F1 Visa Interview – Denied 3 Times
I tried for F1 visa thrice and I was denied all the three times; on 17th September 2010, 28th September 2010 and 3rd September 2010 respectively by 3 different VOs.
I had got an admission for MBA in California University of Management and Science (CalUMS), Anaheim, California. I have been to US before on J1 visa for my industrial training of 4 months in 2008.
Now all my 3 attempts of F1 went quite well. But all these 3 times I was given same stupid letter with 214b. I still can’t think of any flaw in my profile and am still trying to analyze what could possibly have gone wrong.Click here to read F1 Visa Experiences posted by over 30 student.
F1 Visa – First Attempt
At my 1st attempt, VO asked me general question:
VO: Good morning
Me: good morning sir.VO: (saw old J1 visa in my passport) why were u in US before?
Me: I had gone for professional training.VO: a professional training?
Me: yes. It was part of my bachelors degree curriculum.VO: where did u do it?
Me: Galveston Island, Texas.VO: in what company?
Me: IHOP @ the san luis resort.VO: When did u do it?
Me: in 2008. It was when hurricane ike had struck Texas. It was the biggest hurricane in the history of 100 years. So I hv got a unique experience of working during natural calamity.VO: did u quit it because of hurricane?
Me: no. In fact I worked there as a volunteer during that period.VO: what did u study and where?
Me: 4 years bachelors degree in HMCT from university of Pune.VO: What university u r goin for?
Me: California University of mgmt & science, Anaheim, CA.VO: what course u’ve applied for?
Me: MBAVO: why CalUMS?
Me: American universities are world renowned for their quality education. I had done my own good research about few universities (told him names of 4-5 universities). But the kind of curriculum CalUMS offers is best suitable for me and it’ll help me make my future plans come true. No other university that I researched about has this kinda curriculum.VO: but why California?
Me: I told him the universities I had researched about were in Minnesota, Rhode Island, Kentucky and California. But I liked this university more and since it happens 2 b in CA, that’s why I am goin 2 CA.VO: what are ur future plans?
Me: I wanna start my own bizness in my hometown aftr I come back to India.VO: what kinda bizness?
Me: I wanna start my restaurant.VO: Where is ur hometown?
Me: (Name of my town). couple of hours drive from Mumbai.VO: who is fundin u?
Me: my parents.VO: what do ur parents do?
Me: father is govt servant and mother homemaker.VO: central or state govt employee?
Me: central govt.
VO: I am sorry but unfortunately u do not qualify for this program. (gave me 214b letter.)
F1 Student Visa : 2nd Interview
Then I applied 2nd time. VO looked at his screen & said “you came back pretty soon eh?” & asked me same questions and I gave almost same answers. He, too, said that I don’t qualify. So I asked him whats my mistake and where am I goin wrong? He said “no Rohan u hvnt gone wrong anywhere. You are a very very good candidate but u jus don’t qualify 4 this program.(gave me 214b letter) this letter will explain u more.”
F1 Student Visa : 3rd Interview
Then I applied for 3rd time. VO lady asked me “what circumstances have changed since last time u applied for visa?” I had kept income information of my entire family (father, uncles, aunts, cousins and every1 I could think of. I had listed all assets too. Such as home, plot of land, vehicle and so on) to prove strong home ties. So I said “last time I had presented income proofs of my father only but now I hv income proofs of my entire family.” But that bitch says “2 of my colleagues hv refused ur visa twice. So I cant challenge the decisions of them. So I hv 2 refuse ur visa.” When I asked her “can I reapply?” she said “I don’t recommend to.” Gave me same goddamned 214b letter.
Now I am devastated. My career is ruined. Everythin has gone for a toss. Sometimes thought of reapplying crosses my mind but I hv heard that if US visa is refused thrice, then u’ll never get it again. And frustrating part is 4-5 of my classmates with profile as same as me have got visa for same course in same college. I passed BHMCT with 67.33 % in first class and IELTS with 7 bands.
Two of them hv degree score as well as IELTS score both lower than me. another one has a baby there in US which he had from a girl friend he hooked with when he went to US on J1 visa before. That J1 visa, too, was issued to him in his 3rd attempt. And he got his F1 visa in 2nd attempt now. He passed bachelors with backlogs. IELTS score is 5.5 and eventually has gone there for BBA now. Doesn’t he become potential immigrant as per 214b now? They gave same answers to same questions. But still they got it. So we hv a conclusion here that no1 cares for academic excellence. This is damn random process. If such students can get visa, then why can’t me? I don’t see any flaw in me when I compare my profile with them.
What should I do? I am so frustrated now. Do u really think my interviews didn’t go well? Now I am thinking about MBA in UK. Please guide me.
Possible Rejection Reasons
You worked in restaurant (IHOP) and you mentioned you are interested in starting one after coming back. Probably that could have created the thinking, you might start a restaurant in USA. Why would someone who spend s fortune to study in USA, come back to start a restaurant?
Above visa experience was shared by Rohan.
Related : F1 Visa Approved and Denied after 7 days
I totally agree, believe a reason for your rejection could have been because you said you were going for a Masters in Management and Science, but you plan on starting a restaurant. I’m not sure if that rally adds up well.
hey guys change in profile means we can add certificate courses also ????Plzz help me in my 2nd attempt VO said make some changes in your profile…??I m going to oklahoma state univfersity…
The only reason you were denied 3 times is insufficiency of proof to fund your studies in the US. You cannot satisfy the VO’s even if you collect income sources from your whole clan. Why? because they have their own families to support….
My good friend I tell yu that u were applyin for a Mba at calums is very very ludacrousness. Perhaps that is why my good fellow you were rejected. because for example u said u had thourougly checked out many many schools. Calums is not a reputable enough school to be taking a Mba. I laughted when i heard you say that.
My visa got rejected twice 214(b) for fall 2011 semester for utd.I have deferred my admit to spring 2012.
My profile:
GRE :1240
TOEFL :79
B.TECH IN CSE FROM VIT UNIVERSITY 2008 PASS OUT.
backlogs :1 in 1st year.
WORK EX:2.5 YRS WORK EX IN WIPRO TECHNOLOGIES resigned in may 2011.what are the chances of visa in 3rd attempt for spring semester .
1st vi on july 12th mumbai:got nervous and tensed. 214(b)
2nd vi chennai 04th aug:couldnt present properly about finances and home ties with in country which was there in ca report .
as vo did not ask particularly about ca report.even though i have it i couldnt show it.
showed the exp letter,mark sheets.i understood what mistakes i made.214(b) lack of home ties and insufficient funds.
guys!! Do you know of anyone who has been granted an F1 visa after 1,2 or more denials?
If you have fixed your previous mistakes in first and second attempt, you can get visa in 3rd attempt.
hello, two days ago i got a mail from USAFIS Organization saying
"We wish to notify you that you have been selected as one of the Diversity Visa (DV) Program winner for receiving a United States Permanent Resident Card. It is also known as the Green Card Lottery. The lottery has been administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) amended INA 203 to provide for a new class of immigrants known as "diversity immigrants" (DV immigrants).
As part of the agreement we will issue A FREE Airline ticket from your country to the USA to claim your Green Card under the American Green Card Lottery Program. The ticket will be sent via post mail at your address registered with us once your visa will be remitted by the U.S department of State"
and has asked 804$ as processing fee
im really confused with this mail , please any1 who knows about this do reply, as this ould also help others when they get such mails.
thank you..
Awesome Varun. If the mail is not spam..then you are selected in lottery for Green Card. Search online or talk to an US immigration lawyer.
Hello Varun,
You have to be very careful about such mails. Visa lottery results are not due to be published till May,in I have read news about scams asking people to bring money in exchange to claim their visa green card lately.If you are not certain, make sure you see or call someone from the United States Consulate,the only fee you will pay if you are actually a winner will be right inside the US embassy itself.Any other form of payment through money-gram,western union or bank draft to an external body in London or any other country is completely fraudulent.Be careful.
Green card lottery is not for people residing in india..beware !!!!! did'nt you know mr. hsb !
I'm certainly aware of that. How can I conclude based on his Name alone?
– If Country of birth is that counts, doesn't matter if he's living in India.
Thank you HSB , follower and Boman for replying to my message…
sorry for mentioning only my name, im from India.
yes, i will speak to the US immigration lawyer . Sir the USAFIS website says it takes 5000 students every year from all over the world but why doesn't it take from India???
if anyone has ever received such mails ever, please contribute your views
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/typ…
THIS IS RIP_OFF! Do not send money. My daughter got same letter so USCIS must not secure their mailing lists and criminals mail out these false letters since there “is a sucker born every day”!!!
When I studied in USA in 2000, all this was not required… I think they should remove all this VISA requirements if they want to continue to attract talents
brother …this was same exp. wid me …u got 3 rejections …i also got the same 3 at delhi consulate …..at counter no. 14 ….so need not to worry …i tried another country ie. south korea and got the visa …switch to another country…and u know what i got 60% schol in lamar univ . texas and here in south korea i got 100% tution waiver with stipened …so dont loose heart……..give ur best again ….
Probably at first time you said, your parents are sponsering.So as Goverment officer they know salary basis and in terms of fees at Universities in USA are very high.so rightaway they think that you will stay there.Next time go for fall 2011 intake.try to add sponser who own business in your family.so they feel you have solid background and you will come back..Good luck
hi my visa got rejected on 6thjan 2011 interview gone as
me:good morning sir
vo:goodmorning h r u
me;fine sir
vo:wat s ur passed out
me:2010 sir
vo:who is sponsoring u
me:my father sir
vo:k wat is ur %
me:58 sir
vo:do u have any backlogs
me:yes sir 6 bl
after this vo talk with me for a min and said u better try next time
vo:betterluck next time i think u got it thats it
now waht can i do any one help me
pls helpme reply to this mailid:[email protected]
I think, it is very easy to know why such an idiot guy got rejected.
See the way you are typing, it has nothing to say about professionalism.
I advise you to hire better writers.
Sorry to hear about your experience. But, I would agree with the above response. The single most important factor that worked against you is your working at IHOP. Although it was part of your curriculum but the VOs see it as a way for you making some money and then returning to India.
Giving them financial credentials of your aunts and uncles would not help. I guess you have to prove your worthiness. Which would be your GMAT scores or some kind of scholarship from the university. This would prove to the VO that you are serious about your MBA and are actually an asset to the university which is why they have offered you scholarship or an assistantship.
Mr Rohan,
I feel your pains man.But I can assure you that people have got theirs after the fourth attempt,I have a friend in the states now that had same experience.The last interview was kinda harsh,but she still ask you what has changed since then,that was your opportunity to prove a point.What works for one person might not work for you believe me so try as much as possible to be very unique with your answers.Like your answer about why did u choose your school was a little bit shallow,you don't choose a course because you like it,what do you like about that course?,you also just don't choose a school because you like it,what do you like about the school?.Next time you can say something like you learn better by hands on experience and the school curriculum is tailored for that,thats better.Also you can tell them that your long term goal is to become an entrepreneur,employing people but you will business skills from an MBA,it sounds better than saying you want to open a restaurant.Remember first impression matters.Give it a shot.good luck.
Hi dude sorry to hear that, dont worry, i'll tell u something
One form of energy is converted to another form.But energy cannot be created nor destroyed…..
Can you please help me to write out a personal statement?
Dude sorry to hear about your experience even i have been refused visa twice and now waiting to schedule my appointment for the 3rd time but unable to find dates, now thinkin to establish an industry of my own now, i hope even ur things will go fine in just few days..
but one thing is clear the US consulates are rude for some one like us, but i am sure that US is not the only option for a future…
all the best…
It is a very frustrating experience as I can understand. I think firstly this Calumns university is a low grade CPT offering university which is not lost on the VO.
2ndly you were able to convincingly answer the question about why this particular univ itself. I think more thought on making it unique would have helped.
Once the pain has subsided you can consider going to Canada which is similar to USA and even try from there after spending a year or so there to transfer to USA.
If you do find the inclination please send me some feedback about this Calumns and how you applied to it. I would appreciate that.
My first thought is y will u want to do MBA in US to open a restaurant in an Indian TOWN? If it is in Mumbai then may be it is ok bcoz lot of foreign nationals and multi-cuisine restaurant might make some sense. But even this might not satisfy a VO. So better option is to choose a different business and city oriented.
Hi Rohan, I recommend that you read this.It might help you
in getting a visa,hopefully. http://www.path2usa.com/us-visa-refusal-denial-an…
But just to put it in a nut shell,the probable reason of ur visa
refusal was either: 1.the inability to convince the VO that you
would return to India or 2.you didnt possess an INS extension for
your stay in the US during that hurricane period, which is
explained as follows: If the applicant has traveled to the U.S.
previously, how long did they stay? If they stayed longer than 6
months, did they have INS approval to do so? (Note: Please have the
applicants bring their INS extension approval notices to their
interview). Either way,the VO wanted to know how your current
situation was different from your last attempt for a visa which
highlights the fact that they were willing you to offer the visa if
you could convince them of having strong ties to your home country
(point #1 as i mentioned before) or the possession of an INS
extension(point # 2). I hope its one of the above mentioned clauses
that were a hindrance to your visa approval so that after fixing
them,you are issued a visa to pursue your education.
Godspeed
Don’t be so upset. I see you tried very hard but the rejection should not be any hurdle on achieving future careers. Why you don’t try to another countries like Japan or Germany? These are also a good option for you and if you really want to visit to the USA, you had better wait about 1 or 2 year till something changes. If you get you masters in those countries and if you are professional applicant in your fields, you will be given a chance to work and study if you want. I mean you should do something that even Immigration and USA consulates must give a visa!
Ok good luck!
Hi
I think the main reason of your rejection r the answers for the questions
1)who is funding you ?
2)what do u r parents do ?
Am not sure but to my experience in the past I have seen lots of guys getting rejected for that kind of answers bcoz the visa officers will check for a strong background bcoz in any situation you have to survive there right
So better change your way of answering
Don't be so upset. I see you tried very hard but the rejection should not be any hurdle on achieving future careers. Why you don't try to another countries like Japan or Germany? These are also a good option for you and if you really want to visit to the USA, you had better wait about 1 or 2 year till something changes. If you get you masters in those countries and if you are professional applicant in your fields, you will be given a chance to work and study if you want. I mean you should do something that even Immigration and USA consulates must give a visa!
Ok good luck!
Hello Rohan,
I am going to be very BLUNT with you. You mention academic excellence, were you referring to yourself ? I cant help but laugh to myself, no offence but you cant really call a profile with 66.7% from a tier two University in India with a 7 IELTS an excellent one !
When the VO in the first interview asked you why you wanted to be in CA, you dint really answer the question. You just said that you considered the other states but because this was in CA you chose CA. This does not really speak highly of a student who is going to be an MBA grad soon !
You chose to say the wrong things, Volunteering during a "natural calamity" as you put it may be unique, but "unique" is not quite the word for such a situation. A softer, more pitiful word would have done you better.
I am sorry you could not get your Visa, but I am sure you can re apply next year. The 3 time reject = lifetime reject is bull crap. They will ask you what has changed from this year to the next, and I am sure you will be able to think of something better to say next time !
Good Luck !
lol!! i go with HSB’s answer!! what’s the necessary to have highly professional education in order to start a restaurent!!
@Elgun "Usually it happens in in the mornings they are
sleepy." Do you think applying for a visa is like listening to
morning bhajans? I want an answer from you mate
Sourish:
This is not case as a real fact but ti happens in any countries. In small countries or very less developed countries they usually are not responsible and personal emotions can have an effect on this. This has happened to me. I got refused fist time with the same person in the morning when he was too angry to me and after 4 days without doing any change at 12 o'clock I got the visa with just one question. This is possible when you are appointed in the morning.
First of all the whole thing about 3 rejections means you can never apply again is bull. Second of all, be specific about you college! Make sure you tell the VO about your profs, the subjects you want to study most, etc. when he asks you about college! What exactly was "quality education:, etc etc.? Every VO knows that if an Indian is applying to studies in the US, he's looking for a better degree!
Thirdly. I did not study in the % system in undergrad, so I dont know how good/bad 67% is. But why dont you concentrate on YOUR achievements rather than worry about your friends? Honestly all I remember from the post above is that your answers were decent, but I can remember more about you cursing your friends and also using language thats not exactly appropriate on a public forum. Yes I understand you are pissed about it, but all hope is not lost! Maybe it turned out for the best, maybe you were supposed to do 2-3 yrs work in India, and get into an awesome coll there, a coll which no VO can reject!
whoops !!! i did some mistakes while wriitng the post
below…sorry for the hast ! Apologies Mr. HSB !
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO ME ROHAN ! i had a even more
stonger profile than your's Chap but as i went through your
experience…it was like that i had wriiten this…peole who were
less deserving got the visas dat that.[read mt thread.."they were
unfair" " they were unfair again " i was refused twice…and many
hypocrites here in this forum rebuked me for the answers dat i had
given….my interview was pretty smooth….but pal ! i feel for
ya….your answers were pretty good …then why the heck ?
Well It sometimes feel like random process. However I think
few answers might have lessened your chances. May be you went wrong
in Mentioning about natural calamity, showing assents of uncle aunt
cousins n all and of course the one HSB mentioned (under 214B) .
Bolster yourself n try for UK or Germany unis. Gd luck.
@HSB, perfect reason.
I am so sorry but I laughed a lot when I read your three denies. I am also preparing visas for US and UK embassies of my students. I see these cases a lot in the UK and US embassies. Sometimes they act illogical in refusing or giving visas.
Sometimes, it goes wrong because of many reasons we do not know. This is not the case with your financial case. Usually it happens in in the mornings they are sleepy. But overall, there is no logic of it at all.
Restaurant is a problem actually and I think your IELTS as well. Americans do not like IELTS at all and the same British does.
I think give a break and re apply but this time answer slight differently and find other business to do after coming back. Do something social and something useful for all environment.
I think that would help. Please let us know when you get it.
what rubbish are you writing here ? get some
education…..ban this insensitive man MR.HSB
Thats a tough situation and Im sorry to hear about it.
There is no point in trying to analyze the reasons now unless you plan to apply again- Hereare some of the possible 'general' reasons– http://www.path2usa.com/us-visa-refusal-denial-an…
However, you should not lose faith and maybe its opening another door somewhere else. UK MBA programs are good too and gets over in a years time. So maybe, thats a direction which you can think of.
@HSB– Arent Immigration supposed to encourage foreign entrepreneurs?? (Even if he wanted to start his restaurent in US, isnt that an incentive to give him visa because he would generate income here and will be paying taxes for US???— Just thinking outside the box)
Yes, there is an EB6 Visa category for Entrepreneurs if you can invest 500,000 or 1 Million.
Rohan, u never know when what might happen. It is true that the entire process of giving out F1 visas is very random, and unpredictable. But don't be disheartened. I have heard of people with such poor calibre getting visas in the first go. At the same time I have heard of people with excellent profiles getting rejections loads of times. If ur lucky, and the visa officer u approach the next time is good enuf and listens to ur case entirely, u might stand a chance. I also think that u re-applied too quickly all times. This might have shown that ur desperate to enter USA. Relax, take a short break, defer ur admission, n till then build up ur profile in india, by workin somewhr and reapply with a stronger base. don't be too frustrated. U'll soon know it was for the best.. All the best with ur future!!
Ammy is right…