?
Me: All five sir.
Vo: Typing again..okk..So why UNH?
Me: began my answer and he cut me in the very first line and asked
Vo: Who is sponsoring?
Me: Sir, my parents will be sponsoring me
Vo: How will they finance?
Me : Sir i have a loan from prodigy finance for xx lakhs and savings of yy lakhs
Vo: typing something.. Kept my passport in the box and with a big smile... Your visa is
approved sir. You will receive a message in a week. Have a good day.
Me: Thank you soo much sir. Have a good day.

Officer was a chill guy with a constant smile all throughout the interview.

Just be confident and give crisp and clear answers. All the best to everyone for their
interviews.

103.
Visa experience
Consulate - Chennai
Slot - 9:30
Department - electrical engineering
Status - approved
Vo - good morning
Me - good morning officer
Vo - why this university?
Me - heared lot of positive reviews from seniors and my area of interest are xxxxx this
university offers great research work. Professors like xxxx are working on related topics
so doing research work under them give me technical knowledge
Vo - other universities
Me - utd, uta
Vo - then why this university?
Me - ranking is good and matches my area of interest
Vo - after master's
Me - told
Vo - course duration
Me -1.5 years and if thesis 2 years
Vo - highest qualification
Me - told
Vo - where ?what?
Me - told
Vo - funding
Me - education loan 40 l and father 15 l
Vo- father job
Me - told
Vo - younger sister or elder sister
Me - elder and told studying in same university
Vo - ( she said now I can sense) so you will be staying with your sister
Me - told
Vo - what are the course you are going to take in first sem?
Me - told
Vo - I am approving your visa
Me I said thank you maam

104.
Visa Experience
Consulate Mumbai
Date 3rd June: 9.15 am
University: UIUC
Duration: Less than a minute

Reached consulate 1hr prior to scheduled time. They started lining up around 8.35

VO Counter number was 30

Vo: Next please

Me: Hi, good morning.

Vo: So why UIUC?

Me: Told about University ranking, course flexibility and my concentration of data
science and analytics.

VO: How many universities did you apply to and how many admits ?

Me: I applied to 9 and got an admit from 7. Do you want me to name them ?

VO: he just nodded indicating no need.

Vo: Do you have a sibling here ?.

Me: Yes,a brother.

VO: Older or younger ? What does he do?

Me: Younger, told him about where brother is working.

VO: So who is sponsoring?

Me: My parents.

VO: What does your father do ?

Me: Told

VO: What is his annual income?

Me: told

VO: Apart from that how else will they be sponsoring?

Me: We have total savings of xxx , additional liquid assets of xxx and fixed assets of xxx

VO: Ok, your Visa has been approved. You can collect the passport in 2-3 days.

He then gave a white slip which basically says that you visa is approved and the
passport will be sent to the location mentioned on passport.
105.
Visa experience

Location: Mumbai Consulate

Counter: 36
Date: 3rd June
Time slot: 9.15 am
Approved.

University: University of Cincinnati.

Course: Information Systems

Officer was a guy in his early 30's

Me: Hi! Good morning.

Vo: Good morning. Pass your passport and i20.
Vo: So I see that you're working now. Why are you leaving job?
Me: I'm planning to take sabbatical leave from my current organisation to pursue
Masters.
Vo: OH! So are they financing you as well?
Me: No! Not right now.
Vo: So they will just let you keep this job, is that right?
Me: Yes! that's correct .
Vo: Is this the only school you applied?
Me: No! I applied for 2 more universities.
Vo: And how many acceptances?
Me: 2 sir.
Vo: Why university of cincinnati?
Me: it's curriculum is more aligned towards my interest and career goals. (Told him about
few subjects I was interested in). And last but not the least, university was kind enough
to provide me a incentive award of 4k$.
Vo: I20 amount seems to be too much. How are you going to finance?
Me: I've collateral based education loan of 46lacks, apart from which my father has liquid
assets of xx lacks.
Vo : what is your father doing?
Me : He's currently retired from service and managing his investment profile.
Vo then was busy typing for like a minute or so and finally said, you will be receiving visa
in few days and good luck.

Officer was chilled out.

No documents were checked except I20 and passport.
It's just a normal conversation with another human being. So just keep calm before and
after you cross that yellow line.

Good luck.

106.
VISA INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE

Delhi consulate
3rd June
10:30 am
(Exit time- 12:30)
Counter 13. VO - white female early 30s
Status: Approved

Reached at 9:30. No entry prior to 10:15. Storage facility available outside. Nothing
allowed except docs and folders, and hand bags for women.

- Had to queue up right outside at 10:15.

Wait time: 30 mins(extra mins. due to faulty machine)
- security clearance
- waiting area (time: 30 mins)
- 5 mins. queue to get passport checked, fingerprints Verification and SEVIS fee receipt
check
- 30-45 mins queue right before interview

VO - Please pass your passport and i20

Me - Passed

VO - Going for Masters?

Me - Yes

VO - Why ASU?
Me - I researched for Universities acc to my grades and this seemed to be the best fit

VO - What are your parent's profession?

Me - My father is the head of international marketing for the company he works for. My
mother is a manager in the same company.

VO - I am approving your visa, have a nice stay

Me - Thank you very much.

Got approved and walked out with the i20.

Documents checked by VO - passport, i20

Documents checked before Interview - passport, SEVIS fee receipt

All the best.

Hope this helps.

107.
Visa Experience (Mine)

Consulate : Mumbai
Slot : 11 am
Date: 3rd June
Out time: 12:45 pm

VO was a lady with a very jolly nature, and had just approved visas for Neha Kakkar and
Tony Kakkar, right ahead of me

VO: Good Afternoon!!

Me: Good afternoon ma'am.
VO: pass me your passport, i-20 and the sevis reciept!!
Me: sure
VO: so how did you come to know about SJSU
Me: I referred to two websites, yocket and studyabroad, basically what they do is they
shortlist universities based on our profile, and hence this way I came to know about this
university.
VO: okay, what will you be specialising in?
Me: Data Science
VO: What other universities did you apply to?
Me: UNCC, SUNY buffalo, and SJSU
VO: So when did you graduate from BE?
Me: in 2017
VO: What have you been doing since then?
Me: I was working in an MNC named Capgemini, and last week was my last working day.
VO: okay great!! So how will you be paying for your education?
Me: I have an education loan of 35 lakhs from HDFC credila, and the rest will be
sponsored by my father and my grandfather!!
VO: What does your father do?
Me: He is a businessman, he owns a cloth printing unit
VO: sorry, a closed printing unit?????
Me: No mam, cloth, cloth (smiling)
VO: oh okay okay(laughing), how much savings does it your father have?
Me: We have a savings of approx xx lakhs.
VO: So 35 lakhs from loan right?
Me: Yes ma'am!!
VO: Great!! Congratulations, your visa has been approved!!
Me: Thank you ma'am, have a great day
VO: You too have a nice day!!

108.
Interview Experience:
Consulate: New Delhi
Interview Date: 3rd June
Course: CSE
Status: Approved
Counter Number: 9

I was late for my appointment because of an accident on a highway near my house, so

reached the embassy around 10:45 for my 10:30 appointment. It didn't really matter
though, and nobody even asked me what time my appointment was.
Had to sit in the waiting area for around an hour though.
I got to my interview counter around 12pm, after being bored and hungry during that
neverending wait.

The interview itself was pretty straightforward. The VO was very nice, and kept smiling
throughout the interview.

Me: Hey! Good afternoon!

VO: Good afternoon. How are you doing?
Me: I'm doing well, what about you?
VO: I'm doing good too. So, which university are you going to, and for what course?
Me: I'm going to Penn State, for my Master's in Computer Science.
VO: Why did you choose Penn State?
Me: Well, Penn State is considered a public Ivy League University because of the quality
of its education and research. Furthermore, it's Computer Systems lab at the CS
department is considered one of the foremost labs for systems research in the US.
VO: Good! So how will you be funding your education?
Me: My mother and brother will be sponsoring me, and I also have a loan for $35000 from
Prodigy Finance.
VO: and what do your mother and brother do?
Me: My mother is a gazetted officer in the Delhi Government and my brother is a Major in
the Indian Army.
VO: All right! I'm approving your visa, your passport will be delivered to you in 1 week.

Overall, it lasted around 1 minute, and she didn't ask me any specifics regarding finance
or anything. She didn't ask me for any docs except my I-20 and passport either. (Which
she didn't ask me for since I slid them in as soon as I got to the window) 😛

PSA: in case anyone was wondering, if you've filled the DS-160 before the social media
account disclosing thing came in, you won't have to do anything. They won't ask about it
at all.

109.
Interview Experience
Date:3rd June
Consulate: Mumbai
Time: 11 am
Status: Approved
Counter no: 29
University :Iowa State University(ISU)
Program:Masters in Kinesiology

Reached the consulate at 10:30 and was taken in at 11:10.

VO was a lady in her mid 30's.She already approved an F1 visa before my turn which
boosted my confidence.
VO: Hello! (With a welcoming smile)
Me: Hello! Good afternoon!(it was already 12:15)
VO: Ur passport please.
Me: Sure Ma'am.(passed)
VO: F1 as well.
Me: Ok(passed)
VO: (while reading the I20 with an excited look)Oo! So Iowa State University! Which
program?
Me: I would be pursuing Master's in Kinesiology.
VO: What is Kinesiology?
Me: A Master's program in Physiotherapy.
VO: So u want to be a doctor?
Me: I am a Dr. (As in India, those with BPth degree are considered to be doctors)
VO: Schools?
Me: Please can u repeat( Didn't get her)
VO: How many schools?(taking the microphone more close)
Me: I applied to 4 schools Ma'am.
VO: Admits?
Me: Received from 2 unis Ma'am.
Vo: So which was the other one?
Me: University of Illinois at Chicago.
Vo: Ok and what about the other?
Me: I have not received any response from one and from the other a reject.
VO: So why not Master's here?
Me: As the field is more advanced in ISU so I want to implement those advancements
here.
VO: So who is sponsoring you?
Me: My father is sponsoring me.
VO: OK what does he work as?
Me: Product Manager Ma'am.
VO: OK! I am approving ur visa! Collect in 3-5 working days from now.(with a broad grin)
Me: Thank u so much Ma'am. Have a great day! (with a positive smile).

Note: Do not reach the consulate too early or too late. V can wear a non-digital watch to
keep a check on time. Do read the DS-160 carefully before the interview.And one thing
should always be kept in mind. It is our attitude which is the main factor and luck a
supporting factor. So come what may, always answer with confidence and a bright smile.
Visa will definitely be yours!

110.
VISA INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE :
Subject : Civil Engineering

VO: Civil Engineering ?

Me: ... (didn’t hear him well)... sorrie sir ....?
( felt like , the first impression was already bad ) ..
VO:Civil Engineering ???
Me: oh. Yes sir !! Civil Engineering..
VO: LSU( Louisiana State University)??
Me: Yes sir . LSU.
VO: Why LSU?
Me: sir I have got a very good research opportunity out there.
I have got a chance to reseearch in the field of pavement design and construction ,
intelligent transport system ; which i have wanted even from my undergraduate study .
VO: okay. What are you doing presently?
Me: sir, I am working for National Reconstruction Authority .
VO: how long ?
Me: around 2.5 yrs sir.
VO: do you have any relatives in USA ?
Me: No sir.
Vo: brother, sister. Other relatives ???
Me: no one sir .
VO: so , who is going to sponser your study?
Me: my father will be sponsoring me sir.
VO: what does he do?
Me: answered. He works in ........
VO: what is his income ?
Me: around ......$ sir .
VO: okay, tell me about your plans after graduation.
Me: sir, i have made few plans for that.
Firstly , i have planned to start research oreinted tasks related to civil engineering
through BMB Engineering Services Pvt.Ltd , which I have founded myself.
Secondly, i have also thought about working as a lecturer in the engineering colleges of
Nepal like Pulchok engineering college, Nepal engineering college, where i studied my
undergrad.
Thirdly....( he stopped me )
VO: okay , i am granting you Visa, please go to counter no 11 .
Me : Thank you very much sir !
VO: thank you.

My experience: what i felt is , VISA interview is all about how you approach your self out
there. I felt like VO didn’t understand or listen everything i told about my career goals and
all, but he was looking at my face to see how confident and clear i looked and kept typing
in his computer.
Suggestion: feel free and express yourself, sound clear and answer calmly , you will be
granted ..
#Good_luck !!
Thank you !
111.
My Visa Experience

Location : Mumbai
Date : 4th June 2019
In time : 8:30 am
Slot time : 9:00 am
Out time : 9:45 am
University/Course : University of Southern California MEM
Status : Approved

VO: Hello, Good Morning, pass me your passport

Me :Good Morning
(passed the passport with I20)

VO: Your age?

ME: Told

VO : Undergraduate course?
Me : Electronics and Telecommunication Engg

VO: Who is sponsoring you?

ME: Parents

VO: What do they do?

ME: Told

VO: I am approving your visa.Collect your passport in 3 days.

Me: Thank you so much and have a great day.

Didn't ask for any document other than passport and I20. Still carried everything.

112.
Visa interview experience-:

University -University of North Carolina Charlotte.

Consulate -Mumbai.
Slot-04/06/19 ,9.45 am(Reached there at 9.35 and got my turn around 10.40)
Status -Approved
Counter -23
Vo was a white lady in early 30s.

Vo-Good morning sir,how are you?(with a bright smile).

Me- Very well mam,how about you?
Vo-Good.So why USA.
Me-US education is the best in the world and they offers some great STEM
programs.Secondly american degree will boost up my career prospects back in india.
Vo-Why uncc ?
Me-Among all my other admits,it offers most flexible and comprehensive coursework
which is more application based rather then theoretical base,so more research
opportunities and cool projects to work on.
Vo-In what will you specialize?
Me-DataScience(Not really,but that word came into my mind instantly).
Vo-How will you finance your masters?
Me-My parents will be sponsoring me and have an education loan of 35 lakhs sanctioned.
Vo-What does your parents do.
Me-Told.(Vo smiled when i told my mother is a teacher)
Vo-How much is your savings?
Me-told.
*vo typing for 10seconds and said -I m keeping your passport and approving your
visa.Have a good day.
Me-Thanku soo much mam.

The interview was smooth for me and i hardly fumbled.It lasted around 1min or so.
Tip-Confidence is the key.Look into the eye of vo while speaking.And listen carefully
what they ask and avoid asking them to repeat.They wont grill you if your answers are
honest.

Cheers!!

Edit : 1st June

96.
VISA interview experience:
Appointment date: 31.05.2019
Appointment time: 10.30 A.M.
Place: Kolkata
Status: Approved

V.O. was in his 40s and American.

After waiting in the queue for around 1.5 hours, my turn arrived at around 11.25 A.M. ( It
was quite packed up that day)

V.O.: Give me your passport please

Me: Goodmorning Sir, and handed over the passport
V.O.: Goodmorning and pass me that i20 too.
Me: Sure Sir, passed it on
V.O.: (fixing his eyes on the computer screen) Ma’am please tell me when did you pass
your undergraduation ?
Me: in 2015
V.O.: In what course?
Me: Computer Science and Engineering
V.O.: (still looking at the screen) Oh I see you have worked with Infosys after that. OK
why did you decide to do Masters?
Me: (all the rehearsed answers didn’t help at all :P) Well,after I worked in the IT industry, I
realised I should enhance my knowledge and skill set further, and I want to specialise in
Machine Learning, specially Deep Learning. That has driven me to this decision.
V.O.: How many schools did you apply to?
Me: I applied to six universities.
V.O.: Name them
Me: University at Texas Dallas, University at Buffalo New York, Arizona State University,
Indiana University Bloomington, University of Cincinnati and Stony Brook University New
York.
V.O.: OK. How are you planning to fund your education ?
Me: My parents have some savings...( couldn’t complete the sentence when he pitched
in)
V.O.: What does your father do?
Me: He’s into automobile service industry and owns an organisation XYZ which deals
with ....(told)
V.O.: I am still not convinced. Please tell me again what he does?
Me: ( my heart pounding faster than ever) clarified and explained the whole thing again to
the best of my ability and knowledge. He was looking at me and the screen alternatively.
V.O.:How many people work under him ?
Me: around 100-150
V.O.: Where is the office located?
Me: in Kolkata only.
V.O.: Oh.. Do they have a website?
Me: Yes Sir. You can check it online
V.O.: Wow that seems good. Name it.
Me: Told him the name of the website.
V.O. : Is your mother a housewife?
Me: Yes Sir. ( seeing him pausing for a while and staring at the screen I added one
sentence) Sir I also have an educational loan sanctioned for XX lakhs.
V.O.: OK. Ma’am your VISA’s approved and you’ll be notified in 2-3 days
Me: Thank you very much Sir!

P.S: You can rehearse as much as you like before the interview but those 2-3 minutes at
the counter, your impromptu skills will save you. There will always be 1-2 questions that
will come to you most unexpectedly. One thing will help you, try to analyse your
application and the probable areas you can be grilled in. Always put a smile no matter
what. Even when you are confused as hell and not sure of what you are speaking, make
eye contact while you speak and with a smile. That will show the VO how much you are
confident. Dress comfortably and answer crisply and in full sentences. I hope this helps!
:-)

Earlier to 31st May :

1.
Visa experience:
23-May-2019
Location: Hyderabad
Appointment time: 11
Status: Approved

For San Jose State University - Software Engineering

My passport and I-20 were handed over to VO by a representative

Me: Good morning Mam

VO: Good Morning, (she was looking into I-20) ..so San Jose State University right?
How many other schools did you apply to ? ( I heard it as what scores did you get and
asked if she meant gre score? Then she repeated the question again)
Me: 4
VO: Which universities
Me: UNT,UTA,UTD, SJSU ( gave full forms)
VO: All 3 from Texas and then San Jose? Why?
Me: The courses in these universities are related to my area of interest
VO: what is your area of interest
Me: I want to Specialize in subjects of software engineering like enterprise distributed
systems and application development
VO: what's distributed systems
Me: All enterprises , for example to manage their financial or project related aspects
maintain systems and software components. To learn about the data transmission,
transactions,data maintenance and performance aspects of such systems. ( I fumbled
here and there and may have said some additional points ,but outline was this)
VO: who is going to sponsor you
Me: I have secured education loan and my parents are sponsoring and have savings in
my account
VO: what does your father do
Me: He worked for XXX Automobiles as Branch manager and after retirement started
freelance consulting in automobiles and insurance
VO: what is his annual income
Me: xx lakhs per annum
VO: So you have to mostly rely on education loan as the income is low?
Me: But he has savings of about xxx USD from previous work experience
VO: Ooh
VO: so you have any relatives / siblings in US
Me: yes my sister stays there
VO: what is she doing
Me: she is on H4 , currently on a break
VO: I am approving your visa, please take care of this i-20 ( kept passport with her and
passed back i-20
Me: Thank you Mam

2.
Visa experience

Date: 31st May 2019

Location: Hyderabad
Status: Approved
Admit: PhD in chemical engineering, University of Tennessee
Visa officer rejected one F1 and two B2 visas rejected before me

VO: Pass me your i20, looking at it and said oooohhh doctoral study!!!!
VO: Where have you done your masters?
Me: Here in Hyderabad at IIT
Vo: What topic you'll be doing your research on?
Me: Told about my interest in fuel cells and that my current work is also related to fuel
cells
VO: What is a fuel cell?
Me: Told about it briefly, how it be integral part in future (listening patiently and nodding
in approving manner)
VO:Nice, Do you have any scholarship?
Me: told about waiver and stipend
VO: Nice, your visa is approved
Showing i20 and said take this document while you travel.
Me: Thank you!

Suggestion: Be confident, don't care about what happens in front of you and let that
affect your confidence.
What I observed with the people in front of me is they were not confident with their
answers, so be confident and give straight answers!

3.
Consulate: Mumbai
Date: 31st May 2019
Slot: 10:15 AM
In Time: 9.10 AM
OutTime: 11.00 AM
Status: Visa Approved ✅
VO was in the mid 30s

I reached the consulate almost 1 hour 15mins prior to the slot timings. There was already
a line formed outside the consulate for 10.15 AM Slot, so I stood in the queue for 15-20
mins and then they let us in. Inside during security check, make sure you do not have
any electronic devices, pen drives and watches (some mechanical watches are allowed,
smart bands are not). After the security area, there is a lawn with sitting where I sat for
about 45 mins and then entered the main building. There they take fingerprints and then
into another line you have to wait for your number. They manually allot window numbers
when your turn arises. You have to stand behind the yellow line when they send you at
the counter and when the VO calls you may proceed.
There are a lot of people to guide you, so need not worry about the above process!
Counter Number 33
The person before me got a reject as he did not hear to the question properly. He was
asked for documents by VO and he stood still as if he did not understand or listen
anything. So guys make sure that you are attentive and ask them to say it again if you
don't hear. Don't just ignore the instructions!
He was not ready to leave the window and the VO called me collected my passport. He
said "Bye" for the final time to the previous guy!😅

Duration: Merely 45 seconds

VO: Please pass me your passport.

Me: Sure, here it is.
VO: Pass me the i20 as well.
Me: Passed it
VO: So you are going for which course at SUNY Binghamton?
Me: Sir, MS in Computer Science.
VO: Which universities did you apply?
Me: 6 universities....I was telling the names.
VO interrupted in between: How are you going to pay for education?
Me: Sir, my parents are sponsoring me.
VO: What does your father do?
Me: My father works as an Assistant Manager (I was again Interrupted by VO here)😂
VO: You Visa is Approved!👍

Said those golden words and did not allow me to complete the sentence!😀

He handed over a white slip with formal instructions about the delivery of passport,
returned my i20. I greeted him 'Thank you, Sir. Have a great day ahead!' and left the
counter.

Few things from my side:

1. Confidence is the only key for Visa.
2. Make sure you stay calm and listen to the visa officer properly. Answer what he has
asked and be attentive.
3. Wear formals or casual comfortable clothes. Avoid Fancy watches. Have breakfast
before you visit the consulate.

Lastly, Be Cool and look confident. Visa is Yours!😊

4.
My Visa Experience
University Name: Arizona State University

Program : MS in Mechanical Eng.

Date: 30 May 2019

Slot: 11:30 A.M
Consulate : Delhi

Visa Status : approved

I reached the embassy at 11:00 AM and everything was done by 11:55.

VO was a lady with a very polite nature. Interview process was very comfortable and
always received a positive feedback from her.

Me: Good Morning

VO: Please give me your passport and i20
Me: Ya sure..

VO: Where are you going ?

Me: I am going to Arizona State university in Tempe.

VO: Which program?

For Masters in Mechanical Engineering.

VO: and your specialisation ??

Me: (Told her)

VO: Have you ever travelled internationally ?

Me: Yes ma’am last year (Named the country )

VO: For vacations

Me: Yes ma’am. For vacations.

VO: So your fees is 90000 dollar.

Me: Yes ma’am. 47000 dollar each year. That’s app 90

VO: Do you have any other admits also ?

Me: I got 2 more admits (Named them, This is time she looked impressed)
VO: Tell me about your specialisation
Me: ( Told her)

VO: and about your coursework

Me: My coursework require 3 subjects and i have registered all of them ( I realised she
was expecting the name of subjects, so named them)

VO: So it requires 3 subjects per semester, right ??

Me: Yes ma’am.

VO: Ok. Who is sponsoring you?

Me: My father and my uncle, they are sponsoring for my education and i have taken a
bank loan also.

VO: How much cash do you have right now?

Me: We have XXX in our account.

VO: What’s you father’s occupation?

Me: (Told her)

VO: and your uncle’s?

Me: (Told her)

VO: How much amount of bank loan have you taken?

Me: XX lacs that is XX dollars

VO: Is it disbursed?
Me:Yes ma’am,It is approved and sanctioned.

VO: Where you are going to live?

Me: In Tempe.

VO: i mean where in Tempe

Me: off-campus

VO: Have you booked your apartment ?

Me: No ma’am

VO: did you ever apply for university in US?

Me: No, ma’am.

She asked some more questions about financials as previously it made some confusion
to her. But we figured it out instantly.
(She was looking at her computer for about a minute)

VO: i am approving your visa and you will receive your passport in 9-10 days.
Me: Thank you ma’am and have a nice day.

Tips:
1. Try to mention all amounts in dollars.

2. Do not panic or stress yourself if you think something unusual is happening at any
time.

3. My answers were quick and spot on. I think That’s why she believed my every word
and didn’t check any of my document even when i offered her.

Whole interview took only 5-7 minute and i might have forgot some questions also.
Hope this will help you.

5.
Visa experience- Delhi consulate
Status- approved
University- San Jose state

Even before I reached the counter

VO- good morning. Pass me your passport
I- hi, good morning.
VO- what is the purpose of your travel
I- to study masters in computer science at San Jose state
VO- pass me your i20. which other universities did you apply to?
I- told
VO- why San Jose state?
I- I was looking for a course more inclined towards the practical aspect of Cs and the
faculty at San Jose comprises of adjunct faculty who work for Silicon Valley companies.
VO- what do you mean by practical aspect? Do you want to work there?
I- no, I want to work on projects in the university itself in collaboration with the
professors
VO- what do you plan to do after masters?
I- machine learning is an upcoming course in India. The IITs have just started making it a
part of the curriculum. I plan to come back and teach machine learning in India.
VO- (smiles) teach?
I- (smiled back)yes
VO- okay, who is paying for your education?
I- my parents are primarily paying for my education. I have some savings of my own as
well
VO- what do your parents do?
I- told
VO- what are their salaries?
I- told
VO- okay I am approving your visa. Thank you.
I- thank you with a big smile.

6.
Visa Experience
Name : Ridhuvarshan
University: SUNY Binghamton
Consulate : Chennai
Slot : 9:00 AM (around 9:30 when interview started)
Counter : 30
VO: Caucasian guy in mid 30s with salt and pepper beard and a friendly smile
Status : Approved

Me : Good morning sir

VO: Good morning. pass me your passport and i20. Which university?
Me : State University of New York at Binghamton.
VO: How did you come to know about this university?
ME: There is a site called yocket which helps in shortlisting universities based on our
profile. Also I have friends in the SUNY schools who have given a good review about this
university.
VO: How do you spell the site? (He asked about yocket). Which SUNY schools your
friends are in?
Me : SUNY Stony Brook
VO : How are you planning to sponsor your studies?
Me : My father is the primary sponsor. I am also working, so I have some savings of own.
In addition to these, I have got an educational loan. I believe the combination of these 3
would be more than sufficient to complete my graduate studies.
VO: What does your father do?
Me : told
VO: What is his income?
Me : Told
VO : What does your mother do?
ME : told
VO: what do you do?
ME : I am a full stack web application developer at a company called XXX.
VO: Then why masters now?
Me: During my time here, I have gained a lot of knowledge. This also taught me that there
is much left for me to learn. So to keep myself updated with the cutting edge technology,
I decided that this would be the perfect time for me to do my masters.
VO: What is your income?
Me : Told
VO: What universities did you apply for?
ME: UT Arlington, UNCC, Syracuse, Dayton(All in full forms)
VO: You got admit in all?
Me: No sir, I got admit in Dayton and Suny Binghamton(I had applied to Dayton in Spring
because they themselves called and offered me admission, without application fees,
official GRE and TOEFL sending, SOP LOR etc. It would be a negative point to say I have
admit only from Binghamton, so I mentioned Dayton also, though it was spring).
VO: What was your Bachelors degree and where?
Me : BE Computer Science and Engineering at XXX.
VO: Congratulations, your visa is approved.
Me: Thank you sir.

He didn't ask me about University, courses, CPT, OPT, plans after ms, GRE, TOEFL, UG
scores etc. He didn't ask for any documents except passport and i20. No one including
the security asked for Visa Appointment confirmation, DS160 or SEVIS fee receipt.

7.
My Visa experience
Name: Payal Mehta
Date: 31st May
Consulate: Mumbai
Slot: 10:45am
In time : 9:30am Out time: 10:55am
Interview took about a minute
Me: hello, good morning
VO: no response
VO: why are you going to new york?
Me: sorry? <couldn't hear clearly>.
He repeated his question.
Me: I am going to pursue my masters in computer science at stony brook University
VO: ah! Pass your F1 document.
Me: confused but I passed my i20
VO: Why stony brook?
Me: coursework, ranking, great professors in data science (which is my field of interest)
VO: how will you manage your expenses?
Me: I and my father will be sponsoring my education. We have a combined savings of 12L
and an education loan of 40L
VO: What does your father do?
Me: he is an accountant. He manages accounts and finances at a company in Mumbai
VO: Are you married?
Me: <shocked and offended a little 😅> No
VO: what are your plans after graduation?
Me: I want to come back and apply as a data scientist in India. We have abundant of
opportunities in our country but not enough skills. I want to apply my acquired
knowledge to work in a better role at my country
VO: do you have an existing loan?
Me: <confused as I just mentioned I have one> . Yes. I have taken one for my masters.
VO: okay. Your visa is approved. Have a good day! Bye.

8.
F1 Visa Interview Experience
Name: Suraj Thite
University: Ubiversity of Colorado Boulder, MS in Electrical and Electronics
Engineering(ESE)
Date: May 31 2019
Consulate: Mumbai
Time slot: 10:15
Status: Approved

VO: Good Morning,How are you

Me: Good Morning sir, I am fine .. How are you??
VO: I am doing well! Please pass me your passport,i20 and sevis reciept.
Me:Passed with a smiling face.
VO:So.. University of Colorado Boulder!! Did you choose this location because of its
weather?
Me: Yes sir...I have checked that Boulder recieves almost 365 days of sunshine
year.Also it is rated top college towns to live in.

VO:Ohh which program are you going for?

Me:Sir, i am going for Master of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from
University of Colorado, Boulder.
VO:How many universities have you applied ??
Me:Sir, I have applied to 5 universities namely....#############.
VO:Why CU Boulder.??
Me: CU Boulder is the flagship campus of the CU system in Colorado state which offers
specialization in Embedded Systems Engineering In ECEE departments.It provides
courses such as.
***VO interrupted me and asked who is financing my education?**
ME:sir, My dad is financing my graduate education along with my personal savings.
VO:What is your dad?
Me:Sir, My dad is a gazzeted officer at central goverment of india.

VO:Your visa is approved.. come and collect your passport after 3 days.

Remarks:VO didnot ask for a single document except i20,sevis and passport.
Confidence is the key and its ok to slow down your speech and keep your anxiety in
control so that he understands what you are trying to say.Afterall they are also humans!
Best of Luck for remaining applicants!!
I hope this recview of my F1 student visa experience is useful to you.

9.
Consulate: Chennai
Date: may 30
Time:10:45
Counter: 27
Vo is young lady and rejected one before me

Vo:hello how are you?

Me: I am good
Types something
Vo:so who told you about uta??
Me:my friend and an alumni
Vo: So MBA
Me: No business analytics
Looks at i20 and gets confused (clarified her as it's written business statistics)
Vo:tell me about this course??
Me:told
Vo:when did you graduate??
Me:2018
Vo: what are you doing since then?
Me :told
Vo: so why USA why not Canada?
Me:told about infrastructure and exposure
Vo: name universities you applied ?
Me:told
Vo:so why uta ?
Me: told it offers me both technical expertise and business knowledge
Vo:what is duration of the course
Vo:So what courses you will do in your 1st sem?
Me:told
Vo:what class are looking forward to??
Me: Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence
Vo:why this class?
Me:told
Vo:so how are you gonna pay ??
Me:took laon ×××× $ and my mother has savings of ××××
Vo:any siblings
Me:yes,an elder sister
Vo:what does she do?
Me :she is right now on h1b Visa in USA
Vo:where does she work?
Me:Minneapolis
Vo:what does your mother do ?
Me:told
Vo:what are your plans after MS?
Me: I want work with any company which deals with data preferably in Hyderabad or my
home state.
Vo Types a lot
Vo: I am approving your Visa.all the best for your future plans with a huge smile

10.
Visa experience
Consulate :Hyderabad
Date: 30.5.2019
Univ:Wichita state
University
Counter no: 11
Vo was a young lady in late 20s
Me: Good morning​ mam.how​ r u doing?
Vo:good morning ,Iam gud
Me: Iam fine mam
Vo: why USA?
Me: To pursue my masters in computer networking at Wichita State University.
Vo:what is ur dream?
Me: To become computer network engineer
Vo: what will they do?
Me: network engineer use information technology to design network for all employees
to use.These dat nws include lans and wans.
Vo: what is ur major in under grad?
Me: Electronics and Communication
Vo: undergrad perc
Me: 72%
Vo: GRE score?
Me: 293
Vo:how many univs u applied to?
Me: I applied to 6.
Vo: can u name them?
Me: unt,uta and usf apart from Wichita.
Vo: so who is sponsoring u?
Me: I had an education loan of xxxlakhs and my parents have savings of xxxlakhs lakhs
with scholarship of 10,200$which is around 7.5 lakhs.
Vo: what is ur dad?
Me: he owns a transport business.
Vo: can u explain his business?
Me: told.
I was den waiting for the other qn.she returned my i20 and told with a smile ur Visa got
approved.Have a nice stay in us.
Thank you so much ma'am.have a nice day🙂

11.
VISA EXPERIENCE
Date - 28th May, 2019
Slot - 8.30
Consulate - Hyderabad
Counter : 15
University - Arizona State University
Course - MSCS

VO : Next please
Me : (Stepped forward)
VO : Good morning
Me : Good morning ma'am. How are you?
VO : Pass me your i20
Me : (passed)
VO : So when did you apply to Arizona state
Me : Last week of November ma'am
VO : When did you graduate
Me : I will be graduating next month ma'am
VO : Oh, so you did not graduate yet. Ok. what's your GPA
Me : 9.24 upto 7th semester and 8th semester result is pending
VO : Why Master's
Me : During my Bachelor's I was able to explore the breadth of CS and have also found
my areas of interest which are human computer interaction and software engineering.
Now I would like to go in-depth in my field.
VO : Do you have any friends at this school
Me : No ma'am but I would love to make new friends
VO : How are you taking care of finances
Me : Ma'am I have taken an education loan of XX lakhs from State Bank of India and the
rest is sponsored by my mother
VO : So what do your parents do
Me : (told)
VO : Do you have any loan document
Me : Yes ma'am. (passed the loan sanction letter)
VO : Is this the only loan document that you have
Me : Yes ma'am
VO : Is it possible that you know your parents income
Me : Yes ma'am and (told)
VO : I'm passing you this i20.
(passed both i20 and loan sanction letter)
Me : Took both documents and was waiting while she was typing something.
VO : Yea, your visa is approved.
Me : Thankyou ma'am.

Notes :
1. VO rejected a boy infront of me because he did not listen to her questions properly.
When she asked him to pass i20, he didn't. When she asked second time he did.
Then she asked a question, and he started answering which was completely unrelated to
the question asked. Maybe he did not hear properly. Here, I think he should have asked
her to repeat but he assumed and went on.
The VO got irritated and told him "For studying in US, you should know English and for
that you must answer my questions."
She asked the question again and even before he could answer, she rejected him.
2. I will not say to 'BE CONFIDENT' because it is natural to get tensed as only the person
standing infront of VO will know how it feels. But we can 'ACT CONFIDENT'. Smile atleast
at the initial greeting.
And most importantly be clear in your thoughts. Do not fumble alot. Even if you do not
know the answer, tell something because she is not there to judge how correct or
accurate your answer is.
I do not know if luck plays its part here but your dressing, initial greeting and a smile
does make an impression on VO.

12.
VISA INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE

Consulate: New Delhi

Date: 30 May 2019, 10 a.m.
University: Purdue University
Course: MS in Business Analytics and Information Management
Approved.

Background: Okay, this was a thrilling experience as I had already quit my job, 2 weeks
before the interview. And also I rejected most of my alternate admits. Moreover, I had this
one chance only as the course starts within 10 days, so yeah I was cutting it tight.

Delhi Embassy Experience: Reached the place at 0915-20 and was done by 1030-40. The
first queue outside the consulate is just for scanning the barcode on the backside of your
passport. Keep your passport out there. Then there is a security check where the only
thing you can keep with you is money (notes). All other items such as watch, belt, etc.
must be kept in the basket. After that, you are seated in rows and row-by-row everyone is
sent inside the office. It is here where you can buy refreshments, drink water or use the
washroom. Inside, firstly the biometrics is done. They will require your passport and I-20
too. And lastly, you will follow the yellow line into the main queue for the Visa Interview.
There will be around 9-10 active counters.

Interview:
VO: Good Morning.
Me: Hello, good morning.
* VO asked for passport and I-20. Passed it over *
VO: Which university?
Me: Purdue.
VO: Which other universities did you apply to?
* Mentioned all the 5 universities I applied to *
VO: Why Purdue?
* Talked about the research-based approach at Purdue. Gave the example of BIAC, which
is specific to my course. Talked about flexibility in the curriculum and case study based
approach. *
VO: What are you plans after MS?
Me: Firstly I will use the OPT… (Interrupted)
VO: After the OPT?
* Talked about the rising scope of data science and business analytics in India and job
opportunities, supported by some data. Then mentioned about working for specific firms
as a data scientist *
VO: What do your parents do? They are sponsoring you, right? (Written in the I-20)
* Told *
VO: What are their annual salaries?
* Told *
It is here where the Visa was approved. The environment was quite positive around here
and I saw many Visas getting approved specially in the F-1 category.
All the best to everyone appearing for the interview! Hope this would have been of some
help.

13.
My Visa Experience:

*Consulate* : Hyderabad
*Counter* : 12
*Date* : 30th May, 2019
*Time:* 8:30 AM

*Background*: I have been to US on B1 a year back where my visa was put on hold for
administrative processing for a month and then it got approved. My team in the company
I'm working right now, develops and verifies Autoflight Software for New Boeing flight
777x(Boeing is our client)

*Me* : Good morning mam

*Vo* : Good morning. So you have been to US before?
*Me:* Yes mam. Last year.
*Vo:* what were you doing there?
*Me* : Told
*Vo* : What do you do for Boeing?
*Me* : We develop and verify Autoflight Software for Boeing 777x flight
*Vo* : What do you think about the issue with 737 max?(Search online if you don't know
about this)
*Me:* Told that they didn't took enough time to develop the software to be in the
competition with Airbus A320 neo. Also told that the software was developed by different
company.
*Vo* : Who is gonna sponsor for your trip?
*Me* : I have an education loan of 35 lakhs. My father will be funding the remaining
amount.
*Vo* : What does he do?
*Me* : Told about his Job and Salary
*Vo* : Passed me the White Slip(221g) and she told that my profile has to go through
Additional Processing *just like last time* (Me:🤦🏻​♂)and I'll have to submit some Docs
online to the Consulate

I was disappointed that all the focus was on the company I'm working right now and the
work I do. So, I don't think this experience will be helpful for many. Yet I'm sharing this
and I thank everyone for sharing their Visa experience which helped me prepare for the
interview. I hope my visa gets approved.

14.
Visa experience 28th May 2019
Consulate : Rwanda, Africa
Timing : 13:30 Hrs
Status : Approved
Work ex : 4 yrs (2yrs India, 2 international)
University: NJIT
Interview duration : 2 mins

Process here is pretty different. Biometric is done on same day. At the time of biometric
they take our i20, DS-160 and passport and give token number. After biometric they call
out token & counter number and we have to go to that particular counter.

VO was an African American but I didn’t know this until I saw her. Her accent was killer
and was creating more fear in my mind. My token number was 14 and out of 13
applicants before me she approved only 4 or 5 i guess.

Me : Good afternoon! How are you? ( I learned to greet people this way after coming here
)
VO : I’m good, thank you.
VO : Why you want to visit USA? (She didn’t ask for passport and i20 as i had already
submitted it at the time of biometric)
Me : I’m going for pursuing masters in Software Engineering at NJIT.
After some typing...
VO : What are you here ?
Me : I’m working as software developer at xxxx from past 2 years.
VO : How you are going to fund your education ?
Me : Me and my father we both are going to fund my education. I have even secured an
education loan of worth xxx. We both combined have saving of.... she interrupted and
asked education loan from where ?
Me : From India. Do I need to show you loan sanction letter?
VO : Noo
After some more typing..
VO : Come on Friday at 11 am.
Me : I’m Sorry. Means what?
VO : Come on Friday at 11 am and collect your passport.
Me : That means you have approved my visa??
VO : Yes I did.
Me : Thank you, Thank you so much. With broad smile on face.
I don’t even remember when i collected green slip and i20.

Takeaway : There was so much of heat inside waiting area cause of number of rejections.
This is a point where you feel anxious and might loose confidence. Try to engage
yourself in conversation with someone, preferably who is not applying for Student visa
since it will bring out same questions and anxiety. I was playing with small kid aged 3-4
yrs. I was able to convince him say ABCD.. and then 1,2,3,4... I asked him to say alternate
numbers. I was saying 1 then he was saying 2 then me 3 and so on.. It was funny
everyone was looking at us. This helped me in staying calm and my mind was off
rejection thoughts.

Personally I didn’t do well in mock interviews but I had confidence. At the end if your
vision is clear then nobody can stop you from achieving it.

Good luck!

Regards
Nilesh Deokar,
@nieldeokar

15.
Date: 30th May 2019
University: Texas A&M College Station
Consulate: Mumbai
Time: 9:15am
In time: 8:50 am
Out time: 9:55 am
Status: approved
Counter number: 32
VO was a white guy in his early 30's

Most of the people had come for their tourist Visa's. I did not see any rejection. Most of
the F1 VISAs were also approved. My interview was approximately for 2 min.

Me: good morning Sir, how are you? Passing the i20 and passport to him.
VO: I am good sir, how are you?
Me: I am good too
(VO typing on the screen for 30 seconds with pin drop silence. I could hear my heartbeat
🙈)
VO: so how are you going to finance your education?
Me : my parents are sponsoring me and they have made special provision for me in the
form of FDs, mutual funds and shares to the tune of XX L.
Vo: what do your parents do?
Me: My father is the owner of a construction and land development company in pune and
my mother looks after the sales and marketing.
( VO typing again)
Vo: I see you have received a scholarship as well.
Me: yes sir
VO: How many universities you applied and how many admits you received?
Me: sir I applied to 8 Universities and got admit from 4
Vo : name the 4 ubis
Me: TAMU, ASU Stevens CSU Fullerton
Vo: what does ASU have which is poor in TAMU (this was a bouncer question, never read
it in any mocks or any peoples experiences
Me: the lab of lean construction is not that well equipped in TAMU as it is in ASU as told
by the seniors when I contacted them ( completely made it up on the spot)
( VO typing again and keeping the passport in the tray)
Vo: sir I wish you a nice stay in the US. Here's your i20
Me: thank you Sir, have a good day! 💖

No documents were asked other than i20

Ran out of the consulate extremely happy 🙈

16.
Visa Experience :

Consulate: Mumbai
Counter: 32
May 30, 08:30 AM slot
Status: Approved
Univ: Temple University (DS)

Me: Good Morning Sir

VO: Pass me your i20 and passport
Me: Passed
VO: How many schools you have applied ?
Me: 4
VO: What are they ?
Me: Temple, UNCC, Stevens and Virginia Tech
VO: Which univs you got admit and reject ?
Me: Admit from Temple, UNCC and Stevens
VO: Why do you want to do Masters ?
Me: Told
VO: How are you going to pay your fees ?
Me: My father will be sponsoring me and along with that I have taken a student loan from
SBI
VO: Do you have any family member at US ?
Me: Yes my elder brother is working on H1B at Chicago.
VO: Okay I am approving your visa
Me: Thank you Sir !!!

17.
Visa experience
Consulate: Hyderabad
Slot: 11am
University: SUNY buffalo
Course: Civil engineering (Environmental and water resources engineering)
Status: Accepted
Me: Good morning mam
Vo: good morning how are you
Me: I'm good mam how are you?
Vo: so SUNY buffalo
Me: yes mam
Vo: how many universities did you apply ?
Me: 6 mam
Vo: that's a lot y did u apply to so many?
Me: research topics vary widely in domain of environmental engineering some
universities just focus on water remediation some on air quality... I was interested in all
these.. so I have applied... ( She interrupted in the middle)
Vo: okay, why SUNY buffalo
Me: told
Vo: what is your final goal from this course
Me: the course provides me with expertise in various advanced water treatment methods
like nanotechnology and Ultimately I would like to implement all that I have learnt in India
as many regions in India lack potable water supply also I would like to use this
knowledge on remediation of Ganga water which is one of the most polluted rivers in the
world
Vo: okay how are you planning to fund your studies
Me: told my parents will be sponsoring me
Vo: what do they do and what is their annual income
Me: both of them are advocates and they have an annual income about 18 Lacs
Vo: that's low and wouldn't be sufficient
Me: mam they have savings of about XX Lacs and I have also taken a loan of XX from
Kotak Mahindra bank
Vo: okay
Was typing something continuously for a minute .... And then said I'm accepting your
visa please keep your i20 carefully
Me: thanks a lot mam

18.
Visa Experience -
Consulate: Delhi
Date & time: May 24th , 10:15 AM
GRE: 320 ( Q-168)
TOEFL: 103
University: RIT, MS Industrial Engineering
UG: 70%
Work Experience: 26 Months
Status: Approved

VO: Can you pass me your i20 and Passport please?

Me: Passed.
VO: Which College u are going to?
Me: Rochester Institute of Technology
VO: Why RIT?
Me: I have got scholarship and Assistantship also talked to a professor their they
convinced me to join their university.
VO: What other colleges u have applied to?
Me: Told
VO: What's ur Highest Qualification?
Me: Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering
VO: Who is sponsoring u?
Me: I have got a scholarship and apart from that my brother will be assisting me.
VO: What does ur brother do?
Me: He is a Professor in Jamia Milia Islamia University.
VO: (Types for a while) Okay your visa is approved.
Me: Thank u Sir u have made my day.

19.
First interview
Hyderabad Consulate
Young lady in her 20's
Counter no:10
She rejected three people infront of me...and the girl right infront of me was going to
sjsu...I shit my pants and lost my cool for a brief moment

VO: Hello Good Morning

Me:Good Morning
VO: So, Depaul!
Me:Yeah, DePaul!
VO: How did you know about DePaul? Did someone suggest that university to you?
Me:No, I've always known DePaul because it's famous for its game development course.
It ranks 20th in the world for game Dev according to Princeton review
VO: Is it really?
Me:Yes it is ...check when you're free
VO: So I'm guessing game development's your course
Me: Haha not really, mine is computer programming-specific applications, which is code
for Game Programming
VO: okay, what's your undergrad percentage
Me:69.59
VO: Do you have any arears?
Me: Have you seen engineering students without backlogs? And yeah I had
one..chemistry which is in no way related to game development
VO: did you clear it?
Me: Yeah long back
VO: Do you have any proof?
Me: oh yes(handed her the document)
VO: okay, when did you graduate?
Me:2018
VO:What have you been doing since?
Me:I worked for four months
VO: What about the rest?
Me: During the first four months after college, many of my friends were leaving for higher
studies so I wanted to have fun with them as we won't be able to meet for a couple of
years
VO:What next?
Me:The next four months I worked at a studio called Gamitronics here in Hyderabad
VO:What was your role there?
Me: I was a game programmer lel and I loved it there
VO: then why did you leave after four months
Me: By the last four months I got my DePaul admit so I wanted to spend some time with
my family as I won't be home for the next two years
VO:(with a smile on her face) who is sponsoring you?
Me:My dad
VO: What does he do?
Me:He is a Central Government Employee
VO:(Playfully) of which country?
Me:(laughing) India
VO: what is his job?
Me:He works for LIC
VO:what's LIC?
Me:It's the Life Insurance Corporation of India basically they pay your family money
when you die...weird job but yeah he's happy about it
VO:(Laughing)Okay, how much does he make?
Me: around 9 lakhs annually
VO: Are you going to opt for a loan?
Me:Opt? I already have my loan sanctioned
VO: Do you have the paper?
Me: Here it is....(I couldn't find it ..at all)
Me:Give me 1 minute...give me two minutes...give me two more minutes..my left hand
was shivering
VO: Okay while you search...what are you most excited about DePaul?
Me:(after she asked that question for some reason I was confident that I won't get
rejected) Honestly speaking, DePaul is in an urban setting unlike most universities...I
want to live in a city and lead a comfortable life...and most importantly DePaul has these
really cool projects were students from computing arts media schools work on Video
Games.
Me:(Finally found the document and handed it over)
VO: (was mumbling something to herself)
Me:what?
Vo:(again mumbling)
Me: Excuse me?
VO: Ha, I found it
VO: So where is the other document?
Me:(No clue what the other document was) this was the only document issued by the
bank
VO: There's gotta be another one
Me: I don't have any other one...this all (Fuck I'm gonna get rejected holy shit)
Me:(I lost my cool and was jittery) I have the documents of the apartment used as
collateral for the loan...I have the sale deed of the property ten years ago...I even have
today's evaluation of the property...( I kept passing all those documents)
VO: (Started Laughing) No No, stop..it's okay I'm approving your visa
Me: What?
VO: You heard me right...take your i20
Me: Give me a minute (starting packing my documents)
Also me: thank you ...I hope you have a great day like mine!
VO: Haha... congratulations again
Me:Thanks
😁😁

From my experience today...don't learn for the visa interview...dont answer the questions
like in an interview...just talk to the VO casually and I'm pretty sure you'll be good to go!

Overally it took over 10 minutes and I went in at 8:30 in the morning and got out at 9:30!

20.
My visa experience :

First attempt :
Consulate : Hyderabad
Counter: 10
May 9th , 10:30 AM slot
Status : REJECT

Me: good morning ma'am

VO: Pass me your i20 and passport
Me: passed
VO: How may schools you have applied to?
Me: 5
VO: What are they?
Me: Ub, Rutgers, Neu, uci, utd
VO : why this university?
Me: There are excellent research labs like programmimg research lab, applied machine
learning group, Neu nlp group which I can be part of and there are wide range of
electives and also I would like to work under Kevin Gold who has done a great research
in the field of Artificial intelligence. Course structure is well organized with wide range of
specializations and streamlined in each specialization.
VO: What are you doing?
Me: I have been working as senior technical associate at Bank of America since 2 years
VO: how are you fuding?
Me: I have a loan sanctioned from hdfc credila of XYZ and my parents are sponsoring
and they have savings of ABC and we have immovable assets worth PQR
VO: sorry, I can't approve your visa at this point of time and reason is explained in this
slip. (214b slip, potential immigrant, the reason will be the same for everyone who got
rejected)
--------------------------------------------------------
Second attempt :
May 15th, 9:00 AM slot,
Consulate : Hyderabad
Counter: 15
Status: 221g slip (administrative processing - financials verification)
Final Status: Approved (Status changed to issued on May 28th,2019)

Me: good morning sir, how are you doing?

VO: good morning (was in a good mood), I am doing fine. How about you?
Me: great sir, thanks!!
VO : Pass me your passport and i20
Me: Passed
VO : so you are going to northeastern university?
Me: yes sir
VO: explain about your final year project!!
Me: explained about my plagiarism detection project (no technical terms, just in normal
words)
VO : interrupted....what is your undergraduate percentage?
Me: 8.2 on a scale of 10
VO : Any backlogs?
Me : zero
VO : how are you funding?
Me: I have an education loan sanctioned and my parents are sponsoring and my mother
is a government servant
VO: can you give me your loan letter and bank statement?
Me: passed
VO : in which dept does your mother work?
Me: she works as a govt school teacher
VO: I am keeping all your documents, passport and i20 and we will perform a
administrative verification regarding your financials and giving you a case id and you can
track with it.(221g slip)
Me: thank you sir, may I know the estimated time for this process?
VO : It shouldn't be too long, don't worry!! Have a nice day!!
Me: thank you sir and wish you the same!!

Profile:

GRE: 316(167q)
TOEFL: 103(24R, 28L, 23S, 28W)
Undergrad: 8.16/10 (Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology Hyderabad, CSE)
2 years of Workex
University: Northeastern MS CS
PS: I got lucky with the slot for my second interview. I didn't expect that I would get a
date very near!! I just kept checking for dates and all of a sudden slots got opened up.

All the best to everyone who has their interview scheduled in the upcoming days!! :)

21.

** Posting My Visa Interview Experience **

Date: 24th May 2019
Consulate: Chennai
University: Arizona State University
Course: MS in CS
Visa status: Approved

The process was very simple.There was a queue outside the embassy.
There was a facility to put electronic devices and perfumes.
I had to walk for 10-15 ft to reach a door where a security stands and asks if you have any
electronic gadgets.
Bags were allowed. Passport will be checked twice near the queue and the door.
You will be allowed inside and your bag will be scanned. After the bag was scanned we
had to wait and sit on chairs.
After some time people were called on the basis of the alotted time slot.
You will be seated again and will be made to join a queue yet again.
Many people were there in the queue and a group of people from the group will be sent to
join the queue for the interview on the basis of the type of Visa.
I was very nervous till it was my turn.
The interview lasted for about 2-3 minutes. The VO was a young blue eyed white dude
with a military haircut aged about 30.

Me:- Good Morning Sir

VO:- Good Morning, Please pass me your passport
Me:- Gave
VO:- Please Pass me your I-20
Me:- Gave
VO:- What's the highest degree you hold?
Me:- Bachelors
VO:- CS?
Me:- No. IT
VO:- Ok So Arizona State. Why ASU?
Me:- I chose ASU as it is one of the few universities with a research lab in Blockchain
VO:- Oh Blockchain. What is the use of Blockchain?
Me:- Told
VO:- What are applications of Blockchain you are looking for?
Me:- Told
VO:- Have you been to any other country before?
Me:- No
Vo:- Have you been to the US before?
Me:- No
VO:- Have you applied to any other universities?
Me:- NYU Tandon, SUNY Buffalo, UTD, NEU
VO:- What admits did you get?
Me:- SUNY Buffalo, UTD and ASU
VO:- Who's sponsoring you?
Me:- My father
VO:- What does he do?
Me:- Told that he's a Govt employee and his designation
VO:- What's his annual salary in lakhs?
Me:- Told
VO:- Does your mother work?
Me:- No
VO:- Do you have any work experience?
Me:- Yes, 2 Years of Workexp in Blockchain
VO:- Ok
VO:- (Typing)
VO:- (With a smile) I am approving your Visa. Good luck with Blockchain .
Me:- Thanks a lot Sir :)

The VO was friendly (He even said Namaste) and that brought a lot of confidence in me.
I wish you guys all the best and advice you to be confident as that's more important than
you think :D

22.
My visa experience (im a girl)
Status : accepted ✅
University of central missouri
Hyderabad
Date: 24th may 2019
Time : 8:30 am

1) At 7:45 im allowed to stand in line on footpath...which took 15 min tym to reach the
main gate(no:1)

2) at main gate Ur asked to show your passport and DS 160 stamped (on finger print day)
3) after entering main gate u can see small waiting area with chairs in open place....where
u should take off ur belts and they will give u a grey colour tray in which u have to place
everything (file ,passport, ds 160, belt etc)

4) next along with the tray u are allowed into the checking room wher ur tray will be
scaned

5)after checking u can take all ur items from tray....and leave the tray outside the room

6) after coming out of room ull find a short walkway(like a balcony) and ull have chairs in
the walkway where u have to wait for 4-5 minutes

7) they will tell u a counter number....so entire row who are sitting in the walkway should
go and stand in that counter

8) this is the counter where they will collect ur passports.....and take ur finger prints of
left hand (the lady in the counter checks ur finger prints and face whether its matching to
passport)and returns ur passport

9)u r allowed to wait in small waiting hall where u have washrooms and drinking water
and a tv

10) next u should stand in a line (this is the final line just before ur interview) u will be
given tokens one by one (the persons who have completed their interviews will be giving
their tokens to person....and he will be giving it to you one by one)

11) after getting the counter number take out the i20 and go to the counter which u got

12) ull find 1-3 members before you

13) they will collect ur i20 and give it to visa officer before u start ur interview

14) its my turn now.....the person before me got accepted

Interview start😅
Vo is a black woman :counter13
(persons may change daily)
Me: good morning mam with a great smile 😀👈🏻

Vo: good morning with no expression

Vo: she spoke something but i dint get her 😳

Vo: she spoke something...but i dint get her again😥

Me: soo sorry mam i dint get u

Vo: whats ur last higher degree u obtained

Me: i have very recently completed my bachelors in april 2019 with great smile😊

Vo: whats ur percentange

Me: i have an aggregate of 8.0 out of 10 with confidence 😉(though im in tension that i
asked her to repet the question 3 tyms....but i dint loose my confidence and maintained
the smile constantly😄

Vo: so university of central missouri

Me: yes mam😃

Vo:why did u choose this university

Me: ucm is the best among which i have applied....i have a big script but she has sugar
😂😅she went on inturrupting she only wanted main point

Vo: how did u get to know about ur university

Me: i shortlisted 5 univ from internet based on my....again intrupted

Vo:which website very seriously

Me:​ ucmo.edu​ (something i got in mind) never tell about consultancy

Vo: again what

Me:​ ucmo.edu

Vo:why only this clg

Me: research done by faculty in this university is pretty fascinating 😻👈🏻 im personally
intrestind in some of them like....she interrupted me agin

Vo:whos is funding ur study

Me:my parents are funding my education....i have an education loan of this amount and
my parents have savings with tgis amount very confident and i answered straight looking
into her eyes
She dint even ask me to show any documents....😅
Vo: im approving ur visa have a great day....she threw my i20 back
Me: thank you soo much mam😍😃 have a great day...she dint even look at me😅

Ur gre score dosent matter

Ur university dosent matter
Ur luck and confidence with good smile matters

Dont be tensed think that ur only going to bring ur us ticket in that counter😄 just a
general convo with the counter person😇

Lie with confidence if u have backlogs😄😂 im lucky she dint ask me about my profile :
Backlogs: 1
Gre: 286 (if she ask why less i would confidently say...i dont thik these are less scores
these are avrg scores and i got admitts from clgs i wish)
Ielts:6.0
Group: CSE
Aggregate:7.9 but i lied😛

Dont be scared for the queues tgat u stand and the environment its just like train ticket
counter in very small old room....😄

All the best guys be confident and be cool and smile while answering 😇

23.
Warning lost post, but worth reading.

*Visa Interview*

Consulate : Delhi
Univ : Northeastern University
Course : masters in bioinformatics
Date : 28 may 2019
Time slot : 9.15
In : 9.00
Out : 10.05
Counter : 13
Status : Approved

Vo was a black lady looking calm, not smiling with a straight face, with little indian
accent, i also heard she was talking to some old ppl before me for visitor visa in Hindi a
little bit, she approved one f1 and one old couple visiting visa before me, this give lot of
confidence.

Me: good morning mam, how are you?( Quit loud and with bright smile)
Vo: good morning, pass me your passport ( without smile and typing)
Vo: how many univ u applied?
Me: i applied to 3 and got admit in 2( although i applied to 5)
Vo: can u name them.
Me: Indiana Univ Bloomington, george Washington, and Neu
Vo: why neu?
Me: neu offers wide range of electives to choose with core courses as i m going to
pursue Bioinformatics which is multi disciplinary field so we have the freedom to choose
from available 5 conc, plus within course work they are offering data analysis certificate
so i can get my masters degree and certificate too(interrupted she seems not interested
and dosent even look at me)
Vo: what neu has which other univ dont
Me: course structure aligns with my research interests
Vo: whats ur research interests?
Me:(i m totally blacked out with this question i didn't expected this and never saw vo
asking, i took a pause and trying to say something but words can't come to my mouth
and then suddenly vo looks towards me and keep staring at me, i was so nervous ) than i
started blabbering here there i want to research on new personalize medicine, as it is the
future of pharma industry.(i replied with a smile and nervousness in my eyes)
Vo: (smilled) ok who is sponsoring you?
Me: my father plus i have education loan approved.
Vo: what is the interest rate of your loan?
Me:( i thought i blabbered and panicked so she is finding way to reject me) but with a
smile i told 12.5%.
Vo: what your father do?
Me: he is a govt officer.
Vo: his role?
Me: he is working in delhi govt from last 22 years in dept of higher education.
Vo: when did you graduate?
Me: 2018
Vo: what have you been doing last year?
Me: i took some online courses and working on my owm project.
Vo: ok your visa is approved, study hard.

I was so shocked, it started good, went rough and then ended well, i cant even believe its
approved and done, i thanked vo and left.

No documents were asked,

Tips:
1. This year its soo cool dont take tension.
2. Dont listen whats happening on other counters.
3. Keep smile on face even u know u r screwed.
4. Have confidence on face.
5. I learned a trick to just smile when u r standing in line, or anywhere even when u r
feeling nervous it really remove all bad energy and give u boost.

Profile: Bsc biotechnology

Gre 322
Toefl 112
Cgpa 5.84

Many people last year advised me to apply low tier univ with low cgpa, still i applied to all
the best univ, for my course and got admits, so its the tip for students applying this year,
US univ look for more than marks, i always knew this and have believe in me, u should
also keep faith in your self dont go to any coaching centre for gre u can do it urself its
easy take maghoosh if u want, dont go to consultancy they only misguide you research
well, do hard work, practice for visa question in front of mirror.
I am also in same position as yours last year, in may i started whole process from
scratch, it took 1 year, thanks for all the people who helped or even not, this is the best
platform for students like us.

Good luck.😇

24.
Consulate : Mumbai
Time in : 8.45
Time out : 10.45
University : UTD
Counter :32

I was waiting for around 17 mins ahead of the counter. There was this guy ahead of me,
his interview lasted for abt 20 mins plus i guess. VO was a white lady in her 30s...finally
she rejected this guy's visa and called me up.

Me- Hi, good morning with a big smile.

VO- Good morning. Gimmi sometime
Me- sure
Vo- (After 20 secs) yep pass me ur passport, i20 and sevis
Me- here you go
Vo- How do u know abt this program.
Me- I have done my own research over the internet & also i has received brochures frm
Universities.
Vo- So why UTD?
Me- Flexible curriculum, research work.. Bla bla
Vo- what was ur second choice of the university if not UTD.
Me- Stevens
Vo- Who is sponsoring you.
Me- My father is my sponsor. His salary is XX and works as xx at yy.
VO - How do you plan to repay the loan.
Me- after masters i will work at top IT firm like x, y, z as i am aware that they pay xx
salaries for yy posts.
VO- OKAY... I AM APPROVING YOUR VISA

suggestion - Just be prepared and confident with a smile... Chin up.. Eye contact

25.
Visa interview experience
Date: 7th May 2019
Consulate: Islamabad
Counter number: 13
University: Florida International University
Visa status: Administrative Processing

The interview lasted just a minute

VO: Why are you going to the US?

Me: To pursue my PhD degree

VO: PhD in which subject?

Me: PhD in Computer Science, more specifically the research topic focuses on using
hardware acceleration for big data problem.

The VO was typing while I was answering.

VO: Do you have a document describing your PhD program?

Me: Should I submit my admission letter?

VO: No, something that describes your PhD program in detail.

Me: I have my Statement of Purpose.

VO: Yes that would do. Also give me your CV.

Me: Here is my CV.

VO: Something on your advisor?

Me: I have my advisor's CV.

VO: Thats perfect. Your application has been put into administrative processing, which
means it is refused at the moment but we need more information to reach a decision.

VO handed me the 221g slip, he took my passport and returned the I-20.

26.
Forwarded (Not mine).

Please have a look and tell what might be the reasons for the rejections?

1st interview
Mumbai consulate

VO: Why NJIT

Me: NJIT Data Science program provides a dedicated curriculum for data science, where
in the core subjects as well as electives are related to Data science related fields. As my
area of interest is Big data Analytics ,they have a big lab for Big data analytics which is
funded by Microsoft where they carry out interesting research works, currently they are
researching in crowd sourcing analytics . They professors at NJIT are themselves data
scientist hence its an added advantage.

VO: how many schools have you applied?

ME: 4, I got admits from 2 and waiting decision from one Admits :NJIT, MTU , Waiting for
decision : Stevens institute and reject from NEU(jumbled up the name of this university,
but corrected it)
VO: Why reject from NEU?
ME: Due to lack of seats for this program in NEU

VO: What is your GRE score?

ME: 304, 147 in verbal and 157 in quants
VO: When did you graduated?
ME: 2013
VO: what are you doing since then?
ME: I did my post graduate diploma in advanced computing from CDAC after which I was
hired by HSBC and currently I am working in Principal Global Services
VO: who will sponsor you?
ME: I have approved loan of $80,000 ,I have scholarship of $2000, and rest of the $25000
will be funded by my parents thru savings in the form of saving account, FD and PPF

VO: what do your parents work one?

ME: My father is a pharmacist from lat 25 years, my mother is a housewife

she typed for a while - like for 3-4 mins

VO: you are not eligible for US visa

------------------------------------------------------------2nd Interview
Chennai Consulate

Vo : Good Morning
ME: Good Morning
Vo : why this university?(looking at I20)
Me: NJIT provides me separate program for Data Science, it provides me the flexibility to
choose thesis, or project or research or internship along with core curriculum, also their
research labs are funded by Microsoft.
Vo: Do you have any backlogs?
ME : No sir,I have no backlogs.
VO:who is sponsoring your education?
Me:My parents are going to fund my education, we have savings of $60000, Approved
loan of $80000 from prodigy finance,on top of that I also have scholarship of $2000.
VO: What your parents do?
Me: My father is Pharmacist, he is running his own pharmacy from last 25 years and my
mother is a housewife.
VO:How many people work under him?
ME: 2
VO: whats his annual income?
ME 10 LPA.
Vo: Sorry, your visa cannot be approved under section 214b.

------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Interview
Hyderabad consulate
VO: hello, Good Morning
ME: Hello, Good Morning
Vo: looking at I 20, ok so your planning for masters in Information science
Me: yes ma'am
VO: what's your fathers annual income?
Me: His annual income is 10 LPA
VO: have you taken any education loan?
Me: yes , I have taken a education loan
VO:How are you funding your education?
Me: I have family savings equivalent to $88,000 along with that I have Approved loan from
prodigy of $80,000 , also I have Immovable asset worth $90,000(This time I showed
immovable asset because I went through the 214B slip and had read that strong ties
could be shown by having a property in homeland) also I have scholarship of $2000.
VO typed for few minutes and said
VO:Sorry, I cannot approve your visa, for reason please refer the given slip(214b).

27.
*My visa experience*
Consolate: Hyderabad
Date: 23/05/2019
Slot : 9:00
University: Wright state university
Major: MS in computer science
Counter no.: 11
VO was a young man of 25-30 age

VO: good morning

Me: good morning :)
VO: can u pass ur i20 and passport.
Me: sure!
VO: when did u complete ur undergrad ?
Me: 2019
VO: so you passed out a couple of weeks ago?
Me: yeah! First week of May.
VO: what are your goals after this degree.. like what is the benefit?
Me: I have future plans by doing this masters.. i want to see my self as a lead developer...
And recently my brother-in-law has his startup company which deals with Artificial
intelligence and data science, which are my area of interest too.. so I could've joined after
my bachelors but there was a lot of skill set difference between me and them.. so i need
advancement in my subjects.. so I've chosen masters.. so after my masters I'll be back to
india and join our company back..
VO: ok.. what's ur undergrad percentage?
Me: its a cgpa of 8.21 on scale of 10
VO: no backlogs right?
Me: no ( actually i had one but my interview was in a flow.. so i didn't want to mention a
negative point.. if ur visa officer seems strict better to mention)
VO: How are you funding?
Me: i had a education loan of xx.. and bank savings..
*He stopped me*
VO: can u show ur loan sanction letter?
Me: sure!..
VO: *Typing typing* ...
Ok .. *Your visa is approved*

I didn't even mention my bank savings and scholarship and father incomes.. they only
see 3 things in ur interview.. ur intent, ur content, ur confidence..tell ur intentions what
will u do in usa..make sure and give a valid reason For coming back to ur country... And
ur content, make sure what ever u speak that should make sense.. always try to answer
in specific.. and last is ur confidence..this is the major part and this decides visa
decision..what ever the question asked by the visa officer be spontaneous and answer it
confidently ..and never speak in a low tone .. and articulate ur answers well..

In my case, though i was prepared with answers, I've spoken in a very natural way and
I've clearly stated my intention.. so just be CONFIDENT AND KEEP SMILING, don't be
nervous while answering.

28.
Visa Experience -
Consulate: Delhi
Date & time: May 24th , 10:15 AM
GRE: 320 ( Q-168)
TOEFL: 103
University: RIT, MS Industrial Engineering (Full Tuition scholarship + $6882 GA)
UG: 70%
Work Experience: 26 Months
Status: Approved

VO: Can you pass me your i20 and Passport please?

Me: Passed.
VO: Which College u are going to?
Me: Rochester Institute of Technology
VO: Why RIT?
Me: I have got scholarship and Assistantship also talked to a professor their they
convinced me to join their university
VO: What other colleges u have applied to?
Me: Told
VO: What's ur Highest Qualification?
Me: Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering
VO: Who is sponsoring u?
Me: I have got a full tuition scholarship and assistantship of worth 6882$ and apart that
my brother will be assisting me.
VO: What does ur brother do?
Me: He is a Professor in Jamia Milia Islamia University.
VO: (Types for a while) Okay your visa is approved.
Me: Thank u Sir u have made my day.

29.
Visa interview experience
Date: 7th May 2019
Consulate: Islamabad
Counter number: 13
University: Florida International University
Visa status: Administrative Processing

The interview lasted just a minute

VO: Why are you going to the US?

Me: To pursue my PhD degree

VO: PhD in which subject?

Me: PhD in Computer Science, more specifically the research topic focuses on using
hardware acceleration for big data problem.

The VO was typing while I was answering.

VO: Do you have a document describing your PhD program?

Me: Should I submit my admission letter?

VO: No, something that describes your PhD program in detail.

Me: I have my Statement of Purpose.

VO: Yes that would do. Also give me your CV.

Me: Here is my CV.

VO: Something on your advisor?

Me: I have my advisor's CV.

VO: Thats perfect. Your application has been put into administrative processing, which
means it is refused at the moment but we need more information to reach a decision.
VO handed me the 221g slip, he took my passport and returned the I-20.

Anyone else also waiting for administrative processing?

30.
Forwarded (Not mine).

Please have a look and tell what might be the reasons for the rejections?

1st interview
Mumbai consulate

VO: Why NJIT

Me: NJIT Data Science program provides a dedicated curriculum for data science, where
in the core subjects as well as electives are related to Data science related fields. As my
area of interest is Big data Analytics ,they have a big lab for Big data analytics which is
funded by Microsoft where they carry out interesting research works, currently they are
researching in crowd sourcing analytics . They professors at NJIT are themselves data
scientist hence its an added advantage.

VO: how many schools have you applied?

ME: 4, I got admits from 2 and waiting decision from one Admits :NJIT, MTU , Waiting for
decision : Stevens institute and reject from NEU(jumbled up the name of this university,
but corrected it)
VO: Why reject from NEU?
ME: Due to lack of seats for this program in NEU

VO: What is your GRE score?

ME: 304, 147 in verbal and 157 in quants
VO: When did you graduated?
ME: 2013
VO: what are you doing since then?
ME: I did my post graduate diploma in advanced computing from CDAC after which I was
hired by HSBC and currently I am working in Principal Global Services

VO: who will sponsor you?

ME: I have approved loan of $80,000 ,I have scholarship of $2000, and rest of the $25000
will be funded by my parents thru savings in the form of saving account, FD and PPF

VO: what do your parents work one?

ME: My father is a pharmacist from lat 25 years, my mother is a housewife
she typed for a while - like for 3-4 mins

VO: you are not eligible for US visa

------------------------------------------------------------2nd Interview
Chennai Consulate

Vo : Good Morning
ME: Good Morning
Vo : why this university?(looking at I20)
Me: NJIT provides me separate program for Data Science, it provides me the flexibility to
choose thesis, or project or research or internship along with core curriculum, also their
research labs are funded by Microsoft.
Vo: Do you have any backlogs?
ME : No sir,I have no backlogs.
VO:who is sponsoring your education?
Me:My parents are going to fund my education, we have savings of $60000, Approved
loan of $80000 from prodigy finance,on top of that I also have scholarship of $2000.
VO: What your parents do?
Me: My father is Pharmacist, he is running his own pharmacy from last 25 years and my
mother is a housewife.
VO:How many people work under him?
ME: 2
VO: whats his annual income?
ME 10 LPA.
Vo: Sorry, your visa cannot be approved under section 214b.

------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Interview
Hyderabad consulate
VO: hello, Good Morning
ME: Hello, Good Morning
Vo: looking at I 20, ok so your planning for masters in Information science
Me: yes ma'am
VO: what's your fathers annual income?
Me: His annual income is 10 LPA
VO: have you taken any education loan?
Me: yes , I have taken a education loan
VO:How are you funding your education?
Me: I have family savings equivalent to $88,000 along with that I have Approved loan from
prodigy of $80,000 , also I have Immovable asset worth $90,000(This time I showed
immovable asset because I went through the 214B slip and had read that strong ties
could be shown by having a property in homeland) also I have scholarship of $2000.
VO typed for few minutes and said
VO:Sorry, I cannot approve your visa, for reason please refer the given slip(214b).

31.
*My visa experience*
Consolate: Hyderabad
Date: 23/05/2019
Slot : 9:00
University: Wright state university
Major: MS in computer science
Counter no.: 11
VO was a young man of 25-30 age

VO: good morning

Me: good morning :)
VO: can u pass ur i20 and passport.
Me: sure!
VO: when did u complete ur undergrad ?
Me: 2019
VO: so you passed out a couple of weeks ago?
Me: yeah! First week of May.
VO: what are your goals after this degree.. like what is the benefit?
Me: I have future plans by doing this masters.. i want to see my self as a lead developer...
And recently my brother-in-law has his startup company which deals with Artificial
intelligence and data science, which are my area of interest too.. so I could've joined after
my bachelors but there was a lot of skill set difference between me and them.. so i need
advancement in my subjects.. so I've chosen masters.. so after my masters I'll be back to
india and join our company back..
VO: ok.. what's ur undergrad percentage?
Me: its a cgpa of 8.21 on scale of 10
VO: no backlogs right?
Me: no ( actually i had one but my interview was in a flow.. so i didn't want to mention a
negative point.. if ur visa officer seems strict better to mention)
VO: How are you funding?
Me: i had a education loan of xx.. and bank savings..
*He stopped me*
VO: can u show ur loan sanction letter?
Me: sure!..
VO: *Typing typing* ...
Ok .. *Your visa is approved*
I didn't even mention my bank savings and scholarship and father incomes.. they only
see 3 things in ur interview.. ur intent, ur content, ur confidence..tell ur intentions what
will u do in usa..make sure and give a valid reason For coming back to ur country... And
ur content, make sure what ever u speak that should make sense.. always try to answer
in specific.. and last is ur confidence..this is the major part and this decides visa
decision..what ever the question asked by the visa officer be spontaneous and answer it
confidently ..and never speak in a low tone .. and articulate ur answers well..

In my case, though i was prepared with answers, I've spoken in a very natural way and
I've clearly stated my intention.. so just be CONFIDENT AND KEEP SMILING, don't be
nervous while answering.

32.
Consulate : Hyderabad
Date: 23 May '19
Slot : 10:30AM (reached Visa office at 10:20AM and waited till 11:55AM till my turn of
interview)
Status: Rejected.

My passport and i20 were taken before hand from me and submitted to the VO even
before my turn came.
VO: Next up.
Me: Good Morning sir, How are you?
VO: Good Morning. I'm good. How are you?
Me: I'm doing great. Thank you, sir.
VO: So, Arizona State University?
Me: Yes, sir
VO: Who suggested you this university?
Me: It's completely based on my own research and the suggestions from my undergrad
professors and Internet.
(I thought he would be satisfied with that. But he was still looking at me waiting for more.
So I continued saying..) ASU ranks number 1 in innovation as per US News. It is also one
among top public research universities.
VO: What's your undergrad percentage?
Me: 7.48 out of 10
VO: Any backlogs?
Me: No backlogs.
VO: When did you graduate?
Me: 2018
VO: What have you been doing since then?
Me: told.
VO: What do you know about Arizona?
(I didn't know what to answer. As I thought I should not take much time thinking, I said
something like this..)
Me: Right beside the city where my campus is located, there is a city called phoenix. It is
one of the very beautiful cities. (Took so long to complete this sentence and told with
stammering)
VO: (with an irritated face..) I can not approve your visa for now. You can read the reason
in this brochure. (gave me 214b brochure)

I think I got rejected as I said more about Phoenix more than Tempe. He might have
thought that I was more into the jobs in Phoenix than the education in Tempe.

Tips:
* Reach Visa Office as early possible regardless of your slot. I don't know if they allow or
not, but reach the office early.
* Make up the past, present and future as a story, stick to it and get ready to answer any
question from that story.

If any queries, contact: 9490945335

33.
Visa interview experience
Date: 24th May 2019
Consulate: Kuala Lumpur
University: Texas A&M university - Kingsville
Visa status: Approved

The interview lasted just a minute

Me:- Good Morning mam

VO:- Good Morning, pass me your passport and i20
Me:- gave them
VO:- Which university?
Me:- Texas A&M University - Kingsville
VO:- What are you doing in Malaysia?
Me:- Working as a Software Developer
VO:- Which company?
Me:- Told
VO:- where did you do your Bachelors?
Me:- In my home country i.e. INDIA
VO:- Who is going to finance you?
Me:- My family
VO:- Can i have a look at your finances?
Me:- Passed the bank letter and said we have savings of XX thousand USD
VO:- Your visa is approved. (Passing my i20) keep it safe because you need it at the time
of immigration.
Me:- Thank you mam, Ok....
VO:- Next one please...

This group helped me to gain a lot of insights thanks for all the contributions, and All the
best.

34.
My Visa Experience
Status: Approved

Consulate: Mumbai
Date: 24th May
Slot: 8:45 am

VO: What is your GRE score?

Me: Told.
VO: How many universities have you applied to?
Me: Told the number and full name of universities.
VO: From how many universities you got admits from.
Me: Told.
VO: What are you going to study in the university you got admit from?
Me: Told.
VO: Who is going to sponsor you?
Me: Told.
VO: What does you father do? (He asked this cuz I said in the previous question that my
father is going to sponsor me)
Me: Told.

He gave me a slip and said something, I was so nervous I thought I got rejected and
when I asked can you please repeat, he said *Your visa is approved*. He wasn't audible
properly cuz of the background noise, so I told him that I can't hear you properly when he
asked me the first question.

35.
Visa interview (F1)
Consulate: Hyderabad
Course: MSE in Biomedical Engineering
University: Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
Date: 17th May 2019 (VAC on 16th May)
Timings: 10:30 AM
Counter number: 13
Status: Approved
Experience: Self

I reached the consulate by 9:30 AM. I was in formals (Not the typical white and black
combination). After the security check, I had to wait around 40 minutes before the
allotment of a counter. The VO was a male in his mid-30s. He was some 6 foot 2+ inches,
with full-bald head and a French beard. His voice was very intimidating but maintained a
subtle expression on his face while asking questions.

Minutes before the interview:

I met with another F1 VISA applicant and had a fun talk in the queue. That same person's
VISA was approved in the same counter (before me), and I was staring at the VO's
reactions to all the answers.

My interview experience:

VO: Signalled me to come forward

(The security guard had already passed my I-20 and passport to the VO)

Me: Good Morning, Sir! (In a louder tone with a big smile to convey him that I am not
terrified by his appearance or the interview)

VO: Wow, So loud. Good morning.

(He intensely looked at my I-20 for about 20 seconds)
Tell me something about JHU!
Me: Precisely explained how JHU continued to be the world's best (Ranked 1st by
various reputed organisations) school for Biomedical Engineering, etc.

VO: What's your area of interest?

Me: Told him and he asked me further to explain to him about my area of interest. I
elaborated on it (precisely upto four sentences)

VO: When did graduate with a bachelor's degree?

Me: Sir, I graduated in June 2018.

VO: What have you been doing since then?

Me: Sir, Immediately after my bachelor’s degree, I had undergone training on the
calibration of medical equipment. As a calibration trainee, I had hands-on experiences
with sophisticated medical equipment at local hospitals.
VO: Any Backlogs?
Me: Absolutely no backlogs sir.

VO: How will you manage your funds?

Me: Sir, I have a personal savings of ** Lakhs (he interrupted me and asked me whether it
is my personal account). I clarified him that it is our family personal savings account and
continued further to tell him about the loan amount and my father's annual income.

VO: What does your father do?

Me: Told him

VO: Congratulations! I am approving your VISA.

Me: Thank you! You made my day, sir.

Tips for preparation:

1. Always answer in a complete sentence, do not respond in just words or phrases.
2. Just being confident can never lead you to approvals. You need to prepare and
possibly know everything about your university, course, department, career options, etc.
3. A professional look will add a few brownie points. Impression matters a lot.
4. Do not emphasize on correcting a mistake when you have better things to prove your
credibility.
5. Remember your SEVIS ID, Passport number and University's point of contact

You can be confident only if you think you're well prepared for the big day. But don't let
that be on your face, fear is healthy. Act humble even if you are not. Best of luck!

36.
Visa Experience (F1)
School: Arizona State University
Course: MS in Mechanical Engineering
Consulate: Hyderabad
Date: 24th May 2019 (OFC on 12th May)
Time Slot: 10 am
Counter number: 15
Status: Approved

I went inside the consulate around 8.50 am and was out by 10.15 am. (It was written
outside that all time slots are allowed)

My Passport and I-20 were taken beforehand and passed to the VO by a helper.
VO description: In his late 30s with brown hair and clean shave.

Me: Good morning Sir. How are you doing?

VO: Good morning! I am doing great. How are you doing today?
Me: I am doing good. Thank you.
VO: So Arizona State University huh?
Me: Yes.
VO: So how did you get to know about it?
Me: I’ve searched on the internet and found different universities whose research was
matching with my areas of interest and found some of the professors’ research at ASU
matching with mine.
VO: And what is your area of interest?
Me: It’s MEMS...(Seeing his confused expression, I spelled out the acronym)
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems.
VO: Can you give an example of that?
Me: Sure. These are like miniature devices found in smartphones and automobile
applications. And this is a great technology going in the future (Not really sure of my
answer).
VO: Okay (Seemed satisfied). And how about funding?
Me: I have a loan sanctioned from SBI for XX lakhs and (I was about to tell about savings
but he interrupted me).
VO: Is it a secured loan?
Me: Yes. It is a collateral loan.
VO: And what is it secured with?
Me: A property.
VO: Ok and you have any savings?
Me: Yes my father has deposits of XX lakhs.
VO: Ok great. Here’s your I-20. Your Visa is approved
Me: Thank you! Have a good day.

PS: The interview lasted around 5 minutes. No documents asked other than passport and
I-20. Just be confident and have eye contact.

37.
Visa experience*
Consulate: Hyderabad Date: 24.5.19
Slot: 08:30 am
(I reached consulate by 7:30am. I got my turn at 8.40am)
Univ: Arizona State University
Visa status: Approved
Counter no : 11
VO was a gentleman in early 30s
passport and i20 were collected before hand

VO: Good morning

Me: Good morning sir.
VO: pass me your i20
Me: sure sir. Here it is.
VO: So Arizona state University.
Me: Yes sir.
VO: When did you graduate?
Me:2017 sir
VO: what is your undergrad percentage
Me:It's 90 sir. I was the topper of the University.
VO:Wow congratulations
Me: Thank you sir
VO: So no backlogs right
Me: Yes sir no backlogs
VO: What do you want to study in Masters
Me: I would like to become a data scientist sir ..So I will take subjects related to that.
VO: What in Data science
Me: do you mean subjects sir?
VO: yes
Me : Data mining, Statistical machine learning, Algorithms etc
VO: Were these subjects there in your bachelor's
Me: Few of them were there sir..But they were focused more in theoretical side...
VO: Okay what are doing now
Me: I am working as xxx in xxx company from the past 2 years
VO: Did you get any educational loan
Me: yes sir. 40 lakhs loan is sanctioned from state bank of India, and my parents also
have savings of xx. And my father is a govt employee he earns around xx per annum.
VO: okay...Could you please pass me your loan letter.
Me: sure sir...Passed letter
VO: I am approving your visa... Congratulations
Me: Thank you sir have a nice day!!

Be confident and keep smiling ,its helps to ace the interview.

38.
Visa Interview
Consulate - Kolkata
Date - 22nd may
Time - 10 AM
Status - Approved
Course - Master’s in Geographical Information System
.
VO - Good morning
Me - Good morning sir (passing my I-20 and passport)
VO - So why to the US?
Me - I’ll be pursuing my Master’s in Geographical Information System.
VO - Master’s in what?
Me - Repeated the course and explained it.
Vo - Where did you come to know about Clark University?
Me - I did a lot of research while applying for my master’s, so i went through the website
of clark. Mentioned 2 reasons why i chose clark.
VO - What was your Bachelor’s in?
Me - In Geography from Shri Shikshayatan in Kolkata
VO - Can I see your transcripts?
Me - shown
VO - What does your parents do?
Me - Told about it and mentioned my father will be funding my education.
VO - So father is into real estate? What kind of real estate?
Me - Explained
VO - Do you have siblings?
Me - No, am the only child
VO - What will you do with this master’s degree?
Me - Will be doing academic research under Prof.....( Mentioned prof of my University)
VO - Can you explain GIS again? What is it?
Me - Explained again in depth.
VO - I am approving your visa!
Me - Thank you so much sir.

39.
Visa Experience -
Consulate: Chennai
Date & time: May 22nd, 8 AM
GMAT: 710
TOEFL: 112
University: UC Berkeley, MIMS Program
GPA: 9.07/10
Work Experience: Almost 6 years
Status: Approved
I got my first shock when the queue monitoring guy told me that the language printed on
my biometric slip is Kannada. I got tensed that the VO might think I don't know English :D
When I got to the counter, I told the VO I can speak in English if its more convenient. She
agreed, and the interpreter looked quite relieved as he had a hard time translating the
elderly couple before me.

VO: Can you pass me your i20 please?

Me: Passed.
VO: So why do you want to study in UC Berkeley?
Me: This is great course to pursue at this point in my career. I can take courses from the
Haas School of Business and the College of Engineering at Berkeley which will make it a
wholesome experience. I will be able to hone my leadership and texhnical skills
(interrupts me)
VO: So how are you planning to fund your education?
Me: I have my personal savings, and my husband will also be funding my education.
VO: What does your husband do?
Me: He is currently working at XX
VO: So your husband will live in India when you're doing your Masters?
Me: No ma'am, he is currently in California.
VO: Which visa is he on?
Me: F1 visa, OPT extension. (She types for quite some time)
VO: So what do you plan to specialize in this course?
Me: (I don't quite remember what I said, but I mentioned I would like to get into Product
Management)
VO: (Types for a while) Okay your visa is approved, you will receive an SMS in 2-3 days.

Documents asked: only i20.

40.
Visa experience:
Consulate: Mumbai
Date: 23 May 2019
Slot: 9:00 am
Counter: 29
University- NJIT
Course-Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering
Status: *Approved*

I reached the visa consulate by 8:30 and it was a long queue outside. The interview
began at 9:55 am.VO looked too strict.
Me: Good morning, Sir.(no reply)
VO: Pass me your passport?
Me: passed
VO: I20?
Me: passed(was in my hand)
VO:Why NJIT?
Me: NJIT offers multi-disciplinary curriculum and the course I have taken is the same as
my father’s business.
VO: What does your father do?
Me: He owns a manufacturing unit.
VO: What does he Manufacture?
Me: Told
VO: How big is it?
Me: (I didn’t knew) We have a turnover of XX crores.
VO:How many employees?
Me: 14, Sir
Types a lot. Keeps me waiting
VO: You have completed your BTech recently,right?
Me: Yes,Sir
VO:Do you have any brothers and sisters?
Me: No,Sir
VO: Have you travelled abroad before??
Me: Yes Sir!
VO: Where?
Me: United Kingdom in May,2012
VO: What was the purpose of the travel?
Me: To visit my aunt.
VO: Who is sponsoring you?
Me: My father, Sir
Congratulations! Your visa is approved.
Me: Thank you sir.
VO: he said something relating to 30 days etc but was not interested.

Not a single document asked.

Interview lasted for around 1 and 1/2 minutes. Seemed liked his typing was too slow.

42.
VISA EXPERIENCE:

CONSULATE: Hyderabad

OFC: 17th May

INTERVIEW DATE: 22nd May

SLOT ALLOTED: 11:15 AM

UNIVERSITY: Pennsylvania State University

COURSE: Information Systems

Had reached the consulate at 10:15. The verification procedures took a good 45 minutes.
Was allocated counter no. 15 for the interview.
There were two men ahead of me in the queue. One was getting interviewed for a student
visa. I couldn’t completely listen to the interview as most of it was already done.
However, his case was rejected. This scared the hell out of me. The next guy in the queue
goes for his turn. His visa gets approved very quickly as only a couple of questions were
asked (it was not a student visa).

My turn:

The VO is a super cute lady but with a very stern face.

Here it goes:

A very good morning madam! (She doesn’t respond)

VO: So, why are you going to the Penn State University?
Me: To pursue my master’s in Information Technology.
(I committed a blunder here. My master’s is in Information Systems and I don’t know
what got into me and I said IT). Fortunately, she did not grill me on this else the whole
interview would have gone awry.
VO: When did you graduate?
Me: In April 2018.
VO: What have you been doing since then?
Me: Madam, I am working as SharePoint Analyst in Deloitte.
VO: Wow! That’s amazing! And, how is it in alignment with your master’s program?
Me: Gave an elaborate explanation.
VO: Did you have any backlogs?
Me: Yes, madam! I had a couple in the first year of my engineering. I wasn’t fond of those
subjects.
VO: What were those?
Me: Digital Logic Design and Basic Electrical Engineering.
VO: What’s your undergrad %?
Me: 64.25%
VO: Who is going to sponsor your education?
Me: My father, madam.
VO: And how is that?
Me: He has savings of XXX lakh rupees which amount to XXXX $ and we have taken an
education loan from the State Bank of India for XXX lakh rupees which amounts to
XXXX$.
VO: Where does your father work?
Me: Told.
VO: Do you have any financial documents with you?
Me: I showed her the CA certificate, Loan sanction letter, father’s passbook, bank
statement.
She had a superficial look at the CA certificate and the loan sanction letter but went
through the passbook in detail.
VO: How long has this bank account been active for? (Looking at the passbook)
Me: For quite a long time now but it has transactions only for the last six months.
VO: Oh yeah! Figured that out.
She typed for a couple of minutes and said “Am approving your visa. Please collect your
passport in a couple of days!”
I couldn’t understand it as she told with great haste.
Just to confirm, I asked her, Madam, my passport? She smiles and says Byeeeeee!

Tip from my experience: Do not let rejections happening in front of you affect you. Try
maintaining your cool and be confident.

43.
Visa experience:
23-May-2019
Location: Hyderabad
Appointment time: 11
Status: Approved

For San Jose State University - Software Engineering

My passport and I-20 were handed over to VO by a representative

Me: Good morning Mam

VO: Good Morning, (she was looking into I-20) ..so San Jose State University right?
How many other schools did you apply to ? ( I heard it as what scores did you get and
asked if she meant gre score? Then she repeated the question again)
Me: 4
VO: Which universities
Me: UNT,UTA,UTD, SJSU ( gave full forms)
VO: All 3 from Texas and then San Jose? Why?
Me: The courses in these universities are related to my area of interest
VO: what is your area of interest
Me: I want to Specialize in subjects of software engineering like enterprise distributed
systems and application development
VO: what's distributed systems
Me: All enterprises , for example to manage their financial or project related aspects
maintain systems and software components. To learn about the data transmission,
transactions,data maintenance and performance aspects of such systems. ( I fumbled
here and there and may have said some additional points ,but outline was this)
VO: who is going to sponsor you
Me: I have secured education loan and my parents are sponsoring and have savings in
my account
VO: what does your father do
Me: He worked for XXX Automobiles as Branch manager and after retirement started
freelance consulting in automobiles and insurance
VO: what is his annual income
Me: xx lakhs per annum
VO: So you have to mostly rely on education loan as the income is low?
Me: But he has savings of about xxx USD from previous work experience
VO: Ooh
VO: so you have any relatives / siblings in US
Me: yes my sister stays there
VO: what is she doing
Me: she is on H4 , currently on a break
VO: I am approving your visa, please take care of this i-20 ( kept passport with her and
passed back i-20
Me: Thank you Mam

44.
Consulate: Hyderabad
Slot: 10:00AM,
Date: 22 May, 2019
VO: Lady in about 30s, so active and talkative.
Status: Approved

Visa experience:

VO: Which college?

Texas A&M University, College Station
VO: Why this course?
MIS it is. Talked about the course and how it helps me in my path to grow
professionally... In the same generic manner.
VO: Passout, percentage and backlogs?
Told (no backlogs)
VO:What have you been doing since then?
Yes working
VO: Where and wts ur role?
Talked about the company and the role
VO: Wats my pay when I am working?
Told
VO: Resigned? And why?
Yes, some personal reason along with a thought to stay at home for some time (6
months) before I apply for my masters and leave.
VO: Why this college?
Best of the admits I've got and course structure alignment to the interest and started
talking about the reputation... (Interrupted meanwhile..)
VO:Wt other admits?
UFL, SUNY Buffalo, U Cincinnati.. (Interrupted with a question UFL wat?)
Said Gainesville..
VO: Financials how?
Got an amount of XX lakhs, of which XX lakhs loan from so and so bank, and the rest
from savings.
VO: Wts ur father...(sponsor)?
Told about the role and income of the sponsor (In my case I told about my father and
grand father).
VO: Loan sanction letter?
Passed on to her.
VO: Wts gre score and give me score card once...
Told and given.
VO:Work and education relation?
My work was in software development and the interaction with the Business through the
Business Analysts gave me a chance to know about the whole process of the
organization and how it works. I've started working with them and now going to grow
higher.
VO: U know about the way of life in college?
I've a Friend there who's already studying in the college who has given me a glance of
the college. Talked about the Village sort of lifestyle, for the urban touch you need to go
to the nearby cities like Houston, Austin etc. Which is around 2.5, 3 hrs drive from the
college... (Interrupted again..)
VO:wts the college mascot?
It's Reveille. (With a doubtful expression on my face not sure how to pronounce it)
-We both were laughing while asking this question 😅
VO: wat it is?
It's a dog. (Smiling with an accepted expression on her face now)
- Finally saying visa issued... She has given my passport to me keeping my I-20 with
her... 🤣
- I'm like 🤨
- After that corrected by saying sorry 🤪

It's a nice but a swift conversation.

Tips:
- Never lose confidence. They'll always get impressed with that.
- Treat them as a person and have a friendly conversation, not like an officer deciding ur
fate. That'll soothe you from the tension and pressure of the whole environment in the
consulate.
- Do put a smile on your face while talking to them, they'll have to see a lot of faces.
Expression on your face is contagious.

Thanks to you all (this group) for being helpful till now to each other and I wish you all
the best as well.

45.
Visa experience

Date: 23/5/19
Slot: 8:30
Consulate: Hyderabad
Counter : 11
Status : Approved

Was let in at 8. Security checking was done till 8:30. Later they verified the fingerprints
and after few minutes of wait they had given the counter number

VO: Good morning , pass me your I-20

Me: Good morning sir
VO: So University of Cincinnati
Me : yes sir
VO : so when did you graduate?
Me: 2017 sir
VO : what is your undergraduate %
Me : told
VO : any backlogs?
Me : no sir
VO : what have you been going since graduation
Me : I am working as assistant systems engineer in Tata consultancy services sir
VO : that's a good job right? Why do you want to leave it?
Me: In TCS, I've been working on Java, SQL, spring which are good technologies but
quite old. I want to upgrade my skill set and learn new technologies like cloud computing
and artificial intelligence
VO : Okay. Do you have an education loan?
Me: yes sir.
VO : Can you show me the sanction letter
Me : yes sir
VO: what does your father do?
Me: told
VO: Okay I'm approving your Visa
Me : Thank you so much sir!!

46.
Visa experience:
Consulate: Mumbai
Date: 23 May 2019
Slot: 9:00 am
Counter: 29
University- NJIT
Course-Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering
Status: *Approved*

I reached the visa consulate by 8:30 and it was a long queue outside. The interview
began at 9:55 am.VO looked too strict.
Me: Good morning, Sir.(no reply)
VO: Pass me your passport?
Me: passed
VO: I20?
Me: passed(was in my hand)
VO:Why NJIT?
Me: NJIT offers multi-disciplinary curriculum and the course I have taken is the same as
my father’s business.
VO: What does your father do?
Me: He owns a manufacturing unit.
VO: What does he Manufacture?
Me: Told
VO: How big is it?
Me: (I didn’t knew) We have a turnover of XX crores.
VO:How many employees?
Me: 14, Sir
Types a lot. Keeps me waiting
VO: You have completed your BTech recently,right?
Me: Yes,Sir
VO:Do you have any brothers and sisters?
Me: No,Sir
VO: Have you travelled abroad before??
Me: Yes Sir!
VO: Where?
Me: United Kingdom in May,2012
VO: What was the purpose of the travel?
Me: To visit my aunt.
VO: Who is sponsoring you?
Me: My father, Sir
Congratulations! Your visa is approved.
Me: Thank you sir.
VO: he said something relating to 30 days etc but was not interested.

Not a single document asked.

Interview lasted for around 1 and 1/2 minutes. Seemed liked his typing was too slow.

47.
My friend Visa Experience

Consulate:Chennai
Slot 8:30

Allowed at 8:15 I think,

People please be there in the line only just 20 mins before your time, else u would sweat
it out in the blazing 🌞.

VO: What course are going to study?

Me: MS in Industrial Engineering
VO: What does your parents do?
Me: My dad owns a pharmacy, and he as an annual income OF XX Lakhs
She gave me a slip, thought a rejection but found Your Visa is approved. She wasn't
audible or maybe I didn't hear properly.

48.
*My Visa Experience*
Consulate: Chennai
Date: 23.5.19
Slot: 09:45 am
Univ: Colorado State University
Major: MS in Electrical Engineering.
Counter no : 30
VO was a young man in early 30’s

VO: Good morning.

Me: Good morning sir.
VO: i will take your passport and I20.
VO: what is your intended course of study
ME: Masters in electrical engineering from colorado state university fort collins.
VO: Have you been to US before
Me: Yes sir two times for a conference and a competition.
VO: So when did complete your undergraduation??
Me: 2017 sir from Hindustan university chennai.
VO: What have you been doing since then??
Me: Told him, I have a start up company.
VO: what is your annual income?
Me: Told my income
VO: Who is funding your Education?.
Me: Through a bank loan and father is supporting me as well.
VO: typed something, For a few seconds took a green slip and told *Your visa is
approved* .
Me: Thank you sir have a nice day.

Be confident and be presentable.

All the best 👍🏻

49.
Visa experience:
Consulate: Mumbai
Date: 23 May 2019
Slot: 9:00 am
Counter: 29
University- NJIT
Course-Master of Science in Manufacturing Engineering
Status: *Approved*

I reached the visa consulate by 8:30 and it was a long queue outside. The interview
began at 9:55 am.VO looked too strict.
Me: Good morning, Sir.(no reply)
VO: Pass me your passport?
Me: passed
VO: I20?
Me: passed(was in my hand)
VO:Why NJIT?
Me: NJIT offers multi-disciplinary curriculum and the course I have taken is the same as
my father’s business.
VO: What does your father do?
Me: He owns a manufacturing unit.
VO: What does he Manufacture?
Me: Told
VO: How big is it?
Me: (I didn’t knew) We have a turnover of XX crores.
VO:How many employees?
Me: 14, Sir
Types a lot. Keeps me waiting
VO: You have completed your BTech recently,right?
Me: Yes,Sir
VO:Do you have any brothers and sisters?
Me: No,Sir
VO: Have you travelled abroad before??
Me: Yes Sir!
VO: Where?
Me: United Kingdom in May,2012
VO: What was the purpose of the travel?
Me: To visit my aunt.
VO: Who is sponsoring you?
Me: My father, Sir
Congratulations! Your visa is approved.
Me: Thank you sir.
VO: he said something relating to 30 days etc but was not interested.

Not a single document asked.

Interview lasted for around 1 and 1/2 minutes. Seemed liked his typing was too slow.

50.
*My Colleague's VISA Experience*
*Consulate* : Hyderabad
*Counter* : 16
*Date* : 21st May, 2019
*Time:* 11 AM
*Background* : I have been to US on B1 a year back where my visa was put on hold for
administrative processing for a month and then it got approved. This is because I work
for a US based aerospace company where they approve mostly after administrative
processing only.
I have been praying not to go to a lady counter but unfortunately I got one.
She has put on hold for the person before me and from the way she was taking the
interviews, I was sure that it is not so easy to get through this lady.
I am guessing she would be somewhere in her late 30's.

*Me* : Good morning Mam

*Vo* : Hi
*Me* : Hi Mam
*Vo* : what do you do?
*Me:* I am currently working as a software engineer in xx company.
*Vo:* where did you do your under grad?
*Me* : told the univ name and place
*Vo* : which field ?
*Me* : computer science Mam
*Vo* : and masters in which field?
*Me:* computer science only Mam
*Vo* : i see you have been working for an avionics company, aren't you going for masters
in avionics(she stressed on avionics, this is the only time where she looked at me)
*Me* : No mam, even in that company, my work has been majorly in computer science
where I was involved in python programming and matlab modelling. I was not specifically
involved into avionics as such.
She wasn't pretty much convinced with my answer is what I felt and was sure it would be
on hold again or a reject.
*Vo* : So, who is funding you?
*Me* : My parents are my sponsors Mam.
*Vo* : What do they work?
*Me* : My mother is a govt doctor who works in a govt hspt in Telangana. My father
works as a chief traffic manager in Telangana state road transport corporation. They
draw a salary of xx lakhs per annum. (I thought I overdid here since she did not ask about
how much they earn. It was silent as she was typing something and as per my
consultant's suggestion to speak something related, I said so)
And that's it, she typed something, all silence for few sec and then she said
administrative processing is needed and that I will get an e-mail in a week. Saying this,
she handed over 221g form to me where the first option was ticked.
I feel it is just not my day today as the main focus was on the company I worked for and
not anything else. Hoping for a positive reply from them in a week.

I heard that once our visa is kept on hold, they will doubt us every other time and more
possibly, it would go on hold other times too. So, the same might not be applicable to all.

51.
F1 US Visa experience
Consulate: Hyderabad
Date: May 22, 2019, 11am
Counter: 14
Status: Approved
Undergrad/GRE/TOEFL: 83% ECE/304/102
Background: Received univ scholarship, offered in-state tuition fee & 1000$ award, per
year. Bank letters shown for 1.7 * I-20 amount
Rest of the profile is in the conversation.

VO was a lady in mid 30s. I-20 and passport was already collected from us before our
turn and was given to VO.

VO: Good morning.

Me: Good morning ma'm. How are you today.
VO: Good. So where are you going.
Me: I'm going to pursue Master's in Management Information Systems from University of
Houston Clear lake.
VO: (looking at my I-20) I see you have received scholarship. Can I see your scholarship
letter.
Me: Ma'm I have attached the letter behind the I-20.
VO: Good. When did you finish your under graduation and percentage
Me: In May 2013, 83%
VO: What have you been doing since then.
Me: I am working as Technology Analyst in Infosys since October 2013.
VO: What's your designation
Me: Technology Analyst
VO: Why do you want to go to this university
Me: The graduate plan has good blend of technical and management courses which I am
looking for and they offer many electives to select from. The researches of.. (Interrupted)
VO: (Very excitedly) Tell me what are you most excited about this campus.
Me: (Smilingly) This college has 62% international students so I am excited to get to meet
people with cultural diversities.
VO: (like one is ready to gossip) Forget all that. I don't want that. Tell me what excites
YOU most about the campus
Me: (I am sorry that you have to read my answer, but I fumbled guys. I was not ready for
it) Uhh.. Actually the campus dorms are located amidst nature. There is a green housing
project going on. I am very excited to be living there. (She got confused like she was
expecting something else)
VO: Alright. What does your father do
Me: He is an Office Superintendent in XXX college of management.
VO: What's an office superintendent
Me: An office manager who looks after day to day activities in the office
VO: Can I see his bank statement
Me: Sure. Please give me a moment (While I was searching for bank letters)
VO: Which other admits did you get
Me: Texas state university and University of Texas San Antonio. Here you go.. My
financial documents.
VO: (suspiciously) What's this small credits everywhere in his savings account.
Me: It's the interest from deposit account being credited time to time into his savings
account.
VO: Ok. How much is your salary per year
Me: X LPA
VO: Did you take any loan.
Me: No ma'm. My funds cover my 2 years' expenses. So loan is not a necessity.
VO: Take your documents. I am approving your visa. Collect it in 7 to 10 days. Next
applicant please come forward.
Me: (With a happy dent smile) Thank you very much ma'm. Have a good day.

52.
Visa experience
Consulate: Hyderabad
Course: PhD in Chemical Engineering
University: Oregon State University
Date: 21 May 2019
Slot: 11:00 AM
Counter number: 16
Status: Approved

I reached the Consulate by 10:00 AM and they allowed me inside as they weren't many
people. Then the usual process involving security and biometric checks.

After approximately waiting for nearly 90 mins in the consulate, I was asked to go to
Counter 16 for my interview. The lady in Counter 16 was pretty chill and approved an F1
and a B2 visa before me. Meanwhile, a volunteer took my passport and I-20 and passed
them to the VO. Then, I'm asked to step forward.

VO: Hi
Me: (smilingly)Hi! Good morning.
VO: Oregon State?
Me: Yes
VO: Chemical Engineering?
Me: Yes (I thought, Shit! I'm screwed. She will give me a 221g because of my
background)
VO: You have been to China?
Me: Yes, I went to China for a research internship for two months last year.
VO: You did your Masters from Singapore?
Me: Yes.
VO: Why do you want to do a PhD?
Me: Right from my Bachelors, I have been fascinated to work on electrochemical
devices....
VO: (Interrupts me midway through my answer) What devices?
Me: Electrochemical devices, like fuel cells, batteries.
VO: Nods
Me: (continuing my answer) During my Bachelors and Masters, I worked on the modeling
aspect of electrochemical devices. As part of my PhD, I want to work on the experimental
aspect of electrochemical devices to get more a hands-on experience and gain further
knowledge on them. Also, doing a PhD would help me achieve my career goals.
VO: The university is funding you?
Me: Yes. I have actually been offered the Provost's Distinguished Graduate Fellowship
which covers the funding for the entire year, from September 2019 to September 2020.
The I-20 contains the previously offered Graduate Assistantship offer.
VO: Have you been assigned a supervisor? Did you contact someone?
Me: I will be working under the supervision of Dr. Kelsey Stoerzinger. I have contacted
her and had a Skype chat with her regarding the work.
VO: (keeps typing.. Gets up) Give me a minute.
(I noticed that my whole lower body was shaking. I was like why am I shaking and told
myself, calm down..everything will be alright..you've got this).
(VO: comes back and reaches her right hand to grab something)
Me: (I thought this is it..she is giving me a 221g🙁)
( Luckily it turned out to be a sticky note. She wrote something on it and put it along with
my passport, which she had kept aside along with other passports)
VO: (points at the I-20) Keep this with you and don't put it in the luggage while travelling.
Me: (I didn't understand why she was saying this after she had put a sticky note with my
passport and asked her) Has my visa been approved?
VO: Yes, your visa has been approved.
Me: Thank you and have a nice day!
(took my file and came out of the consulate smiling)

PS: Be confident and smile😃. You've got this. If you want to observe your body
language while you speak, stand in front of a mirror and do it. It will give you real-time
feedback and also you will be observe how well you are speaking
Don't hesitate to DM me if you need any help regarding the interview.

53.
Visa Consulate: Hyderabad
Slot: 10.00 AM on 17-05-2019
Status: Approved
Me: Hi.. Good Morning, how are you doing
Vo: Good morning Mam, im good, hw are you doing?
Me: Im doing great, Thanks for asking
VO: So, why univ of Cincinnati?
Me: There are quite a few reasons fr that, How university of Cincinnati helps there
students to get practical exposure by including co-op as capstone in the curriculum, I
also got a 50% tution fee wavier i.e. $12266 and who wouldn't want to graduate from the
univ which got 200 years of history
Vo: why Masters in Information Technology
Me : i was lookng for a program which would help me enchnace my technical skills nd
also helps me build my back ground in Business Techniques and MSIT prgrm at
Cincinnati is exactly what i aspire for.
VO: When did you graduate?
Me: 2017 with No history of backlogs
VO: What have you been doing?
Me: I have been working with *** cmpy Explained about my role
Vo : how are u managing your finances other than scholarship ship.
Me: explained him about my education loan and savings
Vo:Thankyou Mam, have a safe stay
Me: well that means my visa is approved
Vo : (laughed) yes it is.
Me : Thankyou, have a grt day

54.
Insights and what worked for me :

I was the first in the English language queue as I quickly made my way through all the
check points. At first they'll check your appointment time and will let you inside, later a
guy scans the barcode present at the back of your passport ( this will be sticked by
people who do your OFC) later they do a thorough security check to see if you're
carrying anything electronic, next you enter the actual building where these VOs are,
first, they'll do biometric verification and you're asked to Stand in the queue, I was
leading the queue, waiting for around 20 mins, sharp at 8 am they pull the curtains and I
was called to counter no 17.

Tips :

1. As soon as you encounter the VO, Greet the person.

2. Smile, it really works.

3. Use gestures, expressions and body language to your advantage during the interview,
you create an aura of genuine student.

4. Be crisp and clear in what you say,

( no stuttering, no slurry speech) practice in front of mirror or try taking to your
computers ( as VO is most of the time typing) it might get uncomfortable but get used to
it because she constantly judging you from the eye contact you make and how
connected are the dots in your story

5. Be confident about your story, answers and yourself, stand and deliver,

6. However silly you might think your answers might be, please state them, it's not ONLY
about what your answers are, it's also about how you present them. such personal
reasons of yours are what VO's are looking for that makes you sound very genuine and
not cliched.

7. arrive just in time at the venue, like 10 mins before, because there is no lobby or
anything to wait, all you've got is a footpath with barricades as boundaries alongside the
road and a big queue.

8. Observe the VO's reaction and expressions those are the hints which will tell you (
don't provide room for more questions, explicitly Being asked for another question) if
she's looking for more details, be observant to know. Because I had couple of questions
which I left unanswered a bit according to VO, looking at the VO she wasn't convinced
and I added more valuable details which did obviate couple of more questions and make
sure those details add instant value to your answer.

9. Maintain eye contact throughout, even though VO is typing something, you just look at
her and answer, they will keep looking at you intermittently while she's typing.
10. Once you enter the premises you're constantly under surveillance, so watch your
actions. I mean to say, don't be nervous, start twitching, and keep murmuring the
answers and don't look stressed.

11. All the counters are usually full all the time, so judge the pitch of your voice that you
should use so that your voice cancels the noise arround and the VO understands every
word also make sure you listen to VO actively ( hyperfocus for 15 mins)

12. It's a very casual conversation, chill and at the same time don't loose focus.

55.
Visa interview (F1)
Consulate: Hyderabad
Course: MS in CSE
University: University of Missouri Kansas City
Date: 14th May 2019 (Ofc on 13th May)
Timings : 10:00 AM
Counter number: 13
Status: Approved
Experience: Self

VO was in her mid 20's and looked quite strict and was taking interview for long time.
She interviewed 2 business Visa before when I was standing in
the Queue. Rejected 1 and approved 1. Passport was collected when i was standing the
queue only.

She then signaled me to come forward.

VO: Good Morning dear, can i get your i20?

Me: Sure. here it is..
VO: So university of Missouri, Kansas City?
Me: Yes.
VO: why umkc?
Me: told about the research work and all
VO: I dont think that indian MNC wants you to learn Big Data, they just want you to code,
isn't it?
Me: Yes, thats true. By doing reseach in Big Data will give me an edge over my peers and
give me an career boost.
VO: Your course is of 1 year?
Me: No its for 9 months.
VO: Why do you want to go for 9 months course?
Me: I think that should be sufficient, since I also hold work experience.
VO: From which more universities you got acceptance?
Me: *told*
VO: Then why Kansas city? --- This question is to know how much i researched about
the place coz already told why umkc
Me: I smiled and told I heard it snows a lot there
VO: Laughing out loud she asked where are you currently working?
Me: *told*
VO: what's your designation?
Me: *told*
VO: Gave a confused look and said Senior engineer in just 2.9 years experience?
Me: I said yes, that's how it works in my company. and explained her the promotion
pattern.
VO: what was your initial designation at Mindtree?
Me: I said Engineer.
VO: What's your current salary?
Me: *told*
VO: so what will u eat in kansas?
Me: I would prefer cooking and eating, as i'm already working in bangalore, I cook there
and eat.
VO: What do you do for them?
Me: Explained about my project saying i work as a java developer and explained where
my project is used.
VO: She then looking at my i20 asked, so you also have a scholarship?
Me: *told*
VO: She asked me the scholarship letter
Me: I dont have any scholarship letter, it is mentioned in the i20 and also in the mail
which they sent before sending i20.
VO: She then asked who is sponsering your education?
Me: I said I would be sponsering my education. Me and my dad have been saving from a
pretty long time for my masters. *told*
VO: Pass me your financial documents
Me: sure, I passed letters from bank and the bank statements of RD. and kept saying my
dad has also put 5lacs aside for my education.
VO: oh, pass me that letter too
Me: already passed ma'am.
VO: Oh ya thanks.
VO: Under your case I need to keep it under administrative processing since few checks
need to happen. and said you can track it using this number. Also
asked me to scan and send the mail/scholarship letter which the university sent to this
mail address.
Me: okay, Thanks a lot.

I mailed them the scholarship letter.

On 21st May, the status changed to issued.

56.
F1 Visa Interview Experience
Name: Utkarsh Pujar
Date: 22nd May 2019
University: Arizona State University, Masters in Mechanical Engineering
Consulate: Mumbai
Status: Approved

The VO was a male in his mid 30s.

VO: Come forward please.

Me: Good morning sir.
VO: Pass me passport
Me: passed
VO: I'm gonna need your i-20 as well
Me: Passed
VO: So Arizona State University?
Me: Yes sir.
VO: Did you apply to any other universities other than ASU?
Me: Yes sir, I had applied to 7 universities in total and I received admits from 4 of them.
VO: Then why did you choose ASU?
Me: The course at ASU is interdisciplinary course and the research of few professors
matches my interest.
VO: (Again repeated the same question)No, I mean you could've chosen the university
from which I graduated like Texas A & M. Why didn't you?
Me: Sir, I have contacted few professors at ASU told them about my plan to pursue
masters and I've also contacted few seniors at ASU. All of them gave a positive feedback.
This is the reason I chose ASU.( Was not sure about my answer)
VO: What do you want to do after your masters? Do you want to continue with the OPT?
Me: Yes sir, I want to get some industrial exposure during my OPT period. And after that I
would like to return to India and find a good job there.
VO: (typing..) okay
VO: How are funding your education?
Me: My father is sponsoring for my education and I have also taken education loan.
VO: What is your father's occupation?
Me: He is a Doctor. A Gynaecologist.
VO: Okay. How much amount of that loan are you going to use?
Me: Sir, I'll be using half of the loan amount.
VO: (Smiling) That's a lie
Me: (Smiling back) No sir, actually my father will sponsor for half of my education so.
VO: okay, your passport will be ready in 3-5days.
Me: Thank you sir, you made my day.
I wasn't asked for any documents other than passport and i20.
The whole interview took about 5-7mins
Remember to smile which shows you are confident.
All the best to everyone

57.
Visa interview experience
Date: 22nd May 2019
Consulate: Hyderabad
Counter number: 16
University: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Visa status: Approved

The interview lasted just a minute

VO: Why did you choose this specialisation?

Me: I like Signal Processing and Machine Learning... (The VO interrupts me here and asks
the next question)

VO: How are you going to fund your MS?

Me: My father is sponsoring me. We have savings of XX lakhs, an educational loan of 20
lakhs and assets worth XX lakhs.

The VO was typing while I was answering.

VO: Your VISA has been approved.

Me: Thank you ma'am... Thank you ma'am!

Thank you for posting your VISA interview experiences here. It was of immense help!

You got an admit and arranged the funding for your education. There's no need to panic.
Be confident. All the best!

58.
Wichita State University
Computer Science
Consulate:Hyderabad
Date:22-05-2019
In Time -9 am
out time-10 am
Status: Approved

passport was collected before hand,VO was a lady.

Me: gm maam
Vo: gm sir paas me yur f1
Me: passed
Vo: Why wichita?
Me: Course offered by the univ align to my interest(interrupted)
Vo: When did u complete yur graduation?
Me: 2016
Vo: Which all univ u have applied to?
Me:Told
Vo:Why u got the scholarship?
Me:This scholarship is awarded to international students with good overall profile and
decent academics.
Vo:How was yur academics?
Me:Told her my bachelor’s %age, gre and toefl score.
Vo:How you are going to finance yur studies?
Me:I have a sanctioned loan of XX lakhs and savings of around XX lakhs plus i have a
scholarship of 10,400$ which roughly comes around to be 7.4 lakhs.
Vo:Your Visa is approved,you will get a mail regarding collection of passport within 3-5
days.
Me:Thank u mam, have a nice day.
The interview was over within 30 seconds.
No documents were asked except passport and I20.

59.
Visa experience
Consulate: Delhi
University: Southeast Missouri state university
Course: MS in CS
Date: 9th May 2019 09:15AM (OFC on 8th May)
Interview duration: 8 minutes
Counter number: 13
Status: Approved

VO was in his mid 30's and looked very welcoming, she reject visa before me

After exchanging greetings. , Taken my passport and i-20

VO: why this University?
Me: it is one of the oldest public university established in the year 1873, my area of
intrest is clear in cyber security, professor vijay anand doing lot of research in cyber
security, it will fetch me when am back to india and settle in my dream company as a
security analyst.

VO: So why did you choose this cyber security?

Me: I have been interested in Cyber security from my +2 and did many work shops and
participated in many competitions.

VO: So, what is ur dream company?

Me: ××××× company said

VO: when did u graduated ?

Me: recently in the month of april 2019. VO: any backlogs ME: No mam. VO :
what is ur % ? ME : told

VO: What is your scores?

Me: Told , VO: who are your sponcers ? And income and any siblings ? ME: so and so
business , turnover of 10000000 and annual income of xxxxx and one elder sis doing job
in xxxx company. VO : y did u come for delhi for visa ? Me: my grandparents
leave here since 30 years working in andhar bhavan with govt of AP and every summer i
used to visit and stay here for 30 days so it is convenient to attend her.

VO: Okay satish , here is your I-20 and I am approving your VISA
Me: Thank you so much mam.

As you must be reading from other interview experiences, it really is important to keep
yourself calm and be well prepared. I had all the documents with me, but VO didn’t ask
for any additional documents other than i20.

60.
Visa experience
Consulate: Chennai
Date & time: 21st May, 9:15 am Slot.
Interview duration: 7-8 mins.
Status: Approved.
Indiana University, MS in Data Science. Fall 19

About interviewer: She grilled a guy just before me. some very senior business official
going for a project work form certain company, it went on for about 15-17 mins with him. I
was there standing behind him, waiting for my turn. She grilled him so much that even I
know everything about his trip, agenda of trip, what other countries he has visited
before…..so the point is, it varies from VO to VO, be ready for being grilled. Be legit and
make eye contact. Take your time to answer, they will listen.

VO: Hi! Can I have your passport?

Me: Hello ma’am! Yeah sure (passed the passport). She enters passport number and then
asks for i-20. Passed it, when asked. I took out my i-20 when she was typing in…that was
obvious thing to do.
She went through i-20 for like 30-40 seconds, then asks
VO: Why do you wanna do masters in “computer science”?
Me: Ma’am, its master’s in Data Science (with smile of face).
She seemed confused, looked at i-20 once again saying,
VO: it saaaays….. “compu..taa..tional science” ? okay, (nodding…)
Me: yes ma’am, it’s what I am majoring in, the course name is Data science.
VO: So what is it, like related to data?
Me: yes ma’am. (she nodded as if she understood, so did not explained any further.)
VO: So why do you wanna do masters in this field?
Me: (I talked about my transition from EE to DS, how it happened, where I felt that I
needed to study more in this field. and why I decided to go for masters. Did not
mentioned about career opportunities and career growth at all. Only talked about, what I
felt was lacking in me and how I think Masters can fill it in.) answered all of this, taking as
much time as it took, she was listening very carefully and looking into my eyes.
VO: What are your first semester subjects?
Me: There will a number of options available to choose from but I have decided to choose
(just randomly named any three subject that came in my mind at the moment. I am sure,
they don’t know about these, they just want to see the confidence and knowledge of the
field we are choosing)
VO: Who is financing you?
Me: My parents are financing my education ( I was about to tell that I also have a loan of
XY amount but she interrupted)
VO: What is your parents’ income?
Me: stated for each of them.
VO: So, what are your plans after masters?
Me: I talked about, how I am looking to further opportunities in research works, also
mentioned about PhD programs at Indiana university. Talked about my research
background but at the same time I told, “I am not sure what kind of opportunities I would
have in my hand once I graduate” then talked about backup plan (coming back to India,
work for MNCs, till I find something suitable.) She seemed convinced, she was looking at
me all the time through this.)
VO: Which specialisation you want to do?
Me: I talked about the two tracks that our master’s program provides and stated my
choice as well.
VO: So, you want to follow research, right? (looking point blank into my eyes)
Me: Yes ma’am, (making eye contact) that is my first priority. (doesn’t have to be my
priority but I wanted my interview to be in this direction, I prepared for this only)
VO started typing which went on for a minute or so, I was standing there, waiting for
something to be asked but nothing came till the end. Then she picked my passport and
racked it in shelf.
VO: Your visa is approved sir. (handed me a green slip and my i-20)
Me: Thank you so much ma’am. Collected everything and walked away.

Takeaway form my interview: first of all, its sheer luck and then your efforts to be clear
and confident for that moment. Any VO will take time to listen to you, just tell you legit
story. Be fully prepared for Why MS? Why this course? Who is financing? What is their
income? Keep the docs handy. If you get a chance to chip in your docs, even when not
asked, that is fine. It shows confidence and truthfulness.

Most important time to keep yourself calm: irrespective of which Visa office you go, you
will stand in line waiting for your turn. During this time, you will be able to listen to all the
questions and answers going on in front of you. Keep yourself calm during that period. It
can mess with your confidence. All other things will be fine.

PS- DM or comment for anything you wanna ask, will try my best to help. good luck.

Edit 1- So many people are asking me about my transition from EE to DS. guys i suggest
you visit my linkedin profile. you will have the idea of it.
link:

61.
Visa experience
Consulate: Hyderabad
University: Stony Brook University
Course: MS in CS
Date: 22nd May 2019 10:30 AM (OFC on 17th May)
Interview duration: 45 seconds
Counter number: 12
Status: Approved

VO was in his mid 30's and looked very welcoming, he approved 2 VISAs before me.

After exchanging greetings

VO: So why Stony Brook University?

Me: Sir, apart from being well renowned, the main reason I have selected SBU was its
course and curriculum matches with my interests which are Data Science and Big Data
and they have some of the top professors in the world… //Interrupted me and moved on
to the next question

VO: So why did you choose this CS?

Me: I have been interested in CS since my childhood and have been learning to program
since high school, after finishing up my undergrad I got placed in… // Interrupted me

VO: So, when did you graduate and what have you been doing since then?
Me: I graduated in 2014 and have been working in IT since then

VO: How are you going to fund your education?

Me: My parents are my primary sponsors, I have some of my own saving and I have an
education loan sanctioned as well //Was about to go into numbers but, VO stopped me
here.

VO: What do your parents do?

Me: Told

VO: Okay Mayank, here is your I-20 and I am approving your VISA
Me: Awesome sir, Thank you so much

As you must be reading from other interview experiences, it really is important to keep
yourself calm and be well prepared. I had all the documents with me, but VO didn’t ask
for any additional documents other than i20.

Good luck with your applications, DM or comment if you have any questions about the
process. :)

62.
Visa interview

Status: rejected

Me: Good morning

VO: How many universities have you applied ?

Me: 9
VO: that's a lot of university. Why did you apply to so many universities?
Me: because of my research interests
VO: How old are you ?
Me:28
VO: can you name the universities?
Me: could not name all the university but listed most of them
VO: why master's now ? You have already been working for so long .
Me: fumbled, could not answer.. properly
VO: that's a lot of money. How will you pay the amount?
Me: my father and I have savings worth xx lacs
And properties worth xx lacs..I also have a student loan from prodigy for each year.
VO: sorry could not approve your visa this time. Reason is mentioned over here. Handed
me 214(b)

Questions like
Why so many universities my confidence.. I thought she is determined to reject.

63.
My experience
Date: 21/05/2019
Visa consulate: Chennai
Slot: 7:30 am
Visa status: approved

How it went :

VO : why are you traveling to USA?

ME : to pursue my masters in business analytics at University of South Florida.

VO : Why USF?

ME : It's because of the course curriculum and the flexibility it offers, a well balanced
curriculum, a perfect blend of managerial and technical courses which favours my career
goals.

Also because of the weather of Tampa.

VO : How did you get to know about this universitiy?

ME : I looked for the top universities in US offering business analytics course, classified
them considering various factors like expense, reputation of the professors, reviews
from the alumini and weather conditions. And USF happened to be one in the list.

VO : what other colleges did you apply to?

ME : 4, mentioned full names.

VO : How many admits did you receive?

ME : 3, and mentioned the names in full

VO : Then why not other universities? Why USF ?

ME : because I get to study technical subjects like advanced data mining, data science
programming etc and managerial subjects like enterprise information systems etc. A
perfect blend that's tailored for my career goals.

Also, student to professor ratio is very less at USF when I compared to other universities,
18 : 1

And Tampa being a 360 day sunshine city it's more like climate of Bangalore

All in all, a conducive environment for my studies.

VO : what are planning to do after your Masters?

ME : I will come back and work as a business analyst for companies like Flipkart, Paytm
and others which are actively indulged in analytics work for 2-3 years and eventually I
would want to be a top executive in the industry.

VO : what was your bachelors in?

ME : I completed my bachelor's in computer science from PES University.

VO : when did you graduate?

ME : I graduated in the month of July, 2016

VO : what have you been doing since?

ME : I'm working as Systems Engineer for TCS.

VO : Then why Masters now?

ME : I develop and Support softwares which deal with huge amount of raw data on a daliy
basis but there's a limitation to it, my senior officials fetch the data and make business
intelligent decisions which will enhance the business process and I want to be able to do
that, I want to learn the decision making models and make business intelligent decisions
and add more value to the organization. I want to upgrade my skillset and want to add
more value, so.
VO : The i20 mentions as family funds for your expenses, how are you planning to?

ME : I have availed loan amounting to 38 lakhs from canara bank also my dad is
sponsoring me from part of his savings up to 11 lakhs.

VO : what is your father doing?

ME : he's a retired govt bank executive and landlord.

VO : (VO looking at my i20) okay... Your classes start in the month of...hmm...(still
staring at i20)
ME : (I interrupted) it's going to start in the month of August, 26th.

VO : okay...

VO : Okay I'm approving your Visa, please take this slip (handed me a green slip), have a
nice day.

Me : I greeted her back and left.

64.
Insights and what worked for me :

I was the first in the English language queue as I quickly made my way through all the
check points. At first they'll check your appointment time and will let you inside, later a
guy scans the barcode present at the back of your passport ( this will be sticked by
people who do your OFC) later they do a thorough security check to see if you're
carrying anything electronic, next you enter the actual building where these VOs are,
first, they'll do biometric verification and you're asked to Stand in the queue, I was
leading the queue, waiting for around 20 mins, sharp at 8 am they pull the curtains and I
was called to counter no 17.

Tips :

1. As soon as you encounter the VO, Greet the person.

2. Smile, it really works.

3. Use gestures, expressions and body language to your advantage during the interview,
you create an aura of genuine student.

4. Be crisp and clear in what you say,

( no stuttering, no slurry speech) practice in front of mirror or try taking to your
computers ( as VO is most of the time typing) it might get uncomfortable but get used to
it because she constantly judging you from the eye contact you make and how
connected are the dots in your story

5. Be confident about your story, answers and yourself, stand and deliver,

6. However silly you might think your answers might be, please state them, it's not ONLY
about what your answers are, it's also about how you present them. such personal
reasons of yours are what VO's are looking for that makes you sound very genuine and
not cliched.

7. arrive just in time at the venue, like 10 mins before, because there is no lobby or
anything to wait, all you've got is a footpath with barricades as boundaries alongside the
road and a big queue.

8. Observe the VO's reaction and expressions those are the hints which will tell you (
don't provide room for more questions, explicitly Being asked for another question) if
she's looking for more details, be observant to know. Because I had couple of questions
which I left unanswered a bit according to VO, looking at the VO she wasn't convinced
and I added more valuable details which did obviate couple of more questions and make
sure those details add instant value to your answer.

9. Maintain eye contact throughout, even though VO is typing something, you just look at
her and answer, they will keep looking at you intermittently while she's typing.

10. Once you enter the premises you're constantly under surveillance, so watch your
actions. I mean to say, don't be nervous, start twitching, and keep murmuring the
answers and don't look stressed.

11. All the counters are usually full all the time, so judge the pitch of your voice that you
should use so that your voice cancels the noise arround and the VO understands every
word also make sure you listen to VO actively ( hyperfocus for 15 mins)

12. It's a very casual conversation, chill and at the same time don't loose focus.

65.
F1 Visa Interview Experience
Name: Anshul Pardhi
University: University of Texas at Dallas, MS CS
Date: May 21, 2019
Consulate: Hyderabad
Status: Approved

This is going to be a long post, but contains every essential small detail. //10 minute read
I reached the consulate at 8:45 a.m. I had a 9:30 a.m. slot. However, they were letting in
people from any time slot. Initially, our passport was checked two times at the gate. Later
on, there was a strict checking before the entrance where we had to put every item,
which we were carrying (including handkerchiefs, belts, keys etc.), in a tray. This tray
was passed through a scanner and later the folder containing our documents was
checked thoroughly. They told us to remove seals of sealed envelopes, if any.
Later on, we assembled in the waiting area. After waiting for 5 minutes, they called us in
to Counter 7 to get our fingerprint scans verified. When my turn came, the American lady
sitting on the counter told that the data linked to my profile was blank. They sent me to
Counter 6, which was located in a closed room. After waiting for some 5 minutes there,
my turn came. The lady sitting on the counter informed me that since I had a different
location on my DS 160 (Mumbai), the Hyderabad consulate didn’t have my DS 160 data,
and it will take some time (that some time eventually was 60 minutes) and I have to wait
in the waiting area. I had initially selected Mumbai as all my documents are based off
Mumbai, but the visa date was 18 July. Later on, on finding an earlier date in the place
where I work (Hyderabad), I rescheduled my interview to Hyderabad.
Point to be noted: If the location on your DS 160 and the location of your visa interview
doesn’t match, you will have to wait for an hour idle, so either be mentally prepared to
wait or plan accordingly in the first place.
After an hour, they called my name and I stood in the line for Counter 7 where our
fingerprints were being verified. After that, we again sat in the waiting area for about 10
minutes. They then called us in a waiting line. As soon as a person was done with his/her
interview, that particular counter number was assigned to the first person in the waiting
line. The Visa Officers were taking the interviews on Counters 10 to 16. After waiting in
the line for about 15 minutes, my turn came. My interview was scheduled to take place on
Counter 16.
When I went to Counter 16, the VO was taking interview of a person for F1 visa. There
were already 2 more people in front of me in the waiting line. She rejected the F1 visa.
She further rejected the visas of the two persons in front of me, which were B1 and F1
respectively. Their interviews lasted about 3-5 minutes each. I was mentally prepared for
a rejection but maintained a constant smile throughout.
A person had already submitted my passport and i20 to the VO even before my turn. The
VO was a young lady
VO: So, UTD………
Me: Yeah, I chose UTD because of its diverse curriculum, suited to my interests. Unlike
other universities where you have to take a mandatory subject each from Computer
Theory, Systems and Applications, here, at UTD, there are different streams. I will choose
the Data Science stream, as I am more focused on Data Science and Machine Learning,
particularly, NLP.
VO: How many universities did you apply to?
Me: 4. //I had actually applied to 9 universities
VO: Can you name them?
Me: Named UTD along with my other safest options where I unfortunately had a reject
(NEU, Stony Brook, NCSU). //She luckily did not ask if I had got an admit or a reject there.
VO: UTD is costly. Are you willing to spend such enormous amount of 49K (the amount
mentioned on the i20) for yours Masters at UTD?
Me: UTD is ranked 8 in the US in the field of Natural Language Processing, as per the
csrankings. The professors here are highly talented and the university is equipped with
the excellent research facilities; I will get the best exposure at UTD. My interests lie in
Natural Language Processing and Data Science. //It’s true indeed, UTD is one of the best
universities for research in NLP.
VO: What do you mean by Natural Language Processing? Can you explain me?
Me: Natural Language Processing is a part of Machine Learning where you use the
computer to generate human language responses. Its applications include virtual
assistants and chatbots. //I don’t exactly remember what I had said there, I had fumbled a
bit, but I believed she understood what I was trying to convey
VO: You mean something like Siri?
Me: Exactly! Like Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa etc.
VO: What do you intend to do after completing your masters?
Me: After completing my masters, I will return to India and plan to start my own company.
I want to build kind of like a virtual assistant or chatbot for India. You know, all these Siri,
Alexa, Google Assistant are all American products and there is no such famous Indian
product currently available. I plan to build India’s first virtual assistant.
VO: So you will be building the Indian version of Alexa? //She seemed quite curious
Me: Yes. //I honestly have no idea if I would actually be doing that but I had to say
something to show my intentions of returning back to India, something different,
something unique, something an average person might not have said before and I
believe, this could have been the turning point for my visa acceptance.
VO: How will you be funding yourself?
Me: My dad has savings worth XX lakhs and I have personal savings worth X lakhs. I also
have a sanctioned loan of XX lakhs from HDFC Credila. If you add all these, it sums up to
70 lakhs, which is about 98K USD, twice the i20 amount.
VO: What does your father do?
Me: He is the General Manager at Tata Projects, Mumbai.
VO: What is his salary?
Me: XX lakhs.
VO: I am approving your visa; you will get your passport back in 3-4 days. //She kept my
passport in a tray.
Me: Thank you so much.
The VO didn’t ask for a single document other than the passport and the i20. I had more
than 100 papers in my folder.
I came outside the consulate at around 11 a.m.
My profile.
Undergrad: NIT Nagpur CSE 2017
CGPA: 7.65 //Even though it was better than the average and median of 7.5 for the CS
department of VNIT, I guess this was the major reason for my rejections
Work Experience: 2 years, as an Applications Developer at Oracle, Hyderabad
GRE: 322 //166+156+4.0
TOEFL: 100
Research Papers: 0 //This could be another reason for rejection at ambitious universities
LORs: 3 from professors, including my undergrad thesis guide as well as ex-HOD; 2 from
Oracle, including an American Senior Manager and a Chinese-American Director. //This
could also be the reason as unlike a lot of students, I didn’t write any LOR, my profs and
senior colleagues wrote the LORs themselves and I had waived the right to see them.
SOP: //Had mentioned most of ML, DS stuff. More demand, increased competition; now I
believe I should have mentioned CS subjects which are not that much in demand instead
and after getting an admit, should have chosen the ML/DS courses at the university.
Admit: 1 //UTD
Rejects: 8 //Columbia DS, UCSD, UWiscMad, TAMU, VirgTech, NCSU, Stony Brook, NEU
DS

Some additional tips:

Reach the consulate about 30-60 minutes before your scheduled time
Be confident in what you answer.
Elaborate your answers.
Be prepared to wait idle for long, without any means of recreation (like cellphones).
Make sure to show at least 1.5 times the i20 amount.
Carry every document mentioned on numerous checklists across the web. You never
know when they will ask for one.
Be prepared for unforeseen questions.
You have worked hard and have dedicated a significant amount of your quality time for
your graduate applications; GRE, TOEFL, SOP, applications, frequent checking of emails
for any updates on decisions, accumulating funds etc. Visa interview is the last station in
this application process journey. Hold on your nerves until the last moment. In the end, it
does matter.
If you have any queries, feel free to call/WhatsApp me on 9930929593. If available, I will
be happy to answer your queries.

66.
My Friend visa exp
Date:21 May
Time Slot: 10:15 am
Consulate :Mumbai
University : SUNY buffalo
Status: Approved

Reached at 9:35. At nearly 11:40 I got to my window. VO is a young guy.

VO: come forward.
Me: good morning sir!
Vo: Good morning. please pass me your passport.
Passed
VO: and your i20
Passed
Vo: So why did you choose SUNY buffalo?
Me: Well, among all the schools I applied to suny meets all of my expectations. I want to
do research under a reputed professor and SUNY provides all those things. As i have
already published papers in IEEE, i would like to continue my work in machine learning
particularly.
Vo: How are you going to pay?
Me: I have taken a secured loan of xx lakhs from SBI and for the rest my father will be
sponsoring.
VO: How many universities have you applied to?
Me: 5
Vo: What are those?
Me: ASU, UTD, ISU, NEU and SUNY buffalo
Vo: Which was your 2nd choice?
Me: ASU
Vo: Tell me 1 thing that ASU has better than SUNY buffalo
Me: The course structure of ASU is better but SUNY is more research oriented, hence I
chose SUNY.
Then he left the window for a minute and came back.
VO (Looking at my i20): Tell me again how many universities have you applied?
Me: 5
VO: How many admits you got?
Me: 4
VO: which university rejected you?
Me: NEU
VO: Ok.
VO( slides down my i20): Ok. Are you sure you're not going to change your school in
future.
Me: Yes sir, i am sure.
VO: Ok, your visa has been approved and study well and best of luck for your studies.
Me:😊 Thank you so much sir. Have a great day.
67.
Visa Experience
Consulate Mumbai
Time 8.30

Counter No 31
Clemson University
Status : approved.

VO : Hi Good morning. Please pass me ur passport and I-20.

Me: Hi good morning sir. How are you?
VO : I am fine.

VO : ohh are you going to Clemson then?

Me: yes sir.

VO : why Clemson?
Me : told about 1) courses offered by Clemson .how the courses are related to my area of
interest. 2) professors name & research 3) If I get an opportunity to work with professors
I will be happy.

VO : how many university did you apply?

Me: Answerd.

VO: When did you graduate?

Me: Answered.

VO : what have you done so far?

Me : I have completed my bachelors in computer engg. from Y.T.I.E.T affiliated to mumbai
university. I was so fascinated to learn different programming language hence I did post
graduation diploma in advance computing from one of the CDAC institute. Fortunately, I
got an opportunity to work in a product based company, square solutions where I worked
as a software engineer for 1 year 3 months.
Then I joined ASM enterprise pvt solution ltd. Where I worked as a java developer.
After that I prepared for gre, ielts.
I worked on application process. Currently now I am pursuing online courses which
would be helpful during my masters.

VO: who are sponsoring your education? What they do?

Me: answered.

VO: What ur brother do?

Me: answered.
VO : I am approving ur visa. Do you know that you can go to USA within one month of
your course start date not before that.( He mentioned that date also.😊)
ME: yes sir, I have an idea.

You will receive your passport in a few days. Congratulations.

Me: thank you so much sir. Have a nice day.

VO: you too.

Just be honest and confident and you’re good to go. All the best everyone!

68.
*Visa Interview Experience*

*Name:* Shlok Jethwa

*Date:* 20th May 2019.
*Slot:* 9:15 am.
*University name:* University of Maryland, College park
*Program*: MSIS
*Consulate:* Mumbai
*Visa Status:* Approved

Counter:29
VO was a young man about age of 28-30.
Me: Good morning Sir.
VO: Good morning. Pass me your i20, passport.
Me: passed.
VO: Do you have any siblings ?
Me: No sir. I am the only child.
VO : What does your father do ?
Me: told the position and job profile
VO: how much does her earn ?
Me: told yearly income
VO: how many colleges did you apply ?
Me : 8, sir
VO: how many acceptions did you receive ?
Me: 6, sir
VO: which was your second option?
Me: Northeastern University
VO: why did you choose UMCP ?
Me: told about the curriculum differences and research options at umcp.
VO: what are your plans after your master's ?
Me: sir i want to come back to india and get a good job in a well known company.
VO: your visa has been approved but wait a min
Me: getting nervous
VO: what major are you planning and what are you mainly interested in ?
Me: sir i am planning for database management and data modelling.
VO: okay great. Try finance management course too.
Me: thanks a lot sir.
VO: just smiling and looking at me
Me: so sir is it done
VO: yeah go on. I am taking your passport and you will get a message within 2-3 working
days.
Me: thanks a lot sir. have a good day.

Interview hardly lasted for 2-3 mins.

69.
Consulate: Chennai
University: University of Texas at Arlington
Slot: 21 May 11:45am
Status: Approved

Vo is a lady

Me: Good morning ma'am

Vo: Hello!

Vo: Why are you going to US?

Me: To pursue my masters degree in computer science.

Vo: Which University are you going for?

Me: University of Texas Arlington

Vo: When did you complete your bachelor's?

Me: This month

Vo: What is your course in bachelor's?

Me: Computer science and engineering

Vo: What are you going to study in UTA?

Me : Computer science

Vo: Did you register for classes?

Me: No ma'am we have to do that over there after orientation.

Vo: Who is funding?

Me: ( I didn't mention any amounts) My father is sponsoring and i got education loan
from Andhra bank.

Vo: What is your father?

Me: told her

Then she returned my I-20 along with a green slip saying your visa is approved.

She didn't ask for any documents other than i20, passport.

70.
*Visa experience*
Consulate: Hyderabad Date: 21.5.19
Slot: 09:30 am
(I reached consulate by 9am. I got my turn at 10.20am)
Univ: Arizona State University
Visa status: Approved
Counter no : 12
VO was a gentleman in early 30s
passport and i20 were collected before hand

VO: Good morning

Me: Good morning sir.
VO:How are you doing today?
Me: I'm doing well, thank you.How are you sir ?
VO: I am doing well too . So Arizona state University. How did your hear about it?
Me: From seniors and batchmates sir.
( He was checking sevis, it was taking a while to retrieve.)
VO:Did you pay your sevis fee?
Me: Yes sir, would you like to see sevis receipt ?
VO:No, internet is kinda slow.
VO:So what did you like about Arizona state University?
Me: Practical exposure, one will be able to meet lots of new people and make friends with
them as students from around 150 different nations study there.
VO: Your Birthday?
Me:xx-xx-xxxx
VO:Thats easy to remember
VO:Your undergraduate grades?
Me:Told
VO: Any backlogs?
Me:No sir
VO:When did you complete your bachelors?
Me:2017 sir
VO:What are you doing since then ?
Me: I have been working as a software engineer in XXXX firm sir.
VO: Where do you wanna see yourself in future , in 20 years ?
Me:Told.
VO:So, Arizona state University,its costing alot , how are you planning to pay ?
Me:I have a taken loan of 40 lakhs sir, and I have personal savings of XX lakhs.
VO: Is it secured or unsecured loan?
Me: Unsecured sir, would you like to see related documents?
VO: yes please.
Me:(handed him laon sanction letter from HDFC credila,he went through letter
completely)would you like to see FD statements sir ?
VO:No, please collect your loan document. How many universities did you apply?
Me: I have applied only for Arizona state University, I was keen on this.
VO:Your visa is approved.
Me:Thank you so much sir! Have a nice day.

He was typing continuously throughout the interview. Interview lasted for hardly 2-3
mins. He was very friendly.

Be confident and keep smiling ,its helps to ace the interview.

All the very best 👍🏻

71.
*Visa experience*
Consulate: Hyderabad Date: 20.5.19
Slot: 10:30 am
Univ: University of Missouri St.Louis
Counter no : 12
VO was a young man in 30s

Me: Good morning sir

VO: Good morning , pass me your passport
Me: Sure sir, here it is
VO: Pass your i20
Me: Sure sir
VO: So you are heading to Missouri...
Me: Yes sir
VO: Why this university?
Me: told about the course curriculum and professor
VO: What is your undergrad stream ?
Me: told
VO: What is your percentage?
Me: We have a GPA based system and mine is ..
VO: Any backlogs?
Me: No sir, I dont have any
VO: What will you do during vacation or in leisure time?
Me: I will watch Youtube and enhance my knowledge sir..
VO: (Smiling) What is your favourite channel on youtube?
Me: told
VO: How are you funding your education?
Me: told about loan and continuing ( VO interrupted me)
VO: Can I see your loan letter?
Me: Sure sir
VO: Looked at the bank letter and typed something on his system and finally the golden
words *I am approving your visa*
Me: Thank you soo much sir

Be confident and keep smiling 🙂

All the best 👍🏻

72.
*My Visa Experience*
Consulate: Hyderabad
Date: 21.5.19
Slot: 10:30 am
Univ: Colorado State University
Major: MS in Electrical Engineering.
Counter no : 10
VO was a young man in 30s

I was waiting in the queue for and as I observed a lot of student Visas and other visas
got accepted but the person in front of me got rejected (Student Visa).I literally had
butterflies in my stomach as I saw him walk by.
My Visa and I-20 was passed to counter by a coordinator as I waited for my turn.
Me: Good morning sir.
VO: Good morning.
VO: So when did complete your undergraduation??
Me: In 2018.
VO: What have you been doing since them??
Me: Told him, I was working in XX company in XX position.
VO: You have a good job right, why are you planning for masters?
Me: Told I was employed in a different field and I intend to go into a certain field and a
way to do that is to pursue masters.
VO: Is your masters major related to your work and undergrad major?
Me: I gave an instinctive YES 😅😅😅 without even thinking.
VO: What is undergrad GPA ?
Me: Told him my GPA.
VO: Any Backlogs?
Me: Told no backlogs.
VO: Who is funding your Education?
Me: Told my father is funding my education.
VO: What does your Father do?
Me: told him that he works in XX position in XX company.
VO: Is your father funding from his savings or through bank loan?
Me: Told him through Savings.
VO: Looked at me and typed something, He then told the golden words *Your visa is
approved* .
Me: Thank you soo much sir, you've made my day

Be confident and back yourself and Keep your calm.

All the best 👍🏻

73.
Visa experience
Consulate :hyd
Date 20.5.19
VO: so Colorado State University right
Me: yes
Vo:what's you undergrad score?
Me:told
Vo:Why this university?
Me: Because of the course curriculum and the research faculty.The course curriculum
consists of both business and information technology and it also provides specialization
in business intelligence which is my area of interest.
Vo: What do you in free time during masters?
Me:I like to explore the city and as fort collins is surrounded by mountains I would like to
go for hiking.
vo:What is hiking?
Me:told
Vo:How are you going to pay for you education?
Me: told
(VO asked the loan sanction letter)
Vo:Is it a unsecured loan?
Me: yes the bank gave me loan based on my credentials
Vo: Congratulation...your visa is approved
Me: thank you sir.

74.
Visa approved
Consulate: Hyderabad
Counter 15
VI Date: 15th May, 10 AM
Approval date : 20th May
The Hyderabad- 221g slip case

Questions asked:
<univ I’ll be heading to> is a pretty good school, how did you hear about it?
Why is your company letting you go for masters now? (I know, a pretty weird question)
When did you graduate, any backlogs?
The fee looks high, how are you funding it?
What do your parents do, why should they spend all their savings on you (I was taken
aback at this question)

The interview went well. It did look like he was convinced with my answers, because
there were two rejections by him just before I stepped in.

He took my passport, smiled, handed the 221g slip and said there was nothing to worry
about and this 221g was just a formality. He said I’ll get my visa approved in 3-5 days.
Just like he said, I got the approval in 3 working days.

No documents taken apart from my passport. No calls/mails regarding any

documentation to be provided. Direct approval.
All the best folks!

75.
Visa interview (F1)
Consulate: Hyderabad
Course: MS in CSE
University: Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Date: 14th May 2019 (Ofc on 5th May)
Timings : 10:30 AM
Counter number: 15
Status: Approved
Experience: Self

Me: Good afternoon Sir!

Vo: Very good afternoon. Can I get your i20?
Me: Yes Sir and gave him my I20
Vo. Its Pennsylvania State University. What do u know about PSU?
Me: PSU was formed in 1855. It's one of the oldest universities in the world. Its mascot is
Nittany Lions.
VO: <Interrupted in between> OK. Why PSU?
Me: The computer science department of PSU is not only highly ranked in the States, but
it is globally ranked high. The course structure is very much aligned with my interests.
VO: What are your interests?
Me: I like studying and working on Systems. Systems as in OS, Compilers. These are my
favorite subjects.
VO: Why are these your fav subjects?
ME: <I got confused> I like them 😛
The expression on VO face was not good hearing this.
I continued, I like them because they are more mathematical and logical. Mathematics is
always my strong point. I think that is why I am more aligned with these subjects
VO: What was your undergrad score in these subjects?
ME: My undergrad school follows a GPA system out of 10. I was given 10 in these
subjects
VO: What was your overall undergrad score?
ME: 8.78
VO: What's ur GRE score:?
ME: told him
VO: When did u pass out?
ME: 2015
VO. What are u doing since then?
ME: working at Oracle
VO: What's your designation?
ME: Senior Software developer
VO: What do u do at Oracle?
ME: I make Financial Applications Software.
VO: Explain any application that you build at Oracle?
ME: Explained to him the Expenses App of Oracle.
VO: Who is sponsoring your education?
ME: My father
VO: what does your father do?
ME: He is a Chartered Accountant.
VO: Can you show me your financial proofs?
ME: I had a huge financial doc file and it got stuck in the window 😛
VO: OK!! Pass the bank statements. No land property documents
ME: I passed him the bank statements along with the chartered accountant certificate.

He wrapped my passport with the documents I provided.

<was happy from inside, assuming that he is approving as he has kept my passport>
And He was typing on the computer.
VO: What will you do if your VISA is rejected?
ME: made a very sad face and said "I will be very very sad"

VO Smiled at me and said - “We need to check some documents and hence, putting you
under administrative processing. You will get to know in a week or two. Mostly less than
a week” Gave me a white slip.
ME: Thank You

On 17th May, when I checked the status of my application in the evening, it said VISA
issued. 😄
On 20th May, I got my passport as well.

All is Well that ends well 😛

76.
Forward msg don't Msg me inbox plz😂😂

*VISA EXPERIENCE*
*MAY 20*
*HYDERABAD CONSULATE*
*10:30* *SLOT MORNING*
*NORTH EASTERN UNIVERSITY*
Vo: good morning
Me:good morning sir how are you doing?
Vo:so you are heading to northeastern university right?
Me:yes sir
Vo:which program are you going for?
Me:I am going masters in analytics
Vo:so what are the other universities you have applied to?
Me:I applied to njit, depaul, uncc
Vo: any rejects?
Me:I got reject from uncc
Vo:so how are you sponsoring you education?
Me:I have education loan of 20l and savings of 23l and lic surrender values of worth 7l
Vo:so your funds are not sufficient for two years right?
Me:my parents can sponsor me and my father has a jewellery business
Vo:where did you take your loan?
Me: I took loan from karur vysya bank
Vo:is it secured loan?
Me:yes sir it's secured loan
Vo:what is collateral you put?
Me:my dad's house
Vo:what is your gre score?
Me:306
Vo:you passed out in 2016 and what have you been doing since then?
Me:told about my work experience
Vo:so why do you want to leave current job?
Me:I want to gain in depth knowledge about analytics and to get higher responsibility
roles in future I require masters degree
Vo:what is your cga?
Me:my cga is 7 out of 10
Vo:any backlogs?
Me:no backlogs sir
Vo:your visa has been approved have a nice day

Be confident and look into his eyes while answering and for me no documents has been
asked

Just don't Concentrate about approval or rejectional, Just concentrate on the content
what you are saying and be prepared to answer any question

77.
*Visa experience*
Consulate: *Chennai*
Date: *20 may 2019*
Time: *9:45 am*
Status: *Approved*
University: *ASU*

Reached the consulate 20min early (around 9:20am).

As everyone advised it's enough you go max 20min early. They will announce the timing
slot , when yours is called you have to form a line and then they will guide you.

📢📢📢
*No mobiles or wallet*
*Mechanical Watches are fine*
*No need for transparent files , anything will do*

Ps:
He rejected the man ( *not F1*)who stood in front of me and i could hear those words ,
sorry i can't approve your visa. But tried to ease out.

VO: Pass me your passport and I 20

Me: Good morning officer , Sure just a second .
VO: why are you going to ASU?
Me: Sir I'm going to ASU to pursue masters in Software Engineering.
VO: Great! What was your latest educational qualification?
Me: Sir, I completed my bachelors in Information technology from Sastra university.
VO: which year did you complete your under graduate ?
Me: Sir I completed UG in the year of 2016.
VO: what have you been doing since then?
Me: Sir, i have been working with TCS as a web developer.
VO: So why are you going now for Masters, TCS is an amazing company right?
Me: Of course Tcs is India's one of the top companies. Sir when i developing an
application for **** bank , i got the opportunity to work along side with a Data scientist
and was extremely Impressed with the role and job. As i dug deeper into the concepts
and roles of a data scientist the interest grew on me and i decided to gain a masters to
get more knowledge in data science also i chose ASU as its the number one college in
innovation with amazing research labs for data science . Also the course structure is well
tailored to suit any students as the students are given the liberty to choose any courses
which aligns with their interest.
VO: Good decision .Congrats your visa has been approved
Me: Thank you Sir.
Vo: All the best, you may leave.
Me: Sir... the green slip?
VO(laughs): Of course you can have it.
Tips:💡💡
•Dress up guys!! 👔Go in your best attire! VO notices everything.
•Drink enough water before you go inside .💧💧
•Take a hand kerchief.📢
•Be confident and smile😊 when the VO asks questions.
• Address him as SIR OR MAM OR OFFICER 🗣
*All the best everyone.*
*Peace*✌🏻

78.
*Visa*
Consulate: *Chennai*
Date: *20th may 2019*
Status: *approved*
University: *ASU*

Just gonna help u with the necessary information.

⭕Come like 15 mins before your appointment confirmation time.

⭕Dont make ur self uncomfortable, if u want to sit down do sit down, if u want to drink
and use the rest room kindly do it.
Anything u dont do will only increase ur tension.
⭕Dont worry about the rejects, cause they wanna find reasons to approve u not reject u,
their mentality is only positive.
⭕ Incase u dont understand them, ask then to repeat the question again.
⭕ Donot present unnecessary information. Only talk the precise content nothing more
nothing less.

All the best guys. Just dont panic 😁

79.
Visa experience
Consulate: Chennai
Date:20 may 2019
Time: 8:15 am
Status: approved
University: university of North Carolina at Charlotte
Went to VO at 9:15 am due to long line in front of me.
VO: good morning
Me: good morning mam
VO: so why Uncc?
Me: Uncc is one of the top universities in innovation according to us news. Uncc course
Curriculum allows me to take dual specialization and the research work going on in the
department on visual analytics, knowledge discovery in databases are my area of
interests.
VO: What are the other universities you have applied to?
Me: ASU, gsu, utd
VO: who is sponsoring for your education?
Me: my father is sponsoring for my education. He has a savings of xx lakhs.
VO: what is your father? How much does he earn?
Me: my father is a business man, he owns a manufacturing unit of xx. He earns xx lakhs
per annum.
VO: what courses did you register for the first semester?
Me: I have registered for algorithms and data structures, visual analytics and knowledge
discovery in databases
VO: congrats your visa has been approved
Me: thank you mam

Be confident and smile when the VO asks for the questions. All the best everyone

80.
VISA EXPERIENCE
FORWARDED AS RECEIVED

#LongPost

I have tried to put as much details as I can, hence making the post longer. Initially I got
the date of 14June when my receipt got activated. But a week ago fortunately got the date
of 17May and I grabbed it.

School: University of Cincinnati

Course: MS in Information Technology
Term: Fall 19
Consulate: Mumbai
Counter:32
Slot: 9.15AM

Reached consulate at 8.15AM. When I reached, there was already huge queue outside
and were serving earlier slot. Then we were taken to the open seating area. I almost
waited for an hour there. Meanwhile saw many families getting their tourist visa rejected.
Don't know why. Then we were taken inside for fingerprints. Again huge queue. While I
was in queue I was constantly observing as many counters as I can and analyzing. Saw
majority of tourist visa's were getting rejected while most of F1 were getting approved
without much hassle.

Then my turn came. And that scheduler guy gave me the choice of counter 25, 28 and 32.
I went on counter 32. Because earlier I saw one F1 rejected on counter 28.

There was one family ahead of me. Their interview lasted for 12-13 mins and it got
approved.

VO just went away from counter and I was waiting. She came back in 3-4 mins and asked
to come ahead. She was chinese lady. _(pardon me if offended, I don't know what to call
them exactly)_

Me: Good Morning mam, how are you?

VO: I'm good, how are you?

Me: I'm good too mam. Thank you for asking.

VO: Pass me your passport.

Me: Sure mam. _(I passed it. While standing in queue I was ready with my passport and
i20 in hand)_

VO was typing something. I was constantly observing her.

After few seconds,

VO: Pass your i20.

Me: Here it is.

VO: What's your age?

Me: _(didn't hear it clearly)_ Pardon mam?

VO: I'm asking how old are you?

Me: 24 years old mam

VO: You look so young, will you be able to manage on your own?

Me: Yes mam. _(I gave this answer with broad smile. I was shocked and wasn't prepared
for this. I don't know how that question came and how it's related)_

VO: What's your undergraduate major and from where you pursued that?

ME: I have completed my bachelors of engineering in Information Technology from

Xaviers Mumbai.

VO: So same stream, Nice.

_(I don't know how she guessed that. I applied for MS Information Technology course,
my admit card says the same but on i20 major is mentioned as Information
Science/Studies)_
How long you are associated with Infosys?

ME: Can you please repeat? _(She was not audible, though I heard only first part )_

VO: How long you're working?

Me: 2 years, 4 months

VO: Who's sponsoring you?

Me: My father mam.

_(I fumbled here. Because I was about to say and I should have said my family. I had
included uncle as my sponsor too because my father's ITR was little low but majority of
savings were in dad's account and I also have an education loan. This combined amount
was > i20 x 2. Also recently I have received scholarship award which was covering some
part of tution fees and it isn't mentioned on i20. But again I didn't mentioned it as she
didn't enquired)_

VO: What does he do?

Me: He's working as XX at XX.

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Me: My uncle is also sponsoring me.

VO: Where he's working?

Me: Sorry mam. Can you please repeat?

VO: I'm asking what does he do?

ME: He has his own machine facturing firm.

VO: Where it's located?

ME: In Mumbai only.

VO: _(She kept my passport in basket)_ I'm keeping your passport. Have a nice stay in
US

ME: Thank you mam. You made my day.

No other documents were asked apart from i20 and passport. Absolutely no questions
asked about the university/course, other decisions and about future plans. Throughout
the conversation she was smiling and it was hardly lasted for 45 seconds. Although I was
able to listen the questions at other counters when I was standing in queue, few
questions of my VO itself weren't audible at all when I was being interviewed. So I asked
her to repeat at the points.

Thanks for reading with patience and pardon for spelling/grammatical mistakes
81.
Date: 17 may 2019
University: University of Texas ,Dallas
Consulate: Chennai
Time slot: 9:00
Out time: 10:00
Counter no: 22

VO: so Texas, Dallas.

Me: yes.
VO: what's your purpose?
Me: to pursue masters in information science.
VO: what's your undergraduate degree.
Me: 8.04
VO: ok, so why UTD?
Me: University offers me courses like: business data warehousing, finance management
and wide range of electives that perfectly aligns with my interest.
Secondly, UTD has this information technology lab that deals with live information issues
and working on it can be a great learning experience.

VO: what you want to do with the master degree

Me: I wish to pursue a career as data analyst in one of the top IT firms in India, since the
demand for this profession is really high in India.

VO: who is paying your fees?

Me: my father is sponsoring my education , additionally I also have educational loan of
40 lakhs.

Vo: what is your father?

Me: central government gazetted officer.

Vo: annual income?

M: xx lakhs per annum.

Your Visa is approved.congrats.

82.
My visa experience
17th May 9:00AM slot
Mumbai Consulate
Status: Approved
VO was a middle aged lady probably in between late 30s. Counter 25.

Me- Good morning ma'am

VO - Good morning
VO - I'll be needing your passport, i20 and SEVIS reciept.
She glanced it once.
VO - Why Engineering Management?
Me - Well this is a course which combines the technical skills of an engineer and the
administrative and management skill of a manager. Also I had subjects like Automotive
systems, Engineering Economics and Management which were similar to what
Engineering Management offers. So that's why.
VO - Did you apply to some other Universities?
Me - Yes, 5 other.
VO - Which ones?
Me - CSU FORT COLLINS, CSU Northridge, SJSU, NEU, Temple and UTA
VO - How many admits did you receive?
Me - All 6 ma'am.
Vo - Then why SJSU?
Me - The curriculum is what I want and also the professors there namely Dr Minnie Patel
and Dr Anil Kumar are researching on topics that really intrigue me like Supply Chain
Optimisation l, Ergonomics and I don't remember what I said after that😂
VO - How will you fund this?
Me - My Father is funding me and I have also secured an education loan from Credila.
VO - What does your Father do?
Me - He's a government employee working with ISRO.
VO - What does he do there?
Me - blah blah blah.
VO - starts typing in her system.
VO - What was your undergrad in?
Me - Automobile Engineering.
VO - Starts typing again.
Your visa has been approved.
She Passed me the approval slip .
Me- Thank you ma'am, have a nice day.

83.
Why ms now

*Visa Experience*

Date: *16/05/2019*
Slot : 8:00 AM
Location : *Chennai*
University : Arizona State University
Course : MS in Industrial Engineering
Status : *APPROVED✅*

VO was a guy in his mid 30s

VO: Good Morning ...how are you doing today?

ME: Good Morning... I'm doing great (Passing my passport simultaneously)
VO: Why are you going to the US ?
(Passed my i20 while he was finishing that question)
ME: I'm going to pursue my Master's in...
VO: (After going through the i20 ... interrupted me and asked)
So you are going to Arizona State University
ME: Yes
VO: Tell me all about ASU
ME: ASU is the top University for innovation and they're ranked...
VO: (He interrupts me at this point) I'm sorry
... I should have been more specific... Why do you want to go to ASU?
ME: Their Industrial eng program is great and a lot of research is being carried out in my
areas of interest
VO: Why do you want to do MS now?
ME: I completed my UG 2 years back and I'm working now. I felt I'd get in depth
knowledge about my field if I pursue MS
VO: Okay (Quite convinced at this point already and started typing something on the
screen). Do you have a Uncle in the US? (He had reached out to the approval slip as he
was asking the question)
ME: I've got two cousins who are distant..
VO: (Wasn't giving much attention to my answer... Interrupts me) Your visa is approved
(Hands over the approval slip)

Congrats to those who have gotten their Visa and good luck to your who'll be appearing
for interview.
There's no right answer. Take a deep breath before you approach the counter, smile
constantly and answer confidently.

84.
Sjsu

My visa experience
16 may 8.00am slot
Chennai consulate
Status: Approved

VO was a young lady probably in between late 20s to early 30s

Me- Good morning

VO - *No reaction
VO- Pass me your passport.
VO- pass me your I20.
She glanced it once
VO- For which universities did you apply?
Me-told
VO- Why this University?
Me- told( gave information on courses and labs)
VO- What was your bachelor's marks?
Me- told
VO- GRE score?
Me- told
Vo- How do you fund your education?
Me- I'm majorly funded through an educational loan, remaining funds are taken from my
father's savings.
VO-What does your father do?
Me- told
VO - When did you graduate?
Me-2018
VO - What have you been doing since then?
Me- told about my employment details
VO starts typing in her system , i waited patiently for 1-2 minutes.( I knew my visa would
be approved)
Then
VO-your visa is approved.
She Passed me the approval slip .
Me-thank you.
✌🏼

85.
*Visa experience*
Consulate: Hyderabad
May 16th, 10:30
University: UTD
Program: MS in CS
Status: Approved
VO: Hi
Me: Good morning
VO: (Scrolling through my passport..) So you haven't been to any country outside India.
Me: Yes, I haven't.
VO: Please pass me your I 20.
VO: So..Dallas.. what's the best sports team in Dallas
Me: I don't know ( wasn't expecting the question , replied after a brief pause)
VO: What do you know about sports in India?
Me: I'm not into sports...I like cooking
VO: Okay.. you're not interested in sports..what do you cook the best?
Me: Hyderabadi Biryani
VO: Nice..are you from Hyderabad?
Me: Yes
VO: Why US and why not India?
Me: The quality of education, program structure and practical orientation of curriculum..(
she interrupted me and went on to ask next question)
VO: Your school is very expensive..why not study here in India instead? Who's
sponsoring your education?
Me: My parents are sponsoring my education. My father's xxx at xxx firm and earns xx
lakhs per annum. I have an education loan of xx lakhs..( she stopped me )
VO: How many universities did you apply to?
Me: I applied to three and got admits from two ( I named the universities)
VO: Which university did you get a reject from?
Me: told
VO: What's your undergrad percentage?
Me: 9.67
VO: So you'll be graduating this month..have you received your final results yet?
Me: I have received the electronic results. I haven't received the memo yet.
VO: Do you have any siblings?
Me: Yes, an elder sister
VO: Is she in US?
Me: No, she isn't.
VO: Your visa is approved. Carry your i20 at all times once you enter the US.
Me: Thank you very much!

86.
Visa Experience
—————————————

Slot : 11:00 AM
Location : Chennai
University : Colorado State University
Course : Masters in Computer Information Systems - CIS.

Reached there by 10:25 (That itself was way too early, be before 15-20 mins). There will
be two boards which has time slots and only people belonging in those time slots are
allowed to stand in the queue and were allowed inside.

Gave the finger prints and waited for over 1 hr in the queue.

My VO was a guy in mid 30’s.

ME: Good Morning Sir.

VO: Pass your passport please.
ME: Here you go.
VO: Could you pass me your I20 please.
ME: Yeah
VO: So you are going to Colorado State University.
ME: Yes Sir.
VO: What was your higher course of education?
ME: Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from VIT University,
Vellore.
VO: When did you graduate?
ME: I graduated in 2017.
VO: What have you been doing since then.
ME: Working as a Consultant in Intellect Design Arena in Chennai and am currently
serving my notice period.
VO: What all other universities did you apply?
ME: I have applied for 4 other universities out of which I have got 3 Admits and 1 Reject.
VO: Could you name those other Universities?
ME: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Santa Clara University and University of
Illinois, Chicago were the other admits.
VO: So, you have been to the United States before.
ME: Yes, My father was there working on L1 Visa and I went for a summer vacation for
around 3 months.
VO: Okay. How are you going to manage your financials?
ME: My father will be sponsoring my education.
VO: Okay. What does your father do then?
ME: My father works as a Regional IT Program Manager and he earns Rs. XXXXXXX per
annum.
VO: Your Visa is approved.

He took my passport and kept with him.

I was waiting for around 6 seconds to check if he is gonna hand me some slip. Generally
everyone were getting some slips after their Visa interview based on their decision. So, I
left as he took my passport anyway.

Was a bit skeptical when I heard a lot of rejections around but those were mainly B1/B2
and other category types of Visa. Haven’t seen any F1 Visa getting rejected. So just chill
and give your interview.

87.
Visa Experience (F1) ( Approved after 221g )
Hyderabad Consulate
Interview date : 2 May 2019
Visa Approved date : 15 May 2019 ( Issued )

Counter no : 9
Fair man in his 30s , Silky brown hair with no facial hair and glasses.

VO : Pass me your documents.

ME : Sure Sir.
*Passed Passport, i20 and Sevis receipt*
VO : Oh, SUNY Buffalo? Nice.
ME : Yes Sir.
VO : Who told you about this university?
ME : Professors at my undergraduate , seniors and alumni have suggested me this
university based on my research interests.
VO : How would they know your research interests?
ME : I have done a research thesis under my professor for around 6 months. So he
knows what my research interests are.
VO : Okay, So what was your undergraduate scores like?
ME : It is 6.7 / 10 Sir.
VO : How many Backlogs?
ME : Zero Sir. ( My undergraduate university does not even have backlogs but did not
want to disturb the flow )
VO : Okay, thats nice.
* Pause for 1 minute *
VO : So, when did you graduate?
ME : In 2018 Sir.
VO : I see, so what have you been doing since then?
ME : I have been working as a software engineer Sir.
VO : Where did you work?
ME : At AR Software Pvt Ltd Sir.
VO : How many employees are working there?
ME : 100 people.
VO : What was your designation again can you repeat?
ME : Software engineer Sir.
VO : How much do you make an year?
ME : It is XX lac per year Sir.
* Looks at i20 for a while *
VO : So $43,000 is a huge amount for an i20. What do you say? And how are you going to
fund it?
ME : Yes Sir. I have an education loan approved and my parents will also be supporting
me.
VO : Okay what do your parents do?
ME : My mother is a professor of oral pathology and my father is a medical research
scientist Sir.
VO : Okay , no problem. What is their combined annual income?
ME : It is XY lac per year sir.
VO : Can you please repeat it again for me? Is it YX lac per annum?
ME : No, It is XY lac per year sir.
VO : Okay , can you pass me your loan letter?
* Passed the loan letter *
VO : How much is this loan approved for?
ME : It is for the amount as given in i20 sir.
* VO gives me look trying to read my thoughts *
ME : It is $43,000 Sir.
VO : Hmm.
* VO gets up with my loan letter and goes elsewhere for 5 mins to talk to someone *
* VO returns *
VO : Sorry to keep you waiting for long.
ME : No problem Sir.
VO : So is this loan secured or unsecured loan?
ME : unsecured Sir.
VO : Okay, do you have any fixed assets?
ME : Yes sir, we have properties worth XXX lacs.
VO : Hmm....
* Pause for 1 minute *
VO : So did you take the GRE?
ME : Yes Sir.
VO : What was your score?
ME : 315 Sir.
VO : Tell me it again in words.
ME : Three One Five Sir.
VO : And did you give your TOEFL / IELTS ?
ME : Yes Sir.
VO : And what were those scores?
ME : I gave TOEFL and got 102 Sir.
VO : Do you have any other financial documents with you?
ME : Yes Sir.
VO : Please pass them to me.
* Passed Bank passbooks and LIC Surrender certificates *
* Keeps the passbooks and returns the LIC Surrender certificates *
VO : I need to look into your documents to make a decision. I am writing a case number
for you, you can check the portal for updates.
You will hear back from us shortly.
ME : Sure Sir. Have a good day ahead.
VO : You too! * Nods sarcastically *
* VO Keeps Passport, i20 , loan letter and bank passbook with himself. Returns back
SEVIS Fee receipt*

-----------------------------------------------

Interview duration around total of 10-12 mins at the counter.

Guy front of me got 221g too.
Elderly couple front of him were rejected B1.

************************************************************************************
May 15 2019 Received update as Visa has been approved. Thus, Overturning the 221(g).
************************************************************************************

This wait of 2 weeks was a nightmare. God knows how some people wait for months
together.
Overall really happy that made good new friends during the waiting days.

3 months before my visa interview I went into severe anxiety and depression while
overthinking about visa.
I used to practice the interview in my mind and get more worried.

Thanks to my friends, luckily just 2 weeks before the interview I snapped out of all the
negativity. I believed in myself.
Let me tell you guys, even for an interview so long as mine, the VO maintained a pleasant
tone and scene.
So, guys if you are stressed till that moment, nothing crosses your mind like irrelevant
negative thoughts when at counter.

My Loan guy was contacted for verification during wait days, but not saving balance guy.

Below is the the link for my full profile :

BITS Pilani - Hyderabad : B.E EEE + Msc. ECO
CG : 6.63
GRE - 315 (164 Q) TOEFL - 102

Admits :
SUNY Buffalo - CS
UMCP - IS
NEU - IS
UCR - CE

Rejects :
UCR - CS
UTD - CS
UNCC - CS

88.
Visa Experience
Consulate: Hyderabad
Date: 14th May'2019
Appointment Slot: 11:00 a.m.
Counter: 9
Status: Approved

Profile:

My sibling has been in the US for the past two years and started working recently and I
was rejected for a B2 visa after my graduation. And had been taking a break from
academics for the past one year.

Academics:
University: IIT Bombay
Course: 5 Year Integrated Master Science program in Chemistry.
CGPA: 6.48
GRE: 305 (Q:159, V:146, AWA: 3.5)
IELTS: 7.0
Graduation Year: Aug, 2018
International Research Experience (Summer'16)
LORS: 2 Profs from IITB and 1 foreign

Reached there by 8:30 am and was sent inside. But then I was interviewed at around
10:30 am
VO: Good morning mam
Me: Good morning mam
VO: Can I have your I-20, please?
Me: Sure. *Passed down*
VO: So where are you going to live and what are you going to
do?
Me: I am going to do my Ph.D. in Chemistry at Indiana
University Bloomington
VO: Nice! A lot of my family members are in Bloomington
Me: Oh that's nice!
VO: You finished your masters (*paused for 5-6 seconds while
looking into some documents*) in India?
Me: Yes, Mam
VO: Why this degree?
Me: I explored many fields while I was an undergraduate and
starting from my summer research internship and some
advanced chemistry courses and my master's thesis work
made me develop a passion for chemistry and decided to
continue my research as a Ph.D. student
VO: I see that you are also working (while looking at my I-
20)..would that cover most of your expenses?
Me: Yes, mam. I was granted a tuition fee remission and an
associate Instructorship that would cover my living
expenses.
VO: That's great! Congratulations!
Me: Thank you, mam.
VO: Indiana University... the Hoosiers!
Me: Haha! Yes!
VO: Okay Soniya, Here is your I-20 and I am approving your
visa *with a bright smile*
Me: *Eyes wide open*Thank you so much, Mam.

P.S. Never mentioned about my brother or about my B2 VISA rejection. Nor did she ask
what I had been doing since my graduation which I thought to be my negatives(which I
already filled out in DS-160).
I was very nervous before the day of the interview but thankfully not during it and
answered every question with confidence, without any nervousness and always with a
smile.

This group helped me a lot about preparing for the VISA interview and definitely
cautioned me to take it more seriously which helped me prepare beforehand and being
confident during the interview
P.S.S. Please feel free to text me if you have any questions you think I can answer. I
would be very happy to help!

Best wishes,
Soniya Rayi

89.
Hi guys, thought this might help those who are yet to give VI.

*Visa Interview Experience (F1)*

Embassy: Delhi
Date: 14th May 2019
Slot: 9:15 A.M.
Counter #: 12
Status: Approved

VO beckons me to come over. I walk to the counter.

Me: Good morning Sir!
*VO: Very good morning. May I get your I-20 and passport, please?*
Me: Sure. (Already had them in my hand to avoid having to open my folder)
VO: Thank you.
_typing stuff_
*VO: So, what is the purpose of your visit to the United States?*(Eye contact mode OFF)
Me: I’m going to pursue my Master’s in Computer Science from the University of Florida.
*VO: Okay, so why this University?*(Eye contact mode ON)
Me: Well, the first the curriculum and coursework are aligned with my area of interest.
The research opportunities at UF for it is good and to learn from the experts in the field is
really exciting. Moreover, I have been offered a scholarship from UF.
VO: Good. (Eye contact mode OFF)
_typing stuff_
_VO won’t always make eye contact but keep answering normally_
_a bit of small talk as he types_
*VO: So, what is your post MS scenario?* (Eye contact mode ON)
Me: After MS, If I manage to get a good opportunity in my field of interest, I’d like to work
on OPT for a year and gain exposure to the international work culture. Further, the
experience of working in the US would be a valuable asset for me when I return and am
looking for jobs in India.

_I had practiced a slightly longer answer about how my MS degree from the US would
give me an edge of my counterparts when looking for jobs here and that I’d be able to
bag a position of higher responsibility and compensation, but in the moment it felt too
long and I didn’t want to ramble on._

*VO. Okay (nods)…So how do you plan to fund your studies?* (Eye contact mode OFF)
Me: I have taken a student loan of $XX and my parent will be supporting me. Also, I have
a scholarship from the University.
*VO: What do your sponsors do?*
Me: Dad was a <designation> in <Org> and my mother is a homemaker.
*VO: (smiles) Well, your Visa is approved, have a good trip!*
Me: Thank you so much, have a nice day!

*Suggestions:*
Reach 30-45 mins early, for me, the 9:15 slot was let in at 8:30.
Try to gauge the context/essence of a question, some questions are looking for specific
points from you, some are just plain small talk while VO types etc.
You are allowed to carry a small water bottle inside. I did, water helps me calm my nerves
and stay hydrated.
Be confident & keep your answers clear and concise.
No documents were asked, but carry proper stamped/signed docs just in case.
Practice some generic questions well, it will really help you.
Avoid fumbling (practicing will help with this)
Remember it’s not an interrogation, it’s a conversation. So, relax.
All the best!

*P.S.* I have a sibling who is working in the US, however, no questions were asked
pertaining to that.

90.
OFC date- 09/05/2019
Interview date- 13/05/2019
Consulate- Delhi
Time- 10 am slot. Entered around 11 and out by 12.
VO was a fat lady in her early 30's, had a 'no smile ' face and questioned a family before
me for minimum 10 minutes and rejected them!! I was really nervous.
Me - Goodmorning ma'am. How are you.
VO- Goodmorning. Pass me your passport and I-20.
I passed
She was trying to scan the barcode on the white slip attached to my passport at the the
time of OFC but was not able to for about 2-3 minutes and asked me questions
simultaneously. She was getting frustrated cz of her inability to scan and so was I.
VO - what is your purpose of travel?
Me- to pursue my masters in software engineering.
VO- which colleges did you apply to and from where did you get admit.
Me- told
VO- so why SJSU?
Me- told about dual specialisation and CISCO sponsored lab and a professor named
Ronald Mak.
VO- when did you graduate?
Me 2015
VO- what have you been doing since then?
Me- told about my jobs.
VO- undergraduate major?
Me CSE
VO- how long was bachelor's degree?
Me- 4 years
VO- what are you going to specialise in at SJSU?
Me Cybersecurity and cloud computing and virtualization
*Finally after so many questions she was able to scan my passport*
VO- how are you going to sponsor your education??
Me- told about loan and dad's savings.
VO- what does your dad do
Me told about business
VO- Have you applied for F1 before??
Me- No
VO- are you sure??
Please confirm your DOB
Me- told her the DOB.

She was a bit confused. Told me that she is keeping my passport and needs to recheck
somethings. I will get to know my status in a few business days. I was confused as I
didn't get any slip.
I was told to leave.
On 13th my status online was *application received*
On 14th the status was *administrative processing* 😶😶
Thank the gods. Today afternoon around 2pm the status changed to *issued*

91.
Forwarded

Visa Interview Experience

Abhiraj Singh Chouhan
Date: 6th May
Slot: 9:00 AM
University Name: University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign
Program: MSTM
Consulate: Mumbai
Visa Status: Approved

Reached by 8.30 AM and the process (mostly the waiting part) was very tiring. I saw
many tourist visas getting rejected while standing in the nearly endless que.
Interview started at around 10.

While in the que I only prayed that everything will be fine by me except counter number

35. Because she was so skeptical about everyone and everything they were saying, and
looked at her screen like she might be having full bio-data and history of the applicant
from his birth to the present day.
I GOT THE SAME COUNTER EVENTUALLY

VO was a lady aged around 28-30

VO: Good Morning
Me: Very Good Morning mam.
VO: Pass me your passport please.
Me: passed
VO: Oh F-1, pass me the I-20.
Me: passed
VO: Why US?
Me: told
VO: Why MS?
Me: replied.
VO: How many universities did you apply?
Me: 6 univ. Mam.
VO: Why only this one?
Me: Replied by providing suitable reasons, emphasized a lot about the curriculum and
the Frontiers series.
VO: What's your GRE and TOEFL score?
Me: told.
VO: Can you show me the scorecards?
Me: Yeah mam, sure.(passed)
VO: (typing)What's your Undergraduate Degree?
Me: I'm currently pursuing my bachelor's in Civil engineering mam..(was going to say
that I'm in my final semester) She stopped me.
VO: So how're you planning to link this management program with your engineering
degree?
Me: told about the curriculum and my areas of interest, (like: This program is meant to
integrate the already existing Analytical and Technical Knowledge of the students with
Management Science...etc etc..)
VO: What're you planning to do after MS?
Me: Talked about the growing demands of Analysts and Product Managers with great
business accumen in the Country (India), so planning to come back.
VO: What's your tuition fee? (Unexpected que.)
Me: It's 53k USD mam.
VO: (typing)How're you going to manage the funds?
Me: The fee will be paid completely with the education loan I'm having. And the other
expenses will be sponsored by my parents.
VO: What are your parents' occupation?
Me: Told.
VO.OK. Can I see the proof of their savings?
Me: Sure mam. (Passed)
VO: (typing and poring very keenly throughout the documents)
(Held my passport and cross-checked something.. watched me.. again lookiled at the
passport)
VO: You had another passport before?
Me: Yes mam.
VO: Please provide me that one.
Me: yaa...passed
VO: Hmm.. so you've travelled before to few countries. Are you applying for an US Visa
for the first time?
Me: Yes mam, it's my first time applying for the US VISA.
VO: How far do you live from Mumbai? (another unexpected one)
Me:( I didn't put any numbers because I don't know how much it is) replied with some
replied with a stupid yet engaging answer

VO: (again typing..typing.. typing..)

At this point I thought, it's done, (Since it unexpectedly took 15 mins) I've to reapply
once again, she's gonna reject it.(she did reject 2 visas before me)
She passed me the passport (the old one, and I assumed it to be the new one)
VO: I'm keeping your passport, your Visa is approved.
Me: Thank you sooooooo much mam. Have an amazing day ahead.

All I’ll suggest is:

1. You need to be confident and be clear.
2. Practice some generic questions very well.
3. Don’t fumble.
4. Be there only 10-15 mins prior to the slot timing, you've to wait like crazy! Save your
leg strength for later.
5. I thought it's Mumbai, it'll be easy and very quick, but it wasn't.
6. Take all the valid and original documents with you.
9. Smile 😁

92.
*Visa Experience*
Status - Approved
Time in - 11:00 am
Time out - 13:00 pm
Date - 09.05.2019
Interview time - 1 minute

VO (Aged 30y - 40y, counter 30) - Good afternoon, please pass your passport and i20.
Me - Greeted and passed.

VO - How many did you apply and which ones?

Me - Applied 7, admitted into 5, finalized SJSU. (told all university names)

VO - Why SJSU?
Me - Highlighted about curriculum.

VO - Who's sponsoring?
Me - Mother. And I also have an education loan of 20 Lakhs.

VO - What plans after graduation?

Me - I have to take care of family back in India and also manage properties.

VO - Okay I am approving your visa.

Me - Thanks :)

Things to take care -

1. Befriend someone very early so you can kill time (1.30 hrs standing in the queue and
hearing all the experiences).
2. Facilities are available so you can hydrate/refresh anytime when you are in the queue.
3. Listen to other counters (they're clearly audible), it may give you a rough idea about
expectations of each interviewer. But it's upto you.

Good luck!

93.
My Visa experience:
Consulate: Chennai

Biometrics: May 1
Interview: May 2, 9 Am slot.

I reached there at 8, was let in at 8 45 and my turn came out at around 10 30.

While standing in the queue, I was constantly observing and listening to the interviews
happening. Almost all VOs were in a good mood and most of the visas were approved.
This gave me great confidence.

My turn came, counter no.29.

Visa officer was a lady in her 40s, she was quiet for most of the time, not too responsive.

Me: Good morning mam, how are you doing?

VO(nodded her head in reply): Give me your passport and I-20

Me: Here mam.

VO(Observed my passport and saw that I've previously been to the US): So you've
already been to the US?

Me: Yes mam, of was through my college, NMIT which has a MoU with NORTH DAKOTA
STATE UNIVERSITY. As a result, I was one among 4 students from around 1500 students
to get selected to do their final year project there. Would you like to see the certificate
mam?

VO: No that's fine

VO(was quiet again, appreciated by nodding her head):So, is your program over? For
how long did u stay there?

Me: It's over last year mam. I stayed from Jan 2018-Jun 2018 for 5 months, in specific,
146 days.

VO: Why US?

Me: To pursue MS in Computer Science from North Dakota State University.

VO: Why this university?

Me: 3 reasons mam. Flexibility, course curriculum and most important pH, small class
size. This enables to access my faculty frequently and better my knowledge and
performance in data science.

VO: What are u currently doing?

Me: I graduated in 2018 in first class with a GPA of 6.76/10 and ever since then, have
been working as a project intern at Indian Institute of Science(IISc)

VO: How are u sponsoring your MS?

Me: My parents are my sponsors. I have overall funds of 40 lakhs and immovable assets
worth xyz. Dad is the proprietor of his private business with annual income of xyz and
business turnover of xyz. Mom too works a home based medical transcriptionist.

Vo(kept typing for a while. Finally the Golden words came): Okay, take your I-20, your
visa is approved.

Me(I was really waiting for this. Only I know how hard I've worked for this and how much
it means to me. Was happy but didn't get too excited. ): Thank you very much mam😊

Nervousness is natural. But only confident and sincere ones get positive results.
Remember, Fortune always favors the brave😅

All the very best to all of u. Irrespective of what happens, stay confident😊

And try to book morning slots as they'll be fresh and as far as I know, success rate might
be higher(just my perception)😊

94.
Forwarded

Visa Interview Experience

Abhiraj Singh Chouhan
Date: 6th May
Slot: 9:00 AM

University Name: University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign

Program: MSTM
Consulate: Mumbai
Visa Status: Approved

Reached by 8.30 AM and the process (mostly the waiting part) was very tiring. I saw
many tourist visas getting rejected while standing in the nearly endless que.
Interview started at around 10.

While in the que I only prayed that everything will be fine by me except counter number
35. Because she was so skeptical about everyone and everything they were saying, and
looked at her screen like she might be having full bio-data and history of the applicant
from his birth to the present day.
I GOT THE SAME COUNTER EVENTUALLY

VO was a lady aged around 28-30

VO: Good Morning
Me: Very Good Morning mam.
VO: Pass me your passport please.
Me: passed
VO: Oh F-1, pass me the I-20.
Me: passed
VO: Why US?
Me: told
VO: Why MS?
Me: replied.
VO: How many universities did you apply?
Me: 6 univ. Mam.
VO: Why only this one?
Me: Replied by providing suitable reasons, emphasized a lot about the curriculum and
the Frontiers series.
VO: What's your GRE and TOEFL score?
Me: told.
VO: Can you show me the scorecards?
Me: Yeah mam, sure.(passed)
VO: (typing)What's your Undergraduate Degree?
Me: I'm currently pursuing my bachelor's in Civil engineering mam..(was going to say
that I'm in my final semester) She stopped me.
VO: So how're you planning to link this management program with your engineering
degree?
Me: told about the curriculum and my areas of interest, (like: This program is meant to
integrate the already existing Analytical and Technical Knowledge of the students with
Management Science...etc etc..)
VO: What're you planning to do after MS?
Me: Talked about the growing demands of Analysts and Product Managers with great
business accumen in the Country (India), so planning to come back.
VO: What's your tuition fee? (Unexpected que.)
Me: It's 53k USD mam.
VO: (typing)How're you going to manage the funds?
Me: The fee will be paid completely with the education loan I'm having. And the other
expenses will be sponsored by my parents.
VO: What are your parents' occupation?
Me: Told.
VO.OK. Can I see the proof of their savings?
Me: Sure mam. (Passed)
VO: (typing and poring very keenly throughout the documents)
(Held my passport and cross-checked something.. watched me.. again lookiled at the
passport)
VO: You had another passport before?
Me: Yes mam.
VO: Please provide me that one.
Me: yaa...passed
VO: Hmm.. so you've travelled before to few countries. Are you applying for an US Visa
for the first time?
Me: Yes mam, it's my first time applying for the US VISA.
VO: How far do you live from Mumbai? (another unexpected one)
Me:( I didn't put any numbers because I don't know how much it is) replied with some
replied with a stupid yet engaging answer

VO: (again typing..typing.. typing..)

At this point I thought, it's done, (Since it unexpectedly took 15 mins) I've to reapply
once again, she's gonna reject it.(she did reject 2 visas before me)
She passed me the passport (the old one, and I assumed it to be the new one)
VO: I'm keeping your passport, your Visa is approved.
Me: Thank you sooooooo much mam. Have an amazing day ahead.

All I’ll suggest is:

1. You need to be confident and be clear.
2. Practice some generic questions very well.
3. Don’t fumble.
4. Be there only 10-15 mins prior to the slot timing, you've to wait like crazy! Save your
leg strength for later.
5. I thought it's Mumbai, it'll be easy and very quick, but it wasn't.
6. Take all the valid and original documents with you.
9. Smile 😁
95.
*Visa Experience*
Status - Approved
Time in - 11:00 am
Time out - 13:00 pm
Date - 09.05.2019
Interview time - 1 minute

VO (Aged 30y - 40y, counter 30) - Good afternoon, please pass your passport and i20.
Me - Greeted and passed.

VO - How many did you apply and which ones?

Me - Applied 7, admitted into 5, finalized SJSU. (told all university names)

VO - Why SJSU?
Me - Highlighted about curriculum.

VO - Who's sponsoring?
Me - Mother. And I also have an education loan of 20 Lakhs.

VO - What plans after graduation?

Me - I have to take care of family back in India and also manage properties.

VO - Okay I am approving your visa.

Me - Thanks :)

Things to take care -

1. Befriend someone very early so you can kill time (1.30 hrs standing in the queue and
hearing all the experiences).
2. Facilities are available so you can hydrate/refresh anytime when you are in the queue.
3. Listen to other counters (they're clearly audible), it may give you a rough idea about
expectations of each interviewer. But it's upto you.

Good luck!