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Today we’re going to conclude our brief series on preparing for a visa interview by looking at what you can do in order to prove to the consulate that you:

1. Are going to the U.S. for a legitimate reason
2. Have the financial ability to support yourself while in the U.S.
3. Have strong and permanent ties to your country

Tip #1:  Documentation

The most effective way to prove all of the above is through documentation.  Bring as many documents as you can, and have them well organized so you can refer to them quickly.  At the beginning of the interview, you might want to consider asking the consular officer something like, “Excuse me, sir [or ma'am], I brought a number of documents showing my ties to [my country].  Would you like to see those now or later?”  Chances are the consular won’t ask for them immediately, but starting out the interview this way shows the consular officer that you are serious and prepared.

What kind of documents should you bring?  This will be different from country to country, so check the website of your Embassy.  Generally speaking, you want to bring financial documents that show you have the resources to cover your study in the U.S. (bank statements, certificates of ownership, etc.), and then documents that show you have strong ties to your country.  These documents could be many different things.   Do you own property?  Do you have a spouse or children?  Has a local employer offered you a job on your return?  Do you have significant investments in local businesses?  Are you active in your local community as a volunteer or a leader?  Documents that answer any of these questions can be a big help.

And of course, don’t forget the most basic visa documents – the I-20 from your university in the U.S., your visa application, etc.

Tip #2:  Truthfulness

One of the biggest mistakes applicants make is thinking that they have to conceal certain information in order to get a visa.  If you lie during your visa interview, and are caught lying, you will not get a visa.  Maybe not ever. Be sure to be 100% honest on your application and in your interview.

Tip #3:  Professional Demeanor

Be sure to follow common sense guidelines about maintaining a professional demeanor.  Dress well, show up on time, and be polite.  Don’t overdue it, however – if you come to the visa interview 2 hours early, dressed in an absurdly expensive suit, and nervously answer all questions with “Yes, ma’am, thank you, ma’am,” it’s going to look like you have something to hide.  So be professional, but within the boundaries of common sense.

That’s It?

Yup, that’s it.  The truth is, the process for obtaining a student visa in the U.S. is pretty straightforward.  That doesn’t mean it’s not difficult.  If you want to have the best chance of moving through the process without any problems, throw out all the conspiracy theories, spend time on your U.S. Embassy’s website, prepare your documents and application with care, and be professional.

Good luck!!!

Posts in this Series

1. Preparing For A Visa Interview, Part Three (This post)
2. Preparing For A Visa Interview, Part Two - 15 Jul
3. Preparing For A Visa Interview, Part One - 14 Jul

Yesterday I said the “secret” of preparing for a visa interview was straightforward and available to all international students.  I even claimed that this secret was contained on the webpage for your local U.S. consulate!

What secret am I talking about?  Here is the introduction to the “Non-Immigrant Visas” page of the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan:

It is the applicant’s responsibility to provide all necessary information and documentation for the Consular officer to make an appropriate decision.  During the interview, each applicant should be prepared to explain to the Consul the purpose of the intended trip and present evidence of sufficient funds. Applicants also need to convince the Consul that they have strong and permanent ties to Uzbekistan, such as a family, job, property, etc., which would demonstrate their intent to return to Uzbekistan after their stay in the United States.

Four immediate things jump out:

1. It is your responsibility to demonstrate your suitability to receive a visa.  The consulate will reject your application if you do not fulfill that responsibility.  This means that you need to properly fill out your application, and bring all the documents you need.
2. You must be able to explain to the consulate the purpose of your trip to the U.S. (in this case, to study in a U.S. university).   As part of this, you may need to show that you are sufficiently prepared to study successfully at your chosen institution.
3. You must present documents that prove that you or your family have the financial resources to support you during your stay in the U.S.  (these might include business registrations, licenses,  tax documents, as well as original bank books and/or statements).  If you are the recipient of a scholarship you will need to present evidence of that as well.
4. You must convince the consul – again, through documentation – that you have “strong and permanent ties” to your country, ties so strong that they will compel your return after your study.

Should you fail to fulfill any of the above four points, you will not get a visa. I think a lot of students probably get tripped up by thinking that, if they just focus on two or three of these points, they’ll be OK.

Another thing students need to realize, is that the burden of proof is on them. This is not a process in which the consulate begins by assuming you should get a visa, and then looks through your files checking for problems.  Actually, the opposite is true:

Under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, a visa may not be issued to any applicant who is unable to overcome the presumption that he or she is an intending immigrant by demonstrating the above factors to the satisfaction of the interviewing consular officer.

In other words, by law, your visa interview will start with the presumption that you should NOT receive a visa.  You are responsible for convincing the consulate that you should receive a visa.

This is the “secret” of the visa interview.  Not such a secret, right?  There is no magic formula.  Either you prove to the consulate the four points enumerated above, and you get a visa, or you don’t, and you don’t.  It’s difficult, definitely – but it’s not hard to understand.

Tomorrow we’ll talk a little about how you can go about proving the above four points effectively.

ONE VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Each consulate is going to have additional requirements of visa applicants.  These requirements are going to be slightly different for each country.  Before you apply for a visa, YOU MUST THOROUGHLY REVIEW THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE U.S. EMBASSY IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY. Do not rely on overviews (such as this one) as your sole source of information.

Posts in this Series

1. Preparing For A Visa Interview, Part Three - 16 Jul
2. Preparing For A Visa Interview, Part Two (This post)
3. Preparing For A Visa Interview, Part One - 14 Jul

As we move into the summer, many international students, who have already had the good fortune of being accepted to U.S. universities, are now preparing for their visa interviews.

The visa process understandably causes international students a great deal of stress.  Every year you hear terrible stories of visa delays – or even of outright refusals – that negatively impact students.

In order to help those students who are currently preparing for a visa interview, we at myUface thought we’d put together a short, three part series on the visa interview and how you can give yourself the best chance to pass it.

In today’s post – Part One – I’m going to explore some misconceptions of the visa interview process, and speculate as to how those misconceptions arose.  In Part Two we’re going to look at what it is a visa interview is designed to prove, and in Part Three we’ll look at strategies for succesfully conducting your own interview.

The Most Common Misunderstanding About The Visa Interview

The single most common misunderstanding about the visa interview is that there is some secret, some strategy, or some trick that you have to know in order to “pass” your interview.   On international student forums a common question I see is, “How do I answer in order to pass my visa interview?”

This questions assumes that there are correct answers – that there are a set of things that, if you say them, will convince the consular officer to give you a visa.

In some countries, people go so far as to accuse the consulate of outright corruption.  The secret, they say,  is that you have to give money.  Or you have to know someone.  Or you have to be a member of a certain political party. And so on and so forth.

These misconceptions arise because the visa process very rarely provides any feedback to those it rejects.  It’s rare that a consular officer will tell you, specifically, the information he or she either found or did not find that led him or her to deny your application.  Without concrete information, students who are rejected are forced to guess about why they were rejected.  It’s not surprising that they come up with a number of ideas that aren’t really accurate.

This lack of information is further taken advantage of by unscrupulous companies or individuals who claim to have all the answers. They prey on the uncertainty of others, claiming to be able to “promise” that you will pass your visa interview, so long as you pay for their service (and that service might be interview preparation, filling out forms, whatever).

I have a suggestion for all international students:  throw out the idea that there is a secret formula, or a conspiracy.  Accept the possibility that the visa process for international students is very straightforward.

You can even find the “secret” of the visa interview on the webpage of your U.S. Embassy!!!

Tomorrow we’ll talk about the reality of the visa process, and what information it’s looking for.

Posts in this Series

1. Preparing For A Visa Interview, Part Three - 16 Jul
2. Preparing For A Visa Interview, Part Two - 15 Jul
3. Preparing For A Visa Interview, Part One (This post)

Yesterday we shared a brief excerpt from Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat, in which he talked about the skills you need to succeed in a globalized world.  Today, I’d like to share another excerpt, in which Mr. Friedman discusses the ways in which U.S. universities support exactly these skills.

Before I do, and for the benefit of those interested in the ongoing debate about globalization (what it is, whether it’s good, etc.) I want to mention that Mr. Friedman certainly has his critics (for example, here).  Nonetheless, his views are valuable at the very least because they represent a strong current of thought regarding globalization and its impact.

With that disclaimer out of the way, here is Friedman on U.S. universities (with a big assist from Bill Gates):

It is a truism, but the more educated you are, the more options you will have . . . “Our university system is the best,” said Bill Gates.  “We fund our universities to do a lot of research and that is an amazing thing.  High-IQ people come here, and we allow them to innovate and turn [their innovations] into products.  We reward risk taking.  Our university system is competitive and experimental.  They can try out different approaches . . . It is a chaotic system, but it is a great engine of innovation in the world . . .”

“America has 4,000 colleges and universities,” said Allan E. Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education.  “The rest of the world combined has 7,768 institutions of higher education.  In the state of California alone, there are about 130 colleges and universities.  There are only 14 countries in the world with more than that number.”

. . . [I]n 2003, American universities reaped $1.3 billion from patents . . .

In other words, U.S. universities innovate and take risks in order to adapt to a changing world. What’s more, because of the sheer number of universities, they do so on an unprecedented scale, and in a vast array of fields.

For that reason, if you are interested in sharpening you skills in terms of innovation and adaptability, you won’t go wrong by investing in a U.S. university for your higher education.

Here at myUface, we continually recommend to international students that they give serious, prolonged thought to their future careers before they apply to U.S. universities.  Doing so will focus your thoughts during the application and essay-writing process, and lead to a better, sharper application – one with a much greater chance of being accepted?

We hear from students quite often, however, that thinking about what they plan to do so early on in their lives is a difficult challenge.  Before introducing today’s blog post, let me first of all say, that’s OK, you can always CHANGE your career plans – but it’s still a good idea to have some!

Beyond that, though, I thought it might be useful to give all of the readers of the blog an insight into where the global economy is headed, as a tool for you to use in thinking about your own careers.

The following is excerpted from Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat, a national bestseller here in the United States that introduces us all to “globalization.”  I would recommend that anyone interested in understanding the global economy today, and the direction in which it’s headed, should buy this book.  For now, I wanted to focus on two sections:  one (today) about the skills that workers of tomorrow are going to need in order to be successful; and the second (tomorrow) on the ability ot the U.S. educational system to impart those skills.

What Skills Do You Need To Survive In A Globalized World?

The way to succeed [in a globalized world is] . . . by upgrading your skills and making the investment in those practices that will enable you . . . to claim your slice of the bigger but more complex pie.

You have to constantly upgrade your skills.  There will be plenty of jobs  . . . for people with the knowledge and the ideas to seize them.

You actually want to become really adaptable.  You want to constantly acquire new skills, knowledge and expertise that enable you constantly to be able to create value . . . . Being adaptable in a flat world, knowing how to “learn hot to learn,” will become one of the most important assets any worker can have . . . because innovation will happen faster.

Atul Vashistha, CEO of NeoIT, a California consulting firm . . . has a good feel for this:  “What you can do and how you can adapt and how you can leverage all the experience and knowledge you have . . . that is the basic component for survival.  When you are changing jobs a lot, and when your environment is changing a lot, being adaptable is the number one thing.  The people who are losing out are those with solid technical skills who have not grown those skills.”

In short, it’s not enough to simply know information or possess skills.  You have to know how to be able to use those skills and apply them to new situations.  You also have to know how to learn new information quickly and efficiently.  The watchwords of the age are:  innovation and adaptability.

And as we’ll see tomorrow, these are precisely the attributes that U.S. universities specialize in cultivating in students.

In the United States, large, “public” universities – universities that are supported in part by the government – are, generally speaking, supported by state governments.  The University of Texas, for example, receives some level of financial assistance from the government of the State of Texas.  Each state usually has a few university systems – with many different campuses scattered throughout the state – each receiving state money.  In Colorado, for example, you have both the University of Colorado and Colorado State University.

Now, state governments support these “public” universities so that they might provide quality, affordable university education to residents of that particular state.  The universities, in turn, offer what is called “in-state” tuition to residents.  In-state tuition is a discounted tuition rate offered only to residents of a particular state.  Residents of another state have to pay more to attend that particular university.

So, for example, if I live in Denver, Colorado, the tuition to go to the University of Colorado would be approximately $7,000; if I live in Boston, Massachusetts, the tuition would be approximately $26,000.  THAT’S A DIFFERENCE OF $19,000 / YEAR, OR $76,000 OVER FOUR YEARS!

Holy Cow!

“But,” you say, “What does this possibly have to do with me?  I don’t live in Colorado, or any other state.  So all you’re telling me is that I’ll be stuck paying the higher tuition.  Thanks a lot!”

Not necessarily!  Some university systems have established rules that allow them to offer in-state tuition to international students.  This is one of the largest potential sources of financial aid.  As the above example shows, if you are accepted to a state university that provides you with in-state tuition, essentially you’re receiving a scholarship worth – in the above example, at least – $76,000!!!

A few things to know about in-state tuition discounts for international students:

• Not every state school offers them
• Sometimes you have to wait for your second year to be eligible for the discount
• Many in-state tuition discount programs operate like scholarship competitions, with only the best students getting the discount.  There may even be a separate application process to get the discount.

The bottom line is, if you’re applying to a “state” or “public” university – and we’ll have a post later this week on the different kinds of U.S. universities – make sure to ask them if they have a program that offers in-state tuition to international students.

A student wrote to ask if there’s such a thing as asking too many question sof a university – especially when it comes to financial aid.  The student is afraid that asking too many questions might annoy the university representative, and hurt his or her chances of being accepted to that university.

The answer is that sure, at some point you should stop pestering university staff about financial aid.  If you ask about scholarship opportunities and loans, how other international students finance their education, etc., and you receive all the answers, then at that point there’s really not much more the university staff can tell you.  At that point asking more questions might seem a little pushy.

But in general, so long as you are polite, and so long as you remember that the university admissions staff has thousands of students they work with, and not just one (you), than you should feel free to ask as many questions as you want.  Remember, the job of admissions staff is to find qualified, talented students and enroll them in their university.

So while there is such a thing as askign too many questions, the much more common problem international students have is not asking enough!

We just completed our long series on Financial Aid yesterday; as a follow-up, I wanted to share with you the information a particular university has on its website regarding financial aid.  I think you’ll find that many universities offer similar information.

International Students are not eligible for financial aid from the U.S. government.  If you receive a FAFSA Form, please disregard it.  This form is for U.S. Citizens only.  However, international students can receive financial assistance through private loans.  Please contact a Financial Aid Advisor for the most current information regarding the availability of private loans.

Reading this, many international students would become discouraged.  It seems to say, We have no aid available, loans are your only option.

But it would be a mistake to let the matter rest there.  You need to be persistent and investigate every possibility if you’re going to get financial aid.  If you read this from a university you’re interested in, call them and ask the following questions (remembering to be polite!):

1. I understand from your website that I am ineligible for financial aid from the U.S. government.  Does your university offer any scholarships on its own?
2. Do you know of any scholarships for international students at your university sponsored by organizations in your community?
3. How do international students generally finance their education at your university?
4. You mention that I might get a private loan.  Do you work with a specific provider of loans?  Do you have any advice about how I might go about getting a loan?
5. You mention I should speak to a Financial Aid Advisor.  Can you give me their number?
6. Can you put me in contact with a current student at your university who receives financial aid or loans?  I’d love to hear their experience.

After taking careful note of these answers, remember to say thank you!  And then follow-up on all the information you received.  Chances are, the opportunities for financial aid are much more extensive than the short paragraph on the website would lead you to believe.

To conclude our long series about financial aid, I wanted to take a step back from all the information about scholarships, tuition waivers, loans and so on and ask a very basic question:

What is a U.S. education worth?  What is its value?

And the reason I want to ask that is this:  many international students approach studying in the U.S. as something that would be “nice,” provided they can get financial aid.  “Sure,” they say, “I’d love to study in the U.S., but only if I can get a scholarship.”  These students are not placing a high value on U.S. education, since they are in effect saying that they would only study in the U.S. if it were free.

Well, for the vast majority of students, it’s not free.  Period. Like it or not, most of you will have to pay a significant portion of the bill for your studies.  Whether that portion is 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% will depend on your ability to sucessfully secure financial aid; but the chances of getting 100% of your education funded are pretty slim.

So, you need to ask yourself, how much are you willing to pay, to sacrifice, in order to get a U.S. education?

In answering this question, it’s useful to think of education as an investment in your future.  A better education will, generally speaking, get you a better job, with a higher salary, and more chances to make a large impact, which could lead to an even higher salary, etc.  In trying to quantify exactly how good an investment education is, some have suggested that the “return” on education is between 10 and 15%:

Private rates of return . . . range from 10 to 15 percent – levels that are competitive with returns on most alternative investments available to individuals.

Now, of course, like every investment, for this one to work you, the investor, have to make good decisions.  You have to research career paths, select a good university and program, and maintain the value of your investment through hard work and study.  But, assuming you do all these things, you can expect a healthy return on your educational investment.

Keep that in mind as you look for financial aid.  Remember, it’s great if you can find someone to help pay for your university study; but the person who has the most to benefit from your education is you, and so you should therefore consider investing your own money as well.

By combining your talents and funds with modest assistance from the different sources we’ve talked about, you can make your dream of studying in the U.S. a reality.

Posts in this Series

1. Your Education is an Investment (This post)
2. Researching Scholarship Opportunities - 07 Jul
3. How to Ask Questions About Financial Aid - 28 Jun
4. Ninth Option for Financial Aid: Loans - 27 Jun
5. The Difference Between Scholarships and Fellowships - 26 Jun
6. Eigth Option for Financial Aid: U.S. Universities - 25 Jun
7. Seventh Option for Financial Aid: Ethnic Communities in the United States - 24 Jun
8. Sixth Option for Financial Aid: Private Organizations in the U.S. - 23 Jun
9. Fifth Option for Financial Aid: U.S. Government Programs - 22 Jun
10. Fourth Option for Financial Aid: Scholarships from International Organizations - 20 Jun
11. How to Ask for Support - 18 Jun
12. Looking for Support in Your Country: Why it Makes Sense - 17 Jun
13. Third Option for Financial Aid: Individuals in Your Country - 16 Jun
14. Second Option for Financial Aid: Private Businesses or Foundations in Your Country - 15 Jun
15. First Option for Financial Aid: Government Programs in Your Country - 14 Jun
16. The Third Step in Financial Aid: Find What's Available - 11 Jun
17. The Second Step In Financial Aid: Identify Your Assets - 10 Jun
18. The First Step In Financial Aid: Identify Your Needs - 09 Jun
19. Finding Financial Aid for your U.S. Education - 08 Jun

What is the best place to learn about financial aid for international students?  The question is difficult to answer, as there are a bewildering array of websites, books, magazines and other resources that claim to be the best source for information on the topic.  A quick Google search for “international student financial aid” reveals hundreds of possible sources of information.

In this post, then, I’m going to focus on four places you can go for information.  Two are online resources, and two are “actual” places with “actual” people to help you.  This is by no means an exhaustive list of all financial aid resources. Rather, it is a starting point for you to investigate financial aid opportunities.

Educational Advising Centers

Your local Educational Advising Center.  These centers are supported by the U.S. Department of State, and exist to “advise prospective international students and other audiences on higher education and study opportunities in the United States.”  They give you access to all the online and hardcopy financial aid resources through their libraries.  They also serve as a meeting place for students interested in studying abroad.  Finally, they are staffed by Educational Advisors, individuals with an in-depth knowledge of the process of applying for and receiving financial aid.   If you have an educational advising center in your area, it is probably the best place to begin your search for financial aid opportunities.

The website of the U.S. Embassy

The U.S. Embassy website in your country will have a section called “Education and Culture” (or something very similar).  There you will find a wealth of information about studying in the U.S.  Here, for example, is a list of financial aid links for citizens of Thailand, compiled by the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok.

The information you can find at the website of the U.S. Embassy in your country is valuable because, first and foremost, it is specific to your country. If there are scholarships offered by your government, for example, chances are these scholarships will be listed on the Embassy page.  Embassy web pages will also provide links to the more reputable web sites offering financial aid information.

The (international) admissions offices of the universities to which you’re applying.

Here are a few simple questions you should ask to every single university to which you’re applying:

• What financial aid is available for international students through your university?
• How do international students at your university generally finance their education?
• Are there any potential sources of financial aid that you would advise me to look into?

Admissions officers – especially if they specialize in international students – are used to students in need of financial aid.  As such, they have probably developed a very good sense of what financial aid is available.  If you ask politely, they will most likely help.

Scholarship Databases

There are a number of online databases of scholarships and other financial aid opportunities.  These databases will match you and your educational goals with potential scholarship opportunities, and list for you the financial aid for which you’re eligible.  A few things about these databases:

• They do not include every source of financial aid, so do not rely exclusively on these sites for your research
• A number of these kind of sites charge a fee.  DO NOT PAY.  The free versions of these sites are as good – if not better – than the pay versions.
• Many sites require you to provide a lot of information before you can access the database.  This is so they can more accurately “match” you to scholarship opportunities.

To get you started, here are two sites that are quite good, generally speaking:

1. International Scholarships – basic scholarship search.  You need to register in order to get access to scholarship details.
2. FastWeb – good information, but you need to go through a lengthy registration process to access it.

Stick to these four resource at the outset.  In the course of your research, you’ll undoubtedly come across other resources. If you ever come across an invaluable site or resource, please let us know about it (by e-mailing us at blog@myuface.com or leaving a comment).

Happy hunting!

Posts in this Series

1. Your Education is an Investment - 08 Jul
2. Researching Scholarship Opportunities (This post)
3. How to Ask Questions About Financial Aid - 28 Jun
4. Ninth Option for Financial Aid: Loans - 27 Jun
5. The Difference Between Scholarships and Fellowships - 26 Jun
6. Eigth Option for Financial Aid: U.S. Universities - 25 Jun
7. Seventh Option for Financial Aid: Ethnic Communities in the United States - 24 Jun
8. Sixth Option for Financial Aid: Private Organizations in the U.S. - 23 Jun
9. Fifth Option for Financial Aid: U.S. Government Programs - 22 Jun
10. Fourth Option for Financial Aid: Scholarships from International Organizations - 20 Jun
11. How to Ask for Support - 18 Jun
12. Looking for Support in Your Country: Why it Makes Sense - 17 Jun
13. Third Option for Financial Aid: Individuals in Your Country - 16 Jun
14. Second Option for Financial Aid: Private Businesses or Foundations in Your Country - 15 Jun
15. First Option for Financial Aid: Government Programs in Your Country - 14 Jun
16. The Third Step in Financial Aid: Find What's Available - 11 Jun
17. The Second Step In Financial Aid: Identify Your Assets - 10 Jun
18. The First Step In Financial Aid: Identify Your Needs - 09 Jun
19. Finding Financial Aid for your U.S. Education - 08 Jun