F1 Visa Stamping at US Mumbai Consulate – MBA
Successful F1 Visa stamping at Mumbai Consulate – Thanks to Vijay for posing his visa interview experience at How to get F1 Visa without 221(g)
Interview Date- 3rd June 2010
Location- Mumbai
Time- 8amVO- Good Morning
Me- gmVO- Which University?
Me- UTAWhich Program?
Me- MBA HR & OBVO- Why UTA?
Me- ExplainedVO- How many universities you had applied and how many admits did u get?
Me- Applied 9 , admits- 8VO- Name the universities from where you got admit?
Me- saidVO- I think XYZ Univ is better than what you have opted for
Me- Told VO why UTA is better than XYZVO- What was your under graduate GPA?
Me- 3.95/4VO- What is your GMAT & TOEFL Score?
Me- 670/800 and 116/120How many years of experience do you have? What was your job profile?
Me- 3 Years work experience and Explained my job profile.VO- How the program you have opted for help you in future?
Me- ExplainedVO- Do you plan to return back to India??
Me- Yes and explained the reason for returning back.VO- Where do you see yourself 10 years from now??
Me- ExplainedVO- The program you have opted for is offered in India too? Why USA only??? Why not UK, Australia or Canada?
Me- ExplainedVO- Laughed- you gave me enough reasons
Me- SmiledVO- You did your BBA & MCOM right?
Me- YesVO- What was your specialization in both the courses?
Me – BBA- Finance & HR
MCOM- Marketing & HRVO- How long will you stay in USA?
Me- I said Maximum 5 yearsVO- 5 Years?
Me- Yes- Course length is 2.6 years and 2.4 years I’ll work and earn before I return.VO- Smiled and shook his head
He paused for 30 seconds
I was scared when he paused – I thought I am dead
You gave me strong reasons and am very well satisfied
Congrats Mr.Thakkar you have been granted VISA and you can collect it from VFS today evening.
I could not believe that after such a long and stressful interview I finally got the VISA. I reconfirmed with VO that did I really get the VISA?
VO Smiled and said Yeh you did- have a party.
Me- Thanks
Evening- 5pm on the same day of interview I collected my PP from VFS and was amazed to see that VO gave me VISA for 5 years.
Usually F1 visa will be issued for 5 years. I have seen some students get visa for 2 years.
If you have completed your visa interview, please send your visa interview experience. So, far I have posted about 13 visa stamping.
Related : Visa Officer in Saudi Arabia: You Need To Tell Me The Truth
Hii vijay, first of all congrets nd my interview date is 23,24 nov 2016 i’m done my diploma fashion degree from mumbai nd also done two years experiance as assitant designer i’m not given toefl nd i’m appllying for bussiness addministration nd managment in south seattle washington nd also got my i -20 nd i’m not givine toefl nd i’m very nurves about that they ask me about toefl score nd they give me the rejecation or what??????
I can review your profile and prepare for F1 visa. Sign for f1 visa course.
Hi my state of residence is Karnataka .. I already have a b1 b2 visa which is valid for 7 years .. Now I am applying for f1 visa .. In form d160 I have selected location on chennai .. But when I was applying for the visa I got dates available only on 24 th June so I have opted for Mumbai embassy .. Is that ok for me to apply in Mumbai … Pls let me know
Lavanya, Ya that’s absolutely fine- go ahead and best of luck for your interview.
Hi – Your Visa Interview Experience is very interesting but it would be more helpful if you had written the answers that you gave for each of the questions.
I have written answers in the comments below. Check my response to Apoorv and others
Hiiiiii congrats.
I would like to know about three of your explained questions. As I have also applied for visa in this march. I also want to pursue my MS in HRM from Golden Gate University,California and you have also applied for HR. So it will get benefit to me if you will explain your answers to the following questions.
1. How the program you have opted for in future?
2. Why UTA?
3. Do you plan to return back to India?
In our field research is not possible. Even I think universities are also not offering any research project in HR. And this is my point of view. But i would like to know about your point of view. It will really help me in the visa interview.
Please guide me as soon as possible. Also give me any of the useful tips which help me to grant my visa.
thank you.
Roma, Sorry for late reply as I didn't get an email that someone has commented on my post. As you said your interview was in March- Did you get VISA? Let me know if I can help you in anyway.
Why UTA?
Answer:
1) It’s a good research Institute
2) Reasonable Fees and low cost of living
3) No extreme climatic conditions (Climate is similar to Bombay)
4) MSHRM Program at UTA is accredited by AACSB and is among selected 64 institutes that offers MSHRM program who has this accreditation.
1) How the program you have opted for help you in future?
Answer: I already have a masters in Organisational Behavior and after my MSHRM from UTA I would prefer to work for few years in an american organisation as an HR and that will give me an opportunity to understand and study global minds and personalities, work culture and value systems. Also, in later part of my life I it’s my dream to be a professor and may be after 15 or 20 years when I do my PhD my experience and education will be of a great help to me.
Do you plan to return back to India?
Answer:
Yes, but not before 5 years (Course length is 2.6 years and 2.4 years Ill work and earn before I return.)
1) I have family to support
2) After few years I’ll have the responsibility to manage my family business
Hey can I say like this if VO asks me this question?
VO: How long will you stay in the US?
Me: 8 Years.
VO: What are you saying? 8 Years is such a long duration!!!
Me: 4yrs for completing my under graduation 2 years for my MS and 2 years for job experience
Are you very much prepared or confident about your long-term goals? It can backfire in your case. This was my 2nd masters and normally people tend to work after getting a degree from foreign university. I feel your main focus at moment should be on 4 years of undergraduate. Being ambitious is good – dreams to get masters and job when undergrad is yet to be done. Focus on undergraduate at moment because your experience as an undergraduate will either create an interest or dis-interest you for masters. Having dreams and long-term plans is good but opposite person may not understand it.
hey brother,
First of all congrats to you.
I have completed my bechlor of pharmacy from India I have a good GPA i.e. 3.6 but issue is my gre score is 1020 and toefl score is 70 which is very less. Thats why i have some worry about my visa interview. So share wid me your review. Is it affect at the time of visa interview?
Thanks Ripalkumar, don't worry too much as worrying won't help you in anyway. VO may ask you why you scored less but that won't affect your chances to get VISA. I know atleast dozen of people who have got US Visa with similar scores. Be confident, prepare well and you will succeed.
Mr Vijay,
Congraz man u rock the interview,in my view you are the perfect gentle man most of the people dont come 2 HSB if their VISA granted, But you are different GOB BLESS YOU
Thanks Yoga for your kind words.
hey bro,
I too went for ma VISA interview on june and once advice to you dont ever worry about your negative pointer’s at all. See if at all the VO asks you why you got low GRE and TOEFL just tell her that this particular marks is sufficient as i got my admission in the university means put that in a more elaborate and professional way and confident too you will hit the jackpot.
hey dude
congrats on your visa approval but could u explain couple of questions. questions where u stated "explained"
dude, what was your answer for 10 years from now. i mean I'm looking for an ideal visa approval answer.
and the following questions about course being offered in India etc as well. What did you said about that.
please help out other people….
VO- Where do you see yourself 10 years from now??
Me- Explained
My answer to VO:
2010- Ill get USA Visa
2012- Completion of MBA
2012 – 2015- Will work in an MNC to gain global exposure , preferably in USA
2016- Return India and join family business
2020- Start a venture of own and diversify my family business
VO- The program you have opted for is offered in India too? Why USA only??? Why not UK, Australia or Canada?
Me- Explained
My answer:
Ill be doing my MBA HR- There are just 5 recognized institutes in India which are good for HR
240 seats in total and 2 lakh applicants
And if I go to USA 63 Institutes offer this course- approx 6000 seats available and very few applicants- so probability of being selected is high + Ill get international exposure and world class education.
My second option is Canada after USA
For UK did not get good review from my cousins who are based there + I have recruited for Fortune 500 clients, so I am aware that degrees and diplomas offered by USA are globally recognized and accepted compared to UK and Australia. Moreover, after current racist attacks on Indians in Australia my parents are not willing to take any sort of risk.
Congrats man…good job, honesty always pay….
well, even i am looking at MBA program, i applied to NZ university…didn't get good response….Now a days, so many people moving to UK for MBA and land up returning no jobs or non-satisfactory jobs :(… off course it depends on ur performance too….Could u explain me why u choose USA over UK and Canada…
That will help me in taking decision…which country to choose…
Sorry for late reply 🙁
I have worked as an HR with MNC and from my personal experience we always give more weightage to graduates from USA followed by Canada and UK. Getting in to good university in USA is tough, country is more diverse, program is for longer duration (program time is considered as work- experience) and it’s degree is globally accepted compared to UK and Canada.
Canada is good but there are few good universities.
1 0r 1.5 year program in UK is not worth unless you are doing it from London School of Business or some other tier 1 university.
Very saiuve and intellectual answer…. I surely draw some inspiration and tips from your interview. All the Best for your course, which is your MBA school? Me too going for MBA this fall in california
The University of Texas at Arlington
Thanks
Man if u could elaborate on the answers u've left "Explained" it would b helpful…coz thts where the trap is..
Check my response to other comments. I have tried to answer all the questions.
What is your GMAT & TOEFL Score?
Is it a regular question? My score is 78, does it make fault for taking visa?
78 is a decent score- mine was 116
Many of my friends who got VISA had a TOEFL score in the range of 72-83
amazing
congrats man
best of luck
Thanks
VO- How long will you stay in USA?
Me- I said Maximum 5 years
VO- 5 Years??????
Me- Yes- Course length is 2.6 years and 2.4 years Ill work and earn before I return.
Damn this is weird. Usually if u say that u are gona work in us, the visa is not granted.
I dnt knw how come in your case she has been so lenient 😐
Sunny – He spoke to truth. That take more precedence that saying I will come back right away when in fact you don't plan to come back.
speaking the truth is good but some VO are straight forward to denial when you say the truth. I think the woman or man was dreaming
No buddy, VO wasn't dreaming. He gave me hard time asking me back to back questions. It's good to answer them honestly- I had no plans to return back just after completing my MBA in USA- since I am investing so much in foreign studies, its obvious that Ill work there- earn in dollars, get international corporate experience before I return back. That's what I told him and he was satisfied with my reasoning.
Hello,
As Vijay answered the following question:
"VO- How long will you stay in USA?
Me- I said Maximum 5 years
VO- 5 Years??????
Me- Yes- Course length is 2.6 years and 2.4 years Ill work and earn before I return."
Is it always safe to tell the VO of the maximum time I wish to stay as I have seen many more students just mentioning the duration as the course duration, i.e about 2 years which sometimes cause problems later if u do not immediately land up with job after 2 years of study, but is there a chance mentioning my course duration+ work time may backfire?
Saurav, I won’t say that telling the truth may guarantee you a VISA. Lot depends on your reasoning and the confidence with which you answer those questions. After telling VO the truth, somewhere in the back of my mind I was scared that it may backfire but luckily it didn’t. And VO himself smiled and replied back that he was satisfied with my answers and I can have a party as VISA has been issued. Normally VO won’t talk to you so much.
Answer them honestly, they’ll be able to sense from your eyes and the way you speak.
Hey Vijay,
One more question you said maximum of 5 year, but what had you mentioned in your DS – 160 for the stay duration. Was it same as in your I-20 or you mentioned there also 5 years.
Please reply at the earliest
And thanks for answering to all the queries
I had mentioned 28 months as mentioned in I-20