Student Visa (F1, F2, M1, M2)

Hello,

I am moving to US on L1 visa in Jan 2022. My son is planning to accompany me on L2 in April. He will be 21 years old in 3 months after he reaches US on L2. He plans to apply for COS to F1 visa as soon as he reaches there. Would it be a good decision Or it is better to get F1 visa from India and then travel instead of L2. How much time it takes for I539 approval. If it gets approved, can he stays and study while F1 processing is going on?

Hi! I am Korean and I applied to F2 and interviewed on 22nd. I live in the States currently and went to Toronto just for the interview thinking that I will certianly be approved and will be able to return home in few days. However, the officer said Im approved but needs further exploration that i may need to waith 10-12 days, without further explanation why.
It became Issued on 29th, and still no emails. I am continually extending my stay at Toronto by booking new hotels and airbnb few days at a time. It is quite frustrating and worrying.

Can anyone share their wild guess of when I should expect to have my passport back?
Fyi, Due to lack of stable address, I requested to pickup at Toronto.

Hello Everyone. I'm having a very hard time right now and wanted to hear any advice/solutions regarding my weird case.

I came to United states with my parents on April 2018 on an L-2 Dependent visa (Dependent of my Dad's L1 visa). I am enrolled in CSUEB and will graduate in December 2021. On May 2020, I applied for a Change of status I-539 from L-2 to F1 since after turning 21 you cannot be on a dependent L2 visa as a child. My parents at that time also applied for their own Green Cards but our lawyer said that they cannot apply for me since by the time it will come I will already be 21. I turned 21 in October 2020 and my parents got their GC in September 2021. Since May 2020 my USCIS application has been delayed and delayed and it's September 2021 and I still don't have the F1 visa. Now the issue is that if my F1 doesn't come by December 11, 2021, My university will cancel the I-20 and I will have to withdraw I-539 from USCIS. Since I won't have any status in United states I will have to return to India.

Now I want to know if there is any way I can live here with my family and not go back. I also wanted to know how many days will I have in United states before I absolutely have to go back. Can I still apply for GC even though I'm 21 because my parents have GC. Is there any way the I-539 can be expedited since it's been more than a year pending at USCIS?

hello friends,

I am looking for help.
I have done 3 years graduation in computer science from Mumbai university in 2014. now I am planning for masters studies in USA, but my percentage is below 50. is it possible to get admission & f1 visa approval with low percent (GPA).
if there is any possibilities plz guide me on this.

Hello All,

I was going through all the experiences posted on this forum and I really thank everyone who is taking time and sharing their experiences. It really help many people to prepare in advance and achieve the success. It is my turn to share my experience and hope it helps someone who is in similar boat. I will be as detailed as possible to help.

My current situation: I am currently on H4 visa and I have already started my master's program and completed 4 semesters (28 out of 31 credit hours). I was really nervous to attend this visa interview as I was not sure what will the visa officer say if he finds out I have already completed all the courses, and they may just reject my visa and ask me to continue my masters in H4. I thought of taking the chance and in worst case I was thinking to just come back on H4 visa (but my current H4 visa is expired and I have to attend dropbox).

Visa Interview booking: I could not find any visa dates at Hyderabad consulate and I came to know that visa dates are available in Chennai, and I immediately booked my Visa slot for Aug 12. I later found out that my Passport is expiring in Feb of 2022 and I do not meet the requirement of min 6 months of passport validity, I have applied for passport renewal in USA and I was able to get my renewed passport in hand in 7 business days (under tatkal). I have to re-schedule my appointment to 18 Aug at same Chennai consulate as I did not consider the passport renewal scenario.

Updating my passport number on appointment: Since I booked my first appointment with old passport number I was not able to change my passport number, I contacted USTravelDocs via email and they replied back in a day saying that they cannot update it and I just have to get this update done at OFC location.

OFC Appointment: My OFC appointment was on 17 Aug, this process is very straightforward as everyone is aware of. There were very less number of people at my appointment time and they have allowed me 45 mins in advance, I explained the new passport scenario and they just updated my passport number and attached a sticker on back of my new passport referring to old passport. The whole OFC process just took 10 mins.

Visa Appointment: My visa interview was at 8:30 AM on AUG 18 2021. I was just staying near by hotel (5 mins away) and I reached the Embassy by 7:30 AM, I stood in the line and there were around 50 people in front of me and with in no time there were more than 100 people standing behind me. Around 7:45 AM they called in students for 8:30 AM time slot. The visa officer is a young guy in 30's I think, I was noticing the interviews while I was standing in the queue and he was patiently letting the students answer the questions and approving the visa's. I was nervous but gained some confidence after seeing the approvals. My turn came:

Greeted the Visa Officer and he greeted back.

VO: Pass me your I20 and Passport
Myself: I have passed on the I20 along with SEVIS fee receipt and both the passports.

VO: I see you are going to XX university
Myself: Yes officer, I got an admission in Masters in Information Technology at this university.

VO: Tell me why this university?
Myself: I explained him that I have done lot of research before I choose this university. This university is offering excellent course curriculum with combination of mandatory and elective courses. I explained him that the mandatory programs really meet my area of interest and with elective courses I can choose the course which I am very interested and learning in depth.

VO: Who is sponsoring for your education?
Myself: My Spouse is sponsoring for my education.

VO: What does he do and his Name?
Myself: His Name is xxx and he is working as XX in the united states with XX Client.

He entered this information into his computer and was checking something.

VO: What is his annual income?
Myself: My husbands annual income is XX.

VO: Have you already started your masters program on H4?
Myself: Yes officer I am in between of the masters program.

VO: How many courses have you completed?
Myself: I have completed 4 semesters, 28 Credit hours.

VO: Why do you want to switch to F1 if you only have few credit hours left?
Myself: My Spouse is planning to return back to India, I would not be able to complete the Masters program and achieve my dream if he returns back in between of the Masters program. Independent visa would allow me to focus on my studies and complete my masters.

VO: Where would you stay in united states?
Myself: I am currently staying with my Spouse as I took a semester break for last semester. As soon as I land in USA I will be going to college location and stay in university dorms.

VO: Everything looks good, I am approving your Visa. He handed over me the green slip.
Myself: I was very happy, thanked the officer.

My suggestions to everyone:
- Complete the DS 160 without errors
- Dress well and comfortable
- Drink ample water so that you can answer well, prepare for standing in line for min 1 hr before the interview
- Do not panic during the interview process and answer to the point, do not disclose unnecessary information unless being asked
- Carry all the documents with you, the more is always better. The visa officer did not ask me any documents but I was literally carrying everything I could.
- While I was standing in line I noticed many pink slips in student hands, I was not sure what those are. Later I came to know that they are 221g's, so please do not take visa interview for granted and be well prepared for any questions they may ask.
- I have literally went through 50-60 pages on this forum and number of youtube videos to understand what kind of questions I may expect. So please do your research based on your visa situation and write down good answers from successful visa interview.
- Some people do not post the answers which they have given at the visa interview, they simply state <Answered>. This does not help anyone, it would be nice whoever reading this to take time and post your detailed experiences so that other people in similar boat get benefited.

All the best to everyone, please reach out to me in case of any questions and I will definitely try to help.

Hi all as you know, I had interview for F1 visa at US consulate Malta on 12th Jul 21 and they asked me to submit ds5535.
I submitted on 13th july 21 and my status changed to refused on 15th july .
16 Aug 21 again I got mail from embassy saying this-
Please provide full CV, description of program and/or work, advisor's CV, and acceptance letter to institution. Also, please include funding source and post-graduation plan.
My class start date is 23rd Aug which is next week.
Any insight will be really appreciated.

Today, I had my F2 visa interview. I am sharing my interview as I can't find much information about F2 visas online. I gave my interview in Kathmandu, Nepal. My husband had got a visa from New Delhi, India a few weeks back.

Classes of my husband start from August 18, 2021.

Me: Good morning, ma'am.
VO: Good morning. Give me your I20, marriage certificate, and marriage album.

Passed the documents to VO.
Me: Here, they are, ma'am.

VO: So, you are applying for F2 visa.
Me: Yes, ma'am.

VO: When and where was your husband's VISA issued?
Me: My husband's VISA was issued from New Delhi, India on 12th July, 2021.

VO interrupted.

VO: Which university is he studying?
Me: Currently, he is here in Nepal waiting for me outside the gate. His flight is on 8th August, and he will be studying in YYYY from 18th August, 2021.

VO: So, he is here?
Me: Yes, ma'am. (VO interrupted again.)

VO: Who is funding him?
Me: The University of YYYY is funding him as he got a graduate research assistantship, covering his living expenses and waiving his tuition fees.

VO: Who is funding you?
Me: My husband is funding me. He has savings of YYYY USD while he was working in ZZZ.

VO: Where did he work previously?
Me: He worked at YYYY in the position of YYYY for three years.

VO (with exclamation): Oh, YYYY position!

VO: What is his plan after graduation?
Me: He will return back to Nepal and reapply for the organization he previously worked for.

VO: What is your plan after his graduation?
Me: I will also return Nepal with him and apply for YYYY in the role of ZZZ. [Reason why I want to work for YYYY in the role of ZZZ]

VO is happy with my plan and gives a cute smile.

VO: I am putting your passport here. Please take this green slip and I20, marriage certificate, and marriage album.
Me (confused): So, you are approving my visa, right?

VO: Yes, I am approving your visa.
Me: Thank you, ma'am (with smiling face).

So, my suggestions for F2 visa applicants:
0. Have ALL the documentation ready.
1. Be coherent in your answers and have as much clarity as possible in them.
2. Practice a lot and give mock interviews. I gave around 40 mock interviews.
3. Do not lie. Lying might create psychological tension in applicants.
4. DS 160 content and your answers MUST match.
5. Have confident body language and maintain good eye contact. Also, some amount of smiling might help.
6. Understand the purpose of VISA, its limitations, and how you can make it worth time spent even with the limitations.
7. Know as much as possible about your spouse.

For F2 VISA interview experiences, look up in Google. One site that was extremely helpful for me was immihelp. Please share your F2 experience with others as that might help others.

Hello,
I am currently studying masters at Uppsala University in Sweden. I have done with 2 semesters. Now I am planning to apply masters in the USA for Jan 2022 intake. my plan is to discontinue my master in Sweden by December 2021. I have B1/B2 visa till 2029 and I have travelled the USA in March 2019 for 24 days. so can I know what are the chances of getting an F1 visa if I apply for Jan 2022.

Hello,
      I have completed 1 semester on H4 and have 2 more to go. I am planning to convert to F1 visa just before my last semester as it is complicated to find visa slots right now. What are the odds of approval. Does anyone have similar experience?

Hi
1. I’m applying for F1 to study my MSC. electrical engineering in US in fall 2021
2. Previously applied for B2 visa in December 2018 got rejected on 214B (was attending my sisters graduation then...had only UAE as a travel history )

3.Traveling experience from 2018.....Germany, Austria, Switzerland,Italy,UAE & Maldives

4. I’m currently working with 6years working experience in a company in my country
Mom & dad in the USA on .....LPR
Sister married and in USA & a citizen and my sponsor for education in the states

What are my chances of grasping the visa this time ?