myUface Blog

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)

In today and tomorrow’s post I’m going to speak very briefly about two supposed reasons not to study in the U.S.  Occasionally I’ve heard these from  students.

Reason #1:  It’s too hard to get a visa

Verdict: FALSE

You do hear about a number of international students who don’t get visas to the U.S.  The process also seems complicated, filled with all kinds of strange-sounding documents like I-20s.  The truth is, though, when you hack through all the confusion, the process of getting a U.S. visa is really quite simple:

1. You apply to a university in the U.S.
2. The school accepts you and send you some documents you need to apply for a visa
3. You apply for a visa interview at the U.S. Embassy, and go to the interview with the necessary documents
4. The embassy approves your application and puts a visa in your passport
5. You get on a plane for the U.S.

Now, there are certain steps of the process which do present real difficulties for large numbers of international students.  Quite often the above scenario can become much more complicated (and throughout the year we’ll talk a lot more about visas).  But for the majority of international students the process – though long – ends in success. It’s also worth mentioning  here that many think the Obama administration may be more open to international students.

The bottom line is that, for most students,  if you’re serious about studying in the U.S., the visa process is more of a hassle than a real disadvantage.

For Your Consideration:

Have you hear horror stories of students not getting U.S. visas?  Please share them with us!

SERIES:  Why study in the U.S.?

• April 20 – Introduction
• April 21 – Diversity at U.S. campuses
• April 22 – Value of U.S. degrees
• April 23 – The Facilities
  
• April 24 – Practical focus of U.S. education
• April 25 – Variety of U.S. programs
• April 26 – The supposed disadvantages of study in the U.S.: visas
  
• April 27 - The supposed disadvantages of study in the U.S.: cost
  
• April 28 - Some real disadvantages of study in the U.S.:  it might not help in your profession
• April 29 – Some real disadvantages of study in the U.S.: will you fit in “going back?”
• April 30 – Other disadvantages
• May 1 – So, should you study in the U.S.?