Do's and dont's for your F1 visa interview...all about it

Here is some gyan on F1 visa interview....
First and foremost-do not carry any mobile phones or floppy drives or cd-roms or pendrives or anything of that sort...

Only 2 things matter most...Confidence while answering the interviewer's questions...And most importantly ur documents...Your documents are fine means 90% of the job is done...

Now coming to the actual things that happen....

1- you are made to queue up in front of the consulate on the footpath...they dont allow any accompaniments even on the road...be at the consulate 15 minutes before ur actual appointment..never go early...u ll be made to wait on the road in the hot sun...going 10 mins late is better than going 10 mins earlier here...trust me...if say ur apointment is at 10 being there at 945 is ideal...being there at 930 wont simply help cos they wont let u in...if u go around 5-10 mins late than the actual appointment time its not a prob cos they ll directly let u cut the queue in that case...

2-To enter the consulate u shud show the security guy your passport and ur appointment letter printout..he checks the date and time of apointment and your photo on the passport and lets u in once he finds that everything is appropriate...

3-once u enter the first door another security guy checks ur file and covers(if any)...he basically checks if u have any sealed covers...do not carry any docs sealed in an envelope...

4-after that check another security guy bodychecks if u hav a cellphone and the things mentioned first up..

5-after that u open the second door...there are 4-5 counters to ur right and 4-5 on ur left...these are basically document verification counters...the volunteers will automatically send u to the shortest of the lot...however we by ourself can go join the shortest queue...

6-these are the mandatory docs the verifiers ask for before allowing u for an interview...so once u r in the queue hav all these docs as a group and be ready for ur turn...cos they usually dont tolerate any kind of delay u make...


a)passport
b)DS 156,157,158(dont forget to sign on all 3)
c)SEVIS fee paid receipt
d)HDFC visa fee paid receipt(both)
e)degree certificate or a provisional degree certificate(not marks card)
f)ur appointment letter for the interview
g)ur i20(dont forget to sign)
h)GRE and TOEFL marks sheets

all the above docs should be actual ones...not xeroxed ones...these are the only docs the verifiers ask for....so dont miss any of these...if u have all these docs, they ll be verified and ur fingerprints will be taken...this will take around 5-7 mins for each person...then he/she puts that in a file and gives it back to u and asks u to enter the next building for the interview..the last counter on the right in the same building is also an interviewing counter btw...if this counter has a small queue u ll be asked by the volunteers to take ur interview here...

7-while ur in the queue lend ur ears to what the other candidates are being asked..u ll get a feel of the interviewer's accent and the kind of questions being asked...this will make u feel a lot comfortable when ur turn comes...

8-when ur turn comes, u shud give the file the doc verifier gave u to the interviewer...he/she will take ur fingerprint again...if ur lucky enuf u ll be asked a few simple questions and let off...my interview lasted for less than a minute...so listen properly..answer to the point...have the visa approved and get lost from there...quietly...

9-u maybe asked to show the following docs during the interview...so have these also ready...


a)ur sponsor's bank account summary or ur sponsor's bank pass book or any other proof of funds(most often asked for by the interviewer)
b)ur work experience certificate(asked very very rarely if applicable)
c)hav some affidavit made in ur name on a stamp paper just in case stating that u wish only to study there and not to work there after ur studies...(this affidavit wont be asked at all..hav this just to play safe)
d)hav ur transcripts and all the marks card from 10th standard to 8th sem BTech/BE(not usually asked..but hav them just to be safe)
e)i had a photocopy of all the docs mentioned in this article just in case...i never saw anyone whose photocopies were asked....i personally think that carrying photocopies is a waste of energy..

If everything goes off well....i dont need to say that ur visa will be stamped on ur passport...

A few tips to end the article
1-Have all ur docs in place...that ll 90% assure that u ll get ur F1 visa...
2-Be confident...the next big thing...
3-Dont try to act too smart...
4-Never lie about anything...
5-remember that u are the interviewee and not the interviewer...
6-hav a proper hanky...going to chennai is like a free trip to the sun...

Go thru my visa interview experience here