Visa experience(includin checklist)

my interview was scheduled at 0930hrs, chennai US counsulate. i reached there by around 0830 hrs with my dad, which itself was a bit early bcos the security guard over there told us that gettin in b4 15mts of the schedule is more than sufficent). so we spend a while together chattin outside the counsulate tryin to ease up the mood. there were lots of other students walkin in with their harmonium folders n best suites on the hot mid-may day of chennai. the clock ticked 0910hrs n we decided to cut short the chatter to get going. after giving dad my handbag with mobile phone etc, i head towards the security room holdin my harmonium folder. i was asked to show my appointment letter and passport at the counter there. after verification, i was led into the counsulate thru heavy metallic doors(makin me feel like part of a hollywood bank robbery scene!). i was guided to a security check room at the entrance. guys were checked at the entrance itself while gals had to get it done in this room.

from here i entered a room full of queues where all the visa experiences stories that i had read on various blogs flash in my mind. i walked in with a smile feeling gud that by doin enf homework, i have already gone thru these procedures virtually in my mind..but for the settings and ppl, this was the very picture i had in my head. while i stand musing at my vivid imagination, a security guides me to the counter no. 8. there were 3 ppl ahead of me in the queue waitin to talk to the man across a glass window in the counter. there r mikes on either side of the window n a small tray below the glass window for us to slide in n out the documents across it. there's also a small box kept beside the mike. we are asked to place both our hands one by one and then the thumbs separately on it for fingerprint extraction. i keep watchin the same thing being repeated for the 3 ppl before me. in these counters all types of visa applicants were present. there were families, old ppl, students and who not. the man across the counter pins together the DS 156, 157, 158, i-20, hdfc receipt, sevis fee receipt, appointment letter with us n puts it across to us in a blue folder thru the tray.

f/h visa applicants r directed from here to another buildin were we see a long zig zag queue. i was told earlier by a family friend working in counsulate that sometimes when its very busy, interviews r done at a counter itself rather than a room, and that was wat i saw there. the long long queue ended in 3 counters where the visa officers where seated like the earlier counter officers, across a glass window with a tray below it. there was also a different counter for fingerprinting alone with a separate queue - dint understand wat was its purpose!

the first window visa officer was a middle aged chubby man wearin casuals, but with a very serious look in his eyes. he dint seem to me like a man who cud b easily pleased. the middle counter had a very pleasant young man in casuals again, as the officer. he seemed to resemble bill gates in his young age, a lot. he exchanged pleasantaries with candidates and seemed very friendly n amicable. the last visa officer's glass window was obstructed from the queue's view, but frm the lil i cud hear, it seemed like a lady on the other side. its a known fact that women r harder to please(gals pls forgive me here..hehe), so i was jus hopin that i get to the middle counter in the end.

the queue was unbearably long. i was findin it hard to get thru the queue with nothin to do at all. everyone in the queue seemed very tensed, silent and serious. so pickin up a converstaion looked odd in the atmosphere..there were sure many handsome guys n pretty ladies..but how long can one stare at the very same faces! then i got into a very fav pastime of mine when in a crowd. i am basically a gal of short stature. i keep comparin my height with anyone i c tryin to console myself that i am not so short compared to the avg indian woman. now that i choose to study in US, i am sure gonna b a pigmy there:( lol..so i started studyin the statistical distribution of heights of ppl in that room, categorisin them differently each time..wat a way to kill time! but even this ardous work got done in a few minutes time and i was left blank again with a long queue in front!

there were announcements for tamil interview requesteers to go to another room for the interview..it was then that a well dressed pleasin US guy walked in introducin himself as mark freigh(that is wat i made out frm his accent!) to the crowd. he was a senior visa officer doin the job for the past 17 yrs. he was a very friendly n jovial person. he talked to us in length abt the whole process. his talk put us all in ease n was a welcome change to the borin wait to get to the end of the queue. He claimed to b 51, but wud never pass for one;)

by now, the queue had advanced considerably and i cud start overhearin the interviews in 2 of the counters. most of them were interviews for workin guys lookin to go to US for some project related to their work etc. they seemed to b clearin it easily with a lil questions asked abt the proj, relevance of their work etc. the first counter's chubby officer, as i had predicted seemed to b hard to get thru. a punjabi gal had walked out with tears in her eyes as her f1 visa for medicine studies got rejected:( i started gettin apprehensive. but the bill gates officer rejected only one guy durin this whole time. i started wishin real deep that i wud b put thru to him. for f1 visas the questions were mostly abt finances. the officer keeps typin somethin on a screen when we r speakin, and if he is affirmative of issuin visa we r asked for our fingerprints on a similar box again here and the passport which is in the blue folder is kept with them. else the blue folder excludin the passport is taken by them. all i was hopin for was to not get the passport bac.

time drags on like never before. slowly but steadily i advance my way thru the sluggish queue n reach near its end. thankfully, the 2 interviews b4 me get over at the same time at each counter leavin me a chance to choose a counter for myself. i pleasantly rush to the bill gates officer and the conversion goes as thus:

VO: hi. how r u?
Me: hi. fine. thanks. how r u?

meanwhile, i pass the blue file thru the tray.

VO: i'm doin gud. so, u r plannin to do MS in univ of colorado. y do u wanna study in the US?
Me. yes. the education in US appeals to me for its high quality, research opportunities and state-of-the-art laborotories. I wud like pursue my higher eduation in such an atmosphere.

VO: y this particular university?
Me: this university is pretty well ranked for the course i've opted for. also, the opinion of my seniors who have been to the university, have been very encouraging.

he smiles at me as though i am delivering a pre-prepared speech;)

VO: how do u plan to finance ur education there. the requirement seems high with 40k USD per yr.
Me: financin is not at all a prob with my sponsors - my dad n mom.

VO: wats ur father?
Me: he's a director in the Indian Meteorolgical Dept. Its an Indian central govt job and he earns a steady income.

VO: wat abt ur mother?
Me: she is a homemaker, but has rental income frm various properties.

VO: but is this all enough to cover such a big educational expense at this university?
Me: my dad also has sufficient provident funds(GPF). This is a covering letter i've prepared puttin all the details in a gist.

i pass the letter thru the tray.he takes a quick glance

VO: if its for me to read and find out then there wudnt b any need for us to meet rite? so, y dont rather u explain these urself to me, Anila?
Me.: Sure. (and then i give the details of the figures produced, in detail)

now, he asks me to show proofs of GPF statement, bank balance sheet, pass book entries, salary slip

VO: how does ur father have this much money saved frm jus his annual income?
Me: we have many other sources of income like frm immovable assets, rental etc. also, my parents have been plannin the savings since a long while for financin the children's education.

VO: k. do u have any siblings?
Me: i've a brother.

VO: wats he doin?
Me: he's doin his first yr engineerin course in allahabad, india.

VO: wen did u complete ur Btech degree, anila?
Me: i'm in the final sem of my course and my exams r due this may end

VO: oh! but we need a provisional certificate statin that u have successfully completed ur undergard course!
ME: i've got my course completion certificate and also the issued time table for my exams. i'll surely b completin the course in due time

takes a blue form from a bundle of the same kept there and starts fillin it while talkin to me

VO: but anila, its not possible to issue a visa without the provisional certificate. i'll give u this form now. ur case seems alrite to me and u need not come to the counsalate again for an interview. but u need to come bac with ur provisional certificate, this form, DS forms, passport and i-20 to the VFS centre n leave it at the drop box there. we'll process it and courier u the visa issued passport, if there's no other prob.
ME: k. thank you so much.

he hands me bac my passport, and i walk off frm the counter. though it was almost like i cleared the visa interview but for the missin document, i dint feel any elited bcos i was given bac my passport..it was engraved in my mind that only rejects get bac their passports:(

i came out of the counsulate and seein my gloomy face dad assumed its a reject. He came to console me n only then gets to kno its a witholdin based on section 221 g..he seemed relieved hearin that, which set me too feelin better. Hopefully my univ provides me the provisional certificate in time for me to get to boulder in time:)

oh my! i scroll bac n find a long long long entry!!! for those who r stil awake, gud luck with ur interviews:)

here r some tips:

1. Stay cool n composed
2. Sound confident
3. Eat well before gettin in as u'll have to stand for a long time in the queues n it can leave u exhausted for the D-moment
4. Dress comfortably. need not be totally formal. In my case the interview was across a counter, so they dont even get to c half of u
5. Smile when u approach the officer n say 'Hello' or 'Hi'. Given the 1000 odd ppl they need to interview in a day, a smile is a soothin welcome.

and here is a checklist of documents to b taken for the interview(almost the same order for submission):

1.Passport
2. Appointment letter
3. HDFC fee receipts(both the yellow and blue slips)
4. DS 156, 157, 158 (dont forget to paste ur fotograph on 156. sign both 156, 158)
5. i-20 (dont forget to sign the i-20 too)
6. SEVIS fee receipt
7. TOEFL score sheet
8. GRE score sheet
9. Degree certificate(or provisional) - the one i dint have!!!
10. Marklists of X, XII
10. Letter of affidavit (mine was a joint affidavit frm dad n mom on stamped paper(20rs) and notified)
11. CA statement assessing our assets
12. Dad's GPF statement, Salary slip, IT return forms for 2 yrs, Bank Statement, Passbook, Kisan Vikas Patra sheets and other financial documents supporting my claims
13. Separate marklists of every semester of undergrad education and other supportin academic documents

Hope i've not missed out any important detail. 'll update it if needed.
Do rite in for any more queries...