Profile Details:
University: Carnegie Mellon University
Course: MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering
First Attempt
Mumbai Consulate
Date: July 2017
Status: Approved
Counter No: 35
Visa Interview Experience:
VO was male, early 30s at the most, the stern and no nonsense type. He interviewed the guy before me for a full 15 minutes and made him empty half his document folio. Finally it was my turn.
VO: When did you graduate?
Me: 2015.
VO: How many universities did you apply to?
ME: 2.
VO: And how many admits did you get?
ME: 1.
VO: What was your GRE score?
ME: 328.
VO: Who will be sponsoring your education?
ME: My parents.
VO: What do they do?
ME: They own a business.
VO: How long have they owned the business?
ME: (assuming he needs numbers at this point) Around 30 years, now. Their annual income is..
VO: (interrupted) Your visa has been approved.
As far as I can tell from my interview as well as the ones I overheard during my 15 or so minute sojourn behind the yellow line, the visa officials care about the following:
- The logic behind your decision to join a master's program (or even a bachelor's in one case) in the states.Between the lines: Are you serious about your academic pursuits or is it just a scapegoat for ulterior motives?
- Other questions which may signal the same concern are ones like "Do you have any family or friends in the US who are working right now?"
- Are you in an adequately sound financial state to fund your education? Between the lines : They assume that if you aren't confident about your ability to pay off the fees in the long run, you may want to take up a job mid way, which would be a violation of your Visa.
- costly error here would be to mention that you've applied for a loan when it hasn't been sanctioned yet.
- What are your plans after graduation in the States? Between the lines : Are you there just for a better lifestyle? Honestly, there's no right answer to this. It's very subjective and dependent on the VO.
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