Student Visa (F1, F2, M1, M2)

The post is just of how was my expreience and please suggest/comments for further process/steps for the solution of success in Visa.

Visa Interview First attempt in February 2019.
U.S. Consulate General Karachi.

Visa Status: Denied (Without any reason)

The interview was just 5 minutes long and dialogue during the interview between me and the Consular Officer are given below in the email. Consular Officer is a man around the age of 37 years old and Interview held in U.S. Consulate General, Karachi, Pakistan.

When I reached in Consulate General, Security officer told me around 200 people daily came for an interview.
During the queue, I observed and listened that 98% of persons are Visa denied. This is true that according to my observation approx. 95% Visa was denied. Even whatever of Visa type such as Visitor, Student, meeting with a family, F1, F2, B1, B2, H1 etc.

VO: Good morning.
ME: Good morning.

VO: Give me your passport.
ME: passed the passport.

VO: Which program are you going to study?
ME: Master's in Computer Science in the field of Data Science Track.

VO: When the classes will start?
ME: May 6, 2019.

VO: He was wondering in May 2019.
(It is my view that normally most of the U.S. Universities semester begins in September Intake.)
ME: I explained that there are four Entries for International students and I have chosen MAY, 2019 entry for admission


VO: No, another admission letter.
ME: I asked I-20? and passed to VO.

VO: He checked I-20 and tell there is \\\\\\\$25,130 and \\\\\\\$25,130 around total \\\\\\\$50,000.
ME: Yes.

VO: Who is paying your Fee?
ME: Myself.

VO: Give me your bank statement.
ME: Given and Explain. There are \\\\\\\$6,000 Initial Fee that mentioned on I-20 Form and after this University given me extensive financial aid through CPT.

VO: Have you paid Fee?
ME: I said not.

VO: Can you explain to me, I didn't understand?
ME: Explain again, CPT is Curricular practical training that is part of the degree program. VO was not understood Curricular practical training then further, I explained Curricular Practical training is an internship and University will help using Bank lown to tuition Fee, I will pay monthly-basis Financial Aid Fee.

VO: Bank statement and Bank letter. He didn't check and see anything after passing him.
ME: I was just looking at him.

VO: He was typing on Computer.
ME: You are not eligible.

VO: He given me the white paper slip.
ME: I asked did you mentioned the reason and I left the counter.

One point I want to add here, I have previously Schengen Visa and good travel history record in Europe and they didn't ask anything.

After this, I have talked with a consultant.
He told me they are not accepting Visas from our country and some of the students also denied for Visa even they got admission. He told me they will reject again. I think their policy is just rejecting and Consular Officer mentally prepare for Visa rejecting, However, you completed everything and all documents :). If there is some other country then maybe they will accept.

Hi,

I am on F1 visa since Aug 2017 & will be graduating in May 2019.
I got married in Dec 2018 and filed dependent (F2 ) visa application for my wife.

Currently I am on CPT in my last semester.

Interview date : Feb 21st 2019
Interview time : 11: 00 AM
Interview duration : 3 min

Interview summary at Chennai consulate as below :

Wife : Good Morning
VO: Please pass me your passport and i20

Wife - passed it

VO: Can you give me your husbands i20?

Wife- Did

VO: (Typing for 1 min)

VO: Is your husband on OPT ?

Wife : He is doing his internship. He is on CPT

VO : (More typing) Sorry you have been denied under 214 (b). Thank you

There was no eye contact from the VO throughout the interview.

Could you please help me what was wrong ?

Thanks

Hi Everyone,

I've been so upset owing to the delay in my J-1 visa due to 221g. I am a postdoctoral fellow at the NIH and have been in India since September 28th, 2018 with no intimation on when my case will be updated. I have lost my paycheck and my experiments are at a standstill. To make matters worse, my apartment is still under a lease and my savings have run dry as I am paying rent on a zero income salary. This has been the worst phase of my life.

 Here are some details about my case

Case created: October 1st, 2018
Interview date: October 3rd, 2018 in Mumbai
Case last updated: October 4th, 2018.

On October 5th, 2018 I sent supplemental documents namely details about my 15 year employment history, residential addresses, family and social media presence. In the past 4.5 months, I have contacted the state senator, and also contacted the US consulate in Mumbai several times, but haven't received anything but a generic response.

I know that a lot of US visa applicants share in my anxiety and stress and I wanted to share my experience with the community. I have just been asked to "hang in there"and that is what I am doing right now.

I will be forever grateful for any advice from community members. I wish everyone all the very best and lots of strength if you are going through visa issues.

Hey guys
I’m an F1 student, and I just got my associate degree in Fall 2018... So I decided not to take any classes this SP19 and work under the OPT program before pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Engineering. It’s now been 61 days since I applied for an EAD card as an F1 student (OPT). I actually applied for that on dec 7 2018. The processing time for Potomac Service Center is 3.5 through 5.5 months.

Since I should start working by March and knowing that my application would possibly not get approved by then, I am wondering WHAT I SHOULD DO IN ORDER NOT TO LOSE MY F1 STATUS. Any ideas will be welcome.

Started my day with a very relaxed mind.

I was ready and my VAC appointment was done the previous day.

"Keep a very calm mind before your interview ! ".

I rehearsed and practiced all my possible expected interview questions and answers. This gave me a lot of confidence.

DO NOT BE AFFECTED BY REJECTIONS HAPPENING RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES.

So at sharp 12:00 pm they let me go inside the US Consulate after collecting my mobile and performing all security checks right outside the entry to the US Consulate.

Then all of us were lead to the hall where the visa interviews were taking place.

Here we can actually see more than 10 visa interview booths. Here we can see people being interviewed and Approved/Rejected right in front of us.

Although I had prepared my mind to NOT be affected by any rejections happening once I am inside, a few of the rejections slightly panicked me.

But to my surprise, one other F2 visa was approved.

I waited for my turn and I was called for the interview after over 30 minutes.

PRACTICE helped me a lot to get through the interview with CONFIDENCE and POISE and SMILE ON THE FACE.

Greeted the VO with a smile and wished him "Good Afternoon" :)

VO : When did you get married ?

Me : told the date of my marriage.

VO: Can you please hand over your I-20 ?

Me: "Here you go" . Gave him my I-20

VO: What does your husband do in the United States?

Me: He works as an xyz

VO: Yours is an Arranged marriage or Love Marriage?

Me: Love Marriage sir. I have known my husband for around five years of which over two years has been a long distance relationship.

(VO gets happy and has a smile on his faces and says, "Wow.! Good for you. :)"

VO: What are you planning to do in the United States?

Me: As we are newly married, I want to go and stay with my husband during the initial time of our marriage and focus on my marriage. I also want to support and take care of my husband.

VO: Can I please see your Marriage Certificate? And in case IF you have any pictures....?

Me: Sure sir. Here you go . You can take a look at my Marriage Certificate, Wedding Album as well as the invitation.

(He seemed pretty impressed by then. He had a smile on his face and again kept saying 'Good for you!')

VO: Till when is your Husband's Initial OPT valid?

Me: His Initial OPT is valid until July this year.

(This is a very crucial Question. This question can give you approval or can get you straight away rejected. So the trick here is to NOT STOP BY JUST SAYING YOUR HUSBAND’S OPT END DATE. Continue to give the VO a reason and explanation as to why you want to be with him even though his OPT end date is only few days away)

VO: That is 6 months from now.....**And he thinks...**

Me: I understand that its 6 months now. But we are newly married and I really want to go and stay with my husband during the initial time of our marriage. I want to focus and work on my marriage during my stay.

VO: When are you planning to travel to the United States ?

Me: In the next couple of weeks I will be travelling to the US. I need to wrap up all my work here and finish my pending projects at office. After which I will be travelling to the US.

VO: **Smiles** I am approving your Visa. Please collect your passport from the designated place.

Me: Sure. Thank You..

ME: When can I expect to get my Passport?

VO: Within the next 7 days you will be receiving your passport. Please take your documents *Hands me over my wedding album , invitation and my marriage certificate*.

He then Hands me a GREEN Slip.

GOT my Visa Stamped Passport within 5 days time.

After the interview, I was extremely happy and I immediately called my husband to let him know the good news.

Hai

Please share you experience h4 to f1 stamping in canada. So that it helps me to prepare for the interview at Ottawa On Feb 12th

Hai

Anyone had their experience for h4 to f1 cos stamping in Canada. Please share. I had my interview on Feb 12th.

Hi guys,

As I know E-verify won't be available during shutdown, does anyone know if it will affect STEM OPT application processing time because E-verify and STEM OPT are related? Thank you!

Hello I am Indushree **** *. I was studying MS in San Antonio university comp.si. After THREE months of ist semester. I returned to India due to some family problem. Now I am out of that university.
   
   Suppose I join a different university in USA for MS will my f1 visa holds good as it has got the validity up to 2023

Kindly let me know the rule

My husband is on Optional Practical Training (OPT) STEM on (F1). After our marriage in April 2017, naturally, I was seeking an F2 visa so that I could join him in the US. I am briefing my F2 visa interview experience in the following lines:
Embassy: Mumbai.
Date: 1st Nov 2018
Decision: Approved.

Profile of F1 visa holder:

Degree: MS in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Arlington. He works Full Time for a reputed company in New York.

Documents For F2 visa interview:
· Passport
· F2- I20
· F1- I20 (copy)
· Marriage Certificate
· Marriage Album
· Copies of Transcript (F1)
· F1's last 6 months bank statement (bank in the united state)
· F1's last 6 months salary slip
· F1's U.S. tax documents for the last 2 years
· My educational documents
· My documents based on the previous job experience.

Preparation for Interview:
I searched many blogs on the internet but found questions for F2 visa interview


Interview Experience:
I was scared since I had heard many unsuccessful visas about F2 visas. Overall I was anxious however the interview went well.

Me: Good morning Ma'am
Consulate Officer: Good morning, what visa are you applying for?
Me: F2 dependent visa.
Consulate Officer: May I see your i20?
Me: Handed over my passport, i20, removed all the documents from the folder to be ready. She would constantly type and ask questions after a certain time gap which made my heart beat in my mouth.
Consulate Officer: Can I see your Husband's i20?
Me: Handed over.
Consulate Officer: What does he do?
Me: He works for...as a full time...he is on his STEM OPT.
Consulate Officer: When did you guys get married?
Me: We got married 19 months ago, we have known each other for more than 5 years.
Consulate Officer: (HAPPILY) Oh! So, you guys have a love marriage?
Me: Yes Ma'am.
Consulate Officer: Do you have any wedding pictures?
Me: Handed over the pictures. PS: We had a court marriage.
Consulate Officer: (Happily smiling), where does he live now?
Me: He lives in New York.
Consulate Officer: "Your visa is approved ma'am'.
Me: Thank you very much, have a nice day.

So this is my visa interview story.
Wishing all the very best to the prospective visa applicants.