Hey Guyz/Galz This is one of the dumbest member of the group(s). Sorry to be so. I have been reading the emails and thank you for all ur suggestions, it really helped me. Guess what, I VE GOT MY VISA TO THE US of A. Yes I got it. I am based in chennai, so i decided to go early in spring and so i applied earlier and got the admit earlier. As soon as I got my I20, I booked my VISA date on 18th Oct, 2004 [THE DAY OF MY LIFE]. In the mean time I joined a call center to while away time. Ok lemme tellu all my VISA experience: VO was an young guy(28 Yrs approx), not so good looking. I was 3rd in the line. first guy came for H1, he got it. Next was a girl going to some univ in OHIO. she was asked some qns, which she did answer and she went away with a large smile. Then it was me, White shirt (Peter England), Grey Pant( Louis Philippe), tie (Van Husen) and as I am a vishnavite, I had the traditional NAMAM on my forehead. I suppose he got attracted by the NAMAM. OK the interview : ME : Good Morning Sir. VO : How r u doing? ME : Fine! How r u? VO : So u r going to ... Why r u going ther? ME : I spoke with a low voice. VO : Sorry sir, I cant here u. U got to speak loudly. ME : I thought itz gone for me. K I thought itz now or never, I started speaking at the top of my voice. Know what My voice sounds as if I am the VO. ME : sir, I ve decided to specialize in control systems and I find that this univ got a good lab and i went thro the profile of the profs and i find that my interest suits theirs. VO : Ok what is control systems? ME : Sir itz basically feedback of the output, which is given again to the input so that the final O/P is controlled and stable, You may know without any control over the output, the total system is a failure. VO : So u r working in a call center. [ I dont know why all of a sudden he asked this question] ME : s sir, itz actuallly a part time job.[ guess what itz my full time] VO : What kind of ctrl sys r they usin in the univ? ME : itz mainly of robotics [this is 500% lie]. VO : What lab do they have in the univ? ME : Embedded ctrl sys lab, itz got an alliance with TEXAS INST sir. VO : Do u Know for what Illinois is Famous? Now I knew that I got my VSA. ME : Frankly speaking, I dont know sir, But what I know is Ronald Regan is frm Illinois. VO : Do u know ? ME : No sir. VO : Lemme tell u. Illinois has got the best Aviation schools in the US. ME : Just smiled. VO : OK, Itz a nice place to be. Good luck. ME : Thank u sir.. This is how my interview went. He never touched my finiance, CA docs.... He just interviewed me. Whole interview lasted only for 3 min. I again thanked him and came back slowly to the exit. frm there I ran towards my father with THUMBS UP. Thatz all folks, My advise would be SPEAK UP or else u will be on the loosing side of the game. Also have some kind VIBUTHI, KUMKUM, NAMAM if applicable. It really helps a lot. ************************************************************ Dear All, My brother went for an interview on August 02nd. He went and submitted his papers and was given a number(token). Everybody's turn is coming in 15mins to 30 mins. the worst waiting time is for 90mins. But they called my brother's name after 5 hours it seems. He didn't have a clue why. A new officer opened another counter and my brother was the 3rd person to be called in after waiting for 5 hours. Officer: Which college your are going? Brother: suny buffalo in NY. Officer: why you are going to that college? Brother: Explained his course(M.S. computers) and speciality of that university and his interest in persuing that course Officer: What are you doing from past one half year? (At this point he hasn't even looked into papers inside..wonder how he knows?) Brother: Did some training and prepared for GRE and TOEFL. Officer: You are not giving answering properly. You have to give proper answers. You are rejected. He wrote in his papers that my brother is a potential immigrant. My brother tried to explain later but officer didn't give a chance at all. ************************************************************ I mean how can they be so sure, that the person before me who got a visa will not stay, like forever in the USA , and i wll??? Isn't that little bit strange, and they say they the world is a global village...my ass... sorry for my rudness, but i think that is just not fair. Beside that just the excuse that u might immigrate there is so contradictory to their green card lottary system that make's me vomit. I'm writting this with anger because the guy who worked in the embassy showed me the zoo. It was like this : Ofiicer: You want to study??...huh.. Me: Yes. Officer: There! ( pointing his finger towards the zoo ) The embassy is placed accross the zoo. That was my interview. Nothing more.And I have even paid for this conevrsation, not to forget to mention that! Isn't this braking all human rights??? ************************************************************* Hi Friends, I got my Visa on 4th of august. My appointment time was 11:30 in the morning at the delhi embassy. But I was allowed to enter the main hall only at 3:00 PM as I had some problem with the demand draft . So it was a pretty sad day till then. So finally my interview started at around 5:00PM. It went on this way. Me : Hello Sir Vo : Hi Me : Gave him the passport , DS forms and the I-20 along with the covering letter. Vo : So show me your fathers I.T returns. Ok, first tell me what does your father do. Me : Sir he is a businessman and we have a pharmaceutical industry. ( but on paper my dad has a very low salary , so before showing his IT returns , I told him that even my brother has his own business) Vo : Ok , whats ur brothers business? Me : Sir, he has his own software consulting business. Vo : Ok ( with a smile).Show me your summary statement. Me : I showed him the CA statement and the affidavit of support simultaneously. Vo : He just went through each and every paper and then asked "ok so your brother takes care of the pharmacy factory as well" Me: Yes Sir. My father , my mother and my brother all are part of the family business. Vo : (Going through the DS form) So your sister is a permanent resident of US Me : Yes Sir. Vo : So when did she come here and where does she stay now? Me : Sir she stays in XXYY city and she came here in 1995 and did her MBA from XXYY institute. Vo : Ok where does she work? Me : Sir she work in so and so company(I told him the name) Vo : oh! This company is famous for something. Me : ( with a smile) Ya, its famous for so and so . Vo : So dont you think because of your sister it will be tough for you to get the visa (i.e he was pretty sure that I would never come back to India once I reach US) Me : No not all all Sir. I dont think it will effect me getting my visa. Vo : ok , go and pay your TT services. Me : So , I got my visa Sir? Vo : Yep Me : Thanks a lot Sir and have a great day. Vo : You too. This was one of the happiest moment in my life. And what I feel is there no substitute for truth and honesty. Lots of people asked me why am I writing my sister details in the VISA FORM, but I did. And finally I got my visa. I am currently in US now and have started my MS engineering program. ******************************************************************** Dear Friends, First of all i wanna extend my thanks to this group.Reading all the posts has added an extra impetus to my knowledge. I had applied to Univ. XYZ and 4 other univs which i was admitted. Me:A very good morning to you sir! (<- this is important this makes him smile) Off:A very good morning! Off:So which univ u applying to? Me:Univ XYZ Off:Ok..... Show me your dads annual income? Me:(gave him the sheet and i.t. returns) Off:So ur brother is there? Me:Yes Sir...studying in the same univ. Off:What does ur dad do? Me:Gave him some explaination....told him some facts and then gave him the company brochure Off:Oh Wow...ok... u got ur visa it will take 2 days to courrier it. Thats all! In 30-35 seconds i got my visa.No further questions asked.My advice is just wish him well.Look Confident! Speak the truth! If ur sibblings are there tell it ! i dint have a problem so you shoudln't. Remember to ornate your speeches abt ur dad's job and yes if u have a company brochure that helps him a lot to understand what ur dad does.I was lucky i got a man, there is lady in the mumbai counsulate she is really dangerous rejected almost all visa's.If you get her , so be alarmed and speak confidently and dont fumble. The officers are very friendly and they speak and treat you better than those Indian workers in the embassy. Best of luck with ur visa's. pb ****************************************************************** Hi everybody it is my turn to narrate my visa experience. Man that was something cool. My appointment was from 12:15 to 12:30 but everything was over by 11: 30 itself. I entered the consulate around 10: 50 am . I submitted my passport and 4600 DD at counter No.1 and in return they gave me a Green token . Next give the the other DD (TT services chennai) to a person at a nearby desk. I didn't expect this because i thought that this DD should be submitted only after u have been granted ur visa. And remember 300/- to be paid at some counter ??. Well that's not required. Next move on to the one of the other counters and submit ur I20 and other academic documents and they will staple ur passport with the green token after careful review.Next i was directed to another building very nearby. There were around 100 people seated and believe me it was very calm and it wasn't very noisy as i had read in several other experiences I had waited around 5 minutes then to my surprise my number was called. During the time i was waiting I caught a glimpse of the interviewers . They looked very calm. There was one guy who i thought should be 9 yrs old coz he was so handsome , young and cute looking with glasses on. I thought for a while "And so the fate of my life shall rest in the whims of an American rookie". But i was asked to stand at counter No.8. Man, that guyz was even cooler. He was constantly smiling and the rest went on like this. me: Good morning sir. vo: Good morning. How ru doing?? me: I am fine thank u sir. How about u sir?? vo: Which university ?/ me: university of Louisiana at Lafayette. vo: Does your father work in the Military( We leave near a defense area 20 km from chennai. That prompted him to ask such a question.) me: Sir my mother and myself live in this place. And it is near a defense area sir. vo: Is ur mother a doctor?( he asked me by seeing the ds forms) me: yes sir, she is practicing in her 2 clinics for the past twenty years. vo: what r ur future plans. me: (blah blah But i started with "when i back to India in 2 yrs time....) vo: Go to US and study well. U r visa will reach u in two days. me: Thank u sir. Right through the interview he was smiling. The whole process was much simpler than i thought. It was like shopping for vegetables in a supermarket . I think that they have caught the disease of granting visas to f1 students. Worse i didnt even open my folder and i had well over around 150 documents pages in my "harmonium" folder meticulously prepared over a period of three days and he didnt even ask me for one document. One advice i would give is to not read the experiences of 2002/3 students coz in 2002/3 it was a lot tougher and this can make some nervous and in turn loose confident. "Just be cool" is the magic.phrase. To me one should be the most unfortunate ill-lucked creature in this world to get an f1 rejection, I can reached at prashanth25d@hotmail.com prashanth ********************************************************************* hi all this is waseem, i got visa on 17 december to syracuse univ. it went on like this in an very unusual way.... my token number was 221 VO- you believe in superstitions? I--- yes sir VO- you know the importance of this number...221 I-- no sir i dont know he gave a smile and went through my transcripts VO--when was your 10th exam I--- march 1998 VO-- How long will you get vacation in summer? I--- one to one and half months VO-- what you do in that time? I---- nothing Vo--- do you help your father in his business? I--- no sir VO---- then what will you do in your vacation? I---- nothing sir i goto my grand parents. Vo---where are they? I---- Bombay? VO---(went through my i20) syracuse is expensive how you are going to afford this... I---my father is in businesss so and so and mother is business women so and so. VO----do they see the same business I----no sir....my father specializes in so and so and my mother in so and so. VO----thank you you will recieve your visa in 2 days (but i got it the very next day) I--- thankyou. so this was it and he surprized me with some unusual questions.....but i was honest..... so my sugggestion is be honest....it is the best policy waseem ******************************************************************************************** Hai guys, I got visa on dec 9 th at delhi ,my interview was only for a minute . Gre 1340(V-540,Q-800). Toefl 280 me : Good morning sir. Vo : give me ur passport and application . me : yeah sure.(gave ) Vo : give me ur GRE and TOEFL score reports. Me : sure.(gave). Vo : ( he said the folowing words to me) Toefl 280 , verbal 540 hmmmm how can it be possible .( I don't know why he said that ) . good impressive(He smiled like a friend) . Me : thanx ( I smiled like a close friend ) . vo : why this louisiana tech university. Me : I started telling about the research and the professors over there ,when I was in the middle of my sppech he started noding his head signaling me to stop like that and he took the strip and sticked it to the passport. Vo : go to the TTS counter . Me : I did not go I was waiting for the golden words and asked him did I get it sir? Vo ; he smiled and said yeah you got it. Me : thanx ,thanx a lot. that was it .all this happend in only 1 min .he din't ask for any other paper. I am very greatful to the group becos with you I would have not got this .and I advice people who are going to appear to the interview is be confidant that is the only weapon with which you can win .even if don't have good acads or scores be confi that will do the trick. 5 my friends went to the interview and all of them got the visas I am more hapy for this .I am very gretful to all the people who adviced me all through my preparation . All the best for all of you In your future endevours. bye... ************************************************************************** hi , yesterday i had my visa interview and i didnt know what was in store for me until i reached the consulate. i hope by now everyone knows abt the procedure so i am omitting it. i had my interview with the american lady. intially the interview went on well , first question , why us ? i replied well and thenshe started seeing my marksheets after which her mood changed drastically. she asked for my provisional certificate but i had my course completion certificate and i explained her that , i had given my 8th semester exam lately and would receive the marksheet and the provisional certificate later. but she was getting wilder . then she asked for my dad's occupation and yearly income. i told my dad's annual income is 7 lacs. she asked me for the IT return , in which it was written as 5 lacs after rebations , but she claimed that i was lying , though i told her that the previous figure was his gross and i told her abt the dearness allowances he gets, but all was invain. she just wasnt listening to me. i told her that i have x lacs in SB and Y lacs in pf and in FD , she just wasnt listeing to me. she just kept on mumbing that i was lying. she paid a deaf ears to whatever i was telling. all my talk was in vain and after some time she says that my financial status was insufficiant and blatantly rejects me , though i proved her that i had enough funds . i could perceive that she had predetermined to reject my visa and she wasnt listening to me. i had an arrear in the 6 th semester but i had cleared it with good marks at the next attempt. i think , ppl who had any backlogs go to the lady , whose job is to reject ppl. the 2 male fols were granting visas. my acads: 81% , EEE , madras univ. so i am planning to reapply again , can anyone tell me if i can get any date in july,is there a seperate slot for rejected guys. and also please tell me how i should tackle the interview next time, like why were u rejected last time, how have u fullfilled that this time. please help other admits : SDSU, USF ,NMSU,UTA. gre: 1840 toefl: 247 bye *************************************************************** hello friends, My visa for MS in mechanical at university of illinois, chicago has been rejected on 24th june. He asked me about my future plans after completing my MS. I told that i would like to set up my own manufacturing unit after coming back to india and would like to expand my father's business. But as my father is doing Iron and Steel Trading business he didn't convince. He told me that I m not clear and both things are different in their form. And he rejected me... SO please give me suggetions regarding this question as what should i say about my future plans and how should i convince him that i will come back to india. Rishabh ******************************************************** hi every thing was normal he asked me y nyit then h saw my marks card and asked me hoe many cources did i do i said him i did my eee engg then he asked me how m any sub did i fail i sai around 10to15 then he asked me who is sponsring me dad i told him abt my dad and annual incom he how much money du u have i 19 laks he from where did u get this money i we disposed a property we had around 4 months back he i m not convinced by u gave me 214B i was shocked i m manish from hyd i got rejected my visa on 25 june on yhe basis of having many marks sheet with me i think so i m reapplying for the visa i want ur help 1 i want 2 no if i reapply will i b interviewed by the same person who interviewed me for the first time? 2 will there b any ifo abt me wether y was my visa rejected last time help me out pls mail me bacl imp manish mail me at mbidarkar@yahoo.com !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hi friends i am giving tips for second time visa appilicants. its my personal experience. 1) if they ask about our rejection for first time , tell them that due to time insufficiency or time constraint , i could not explain financil docs preperll( but be confident while saying). 2)if they ask that ur are going to same university ( then tell them that u need to work under so and so professor sat that university). 3)then about financial docs( always while answering tell the total savings first and then explain in detail . if are from agriculture family tell the total annnual income of ur family(which may include ur fathers + ur uncles or..). 4) then abour our scores if your scores are less. tell them frankly that u worked hard and did ur best in exam. 5) the engginering percentage(tell the percentage from last 4 semesters), plus tell them that u alwasys stood top 10 ni ur class. i think this will help u all . i got visa for bradley university for masters in computer science. one thing i want to tell u all friends is that dont be worried when u are rejetced for first time,try and try u all will defiently get. about dates try druign after noon betweem 4 to 6. rejected in chennai on 24th ( by that fucking lady. dont worry remember that she wont come for u second time. second time 2 nd july , i got another appointement but for my fate my application went to same lady, then she saw my application and transfered to another guy who was cool. then i got it. bye freinds uday reddy manpreet minhas wrote: hello uday congrats for your visa but tell one thing what did they ask about why your previous visa had been rejected.what was your also which consulate did u go to . and which counsellor was the one who questioned u ? --- xx xx wrote: > hi friends > > my visa was rejected on 24th june. > and i got date for second appointment on 2nd july, > and i got it. > > the thing what i observed is that they try to make > us nervous intiallly by > asking questions fastly. no need to worry give > answers calmly. > > all the best for all. > and also thanks for this group . > > bye > uday reddy > !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hi all, I am hemang lakhani from surat gujarat, I went for Visa interview on 8th july for Wayne state university for MS CS. But Can't get visa. Dont' know the reason why I was refused? PLease Tell me whether I should go for 2nd Trial or not? becasue if i will go for 2nd trial my doors for US for 2years will be closed. So please advice me whether I should go 2nd time ? VO didn't Check even a Signle document? VO: Why chosing wayne? Me: cause my area of interst is Artificail Intellignace & Neural Networks. And this university consists of state of the art research facilities in this area. VO: I am not come here to hear this!!!!!! VO: what's your father doing? ME: he is in construction business. VO: what's his income? ME: X lakh. VO: why chose MS CS? ME: ( confused & say after 2-3 second) For upgrading my computer's related Skills.(yaar I am so nervous that I answer this simple question in a very bad manner. At that time the thing that I have prepared to say don't come in my mind so just tell what ever comes in my mind and it's I think wrong (that Nervousness & Tension)) VO: Sorry , I wont give u visa. U r looking like a immigrant. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! friends I got rejected at the delhi consulate on this 10th. I am still in a state of distress and angst. That officer didn't even tell me the reason of my rejection , he just told me in the middle of my interview that he was not convinced , and this his body language showed after each and every documented I submitted before him. Seriously , he was an asshole , he kept chewing a gum, and making idiotic faces. In the end he said , I am rejecting your visa, and I asked "sir can you please tell me the reason ," He said " I am not convinced( this was the 6th time) ". I asked , "sir can you please tell on what particular point are you not convinced" He said " I have written the reason"(on a paper he ticked something , which he was unwilling to show me…) I asked" sir if you let me know the reason , then I can provide you with the relevant documents" But that asshole , didn't tell me anything atall and stamped my passport , while returning back my documents he said" I am not convinced that you will come back to India" That was all. This ass was not even convinced about my affidavit of support(my father is sponsoring me), I could see the negative nod of his head after I handed him me affidavit of support… I have taken another date of the 6th of august… lets hope this time I make it… I AM PLANNING TO SUBMIT AN EMPLOYMENT/APPOINTMENT LETTER FROM A COMPANY this time , which might assure the VO that I will come back to India and join the company. If anyone is having any other idea about the solution of my problem then please do let me know… AND… PLEASE, IS ANYONE HAVING A FORMAT OF SUCH A LETTER. ? Help me out I am in DIRE needs. All the best for every one Gaurav !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was told by a few of the group members about letting them know what exactly were the queries thrown at me by the visa offiser(aka ass hole)… i had my visa interview on the 10th of july , and unfortunately i got rejected...under clause 214b (potential immigrant) the officer was a young guy , who is famous for rejecting most of the students at the del consulate…(counter 11) this is how the interview went: vo(visa officer): good afternmoon me: good afternoon sir vo: gimme your i20 passport and forms me : (did that) vo: so why do you want to go to the US of america me: sir i want to do my MS in computer and information sciences with specialization in temporal data base and information scurity, whcih is not offered anywhere in india , inspite of the fact that there is a llot of requirement for it in indian... and ..(the vo cuts me in between) vo: its a costly univ. , funds? me: sir funding is no problem..i have 17.2 lac in bank + the annual salary of my father is 7.2 lac, (the I20 says $22,000 per year) vo: (nott seemingly interested...) me: sir should i show you my pass books for the same? vo:yahh me (did that) vo: (nodding his head in negation , as if my passbooks are fake...!!) me: sir i can also show you the bank certificate(i did that) vo: what does your father do? me: sir he is the Chairman and managing director of the state electricity board. me: (i showed him the salary and occupation certificate of my father) vo: (looks at the docs and nods his head as if all the documents are fake , or worth less...!!) me: sir my father is sponsoring me, i am having the affidavit of support which is listing the gist of all our immovable and movable funds... me: (handed over the affidavit) vo: (looks at the affidavit , giving the same old look) \ me: sir i am also having the CA statement listing all the property , and then i am also having the original for the entire CA listings... me:(showed him the CA certificate... vo: show me your toefl abd gre me(did so) vo : (still indifferent...) vo: so you are still a student? me: no sir i have completed my BE , i am having the provisional certificate(showed him) vo:what are you going to do after MS? me: sir my father's company is having nice ties with wipro and infosys.. so... , and these companies are having a need of profesional in my specialization fiend...!! VO: what does your father do?(yet again...) me:sir he is--- at --- having a turn over of over 3000 crore. vo:(not paying any attention...again nods his head...in negation...) me: sir you dont seem to be convinced...? vo: yahh me : sir if you let me know your point of concern then i can provide you with more docs in my favour... vo: (stamping my passport...) i am not convinced.. me: sir can you please tell me reason of my rejection? vo: i have written it in the clause.. me:sir i can provide you with all the required documents , if you let me know the reason.. vo(hands over the docs (stamped) and says i am not convinced that you will come back to india. me: can i apply again sir? VO: yah sure... THAT IS MY ENTIRE STORY. If any one of you can help me in any respect ... then please do it.. right now i am planning to get an employment letter issued by a company , which will say that i have a fixed appointment after i come back to india..and more over thaey can also provide me with funds (sponsorship, in papers, but still I guess this sponsorship thing looks plastic, so I will ditch the sponsorship part) if you ppl think that this is going to be useful then please do mail me back., if you have any other advices for me then please do tell me. take care all the best gaurav !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hello People! I am Charisma Dutta & I have been admitted to State University of New York, Albny. I need help. On 16th July I had my VISA interview at Delhi Consulate. It was rejected. A little about my background before I put my case forward. To get my admission I requested my Mama (A US citizen) to send the financial affidavit on my behalf as my father was not around then to send the financial documents. I got the admission & got the I-20. In the I-20, it was mentioned that my Sponsor is a friend. But, now my father is my soul sponsor. I was prepared with all the documents showing the full amount needed for 2 years. Now, the VISA interview - Me - Good afternoon VO - Hi... Give me your passport, DS forms, I-20. First question - Why a friend a sponsor & who is he? Me - Explained the whole thing - and told that my father is my soul sponsor. He didn't ask for any documents. VO - Why another Masters? Me - I told him that I am going for MS Information Science. Since I am not an engineer, I had to do a masters in India to make myself eligible for US educational systems(the 16 years funda). And I did my master in Comp Sc. in India, because MS Inf Sc require a Comp Sc. background. The VO kept on saying that he was not convinced why another Masters in US. But in the rejection letter, he mentioned that I am rejected due to Section 214(b). So What do I do now? I have taken 6th Aug as my next date. I have written to my Prof. & Dean & asked for a FAX/email stating that Masters in Comp Sc. is must to go for MS Inf. Sc. & since I am not an Engineer, Masters was a must. I have also written to the Graduate Studies Director asking for an another I-20. I have sent the financial documents to him. Both of them agreed to send me the FAX/EMAIL & I-20. Apart from these what else should I prepare for? Please help me with the following questions? 1. Why was your VISA rejected last time? 2. Why a new I-20? 3. Why another masters?' Please help me... With hopes & answers Charisma Dutta PS: PLEASE DO REPLY ME AT CHARISMA_DUTTA@H... ALSO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hi everybody i got my visa rejected at mumbai consulate today. my interview was at 1.30 pm here goes my interview my number was called at rejection counter 8,where this long ,thin guy was rejecting everyone's visa. i was first in the queue. here goes my interview. vo: so u going to western michigan university. me: yes sir vo: so what r u gonna study there. me: m.s.in construction management. vo: who's gonna sponsor u? me: my parents. vo:whats ur father doing ?? me: told him that......... vo:show me ur summary statement. me:showed my summary statement. vo:show me ur passbook me:i showed him my dads passbook. vo:can u explain me the entries made in the passbook. me: i started explaining verbally,he interrupted me and said i need to see evidence of where this money came from. vo: i showed him the evidence of closure of fixed deposits, transfered from other accounts. he asked me passbooks of other accounts from where this money has been transferred. i showed him 3 to 4 passbooks from which this money was transferred. vo: tell me where this money came from????????? me: this is my parents saving.( it was in fact ) vo: no i am not convinced. and he rejected me by giving the rejection letter with potential immigrant clause in it. here was my bad day.people who went to other counters got their visa easily. i was totally unlucky.that guy didnt issued a single visa atleast till time i was their inside the consulate. he was very cruel and was literally shouting . applying for second time. hope i get it next time. going on 30 th july for second interview. all the best to all of you. bye ------------------------------------------- samprati gandhi wrote: i am from bombay . given my interview on 17th july. visa officer asked me 5 questions 1. show me ur score report gre 1050/1600 toefl 273/300 2. how many universities have u applied to 3 univ 3. who is going to sponsor u family which includes my dad mom and grnadmother 4. what is the annual income 2.9 lacs 5. i think ur family is going to sell off the grandmothers jewelry...i am sorry its against US laws to give u a visa .... sir but hers my summary statement ...my liquid asstes are .. visa officer ...i am sorry ...phone niche rakh do!!!!(in hindi) this is my story ...what do u think ...should i reapply ...and what r my chances ...HAVE HEARD THAT PPL ARE GETTING REJECTED SECOND TIME NO MATTER WHAT PROOF U HAVE what are the dates available for second interview , any idea do let me know bout ur and ur friends experiences on the second time interview.... --------------------------------------------------------------- hi friends, my name is surya prakash and my visa was rejected under 221(g) that means i can go for an personal interview with out paying application fees second timme..but i didnt have slots for interview. so if i have slot i will definitely get visa now.so plz help me in getting slots. any one rejected by 221(g) plz mail me about the details. ---------------------------------- From: "ashermathew01" Date: Tue Aug 5, 2003 5:57 pm Subject: please help me ,need ur advice hi guys i got rejected today ,it was undoubtedly the worse day of my life just now ive come from the consulate in Abu-dhabi,and interview was something like this: VO:whts ur name Me:Ashermathew Vo:whts ur purpose of ur studies? ME: to pursue my MS in Pharmacology in st john's NY. VO:who is sponsoring you Me:My parents. VO:wht ru doin now? ME:im a non paid intern working for the past 1.5 years. VO:why non paid. ME:because inorder to be starting to earn from in my profession( degree in pharmacy) i must be a registeed pharmacist here and for tht i have to have worked minimum 2 years to rite a regisitration exam ,only a registered pharmacists gets paid here. VO:but u have no economic ties here(UAE)... ME:yes sir thts because i am an expatriate,i cannot own property or any of tht sort here,my economic ties are in india,i have my CA statement (funds coming up to 101,000USD in sb,fd and c/a,and fixed assets of land and property coming to 173,000USD). VO:Im sorry but as ur age is 23 and tht means ur an adult and u must have funds fromur own resources u have nothing to show on tht matter,also have u got any international travel to either UK or europe ME: No,only to India. Vo:Im sorry but ur visa has to be rejected ,because of the fact tht u dont have ur own fiannces neither any sort of an international travel. ME: i tried to ask him to pls look thro the CA(Chartered Accountant) statement. Vo:i'm sorry tht can only be verified by the delhi consulate or some consulte in India. VO:Im sorry but i cannot issue a visa,also i discourage u to further reapply here.. Me :ok,thanx(i leave then) many of my friends had applied thro the dubai consulate got thro easily,on tht day not even one single student visa was given. In front of me 5 ppl went all 5 rejects.He dint ask me for anyyyyyyyyyyyy docs no fiancial ones of my sponsors ,no certificates of GRE/Toefl,not even wht was my Undergrads. Im completely dejected and i dont think there is any use goin thro the UAE consulte ,my question is can i apply thro an indian consulate is this ok. and is it valid to do so Pls u must help me some how all my fiannces are clear and honest (my father has been workinghere for 24 years in govt services and my mom for 11 years in govt services,my sister earns her own income and she works as an accounts.asst. she is my only sibling).Please tell me whts rong with my doccs,he dint look thro gre or toefl,GRE:1130/1600,5/6 awa,toefl 273/300,awa 5/6).Acads:71.2% why is tht they wont issue me a visa and most of all can i go to india and apply. pls group answer this for me.i beg of u to tell me whts rong.above all can i come to india and apply ------------------------------------------------- Dear Friends, Now is the time when first time rejects are applying for second interview. There is an apprehension that it is a mere formality and many students who get rejected second time post their experience which further frightens the applicants. I give below some idea about six students who got their visa in second interview. I am sure it would bolster your confidence. 1. Dr. Prajakta got into NYU for health care administration. She was rejected first time on the grounds that she is not right candidate for this course. Prajakta handled the situation by playing medical tourism card and emphasizing that doctor is better suited to handle administration than a formal MBA. 2. Neville, he got into Texas Arlington for computer science. He was rejected for the first time for inadequate finances but strengthened his case by roping in two more sponsors. 3. Navin, Civil Engineer got into Southern Methodist for construction management. Navin handled the situation simply by being confident. 4. Sunil got into Purdue university for EE related field. He like a typical case was guided by students who received visa in the first time. No changes in the papers but properly designed answers for anticipated questions. 5. Janhavi got into MS Finance in University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign. Rejected first time as a potential immigrant but visa officers suggested that you must apply again and got visa second time without any change of documents or strategy. 6. Namrata got into MArch in University of Southern California. She was rejected first time as fathers income was considered as low and visa officer did not bother to look into mothers income. She handled the situation confidently by clubbing both the parents income. So friends you can see that there is fair chance of getting visa second time if you work on your shortcomings in handling the situation and documents. Wishing you all the best for your second interview. Jayant Pai – Mumbai ------------------------------------------------------------------------- My visa experience: I got my visa for UND today Aug 7th 2003 I started early and went to see my visa consultant for getting 6 months passbook. He wished me good luck. My wife and daughter accompanied me and we three went to Saibaba temple in Mylapore and got blessings from Saibaba. Then we went to Chennai consulate and i got down and my wife and daughter went back home. I didnt want them to wait in the hot sun. There was a large crowd in front of the gate. All of them were second time and some even third time applicants. I had a nice chat with two other students and we discussed a lot while standing in the Q. Then we were allowed inside the building where we paid the TTS counter fee and the visa application fee. Since its second time i didnt have to pay the TTS fee. After that we arranged documents in this order: DS 156 Ds 157 DS 158 Form I-20 Degree certificates Mark sheets Admit letter from University Other Letter from University if applicable (like TA letter) TTS Web appointment receipt plus your passport and the pink form Then we have to go the other building. There was a big crowd of parents going to USA to visit their sons and daughters. I saw a lot of rejects even in that crowd. Only a few students were present. I was called to counter 2 and the VO was short and bald but nice in giving visas. He rejected most of the guys but gave visas to all girls in my Q. The other counter had the tall guy who looks like one of the backstreet boys. He was giving lot of rejects to almost everyone. The young white american with receding hairline also came later started his role of rejecting visas. I was very tensed up as all i can i see is students getting rejected everywhere. Ok enough story now lets come back to what happened to me: it went like this: me: Good afternoon Sir, How do you do VO: !!!!!! (surprised look in his eyes - People never greet the VO properly) me: ....(waiting for him to say something) VO: when did you apply for US visa? me: I applied and got rejected on 11th July (there was a confusion initially at the fee counter as it is wrongly printed 11th Jun in my passport) VO: Oh i see. You have previously been to USA isnt it. me: Yes Sir. I went for a PhD Physiology program ... he interrupted me here VO: (probably he didn't hear me well) what program ? me: (repeated) P..H..Y..S..I..O..l..O..G..y program VO: well. where is the transcript. me: I have submitted the transcript its there in between the two letters (i pointed it out to him) VO: (He carefully reads it out -) Two Cs and one D what is this .. ? me: (obviously i was expecting that Q and came out with this answer) Yes Sir, I am planning to switch over from Physiology to Biochemistry... VO: what? Biochemistry? .... (blank stare) me: (pointing him my I20 and admit letters) Iam going to UND for PhD in Biochemistry VO: Oh let me check (he quickly scans the letters and then stops and stares at my I20) why it is given as Masters in your I20 when you are saying it is a PhD program me: (i got stuck with this Q as i had not expected it) ... it usually thats the way they put it... VO: no it is not usual.... me: (pushing the letter of support given by my academic advisor, UND) Sir please see this letter it clearly mentions the type of program VO: (luckily he didnt push it back to me and looked at it) Hmmmm... (after a while) what will you do after this PhD program. me: Sir, I have two years research experience in the Indian Council of Medical research and when i come back after this PhD i will get good research position. VO: (he looks at my TA letter and didnt ask anything about my finances) what type of funding is this? me: its a Graduate Teaching Assistantship VO: is it full time? me: yes Sir only full time GTAs will get funding VO: pauses a moment then pushes back all the documents except the I20 and my passport. I am waiting eagerly and then finally those golden words: VO: "go to counter 1 and pay your fee" and hands over the pink slip with F1 written on it me: thank you sir I am suddenly freed of all tensions and feel like floating in the air I quickly ran over to the TTS counter to pay the fee unless his mind changes ok friends now its my turn to give you all a bit of advicce: 1. Have faith in God and everything will work out fine. 2. Never say that you will start your own business or you will start your own lab or some kinda initiative. Two people got rejected becos of those reasons. 3. Never lean over the VO - most wont like it - its bad body language. Stand straight and face them boldly 4. Never shout out in desperation - you are wasting any more chances of getting visa 5. Never say you fell ill and didnt do well in exam in case you had fail - the VO is not convinced by medical reasons. 6. when they ask what will you do after this program say something relevant to your case. One guy got rejected becos he wanted to start his own wind energy plant in India (cant beleive such people exist) 7. Never Question the VO. Give your queries in form of statements. One guy asked how can i prove that iam not an immigrant. I have already told convincing answers (wrong its the VO who decides whether it is convincing or not) 8. Never say that you were studying at home if you have a gap in education. Say something like you did some part time job or some course relevant to your field of interest. 9. Never blurt out data. One fellow went on speaking and obviously the VO didnt listen to him and stopped him halfway 10. Be confident and have clear cut ideas about your future plans. Best of luck for all of you going in Spring and those lucky few ones going within August. bye ------------------------------------------------------------ From: "srsorte" Date: Mon Aug 18, 2003 1:38 pm Subject: Visa granted on 14th Aug Hi Everybody, I too have been a silent member of this grp. but now that I have had an experience, I would like to share it for the benefit of all the others. I got my Visa on 14th Aug in my 2nd attempt. I should say everything counted, the experience mentioned by people on the group, the guidance by Jayant Pai Sir and moreover faith in GOD and trust oneself. I was not expecting one this time and had already given up hopes but I didnt lose faith and went there confidently, giving a cheerful smile to the officer. The conversation was something like this :- ME: Good afternoon Sir! VO: Hi! VO: Which School? ME: Oregon State Univ VO: What course? ME: Masters in Computer Science VO: What do you plan to do after MS? ME: Sir, I want to come back to India and work for ... (stops me here) VO: Do you have any brothers? ME: No Sir, I have a youger sister Vo: Who is sponsoring you? ME: Sir, my father and myself VO: What does your father do? ME: Sir, he is a Sr. Marketing manager in IFFCO fertilizers VO: What is his annual income? ME: 5,20,000/- VO: Show me your degree stmt. ME: showed him the degree stmt which is carefully looks into and seems to be impressed VO: Oh! First Class with Distinction! VO: So, what have you been doing since the past 2yrs? ME: Sir, I have been working for Persistent Systems in Pune VO: Where? Persistent? Me: Yes Sir, Persistent VO: What are you working on? ME: Sir, currently I am working for a project with Agilent Technologies VO: Agilent! VO: Your Visa has been issued. Just a note of advice to you, dont travel with any unknown person. ME: Thank you Sir! Thats it!! I was a bit confused and my mind could just not believe that my Visa was granted. One important lesson that one should learn is that whatever the case reject/accept, we have to face it, so why not face it cheerfully with a smile! So trust yourself and go ahead this is the bottom line to any kind of success. Of course, as all have already mentioned that we should be confident while answering, so be prepared to face your destiny with a cheerful smile and leave the rest to GOD! Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors, Shraddha ---------------------------------------------------------------- From: "infernalage" Date: Mon Aug 18, 2003 1:07 am Subject: weird rejection reason-plz help Hello friends , i had my visa interview at the Mumbai consulate 2day at 9:20 A.M n got rejected. my scores r GRE1710 (Q-740,A-550,V-420), TOFEL 267, B.E final yr 66.16, aggr 64.3 i entered the consulate n got my token no., to my surprise, as soon as i sat at the waitin room within just 1min, my no. was called, ppl who had cum much before me were waitin for their interview but i was called before them. the VO called only 3 persons, 2 girls were before me. before that the ctr was closed. the VO was a short guy in mid 30's n had a very morose face.... the first girl got her visa, i think she was having aid the second girl got rejected n then i was there...... VO:(before i cud wish him or say anything)show me ur degree certificate.... ME:sir my final yr results r just out n i have not recieved my degree yet....(handing over my final yr marklist) VO:where have u done ur undergrad frm? ME:B.N college of engg. affiliated to amravati univ VO:(examing my final yr marklist vry carefully) hand me ur previous yrs marklist ME:(handing the marklist) Sir i scored 66% in my final yr n was among top 20 in my class VO:(rudely)i can read that n no where ur rank is mentioned (after that sumbody came n interupted him, he went out n came back after a 1 min or more) VO:show me ur degree certificate ME:i said the same reply VO: oh yes....(carefully goin thru my marklist of each yr) VO:which univ?? ME:sunyit-utica VO:show me ur test scores VO:y M.S? ME:(as i was handing over the scoresheets during that time i thought he asked y CS) started talking blah blah abt CS VO:interupting me y M.S? ME:blah blah VO:how many univ u applied to? ME:5 VO:which univ ME:named 4 of them n forgot the 5th one VO:which is the 5th one ME:i again named 4 univ forgeting the 5th one VO:u r telling me the same univ again..... ME: told him the 5th one (it suddenly clicked me that i was missing the 5th one, as i had thought that i had named all the 5) VO:so how many admits ME:1 admit n 2 pending VO:that means u have only 1 admit...... VO:this univ has an expense of $40,000 for 2 yrs how r u goin to fund it..... ME:family funds VO:so who is sponsoring u? ME:parents VO:wat does ur father do? ME:he is a gov servant working for............ VO:wat is his annual income ME:2.96lacs/annum VO:how cum a gov servant is getting so much ME:sir, we have a agricultural land frm which we get income VO:how cum ur father is a gov servant n a farmer both ME:the agricultural income is inherited to us by fore father n we recieve the share of the income evry yr...... also my mother is sponsoring who is having an income of 5.21lacs/annum VO:how cum ur mother is earning twice as much as ur father ME:my mother is a script writer for T.V serials VO:oic.... he returned back my I-20 n suddenly he asked when is ur school starting? ME:frm 25th aug classes start... VO:taking back my I-20 frm the tray (examing it carefully) ME:sir orientation is on 22th aug (fumbled while giving this ans) VO:y so late for visa? ME:sir my I-20 was issued only on 27th july thats y.... VO:i can c the issued date, wat were u doin uptill now? ME:prep my docs VO:entered sumthing in the comp, u r too late too apply for FALL ( i dont know wat he said FALL or F1) n rejected me.......... guys plz suggest me wat shud i do?????? i have never heard a reason like this given to any1 in the grp..... so plz help always, utkarsh --------------------------------------------------------- From: "kirankumarmvr" Date: Fri Sep 19, 2003 11:50 pm Subject: Hi friends this was my visa experience Hi group members, I think by this time a lot of people are preparing for the visa interview.i am posting my visa experience,so that it may be helpful to all of you in your visa marathon.with a lot of hopes and preparations i went for visa interview on july 18. the interview started with some usual questions,where in these questions itself i made some wrong answers in confusion. in the starting of the interview itself the visa officer looked not colloquial and also he refused 2 members infront of me.so i was more tense. vo: why US me: i said the US education is one the best in the world. vo: why this university me: i said the research in this univ is one the best in the US. vo: what u do after returing india me: (i said in confusion)i will start my own concern. vo: what conern me: i said to support my previous statement am something to cover,so that it would not contradict the previous answer. vo: who will sponsor u me: my parents vo: what is ur father me: Business vo: What Business me: fruit whole sale and exports,(here he thought the business something as a stall in which some fruits will be sold.but in actual ,my fathers business is something very big and also deals with a turnover in lakhs. vo: what his income me: i said the parents total income,in confusion as i have to say only my fathers income only,because he thought of the business as otherwise. vo: he gave all of my papers to me.and said sorry.i am not eligible for a student visa. any way guys.reciprocate with ur interview experiences.may be next time atleast i may come out of the consulate smiling.i wish all of u all best of luck for ur interviews.bye. kiran. --------------------------------------------------------- From: srinu kiran Date: Tue Oct 14, 2003 7:17 pm Subject: got my visa Hai friends, I am Kiran I am also a member of this group and got good suggestions from the members, which helps me a lot in getting visa. Ya I got my visa for univ of south Alabama on Oct 6 th. The experiences of members of this group help me a lot .so I too want to put my visa experience also in this group. My web appointment is on Oct 6 th scheduled at 10-10.15 am My scores and acads Gre: 1670(v360, q780, a530) Toefl :233\4.5 Acads : 64%(ECE from JNTU) I was allowed into one of the six counters by 10 am. After paying all the fees I entered the main hall by 10.45 I sit in one of the rows and there are so many people inside the hall but I think on this day there are very few people for f1 visa b’coz all are above 30or35 years of age and some dependent visas. I waited there for 20 min before I enter into the hall I was very tensed but after waiting there for 20 min I feel free and just check all my documents and make rehearsal of q&a Then the attender calls some 6 to 7 members to stand in the queue. And I was the second member in the queue. I waited till the officer called me even the one in front of me has gone out and the time came, officer called me (I prayed god and started moving towards him) me: good morning vo: good morning vo: to which university ur going me: university of south Alabama at mobile vo: why this specific university me: the courses offered by the university fits my back ground as well as my specialization and I contacted some of the seniors and prof to know more about the university and more over good research work is going on.....(interrupted me) vo:who is going to sponsor u me: my parents vo:what are they doing me: both are doing business (He just looking at all my marks sheets and checked my provisional and then asked) vo: what will u do with u r masters degree Me: I am going to do my masters in communication and systems eng.the telecom field is really coming up in India with great giants like tata indiacom, reliance, bsnl pouring huge amount of money in this field and many us companies such as (looking at me and smiled but I don’t know why he smiled I continue my answer) orange Hughes AT&T are also invest\ting huge amount s of money to launch advanced communications in India. So with a master’s degree I will definitely have a good career back in India join in one of the companies and serve my nation. Vo:ok Kiran take this one go and pay the fee (golden words) I ran just ran to the counter 1 pay the fee and come out side. He doesn’t see my c a statement or gre or toefl scores and neither ask any proofs. Ok friend s and I unsubscribe from this group so if any have any queries plz contact me to the following id Srinivaskiran1@y... And one who got visa for south Alabama or who r going to south Alabama plz contact me. All the best who r going for visa Ok bye bye Kiran --------------------------------------- From: "pkotipalli" Date: Sun Nov 2, 2003 3:00 pm Subject: How I got My Visa Dear Friends, I m prasad my visa was rejected for Fall 2003 under 214(b) financial insufficiency so i applied for this Spring and i got my Visa. First i have paid 4600 DD in Counter No 1 and she had given me receipt. And then I gave all my documents which include I20 DS forms GRE TOEFL MARKSHEETS UNIV LETTERS in Counter no 5 all indians will be present at this counter and plz dontforget to wish that person Because it does matters a lot They write something in ur DS forms before sending to Visa Officer. And then He asked me go a sit in another block and they will call my No. My appointment was at 12:30 pm and i went to Interview rooom at 1 pm and my No was called and I stood in the line. To add to my Tension That VO was the one who Rejected me in JULY. I know that same person cannot interview an applicant twice howewer i stood in the line and that VO called me and started asking questions, suddenly he checked his computer and said that he cant interview me this time and assigned me to another VO . I have to wait till 4:30 and by the way only 5 students were present in the reoom that day and all others were for H1 Vistor ,L1 visas. So My No was again called by Deva and I am the First person in the line and ofcourse only student. My Counter was No 5. Interview began like this Me: Good afternoon sir. VO:Good afternoon(Checking my I20) VO:Ur Visa was Rejected In July?? Me: Yes sir. Vo:Whats ur %? Me:77 Sir Vo:Thats good(Till now he didnt look my face) Me:Thank U sir(Vo Looked at me and smiling) VO:U applied to same univ FALL? Me: No sir( actually I changed my UNIV this time) VO: Ok Go and pay the fee Me:Should i pay the fee sir? VO:What?(Smiling onceagain) Me: I mean visa issuance fee for students cancelled..(Interuptted me) Vo: OH Ok Go and buy ur Ticket mann Me:Thank you sir. My interview was just 1 to 2 min . And that VO was really cool He looks like SouthAfrican Captian Grame Smith. So all the Best to u all Just be confident and be smiling even if u r tensed. Ok bye prasad ----------------------------------------- From: Harish Date: Mon Nov 10, 2003 1:04 am Subject: my visa experience(s)!!! Hi group! I was rejected on oct 30 for Kansas state and got visa on nov 5.. I din change the univ .. Well lemme first thank evry one in this grp for their well intentioned comments and valuable suggestions… October 30 My mind was blank and I was neither pessimistic nor optimistic…lemme skip the formalities since they are just too easy to follow….nothing to get tense bout tht… POINTS TO BE REMEMBERED 1)pppl from outstation don’t forget to bring your course completion cert and provisional….And TC(just in case)…… 2)u will be allowed even one hr b4 ur appt time w’out any qns being asked… 3)and don forget to bring the printout of the appt letter and make sure there are no borders on ur foto……..a guy who din bring his appt letter was sent bak n asked to bring… 4)if u have come late its not a prob….coz the officers dunno ur appt time…..its only for the sake of the TTS buggers 5) ds-forms are the most important I feel coz during both my interviews both the officers scrutinized my DS-forms… a few things bout DS-forms 1) I think its better to type it out bcoz each box gets filled up with diff font sizes as n wen we type it out……..according to the order which they consider important….if we r gonna use a pen we will invariably end up filling up all the boxes with characters of the same size…..and these forms cannot be saved…so tk a printout immediately 2) while typing out the ds forms u will not be able to type “none” in the columns for”spouse dob” and for “ date of application prepared” if prepared by any one else on ur behalf and of course ur “name in native lang”…….after taking the printout make sure u write thse down with the help of a pen 3) u are not supposed to write N/A………..write only “ nil “ or “none” 4) for “purpose” do not write’ higher studies” or anything on those lines……..make sure u write “ to do my masters in ----------- at ---------------“ pts 3 and 4 have been recommended……….i read in the tts website now about my interview on oct 30 wen I entered at arnd 9:00 pm there were arnd 70-80 ppl sitting….and I thot it was gonna take an hr or so for my number to be called…but I was called in 15 mns….counetrs 2,3,4 were for non immigrant and 5,7,8 for immigrant….6 was not working counter 1: Indian lady to collect the green or pink token (which ever u get) counter 2: guy with a huge forehead, bald pate shining thro’ the glass,was wearing glasses,very indifferent ,pretends as thou the applicants don’t exist…but frm wat I cud gather he was def listening w’out axually giving such an impression….dunno why he was trying out such stunts counter 3: young fem wearing a blak coat n blak skirt ….age arnd 30 ….one of the intimidating kinds I guess…..was trying to make everyone tense….stood up and virtually rubbed her nose on the glass…..and the applicants were all pissing in their pants….i was just hoping I wudnt get her counter 4: old,blond female around 40-45-the sweet smiling assassin…indulged in all kinds of social niceties…. Lipstick a touch too heavy…… acceptance rate was bad….but most of them who went to her were not F1’s …sum other non-immigrant category…mez not sure which one… IMMIGRANT COUNTERS: counter 5: very debonair young man…….must be late 20’s or barely 30….looked classy,was looking jus like Daniel vettori minus the glasses…..was listening to evry one …..seemed to be in a great mood…..he gave 5 immigrant visas on the trot … all barely 30 second interviews…….then one reject ….dunno y counter 6 and counter 7 : I cud not see prop at all since I was sitting towards the xtreme left….but since they were immigrant counters I jus din bother now for 15 mns I was just looking at 2,3,4 simultaneously….and suddenly counter 5 changed to non immigrant from immigrant….and I was thinking bout whom I was gonna get among 2,3,4…..then I heard one telugu guy shouting on top of his voice “ southern Illinois univ at Carbondale”……..( telugu can make out frm the accent rite???....haha……jus kidding) then this vettori look alike got pissed off and shouted why not ---- univ..and this guy said” tht is not a gud univ ,sir”…..i was shocked to hear tht…tht was not it…..this guy seemed very determined not to get his visa….the vettori guy shouted again “why ----- univ”…for tht this guy said” I am very comfortable with this univ”…..i thot it was game over for him and started concentrating on 2,3,4……thou I knew tht this guy was a student it din strike me then at tht point of time tht the counter had changed to non immigrant……..2 minutes later I saw this southern Illinois guy coming out smiling and went to counter number 1…..i cudnt believe it….vettori was in full song…..issuing visas ,left ,right n centre… I told myself”I shud be able to speak atleast a wee bit better than this guy” then suddenly my number was called first to counter 5 ….then only did I realize tht I was not gonna get 2,3 or 4 and all tht I had noted had gone down the gutter …I was literally banging my head for not noticing that counter 5 had changed to non immigrant …even b4 I cud go n stand my token number was called thrice( by an uncouth man who answers the call –“deva” whose sole intention is to make the fairer sex feel at home….looks like the gals in this grp are seething with anger and feel like telling me “ oh its not like tht”……but tht is the undeniable truth….and I ran like forrest gump and stood in the line…there was an almost invisible line drawn behind which the Q was supposed to start…and I stood a foot behind the line…..and this deva guy asked me to go a bit more fwd….so I went n stood on top of the line…..and this guy asked me to come behind now…..i was a bit annoyed then but decided to obey him since vettori was looking thro’ the corner of his eye..this was not the time to pick up a fight….and then vettori pointed his finger a bit towards my left… I wasn’t abs sure whther it was me who was being called ….so I asked vettori whther it was me who was being called ( in sign lang of course) again he looked towards the left and I still wasn’t sure….then I went fwd a few paces and all of a sudden sum middle aged guy just barged in the middle and said” pink token ,I have to go “,now I jus din know wat to do …..vettori was annoyed….and I started moving towards the VO and again this guy came in the midldle n wanted to go…….by now I was fully confused and jus din know how to react…..so I looked bak n asked deva whether it was me who was supposed to go ……but he was too busy putting “kadalai’…….i felt like giving him a sound kick frm the bakside and finally went towards the VO.. VO: WHICH UNIVERSITY?? ME:din speak nething for 5 secs….i was in a daze…..was just looking at his face …then said “ to do my masters in industrial engg at Kansas state univ with a specialization in…then he cut me short ………I knew very well I wasn’t supposed to say stuff like tht n tht I gotto ans to the point….i still cant fathom why I said sumthing as obnoxious as tht VO:U DID UR BACHELOR’S IN INDUSTRIAL ENGG.??? ME : no,in mechanical engg…. VO: WAT DO U WANT TO IN INDIA?? ME: by now I had forgotten all the pts I prepared….”when I come back to India ,I want to be a consultant for some of the big companies like ashok Leyland,brakes India,sundarm clayton,……….i jus prepared in pts n dint have any prerehearsed speech as such…..and I just said wat came to my mind then….i guess I left too much to be ans wered extempore. Then the VO took out my course completion cert n said something which I just cud’nt decipher…..but I din wanna irritate him ne further …..so I din say “pardon me” ….but I only heard one word-“original”…….immediately I said “yeah definitely’…..the VO looked very surprised and looked up at me with a quizzical look on his face and asked again VO: WAT DO U WANT TO DO IN INDIA???? Me: I jus cudnt u’stand y he was asking the same qn again…..and I repeated the same ans again… VO: U WANT TO WORK AS A CONSULTANT INDEPENDENTLY OR FOR A FIRM ??? ME: I want to work for one of the big firms like ashok Leyland ,brakes India ,etc,…..even I cud figure out tht I was being so monotonous in my answers but I cudnt help myself Then he cast a few cursory glances at all the documents in around 3 secs………wen I say 3 secs ….I really mean 3 seconds………and closed his eyes for around 3 secs…….i was beginning to gain confidence by now and was ready to tackle any kinda qns now……..and then he said VO: Unfortunately,you are not eligible for a US visa”…. Then I smiled and said ME: that’s left totally to your discretion .but I ‘m definitely not a potential immigrant” but just after I said” thts left totally”……..he had already ticked potential immigrant ….i collected my documents ,smiled and said “ thank you”……this is wat I guess saved me….so please don’t forget to smile and say thank you even if u get rejected…..the VO has to type comments on his comp….and wen u say thnx he/she invariably will not feel like commenting sumthing toooooooo negative bout you… NOV 5 This time wen I went to the consulate the TTS guy refused to take my documents…..he asked for pages 2 and 3 of the I: 20 …….it was only then that I realized that I din receive 2 pgs the TTS guy said “ we’ll c about tht later,lets c if the officer decides to issue the case” This time there were around 150 ppl waiting……….i thot I would have to come the next day only……..my appt was for 3: 15 but I entered at 2:15….ppl were even sitting on a small protrusion frm the wall…and I was preparing myself for a long wait…….my number was called in 2 Mintues flat……..this time I was 10 th in the Q in counter 7……. Counters 2,5,6,7,8 were working………I cudnt c the person at counter 2 since I was standing at the xtreme rite hand side… counter 5 : vettori…..as dashing as ever…. counter 6 :was a guy who was gud looking n looked like a kid…..he was short and barely 25 …….took 40-45 mns to interview a group which wanted to shoot a telugu film in the US …one guy was doing the speaking coz he was considered the best speaker of english in the group by their members…..this kid made other ppl frm the grp com n go to the counter at will……..after a certain point of time he got irritated by the group’s best speakers’s English and called for the interpreter who was in counter 2 until then…….after solid 45 mns the whole group was dismissed . counter 7: partially bald white man,black hair,a 4-5 day old stubble,had indian features…….late 40’s or early 50’s ,bespectacled …he looked respectable and I took an instant liking for him…seemed to be taking his time for deciding….din accept ppl unless they spoke sumthing sensible………at the same time he din reject ppl unless they did sumthing really silly…….there was one guy who said “ my parents wil fund me partially and the rest loan”…….he seemed to be cool with it until this guy said” I will repay the loan”………so guyz n gals don do such silly things………just say “ parents will repay the loan” Counter 8: again another bald man…….the consulate seemed to be full of bald men…young and arnd 35…..seemed to be getting cheap kicks in making women beg him….but he was giving them…….he just made 3 gals beg and then gave them…….for guys I’m not sure thts a wise thng to do….. I asked the guy standing ahead of me in the line which visa???...... he smiled n said M-1 …I said ok…after sumtime I asked him wat s M-1…….the guy gave a broad smile and said “ pilot training” ………and both of us were just looking at each other n grinning for the next half hr….the M1 guy was interviewd for half hr and then he came out smiling……..he was asked to wait and I smiled at him and carried the smile to the counter….again this time sum one came in between…..thisa time frm rite to left for a change…..i started cursing my luck………but this time I just went around the person n straight to face the VO ME: good afternoon sir, how are u doing today?? VO: said sumthing I cudnt catch Since this VO seemed to be so particular about finance related stuff I tried a stunt….i acted as thou ‘ my harmonium file was very heavy and asked him ME: may I keep this over here ,sir?? VO: his mood changed n he grinned at me with a “ I thot I was the interviewer “ kinda look” and said “ yeah sure man” VO: which university….even before I cud open my mouth he said” oh Kansas state!” ME: yes sir! VO: do ur sponsors have sufficient funds ??? ME : yeah , my sponsors have sufficient funds to fund my educational and living expenses VO : “ which university” Me : pardon me sir, VO:said “ oh Kansas state” again… ME : yeah VO: ,I don’t think ur sponsors have enough funds man,,what are they doing??? Now I knew damn well tht he was bluffing coz ther’s no way in the world he could have known about my parents income. ME: “of course my parents have sufficient funds sir,my dad is --------- and my mom worked for 20 yrs”…..he din say nething …..” she is a house wife now”……..agin he din say nething was looking at the comp…..but I was sure he was def listening to me…so I contd….she was with ----------- for 20 yrs………still no reaction frm him …was looking at the comp…..but I went on and on and on “ she was with the govt of India ,sir” Then he turned towards me VO: ur I: 20 will be courired to you ME : pardon me ,sir! He barked at me now VO: ur I: 20 will be courired to you. ME : thank you sir. He thot it was over n started looking at the guy behind me…….but I knew very well it was not over ….so I purposely took my documents out slowly and placed it one by one into my file just to waste time……..and now he looked at my I: 20 VO: where are the other 2 pgs man??? ME: which 2 pages sir???( pretended as thou I cudnt u’stand wat he was saying) Then he saw my DS-FORM to see whther he had signed it…….fortunately for me he already had signed it…so he cudnt chase me out now VO: where are the other 2 pgs of your I: 20 ??? ME: I got only this one pg along with the acceptance letter and the letter from the graduate college VO: one minute….. HE went inside and I cud see him speak with the fem who was in counter 2 ( on oct 30 ) , vettori and one more Indian guy …..they kept on speaking and my VO came back and strted reading my case again on the comp……once in a while he would look up at me to see how I was reacting….and then agin read sumthing on the comp……..it was taking ages and evry one behind was irritated…….and then this mysterious so called muslim lady came and strted reading my case on the comp……..my heart was in my mouth…..then sumone called her and she went off…..i heaved a sigh of relief …i just kept on smiling just for the heck of it…..then the tamil interpreter came frm counter 6 and spoke to my VO and sumhow managed to convince him that one page was enuff for them ……..he still seemed very doubtful……..then he finally relented ………and said VO: YOUR I: 20 WILL BE COURIRED TO YOU ME : THANK YOU MORAL OF THE STORY: just bcoz a VO is lenient doesn’t mean u will get and also doesn’t mean u will not get frm a strict VO MESSAGE FROM ME: “Every day is a new day ….so B+” All the best to everyone Harish ----------------------------------------------------------- From: amit kulkarni Date: Tue Nov 11, 2003 12:08 pm Subject: 2nd attempt (I have got it!) Dear All Here is the news from me. I got the visa second time on 10th Novermber. I was rejected as a potential immigrant (I was going to UT Austin last time w/o aid). I am going to Virginia Tech. Guys, anybody from you going to VT? Here is my Visa interview: My interview was at 2 00 pm. I went inside at about 1 00 pm. Went to counter 1 and submitted the docs. Started to wait for my turn. There were very less F1s that day. I was interviewed by an old lady (somebody told she is spanish). She had a very stern face expressions. The interview was pretty cool. : I went into the box, picked up the phone and wished her. She looked at me. I smiled and she replied back with a smile and greeting. I think that was the most important thing. VO: So you are going to VT? I: Yes, VO: For masters in? I: Mechanical Engg. VO: You changed university. ummm, it was UT Austin. I: My first preference was VT, I didnt get it that time. VO: OK, what is ur father? I: My papa is lawyer. VO. Do you have brothers and sisters. I: Yes, a brother. He is also a lawyer. VO: Ok ur visa approved. Just stay cool and confident. Have smile on ur face. I was rejected last time very badly. I wish you all the very best of luck. VT guys pl revert back.. Amit ************************************************************************** From: nanda kumar Date: Fri Nov 14, 2003 1:12 pm Subject: I got visa on 3rd attempt Hi groups I got my visa on 13 november on 3rd attempt!! Conversation:: VO: Which university??? me: California state university,Sacramento VO: which program ?? me: M.S Comunication engg VO: Why this program ?? me: CDMA Technology with communication engg is the latest in this field so that when I come back to india after completion of M.S I have oppurnunity in telecommunication industry.. vo: whats ur plan after M.S ?? As said earlier there r lot of oppurnity here bcoz many companies like reliance , tata indicom are opening there market ..Moreover my parents r here so I have to take care of them ... vo: who is sponsoring u?? me: parents vo: what there financial status ??? blah blah thats all i got visa FRENZ I NOTED MANY PEOPLE SAYING THAT MY SENIOR R THERE SO I SELECTED THAT UIVERSITY .... PLEASE DONT TELL THIS ..TELL THAT I SEARCHED IN WEBSITE ... SAME type of CONVERSATION TOOK place for last two times but that time all i was rejected ..and i got it this time ... EVEN IF U DONT GET VISA DONT WORRY THERE ARE LOT OF OPPURNUNITIES HERE OR u will get it in next attempt .... ALL THE BEST FOR YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVOURS !!!!!!!!!! bye for now nanda kumar ----------------------------------------------- From: dc Date: Tue Nov 18, 2003 12:43 pm Subject: VISA REJECTED 2nd attempt 1st Reject on Aug 6th 2003 REASON - POTENTIAL IMMIGRANT 2nd Attempt Tuesday 4th November, Mumbai Consulate. The visa officer was a lady in her late twenties. I must say she was very very rude. Her initials on the rejection letter were PQ or RQ VO: Good Afternoon. How are you doing? Me: I am fine mam. How you doing? VO: Good VO: Why do you want to go to the US? Me: To pursue my master’s deg in business admin. VO: why only US? Me: due to the academic superiority of US – B schools. VO: interrupts me…I DO NOT WANT REHERSED ANSWERS. Me: This is not a rehearsed answer besides I also want to get International exposure. VO: Your asset statement Me: I give her (Since in my I20 my Sponsors was stated as Family Funds, the assets st contained the list of our family asset. ie uncles, fathers st etc) VO: Are these all yours Me: Family Funds VO: Whose Bank Statement are these, you haven’t written names? Me: My fathers and my uncles. Mam here are the bank statements if you wish to verify. VO: DID I ASK FOR THEM VO: (she calculates some thing. may be my fathers bank st. had put 10+ lac since last time) VO: Show me your GMAT, TOEFL and BACHELORS mark sheet’s Me: I give here. VO: the only thing you have changed from last time is that you have included your entire family as sponsor (last time my I-20 showed Uncle), I don’t think I can give you the visa for two reasons. 1) I don’t think you will come back 2) I think you have forged your documents I don’t know which documents he was referring too. I have the valid bank st, which could show where the additional money came from, only if she had asked. ---------------------------------------------------------------- From: "vinod_jntu_mech" Date: Mon Nov 24, 2003 10:00 pm Subject: I got my VISA in the 2nd trail HI friends , Like many people I am silent spectator of this group from 4 months. I was rejected on aug 4th and got my VISA on 21st nov in my second attempt from Chennai consulate. My interview was so cool the officer is handsome and is like vetori with out glasses. My appoint was at 3.00 and I went inside by 2.35. After the chores I entered the interview building.and I was called around 4. VO: good evening how r u doing Myself: fine how about u VO:which university? Myself :University of Nevada lasvegas. VO : what r u r future plans? My self : said about the opportunities after my M.S in robotics and automation in India. VO:when did u graduate? Myself : august 2003 VO :whats ur degree %? Myself : 79.6% Mean while he went inside and checked my degree certificates came back and asked VO:whats u r branch? Myself :told VO :whats ur future plans? Myself: told the same VO :who is sponsoring u ? Myself :parents VO :What do they do? Myself : told That's it he delivered the golden words " sir u will get u r VISA in 2 days." That's it all . All the best to one and all. be confident and positive. Vinod kumar -------------------------------------------------- From: MadMax Date: Wed Dec 3, 2003 11:11 pm Subject: Got my visa in 3rd attempt Hi everybody! I’ve been a silent member of this group for quite some time now, though I’ve been going through the mails posted continually. I got my visa on 2nd Dec in the third attempt at the Chennai Consulate. I’m posting the details of all 3 of my interviews in a hope that it may be useful in some way to people who are still waiting to appear for their interviews. I’m skipping the basic details about submitting my forms and DD and starting off straight with what happened in the interview hall. FIRST TIME: Date: 04 June 2003 Time : 9.30 am By the time I reached the interview hall, it was around 9.40. I took a seat somewhere in the second row and just tried to relax myself. I had heard quite a lot about the white lady (a pretty one if I may add) who had been (and still is) terrorizing the visa applicants with her high rejection rate. She has perfectly straight hair, a thin face and she looks just like Lara Flynn Boyle, who comes in “The Practice” and also in “MIB 2”. I’ll refer to her as “Jelly Fish”. Just like a jellyfish, this lady looks harmlessly pretty, but carries a deadly sting with her rejections. At the time when I went, her record was something like a 20% issuance rate. So I was just hoping I would not end up at her counter and that I would be interviewed by one of the 3 other guys who were pretty liberal in giving visa. But to my horror in about 5 mins my number was called to her counter. I was something like 8th in the row. The first person in my line was a girl and was the only one in my row who was given a visa in the first 8. She really fought it out with the pretty monster on the other side of the glass. After fighting it out for abt 7-8 mins and after showing numerous documents, she finally got her visa. After her, the next 6 were rejected in a matter of 1-2 mins each. When I saw what was happening before me, I had just about given up even before my interview began( which I shouldn’t have). After what seemed like hours, my turn came and I approached Jellyfish. This is what happened: Myself : Good morning! V.O : (with a beautiful smile) Good morning! How are you? Myself: I’m fine, how r u? V.O : Fine. She was looking at the monitor and reading something, then suddenly she turned towards me and coming very close to the glass and with her eyes piercing into mine, V.O : why U.S? Myself: I want to do my Masters in computer science. V.O : But why U.S, why not India? Myself: In the US, the education is more research based and one gets a hands-on experience about the field, whereas in India, the system of education is very theoretical and one cannot get much real-time exposure to the field. V.O : Are you suggesting that there are no good universities in India????? Myself : There are a few good univs like the IITs, but the number of seats available is extremely small when compared to the number of applicants. V.O : So, if you do your masters in India, nobody will hire you???? Myself: I may get hired, but it would be in a position at the bottom of the organization. It would be a job with not much scope for progress. But with an International masters degree, I’ll be placed much higher in the organization directly. V.O : oh, you’ll be placed much higher in the organization……. V.O : Which univ? Myself: USF. V.O : what is your father? Myself: he is a businessman V.O : what is your father’s income? Myself: My total family income is….. V.O : (cutting me sharply in mid sentence) I asked father’s income? Myself: x.x lakhs. Then she does something quite unbelievable. She takes my original GRE score report and makes a huge circle around my analytical score with her blue pen. My annals score was 550. Then she takes my I20 and circles the name of the univ with her pen and asks me V.O : how did you know about this univ? Myself: I mailed a few seniors who are already studying there and found that the univ is good. (never give this answer. Always say that you searched the web and found the univ to your liking) Then with a look of total astonishment in her face she points to the amount in the I-20( $23,000) and asks me V.O : how are you going to pay this much money? Myself: my parents have 12 lakhs in S.B, 6 lakhs in FDs V.O : what about the rest of the money? Myself: I’ve got a loan sanctioned for 7.5 lakhs. V.O : you’re going to take a loan for 7.5 lakhs????? V.O : how big is your house? Myself: 3 bedrooms. V.O : 3 bedroom apartment? Myself: yes. (never say you live in an apartment even if you do) That was it. She took out form 214(b) and with a smile on her face handed everything to me along with my passport with a seal on the last side saying “application received on 4june 2003” I walked out of the consulate feeling as if the very ground which I was standing on was crumbling under my feet. I felt a bit down for a few days and only after a lot of coaxing by my friends I decided to apply once more. But I couldn’t get a suitable interview slot as there was a hell of a rush at the consulate for Fall. So , I decided to try for spring2004. and what follows next is the second chapter in my tryst for a visa at the US consulate. SECOND TIME: Date: 24 NOV 2003 Time: 8.30 am I was let inside at 8.15 and was sitting in the hall by around 8.45 hoping that this chapter of my story would have a happy ending. Unfortunately it didn’t. Since it was pretty early in the morning, there were only 3 counters operating. Two were for immigrant visa and there was a lone guy handling non-immigrant visas. In one of the mails in this group, someone referred to this guy as “Vettori” and when I saw him, he did have a slight resemblance to Daniel vettori. But I would say he looks more like a street-version of the actor Chris O’Donnel. This guy was extremely quick in giving the visa and was taking just 2-3 mins for each student. He wasn’t checking any documents either. I had to wait for about 45 mins in the hall and during that time I was observing him. He was extremely polite and out of around 20 students he refused visa only to about 3-5, which was an extremely good percentage. And that too, he refused those 3-5 only because their parents’ income was pretty low. While I was waiting, I was praying and hoping that my number would be called to his counter, as I was sure that if I end up at his counter, I would definitely get my visa. But little did I know that I would have to make another trip to the consulate a week later to get my visa at his counter. In the mean time, the counter adjacent to Chris O’donnel’s opened and one scary looking old lady appeared at that counter. She looked like she had just finished shooting for “Evil Dead” and had come straight from the studio without removing her make-up. She looked just like a “Witch”. Her blonde hair was all in a mess and falling to the side of her face and she had a really big mole on the right side of her nose. What followed after her arrival was a slaughtering of the students. She rejected just about everybody who went to her. She was taking a lot of time for each student and was checking all the documents like IT returns, pass books and mark sheets in great detail. But no matter how good the documents , she was rejecting them all anyway. In a line 11, she gave a visa only to 1 and rejected the rest (including 3 tourist visas). I began to feel a little uncomfortable. The jellyfish who had rejected me the first time in June was nowhere to be seen, but this old lady (the Witch) was even worse than the pretty jelly fish. Atleast jellyfish didn’t check all documents. This witch checked all documents and still rejected. Then the line of students in front of chris O’donnel got over and I knew that my number would be called in the next set and I was hoping that Chris O’donnel would pick up the next set of folders from the trolley behind them. But unfortunately, he got up and went for a stroll somewhere inside and didn’t return for about 5 mins. In the mean time, the Witch finished her previous batch and went to the trolley and picked up a huge bunch of folders and when the numbers were called, I found myself standing in front of her counter. I didn’t want to give up like last time based only on the reputation of the officer and so I decided to give it my best. I was 4th in my line. Only the 2nd guy in the line got his visa before my turn and that too with great difficulty. Then my turn came. Myself: good morning! (don’t use sir or ma’am. My uncle who is an American citizen says Americans don’t use it and don’t like it) V.O : good morning. How are you? Myself: I’m fine, thank you. How abt you? V.O : very well. V.O : which University? Myself: Syracuse University V.O : which program? Myself: Masters program in Computer Science. V.O : specializing in????? Myself: networking. She was looking at my mark sheets in great detail. She was even reading the marks for each subject. It was an uncomfortable silence as she was going through my mark sheets, so I thought I’d say something. Myself: I’ve got First class right through my under-graduation without any backlogs. V.O : I’ll be back in a minute. She took two of my mark sheets with her and went into some room inside and I guess she wanted to scan my marksheets as I didn’t have any backlogs and verify that I hadn’t forged them. After about 3 mins she came back satisfied. V.O : What will you do after finishing your degree? Myself: I’ll return to India and work in a MNC. With many MNCs investing heavily in India and India being the most preferred destination for outsourcing, I feel there are tremendous opportunities back here in India. V.O: are there any particular MNCs you could name that you’d like to join? Myself: wipro, HCL, infosys, accenture . Upto this point it was going pretty smoothly. Then she checked something in her computer and was looking at the monitor for a long time. I guess she had seen details of my previous rejection. The she took my passport in a hurry and turned to the last page where the seal of my previous date was there. V.O: would you like to talk about your previous interview? What happened? Myself: last time, the officer felt that since parents are sponsoring me, in case of an emergency, my education might be a burden on my parents. So this time, I have rectified it by taking a loan in addition to the funds to reduce the burden on my parents. ( last time also I had taken a loan, but they wouldn’t have recorded the specific details in the database. It would just be recorded as “insufficient funds” or “potential immigrant”. So you can make your own story) V.O : But how will you repay the loan? Myself: I don’t have to start repaying the loan until I finish my degree and return to India. Even after I return, I’ll have 5 full years to repay it. She looked satisfied with my reply. V.O : can I see the bank loan document? (I showed it to her) V.O: ok, what about the rest of the fees, show me how you’ll pay the rest of the money specified in the I-20. Myself: my parents have more than 25 lakhs in bank deposits for over a year in the form of F.Ds. V.O : show me the deposit papers. (I showed her the original FD receipts and the bank statement.) V.O : how did you get this money? Myself: my parents have been saving money in private finance companies for the past 3 years for my education. Towards the end of last year, they transferred all the money to Bank deposits. Morever, we have a good family income. V.O : what are your parents? Myself: they are industrialists. V.O : show me their IT papers. (I showed them to her. She went through both my father’s and mother’s IT returns carefully.) V.O: ok, you said your parents have been saving money in private finance companies for 3 years now. Show me the documents for that. Myself: all the receipts for the deposits will have to be surrendered to the finance companies when we withdraw the money. V.O : so you have no records? Myself: like I mentioned, when we deposit money in the finance companies, they give you a receipt for the amount deposited. When you withdraw the money, the receipts will have to be surrendered to the company. V.O: (with a triumphant look on her face) now you see why I cannot issue you a visa. Any legal financial institution will give you record of your money. Myself: (trying to make sense into her) This is how the finance companies function here. When you deposit the money, you get the receipts. When you want to withdraw the money, you surrender the receipts and take out your money. V.O: I’m sorry, I don’t quite believe you. Myself: you can call up the finance companies and verify it. I can give you the number. V.O: you very well know I can’t. I have other things to do as well, pointing to the line standing behind me. (then she took out form 214(b) and put a seal on it and also on my passport and gave everything to me) Myself: thank you. I collected all my documents and walked out of the consulate. I was absolutely disgusted thinking that I had got rejected the second time too. But somehow, I felt that it wasn’t the end of it. So I went home, spoke to my family and immediately made an appointment for 2 Dec 2003. What follows next is the happy ending to an otherwise frustrating story. THIRD TIME Date: 2 Dec 2003 Time 8.15 am For my third interview, I didn’t prepare anything. In fact, I couldn’t care less if I got my visa or not. I had stopped having any kind of expectations and was prepared to accept whatever was to be the outcome of the day. By the time I reached the hall, it was already 8.45 as there was a long queue outside the consulate. When I took my seat at the hall, there was only one counter for non-immigrant visa and guess who was there; the dashing Chris O’Donnel in the same “visa for all” mood. I think the guy’s real name is Frederick. He was already into his stride early in the morning and was giving visas liberally as usual. After about 3 mins another counter was opened and “the witch” was arranging her stuff in her counter to start another day of head-hunting. But I knew she couldn’t interview me again, so I was very relaxed. Then around 9.15 my number was called out and I was standing in the counter in front of “Frederick, the Great”, yes, I was to be interviewed by Chris O’Donnel. I think I was 5th in the line. As I was standing in the line, another counter was opened and to my surprise, “Jellyfish” was there. She was dressed in all black and was looking quite pretty. I thought she had been assigned to some other consulate in India as I had not seen her during my second interview. But there she was, back in full swing. Then, my turn came and Chris O’Donnel motioned me to approach. He was standing this time. He is usually seated while interviewing. Myself: good morning. V.O : (looking up at me from documents) Good morning. V.O : which university? Myself: Syracuse university V.O : what program r u going for? Myself: masters in computer science V.O : why did u choose Syracuse univ? Myself: I went through the web pages of Syracuse univ and found that the computer science program is extremely good . V.O : what is your father? Myself: he is an industrialist V.O : what is his income? Myself: x.y lakhs per annum V.O : what car does he drive? Myself: maruti esteem. (All this time he was just skimming through my applications and marksheets) V.O : what will you do after finishing your masters degree? Myself: I’ll come back to India and work in a MNC here. V.O : Then why not join an MNC here straight away? Myself: Most MNCs prefer candidates with an international degree and….. V.O: (interrupting me with a smile on his face) No, no. That’s not true. We have been enquiring with the MNCs here and they do hire students with Indian degrees. Myself: They may hire students with Indian degrees, but it will be only for positions that would be very low in the organization. It would be a dead end job with not much scope for progress. As I was talking, he started handing over my documents to me. Then he gave me my I-20 separately. I thought I had been rejected, cos usually they retain the passport and I-20 if visa is being issued. V.O: (pointing to my I-20 which I still hadn’t picked up) Don’t forget to carry that with you. Myself: (confused, still thinking I had been rejected) what? you want me to come again with my I-20???????? V.O: (very politely, handing a part of the pink token with F-1 written on it) no, just take it with you to the port of entry in the U.S Myself: (realizing I had got my visa) oh. Thank you so much. V.O: (with his usual charismatic smile) you’re welcome. That was it guys. My third interview was the simplest of them all. No questions about why I had been rejected twice before. If there were more people like Chris O’Donnel, then getting a visa would be so much easier. It is not that he is a push-over. Just like the other officers, he probably knows that we are bluffing about coming back and working here after finishing our degree, but just that he gives you a visa unless you screw up real badly. And the main reason, why I’ve written so much in detail about my experience is that, for those who may have been rejected once or even twice, DON’T GIVE UP, it is only a matter of time before you get your visa. A rejection doesn’t mean the end of the world. There are people, like myself who get it even in the 3rd or 4th time. So, just keep trying. Most important thing is that you be confident and have a firm tone when you converse with the visa officer. Another thing that is paramount is ALWAYS MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT. It really sends out a positive signal. I hope the time I’ve spent writing my experience helps people who may have been rejected once or twice and may be thinking of giving up. If anybody wants to contact me with any queries, do feel free to do so. All the best to you guys. If there is anybody heading to Syracuse university, especially from Chennai, please do let me know. I’ll be leaving some time around 20th of December. MadMax. --------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jitendra Pande Date: Sat Nov 29, 2003 5:08 pm Subject: Got the Visa at 2nd attempt for University of Louisiana at Lafayette (Engineering Managemebt) Hi Friends, I got my Visa for University of Louisiana at Lafayette on 20th November at Mumbai Consulate. Last monday I got my Passport with F1 stamping on it. I am going for MS in Engineering Management for the semister begining in January 2004. All those going to ULL this spring (2004) plz mail me at mrjrdeshpande@yahoo.co.in. My Visa was rejected this fall (fall 2003) at Mumbai Consulate on 22nd July 2003. The VO was not convinced about my Loan repayment. That time have sanctioned student loan of Rs 6 lacs and I told the VO that my father is a retired class one officer. The only document he saw was Summary stament. I went for my second Visa interview on 20th Nov 2003 at Mumbai Consulate. My Visa interview was at 2.00 PM. This time I have prepared very well, did'nt showed the Loan amount. Instead the same amount I had taken from my relatives and distributed in 2-3 saving account of my father in regular intervals. Fortunately my father got employment with one of the top company and so I was prepared for the answer. I went to consulate exactly at 1.30 PM. There was a heavy rush for tourist that day. However there were very few students and almost all of them got the Visa. Mine pink token no was 794 and I was seating just infront of the counter from where I was rejected last time. I was praying the God that plz dont call me on that counter since that VO (the VO in his early 20's) was still rejecting like anyting. Neway, after waiting for another half hr mine no was called at Counter no. 3. The VO was a blonde lady over there in her late 20's. There was just one student infront of me and he got his Visa after spelling the word 'cryogenics' since his field of intrest was cryogenics. Then came my no. This is how it went : Me : Good Afternoon Officer, how r you doing ? VO: (smiling at me) I am fine gentleman (I was wearing half sleev blue shirt and black Allen Solly pant) how r u ? Me : I am fine VO : So you are going to University of Louisiana at Lafayette (looking at the DS form and I20) aaah for Engineering Management Me : Yes officer. VO : Keep relaxed..... ME : I got relaxed....rather I was standing straight VO : (Once again smiling) Relazed means not straight ....you are not here for any speech....just be relaxed ...(and she showed me how be relaxed and went inside to have some joke with her colleague) VO : (after coming back) So have you done this course before in your graduation? Me : No Mam VO : What was your % in Graduation...distinction, first class or what ME : I was consistent first class throught out my engg. VO : That's gr8......Looking at the DS form ....hey your GRE score is little low. (I was frightened at that time).......but does'nt matter....you have consistent first class throught out.....that will nullify that. VO : So who is sponsoring you..what is your father doing ME : My parents are sponsoring me ...Mine father is a senior manager in XXXX ....wester India's biggest company specializing in....XXXX VO : (Looking at me) What is the Company all about ME : The company is mainly into XXXXXXXXXXXX VO : How many brother/Sister you have ? ME : (Be more specific for such question) I have one elder married sister settled in Mumbai and one elder brother working as senior project engineer in Pune. VO : Ok why do you want to go to this University ? ME : (Prepared for this very well)..For 2 reason Officer 1) This University offers a well designed course in Engineering Management that suits my Intrest. Courses like Engg Project Management, Quality management and Technology management are the course of mine intrest 2) The research work by Prof Dr. Jim Lee of EM dept is in Quality Management which is of my intrest and I am working on it for last 3 years. VO : (Very silly question) Is that Prof your past prof or current or will be. ME : Will be VO : So how luquid funds does your parents have in their account ME : My sponsorer have around 14 lacs as liquid asset..... VO : Ohhh...no no that is insufficient..... ME : And they have around 7-8 lacs in deposits VO : Oh..no (looking at the I20 amount...it is just $15808 which is around 7.5 Lacs) [At that moment I was frightened...and thought.....baccho tu to ab fir se gaya...kuch nahi ho sakta ab tere].....but suddenly God came to my rescue.........:-)) VO : So what are you doing ...r u working anywhere... (Looking at my DS form) Ahhh so you are working in XXXXXXX (Top IT company in India) VO : Gentleman Congrats......you have been granted VISA ME : Thank you Officer..........(I was in heaven on hearing those Golden words) One more important thing ....She did'nt check even a Single document. So friends...there were many VISA exp posted on this group saying that be confident..blah blah....But what I personaly feel is 'VISA is just a Luck'..which VO calls you ....how is his/her mood that day.....In short its all Luck...........Have faith in God...remember GOD........pray God ..HE will do best for you. But at the same time have confidence and have patience..........success is all yours......define your priorities and work on them....Best of Luck. All those going for Visa for Spring 2004.... "BEST OF LUCK FOR YOUR VISA".. Have Faith in GOD..........VISA is yours. Best Wishes, Jaideep -------------------------------------------------- From: Punit Vora Date: Fri Jul 9, 2004 9:56 am Subject: VISA POWER!! mum consulate, Jun 25th... Hi all..sorry for posting my exp. a little late...but better late than never... Louisiana Tech University for MS in CS DATE: 25th June, Mumbai Consulate, 8:30 AM, Counter No: 2 GRE: 1350 ( V: 580 Q: 770) TOEFL: 283 ACADS: 53% Aggregate, Mum Univ.. Finances I-20 states 14000$ per year, duration of course 30 months. Liquid Assests: Showed app. 10 lakh in cash, no bank FD's, no stocks or bonds, nsc, kvp etc... though had shown some Capital Invst. in private firms, LIC worth 3 lakhs and gold of same amount. Fixed Assests: 30 Lakhs. MY INTERVIEW: GODFATHER: (with a smile)...So, you are going to Louisiana Tech...why?? ME: Sir, my college has been rated among the 'best value schools' in southern USA by USNews and world report for the past 6-7 years.. GODFATHER: Not 10? ME: Sir, 10 i'm not sure...but 6-7 im sure... GODFATHER: If it is not 10, im not impressed.. ME: Nothing but a smile (what else could i do) GODFATHER: U've got some financial proofs? I shoot the summary statement at him... GODFATHER: What's this??? ME: Sir, this is the summary statement..gives the gist of my sponsor's financial standing.. AND NOW COMES THE SHOAIB AKTHAR BOUNCER GODFATHER: (Looks at the Summary St...then..ANGRILY) So u mean to say that your mom is gonna sell off her 'mangalsutra' to pay for your education?? ( I had shown gold in liquid assests) ME: Sir, it is just an a...(cuts me short) GODFATHER: Gonna Sell her engagement ring for your education?? ME: sir, it is just an asset..(cuts me again) GODFATHER: This is all crap..if she's not gonna sell it, then why is it here...why why why why( i still remember him repeating exactly four times..and my heart skipping the same no. of beats) ME: but sir..(cut's me once again) GODFATHER:So which class have you got? ME:Pass Class GODFATHER:Pass class aint no good man.. ME: sir..(cuts me as usual...) AT THIS TIME I THOUGHT I HAD LOST IT.... GODFATHER: You've got some other Financial proofs?? ME: I gave me my three passbooks...then explained him the distribution of money...he wasnt actually paying attention..was doing something on his comp. GODFATHER: when did you graduate? ME: Last year, June 2003 GODFATHER:Show me your degree certificate took it out in a whisker... AND THEN...TOTALLY UNEXPECTED AFTER WHAT HAD HAPPENED....CAME THE WORDS THAT SOUNDED BETTER THAN A RAHMAN,RD OR U2 SONG... GODFATHER: Okie Sir, I m issuing you your VISA..your passport will be couriered to you within two days.. ME: Thanx sir...thanx a lot...( i could have kissed him if not for that counter window..hehe..) Collected my documents in one sweep..and left the counter within 2 seconds..and before i left..he had already started talking to the girl behind me.. so that's it.. PS: Plz dont show GOLD IN LIQUID ASSESTS..I HAD SHOWN AGAINST THE ADVICE OF A FEW...BUT IT WAS MY DAY... good luck to all.. cheers.. Punit... -------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Vipin Yadav" Date: Sun Jul 11, 2004 11:47 am Subject: Small Help! Visa(221g) Hi Ppl, I am Vipin from Chennai, I had my Visa Interview on 30th June at New Delhi US Embassy. I didn't get the visa, but i haven't been rejected yet. I have been asked to wait, as some administrative processing is required, i have been found ineligible under section 221(g) act. I had applied for visa for chicago medical School for PhD in Pharmacology with Full funding($36,000) but still I wasn't granted the visa. If anyone one of you have any information on the above case, or if anyone of you have been rejected a visa on 221(g) grounds, plz do mail me, i would like to hav some more information on the same. I was told tht the counsulate will contact me once the processing is over , it has been around 10 days n I havn't heard frm them. If anyone of you have any clue of any kind abt similar cases of 221(g), plz mail me. Thanks a lot. Vipin. -------------------------------------------------------------- hello friends, i am rutvij shah. i had applied for US visas on 2nd june 2004 but unfortunately i was rejected. i have taken second visa date on 22nd july 2004 but i dont have much hope. I could not explain clearly on financial transactions of my pass book and i gave some irrevalent answers. Frankly speaking i was not much prepared for financial questions. i required some suggestions from you friends. My profile is : Academics : BE Electronics & Communication (61.6%) GRE: 1080 Toefl : 243 (Writing:4) Univ.: Univ of Texas, Arlington (MS program in EE) Financially speaking,i am from a well-to do family. But my father made a big mistake during balance creation. Some entries in the passbooks are such that there is no solution. What exactly occured was like this: My father had Fixed Deposit(FD) worth 10lakh Rs. ( The entire amount was black money. In the FD, secondary name was of my father). What my father did was he liquidated the entire FD amount in one of our Bank Passbook ( the entry is there in the passbook since in FD secondary name was of my father). My father did so by consulting a tax consultant. Then, HE TOOK THE ENTIRE AMOUNT IN CASH (i was not knowing this step since i was doing my job at a far place) and gave the amount to different relatives,friends (5lakhs,3laks,2lakhs) and they in turn credited the amount in form of cheque in ANOTHER BANK ACCOUNT (of which i was going to show its passbook). During the visa interview, Visa Officer asked me to explain financial transactions after february 2004. I told that my family had fd worth 10lakhs Rs. which he liquidated,took cash and then transfered to another account. then visa officer asked that money in another account comes in form of cheque and not in the form of cash. "WHAT WAS THE REASON" she asked Now this was the question i was not really ready for SO I MADE A BLUNDER BY SAYING THAT MY FAMILY RELATIVES WERE NEEDING THE AMOUNT AND SO MY FATHER GAVE THE AMOUNT TO THEM. (believe me i was just confused with such a question and just gave a vague reply). CAN YOU GIVE SOME TIPS FOR NEXT TIME INTERVIEW. THIS TIME I WANT TO EXPLAIN HIM ENTIRE DETAILS ( IF IF IF VISA OFFICER PERMITS TIME!!!!!!). I DIDNT DELIBERATELY SPEAK FALSE. SINCE I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR FINANCIAL QUESTIONS, I GAVE A FALSE ANSWER. WE STILL HAVE MAINTAINED THE BANK ACCOUNT OF MORE THAN 15LAKH RS. BELIEVE ME FRIENDS AT THIS STAGE, I AM NOT HAVING REQUIRED CONFIDENCE FOR NEXT INTERVIEW. I have asked some consultants but none of them give us satisfactory answers. PLEASE PLEASE provide with your valuable suggestions. regards, rutvij ---------------------------------------------- hey everybody, hey pradeep as i mentioned in my previous mail one should sound very professional during the interview. it is very important to make them feel that v have solid plans for our future as far as our gettin a job back in india is concerned.like in my case i told them that in the coming years a lotta eoropean car majors including vw,skoda and a lotta automotive products n services companies, which until now, were outsourcing jobs to brazil, mexico and china r all set to divert the bulk of the jobs to india soon (i had new paper articles to support this).tell them that even as of now there is requirement of xxx professionals in xxx companies here and the requirement will only grow in the coming years. your bro's presence in the us does matter to a certain extent. but 4 of my frnds have got visas who had similar cases. honestly saying i really donno what to say bout this qstn since i faced no such situation ( my bro graduated in the usa n now heez workin back in india). may b by emphasizing the fact that a lotta western companies r comin here soon who'll require xxx grads n since master's deg from the us is highly valued here in india .......will help. tell them some rare specialization in yer major thats not too common here in india (they'll never know bout our splzn ). in my case i had prepared to tell them that my splzn would b thermal engineering (majoring in mech). and it finds application in nano technology n not even iits and iiscs in india conduct research in nanotech (i had supportive news paper articles for this). anything else u wanto know plz ask me. i c a lotta quiries being posted here. its nearly impossible for me to answer each and everyone of them since am gettin ready to leave for the us.instead i'll tell u ppl bout all my interviews . hope it helps. firstly lemmi tell u that on my first 4 attempts i got rejected for a reason. (believe me, they wont reject u for no reasons). and all those reasons were, according to me, genuine. 1st interview (somewhere around 3rd week of dec 2003) in the visa applcn form i had mentioned that my present occupation was business . first thing the vo asked was.....BUSINESSMAN??? me: yes sir, me looking after my bro's business . coupla irrelevant qstns after that,then he rejected . reason : if i was serious about my career i would have been doin somethin concerned to my field . 2nd interview (a few days later) this time i hadnt written businessman, instead i had mentioned that i'had been working in an engg firm for over a yr ( yep, risky , definitely risky. but then in my previous applcn i had mentioned that i had worked in an engg firm but had chosen to mention my current profession as business). this time i had eliminated the BUSINESS part. everything went on okeydokey for a while during the interview. then he asked me where did u get all these infos bout the unv from? me: my bro visited the unv while he was studyin in the us vo: what does he do now? me: working in blore. vo: how much does he earn me: 15k (before i could say apart from direct pay he gets a tution waiver of 15k from the institution run by his company he asked me the next qstn) vo: what?? 15k k? me: yes sir (i had lost it here. he thought i dint have enough motivation to come back to india .) vo: sorry u dont qualify for a us visa yes, he was right in rejecting me a visa. i should have right away said that my bro's pay is 30k.but the worst part of it was i dint realize that this was the reason. 3rd interview everything went very fine till he asked me bout my bro. i did the same mistake again (cez i dinno that this was the reason y i was rejected on the previous occasion) vo: what?, only 15k?. he went all the way to usa only to come back n earn 15k/month? sorry i cant give u a visa. 4th attemp my stupidity caught me here. i had prepared so much on my answers that i was in no position to answer qstns which i hadnt prepared answers for . vo: can u show me some material proof that u think will prove that yer family has enough ties with india . i was so desperate and so tensed up that i heard it as " yer ties with family here in india" (stupid, am i not). i was like.....errr being a part of the family is a tie enough, is it not?so i said : my case is the same as before sir vo: sorry, i cant give u a visa believe me guys, i had sucha a good case.this vo was real cool. my dad works as a govt employee. my bro works here, me mom's a businesswoman. i had all the docz to prove this. if only i had told him all this he certainly would have given me visa. but my shear stupidity let me down. all these attempts were made for the winter session. i decided not to make any more attempts for a while. in the mean time i applied to a few uk unvs and got admits in all the 6 uns i had applied to (including bristol and bradford) with scholarship in a couple.i thought of makin one last attemp for us visa (cez tution fees r real high in uk). this is how my preparation was like for the us visa i prepared fake pay slips for myself and my bro , showing pay around 30k n 10k respectively (in reality me bro earning around 25k and am earning more than 35-40k as a businessman). i collected all the news paper articles supporting my case. got a new CA certificate showing immovable assets of around 70 lakhs ,higher pay for my bro and added rental income of around 10k per month( which was genuine but had no proof). had sb deposit of more than 27 lakhs (thought this was enough). my interview was a real surprise. here is how it went the very first qstn he asked was vo: what'll u do after gradn me: my splzn being thermal engg..., finds application in automotive engg. since a lotta companies r comin here soon there'll b shortage of thermal engg grads here. it has been predicted that the automotive services industry will c a turnover of more than 4 billion in the next 2 yrs which was a mere 800 million last yr. igrabbed the news paper article to show him but he said " plz, i dont need any docs" in the mean while he was tappin some keys n lookin at the monitor,. i thought he has decided something...may b i should tell him that my bro graduated in the us and workin back in blore now. me: sir, can i say something (plz guys, dont do this. just answer to what they ask) vo: plz go on me: my bro graduated in the us vo: ok ok this was soo surprising to me. he dint even bother to ask me where he is now. vo:how many other unvs had u applied to me: 3 other unvs in us and 4 in uk vo: any admits me: none in us and all 4 in uk vo: y not uk me: international students cant opt for research oriented courses in the uk. only taught courses r offered for us vo: even b4 i could complete my answer he asked me to stop and said u'll get yer visa in a coupla days for sure he was the nicest american i had ever spoken to. it was like...even b4 i was half way through my interview he had decided to give me visa. it was pure luck that this guy interviewd me . i might not have got through if some one else had interviewed me. earlier when i entered the embassy i lost one of my receipts. so my interview got delayed by more than an hr. if i hadnt lost it i wouldnt have found this nice guy cez he came to the counter only half an hr b4 i was interviewed. so guys, if yer case isnt particularly strong just c to it that u dont make any mistakes. doesnt matter how much u try to convince them, all u need to make is a single mistake. as far as i understand, most vos decide the moment the mistake is made by the candidate to reject them.i've seen guys with weak cases gettin visas just because they dint make any mistakes. the vos normally have very little time within which they have to make the candidate err.all u gotta do is hold yer nerve for a few minutes. during one of my interviews i saw one guy tellin the vo that his pay is 1500/- another one was asked to prove that heez goin to work back in india. n guess what he said...i'll come back n prove ma'am. i wouldn have give visa to this guy...for sure and the guy who interviewd me on my last attempt was soo nice. the female who gave her interview b4 me was soo stupid. it was her 5th attemp. when the vos asked him y she wanned to do master's in the us n y not here in india she said" yes i know i can study the same course here in india but its my personal desire to do master's in us " (desire??...mmmm i have lots i thought) when he asked how it'll enhance her career here she said " it'll help me get a job in a higher level " (this is what i call as being unprofessional while answering ) and when he asked why did u change yer unv on this attemp she said " last 4 attempts i was rejected for abc unv, so i changed my unv" ( take that!!!!). and guess what, he gave her the visa. man.... its pure luck, what else ?? guys, dont expect this guy to interview u. there r more vos there who dont wanto give u a visa than vos who wanto. so b prepared for the worst. we all know that this is a flawed system. liars with a good command over english get visas easily and deserved ppl, who get nervous at that moment end up not gettin it. does it mean that guys who get tensedup during the interview are potential immigrants?. they say that docs can b sexedup , so they dont rely on them but the actual interview. but what v say is more genuine than our docs??. stupid system it is. anything else guys wanto know plz ask. and b specific bout quiries guys. cez am keepin very busy these days. and plz send yer qstns to the groups id n not to my personal id cez lotta other ppl might have the same probs and need some assistance enuf for now pravs