During the F1 Visa Interview

Alright ! By Now you might have taken your GRE, TOEFL Exams, done with the application procedure and received a few I-20s. Now the Final Frontier - The F1 Visa Interview. The basic concept behind this entire ordeal is to convince the visa officer about one single fact, that you will return to your home country no matter what, this includes

• Winning a jackpot in Las Vegas
• A dream job that will make you more money than you can count.
• A romantically motivated interest( you know what I mean) , with a stipulation that you should stay in back.

So take a minute and put yourself in the consular officer’s shoes and come up with extremely convincing explanations about your plans and your eventual return back home.

By the way if they reject you just a moment after looking at you, it’s not because they don’t like the way you look , it’s mostly because they know what you are really upto.

So the issues to be taken care of before the interview are

• BE the interviewer. Make your answers for the usually asked questions. Run them through your head and check if they sound convincing enough. Practice them out aloud so that you don’t start wondering how weird your voice sounds. Visualize the interview.
• Prepare fool proof, preferably genuine, documents .These include bank statements, income tax records , property documents and consultancy records. Arrange these documents in a specific order ion a thin folder (which should be transparent) and memorize where each document is , so that you don’t start fishing though the entire folder when a particular document is asked.

DURING THE INTERVIEW

• Don’t be nervous. Even if you are , don’t show it. No trembling fingers , no looking at your feet , no yawning. Maintain eye contact with the visa officer and smile please. A visa reject is not equivalent to getting the electric chair.
• Reach the consulate a little early. This would imply that you calculate and leave your home / hotel a little early.
• Wear formal clothes. A tie would be appropriate and wouldn’t classify under over-dressing. And EVERYONE looks smart in formals.
• Be polite.Start out with a “good morning / afternoon “ when you enter the booth.Be confident. Exude confidence and warmth with your body language, just the right amount though. Maintain proper posture. Don’t shake your legs, don’t dig your nose and don’t use colourful vocabulary (which would include certain popular four letter words).
• Show respect. Even if the visa officer is being a prick. You ll probably never have to see this guy again , so let him enjoy his time in the sunshine.
• If you don’t understand what the visa officer is asking you , there is no crime in asking him/ her to repeat the question (politely!) . If you still don’t understand ask again , this is not a problem. But don’t make half baked assumptions about the question and answer it.
• If you know English (which is a prerequisite for students) don’t take an interpreter along. He/ she might muddle things up.
• And if you have an interpreter don’t say something nasty in the regional language . There is every possibility the interviewer might understand. They are people who can understand every gesture, look and tone. Freaky in’ it?
• When asked a “what if” question, reply without thinking too much. And don’t talk too much , some unnecessary information might get you into a sticky spot. Answer to the point.
• Always answer correctly. All the data given is maintained in a database. And don’t lie, as mentioned before they will notice if a muscle twitches even at the underside of your thigh.
• Don’t hate the visa officer. Its his duty to make sure you that you are not parking yourself in the US forever.He’s just doing his job.
• For every question asked if you have a supporting document simultaneously put it forth and refer to it. The officer may also want to refer to it.
• Just feel good and walk in.