F1 Visa Denied for Western Kentucky University. My Hopes Buried Alive.
Following post was shared by Shabnam from Bangladesh.
Hello, I am from Bangladesh. 11th dec 2013 i went for my student F1 visa interview. I was not well prepared for my interview but I was confident.
I applied for a pathway program in Western Kentucky University (Navitas). (Passed O levels and incomplete A levels, IELTS :6.0). Done lots of volunteering works.
Here is my crucial experience of visa interview.
I went to 11th counter where a middle aged man with beards was sitting
I: Good morning.
VO: Good morning, pass your passport with I-20
I: Sure.
VO: Why did you choose this uni ?
I: Because this the 11th best public university in southern part of USA with all required courses. This uni is also accredited. And i got some scholarships.
VO: What accredited?
I: accredited
VO: what……. accredited
I: yes, (mumbled) accredited.
VO: Which subject ?
I: Hospitality Management/ dietetic. Then I passed my offer letter.
VO: How many uni did you choose and why this university?
I: Look, my friends told me about this uni who already went there, this is very good university and I checked in the internet and applied to this university only (damn O.o)
VO: Can you show me any statement of your scholarship?
I: sorry, but if you want I can provide you it later. I mailed the university to sent me an scholarship statement but they are having thanksgiving ceremony so they were doing late.
VO: When did you did you A levels?
I: Its in this June.
VO: (very angry) if you complete your A levels this June why your are applying for Spring ? why not Fall?
I: (In my mind, I only completed my AS but not A levels). Sir my parents wanted me to apply on spring.
VO: pass me your bank statement .
I: pass it to him.
VO: whose saving account is this?
I: my moms.
VO: Well, (very angry) your mom never used this account, there is no transactions.
I: mumbled, this money is only kept for my study purpose.
VO: What are you doing now?
I: I am studying in North South University now.
VO: typed something on the screen and passed down my passport and all documents. Sorry i can’t issue your visa.
I: feeling very foolish and blank. Sir please issue me this visa.
VO: smiled, sorry.
He asked me lots of question, now I know how badly I answered. Now please help me, should I apply for summer session to the same university. However, no university except this university would accept me with my limited qualification. Only WKU would provide me a little scholarship.
Now I need your worthy suggestions. My parents are well prepared to invest on my USA education. But in this Fall 2013, near about 14 friend of mine got visa in the same university, even some students scored only 4.5, they also got visa. Anyways, I am unfortunate and unlucky.
Do you guys suggest me to do TOEFL and show my father’s + mother’s bank statement (with my mothers saving account with more transactions which I showed them to my earlier visa interview) ?
//
Sorry to see your F1 visa to Western Kentucky University is rejected. Here’s my advise for you.
- You get lucky when you are well prepared for F1 Visa interview
- Unlucky = when you are not prepared for visa interview.
- If your friends got visa to same university doesn’t mean you will get the visa. That’s a FACT. You should have know that before attending visa interview.
- If someone with low score got visa doesn’t mean you should be given visa. That’s a FACT.
- You said you were confident, but your answers doesn’t reflect your confidence.
- If you are confident, you don’t have to mumble the answers.
- Not taking Scholarship letter is not an excuse. You should have postponed the visa interview till you get the letter.
- If not you could have taken the email conversation about scholarship. That’s shows you were not prepared for the interview.
- Bank statement without transactions is not a going to help you. If money was deposited recently, VO will have doubts.
- Answers like, “my parents wanted me to go to Spring is not good answer.
What Next?
I wouldn’t recommend to apply for F1 visa again without improving your profile. You need to make lots of improvements. Better score, more courses. With better scores, you can get admission from better university.
Read and understand why some people got visa approved and why others got visa rejected.
Reading 100’s of F1 visa interview experience will get you visa. You have understand why specific answers got them visa. Most of the work to get visa is done before going to the visa interview. Lots of students got visa after rejections. But, most of them identified their mistakes, improved their profile. You should do the same. good luck.
Image Credit - Flickr User
Hi,
I am Nishant Thakur
Profile:
2010 Btech(ECE) Passout
Work experience: August 2010 to July 2013.
GMAT: 530 TOEFL : 84
University Admissions : NJIT, Central Michigan University , Florida International University
Program : MS Information System for Spring 2014 session.
Interview Place: New Delhi.
Visa Status : Rejected.
I had my visa interview on 2-jan-2014
I: Good Morning
VO : Good Morning
VO: Which University?
I : New Jersey Institute of Technology.
VO: Which course?
I: MS in Information System.
VO: Which other universities you got admission from?
I: Central Michigan University, Florida international University.
VO: Why NJIT only?
I: Its one of the Best Public research university. Information System department of NJIT was ranked 9 by chronical of Higher education and professors of NJIT have done very good research work in the field of Information System and they are very co-operative with students.Course curriculum of NJIT for MSIS program matches my area of interest.These points dragged my attention towards NJIT.
VO: What are you doing?
I: Since August 2010 to July 2013 I worked with a telecommunication company and after that I was preparing for my exams and was helping my father with the family Business(Was about to say about my current professional work experience that I could not mention in the DS-160 form due to some technical Issue) .
VO: Which kind of family business ?
I : Apple orchards.
VO: Sorry sir, I cannot grant you the visa this time?
I: Thank you sir and walked .
I was a little nervous before my visa interview about the fact that my 3 siblings are already in USA(mentioned in the DS-160)
My classes in NJIT are starting from 21-Jan and want to know if I should again arrange an visa interview in this session till 10th or 11- january.If it is advisable to again fill the information about my current job?
Please help me ..
you look very impatient and uncomfortable …maybe because of unpreparedness
Will the Indian diplomat arrest in New York and related issues in India lead to any problems for the F1 visa acceptance rate for fall 2014 admission
To Sherinbv, No, I don’t think it would affect the granting of student visas. Both sides have painted themselves into a corner and they will have to find a way out of it. It is a mess. There seems to be a number of suspicious circumstances which are not being explained by either party. Anyway, India should know enough about diplomacy not to make threats on which they cannot deliver. America never apologizes – not for the atomic bomb, not for My Lai, not for the numerous cases in Guantanamo bay which have been proven baseless. This mess will be sorted out and India will be the loser. Just another of those things that the MEA and the UPA did not think through. Anyway, I don’t think it would affect student visas. If you are applying for an F-1 visa, make sure that you have all the appropriate papers, credible and well thought out answers to possible questions that would come up, and that’s all. There is plenty of sane advice on this blog about visa applications. Follow them. Above all, be sure about why you want to study in the U.S. “I want to get to America somehow and if some third rate University in some corner of the country gives me an I-20 that ‘s good enough for me,” is not the best way to go about it. Good luck.
@sherinbv , i completely disagree with you. In 1971-72, i had known few of my relatives who got student visa easily when US had sent warships to attack India during Bangladesh war. Even in 1980’s when India was completely polarized towards Soviet Union, people easily got visas. US never compromises talent based on diplomatic relationships.
@Poster, you did disaster in VIsa Interview. Firstly, your University is not reputed and then look at your answers. You are going for higher studied based on your friends opinion? Is this a answer you expect from a genuine student? NO.
It should have been my area of study and interest is quite aligned with this place and the coursework is good too.
And secondly, My parents suggested me Spring? Again NO.
It should have been there were some issues (say Passport, delay of GRE exam) due to which i missed some of the deadlines. I wanted to take some time to apply properly, so i gave a shot for Spring.
Personally if your academics are low, you failed in Undergrad and have low GRE, chances you will get Visa are bleak. I did not carried even half of the I-20 amount and i was instantly given VIsa (I went for Computer Science in Carnegie Mellon University).
I know i was no prepared. Can anyone suggest me more !! Look my mom was my sponsor and what she did basically my my entered 33 lakhs at once just before bring my I-20 at a new saving account. Now my problem is that should i take the same bank statement that i showed to the vo with more transactions or i will take another bank statement with that ? Or should i transfer my moms money to my account as FDR to change my status in fall session on 2014 ? I have another problem- what my mother did is this that she took out 22 lakhs out of 33 lakhs from her savings account for her business and she told me that she is gonna refill the account again making it 33 lakhs before my I-20 and beside that she will also gonna show her current account with transaction. Which would be best for me ? I need worthy suggestions, please.