Student Visas II (my interview)
First, a little note: This and the previous article on student visas have been written with respect to the Chennai (Madras) Consulate. Some things might be different at other places.
So I had my visa interview. And I got my visa. Yippee for that :-). It was far simpler than I expected it to be. The whole procedure (enter to exit) took about 30 minutes. This article is not meant to be a guide to visa interviews. Its just got my experiences.
I was allotted a 7:45 am time slot for the interview. Its an approximate time, but they do sort the queue outside the embassy according to your time slots. That was nice, 'cause there were some over enthusiastic (or maybe over cautious) people with a 9:30 slot standing ahead of me in the queue. No point going too early.
There's a quick frisk (more like a do you have so and so on you) before you enter the main area to make sure you're not going to do an Uncle Fester inside. Then theres the preliminary document checking done by Indian folks. They just look at your core documents (Forms, I-20, Receipt etc.), and make sure they're all ok. Try not to trouble them by dropping your docs all over the place and getting wrong photos etc. They're cool, and some are pretty ;-).
In the main block, there was first a biometric fingerprint scan, and then you sit down and wait your turn for the interview. Not a very long wait.
The Interview itself is cool. In my opinion all they wanna see is that your cool, genuine, and not shady. My interview was something like the following: (presented in standard format :-) )
Me: Good Morning
Visa guy (muscular well built phirang chap): 'Mornin', how're you doin'?
Me: Great, how're you?
VO (nodding a good): Lemme see your stuff.
Me pushes in the folder and waits.
VO: Right, so how many places did you apply to and where?
Me: UCSB, USC, Rutgers, Stony Brook, ... (trails off)
VO: Says here you have a full assistantship, can I see your letter. And your GRE and TOEFL scorecards, and your gradecard.
Me: Yeah (pushes in stuff)
VO: So why Rutgers. Just outta curiosity.
Me: I had to choose from USC and Rutgers and RU has a bigger department, which gives me more options.
VO: Right. Your passport will reach you in 2-3 days by courier. Goodluck with you studies.
Me (peaaaaccceee!!!): Thanks.
Exit, stage right.
So I had my visa interview. And I got my visa. Yippee for that :-). It was far simpler than I expected it to be. The whole procedure (enter to exit) took about 30 minutes. This article is not meant to be a guide to visa interviews. Its just got my experiences.
I was allotted a 7:45 am time slot for the interview. Its an approximate time, but they do sort the queue outside the embassy according to your time slots. That was nice, 'cause there were some over enthusiastic (or maybe over cautious) people with a 9:30 slot standing ahead of me in the queue. No point going too early.
There's a quick frisk (more like a do you have so and so on you) before you enter the main area to make sure you're not going to do an Uncle Fester inside. Then theres the preliminary document checking done by Indian folks. They just look at your core documents (Forms, I-20, Receipt etc.), and make sure they're all ok. Try not to trouble them by dropping your docs all over the place and getting wrong photos etc. They're cool, and some are pretty ;-).
In the main block, there was first a biometric fingerprint scan, and then you sit down and wait your turn for the interview. Not a very long wait.
The Interview itself is cool. In my opinion all they wanna see is that your cool, genuine, and not shady. My interview was something like the following: (presented in standard format :-) )
Me: Good Morning
Visa guy (muscular well built phirang chap): 'Mornin', how're you doin'?
Me: Great, how're you?
VO (nodding a good): Lemme see your stuff.
Me pushes in the folder and waits.
VO: Right, so how many places did you apply to and where?
Me: UCSB, USC, Rutgers, Stony Brook, ... (trails off)
VO: Says here you have a full assistantship, can I see your letter. And your GRE and TOEFL scorecards, and your gradecard.
Me: Yeah (pushes in stuff)
VO: So why Rutgers. Just outta curiosity.
Me: I had to choose from USC and Rutgers and RU has a bigger department, which gives me more options.
VO: Right. Your passport will reach you in 2-3 days by courier. Goodluck with you studies.
Me (peaaaaccceee!!!): Thanks.
Exit, stage right.
posted by PLD at 1:48 AM
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