F1 Visa Rejected 3 Times due to Insufficient Funds
As I am always follower of your blog, I need your worthy advice once again. I think if you post this this might help others who are in same situation like my friend. I am writing a visa experience of my best friend. It may sound little absurd. As usually people share their own experience.
But my friend lives in really small village where he need go to quite far to get internet access.
So I am sharing his experience and looking forward for your kind advise. I would appreciate if you can take out my name from this post.
Let me tell you in beginning that he gave interview three times.
His Profile
- GRE is 1210
- TOEFL-105
- 2 years of experience in Infosys as test engineer,
- undergrad is 65% from Pune university.
- Visa interview for FIU -MS in CS
F1 Visa Interview – 1 st Attempt
First visa Interview: Hyderabad- 22 nd Nov, 11 AM
VO: Gud morning
Frnd: Good Morning SirVO: Can I have your passport, I20?
Frnd: GaveVO:Which University?
Frnd: Florida International UniversityVO: Why this University?
Frnd: FIU is the 4th largest in Florida State and 15th Largest University in US. It is the top tier university by Carnigh Foundation. It is ranked as 1st tier university by Florida legislature. Also it is the youngest university to receive the phi-beta chapter by oldest honor society phi-beta-khappa. This university converge students from 119 countries. (Not a Good Answer)VO: What is gre score:
Frnd: 1210VO: What is TOEFL score?
Frnd: 105VO: When did u graduate?
Frnd: 2008VO: what is graduate percentage?
Frnd: 64.8 round to 65VO: How many backlog u had?
Frnd: 5VO: What did u do from 2008 to 2011?
Frnd: I was working in Infosys Pvt. Ltd as test engineer.VO: What was last pacakage?
Frnd: 4.3 lakh/annum.VO: Whats Parents annual income?
Frnd: 2.6 lkh p.a and my uncle is aslo sponsoring his income is 3.6 lkh/annum.VO: What your father do?
Frnd: He is bond writer and has farming as joint occupation.VO: Sorry Sir, at this point of time I cannot grant your visa..
Frnd: Can I know the reason?VO: (gave 221g) everything is mentioned in paper.
In that insufficient fund was marked.
Second F1 Interview
Second visa Interview: Mumbai- 6th Dec , 8.00 AM
VO: gud morning Sir
Frnd: Gud morning SirVO: Why US?
Frnd: According to United States foundation in India. The education in US is minimum 6 years ahead of the world. The schools in US follow more practical based approach as compared to which we have in India. Even our ex- president Dr. Kalam said that the pattern of Indian education should be revolutionized and should follow US pattern. In US school there is more opportunity to learn in different ways.VO: Last time you applied at Hyderabad consulate the why this time here?
Frnd: Sir,I am resident of state of Maharashtra. The Mumbai Consulate was closed because of shifting. So I went to Hyderabad. Now dates were open here so I choose Mumbai.VO: How many universities did you applied to?
Frnd: 5VO: How many acceptance you got?
Frnd: 3VO: What was GRE Score?
Frnd: 1210VO: What was quant score?
Frnd: 730VO: That is preety Good….Where does your parent lives?
Frnd: It is village in Mharashtra..(he told exact place)VO: What does your father do?
Frnd: He is bond writer and has farming as joint occupation.VO: Sorry Sir, at this point of time I cannot grant your visa..I am agree with previous VO.
Frnd: But I have got education loan of 14.5 lakh and I have liquid asset of 15lakh.VO: I am sorry Sir.
3rd F1 Visa Interview
Third Visa Interview: Chennai- 27th Dec, 8.00 AM
VO: Good morning Sir
Frnd: Good Morning Mam.(passed the documents)VO: Which University?/
Frnd: FIUVO: Maimi?
Frnd: yes maimiVO: How are you going to fund your education?
Frnd: I have got education loan of 14.5 lakh and sold some ancestral property where amount goed to 7 lakh and remaning is sponsored by father and Uncle.VO: I am sorry Sir, But hter is no significant change from your last application. So according to US law, I cannot grant your visa.
Frnd: Mam, Is it about potential Immigrant?VO: No, I am going to give you the same paper which you have seen earlier.
Frnd: So is it about financial sources?VO: I cannot discuss the file anymore but I will advise, you to get some job experience and try after few years.
- Should he apply for different university?
- Will it good option to apply for PhD in same university for Fall 2012?
- When will be good to apply again with same profile, I mean Fall 2012 of Spring 2013?
- While taking visa date there is one option in starting that did applicant visa is denied twice in last 12 months so should he wait till next 12 months? Or that does not matter too much?
- He cannot change his financial sources as such so what else he can do which will help him?
Observations from 3 Interviews
- Unprepared
- Ignorance about Rejections reasons
- Probably not asking for proper guidance (before first interview)
Visa Rejection Reasons – Insufficient Funds
How do you expect to get visa next time without sufficient changes to financial sources?
1. lower parental income – leads to potential factor
2. lower % , may be
3. Exaggerated public info . , should you please spell why u personally want this university for ur graduation – more impressive and …witty answers are essential !
sorry that he/she was rejected 3 tymes but ! could try again after some time !
214 b or 221g ? I dont think the data above is accurate !
It is better to show liquid cash in bank accounts and fixed deposits. That increases your chances.also if you have received some sort of scholarship which reduces your tuition by atleast half like instate tuition, it helps a lot. If you only show loan, visa officers think that you will work illegally and stay there thru consultancy after finishing your course and thats why they are rejecting more of such candidates.
VO: (gave 221g) everything is mentioned in paper.
If VO is given 221(g) your visa is approved 95% but the process may take more time. It may up 6 months also.
cross check whether he has given 214(b) or 221(g).
Okay, that was bad grammar 🙂 I meant that i stand to be corrected. And being out of school for so long was an issue
Hi,
This is just my observation and i stand corrected; I was also denied visa on the basis of being a potential immigrant. I have also been working for some time now and hence during the interview not being currently a recent student was the issue. This was for a first degree; So i know for certain that they look into that too….though it’s not the basis for denial.
hello every one this is me aditi from Nepal,i had applied for F1 visa for 3 times,1st time they rejected me giving a reason that i have a poor bank balance transaction though my parents can afford my studies,so 2nd time i went with a source from where i got the money in my bank account and in the 2nd interview they told me that i don’t have enough fund and for 3rd time i went with proper fund then they told me that i will not return back form US.please help me on this matter, what shall i do?
2.6 lakhs per annum is too less……….it should be above 7 lakhs pa…….
hi aditi and everyone too..i have an same situation as like aditi me too have rejected F1 for three times bt each time they given me 214b itself…so what shall i do any suggestns frm anybody
Dude & Dudettes ! Sufficent funds means enough money to pay your (tution, living expenses, fun stuff etc) as well as the ability to pay back that amount quickly enough. So if you got a loan approved for 1 crore, rest assured, they will look up your assets and current financial situation to see if you qualify for repayment soon enough. There is a very fine line between “qualified” and “not qualified” its at the discretion of the officer same as how 2 banks dont view your financial situation in the same length! I DO NOT mean to say a farmer’s child cant get quality education in the US, all that i mean is because a farmer has more chances to default on a loan (failed crop, siblings, not enough assets etc) than someone whose sponsor has a white collar job, lives in a city, and is dependent on a steady source of income e.g. working for the government. In addition a good job also signifies the sponsor is qualified and better placed meaning less chances of going bust. Now don’t let all of this disappoint you, what i mean to say is just like a job presenting yourself very well to the officer is also important. Most visas are rejected just for this reason. there were some classic mistakes you did, most of them is that your answers are not meatier enough, you lacked preparation and of course patience ( why would you go a second time without having sufficient changes to your application that warrants a second look?). I am not ranting, i am talking to you from experience, i was rejected twice for a visa but i am in US now for the past 5 years ! Plan better is what i am saying. I guarantee you that if you 1) Improve your finances ( get a better GRE score and go to a college giving you a substantial / 50% tution rebate) 2. Get admit from a significantly better college than Miami 3.) Be patient and prepare well for your interview meaning go through this site and the questions asked and mentally and physically prepare meatier and better answers 4) Chill down and prepare for SUCCESS and success will be yours. Do well on your job and live each day to do better on all 3 points mentioned above, you will be in USA by 2013. If you have the guts to patiently prepare and mentally march towards meeting your challenges for a 2013 academic career, you will be here before you can breathe heavy ! Lastly take heart in the hope that today the US has thousands of farmers son leading a good life here, even the recent nobel laureate was born in a farmers family and studied at MIT despite having no funds to purchase a ticket to US. You should try and try and try till you SUCCEED, but in your haste to try, don’t go in half baked, understand the visa criteria and ensure you exceed on ALL quarters, because fact of the matter is NOTHING beats preparation and I AM the living proof for that !
I have a little confusion in Sufficient/Insufficient Funds. I have read already that the Banks maximum loan amount is 20 lakhs. But will it be the maximum for the entire 2 years or just 1 year? If it is for 2yrs, suppose if the total expense mentioned in the I20 is $ 42,000 per year, then what are all the other ways to arrange the remaining amount? bcoz the remaining amount(except bank loan) itself comes around 25 lakhs which is more than the loan amount. It might be hard for many of them to arrange that much amount as asset or cash. what are all the possible ways to arrange for such funds. Please clarify this with your ideas. Thanks.
Hi,
Its too disheartening that your friend was rejected the visa thrice. First of all the way your friend answers the financing question is too precise. All he had to tell was for the first year his father would be sponsoring him and for the second year he has applied for an education loan.
I maybe wrong but mentioning the loan amount and then going by his fathers annual income anyone can assume that the visa applicant can be a potential immigrant. My point is your friend should not have mentioned the loan amount.
Also your friend instead of mentioning that they sold their land he could have said that this was from the savings his parents had made to for his higher education. Americans are very much aware that Indians have the habit of saving and utilizing their savings for the welfare of their kids.
Best of Luck!
I am agreed with the observations but how about financial conditions, isn’t it sufficient?
trend is changing, a student loan implies that the candidate will look for jobs in US and wont come back to home country at least for a year or two. it is advised to show liquid cash instead of showing a loan in these times.
My friend who works with education consultant informed me that currently there is 60% rejection rate of F1 visa. US is going through a tough time, unemployment figures are not pleasing enough.
I do not know much about the financial documents as I am just trying to figure it out but apart from having liquid cash, is the student loan not accounted so much to get the visa even if it covers most of the tution fee?
Yes, same thing – isn’t a student loan for 14.5 lakh and the assets mentioned not sufficient to get a visa ?
I agree that some of the questions could have been answered better but isnt a student loan for 14.5 lakh and the assets mentioned not sufficient to get a visa? I don’t know the tution fee for Florida International University? Is it a case of not having enough funds or not enough documents to show the funds?