I am sure you have been through a ton of websites and guides to prepare you for the interview of your lifetime, to say the least. I put together a comprehensive guide to help you prepare for the day based on my experience.
I came to US in the December 2021 and started my MS in computer science degree at University of Houston in January 2022. The journey from admit to travel wasn't an easy one to say the least. There are a lot of emotions and uncertainties involved, every single day, about every single decision you make. In midst of all this, there are a lot of people giving you advice. I am sure anyone that's preparing for the interview will definitely go through a series of mini anxiety attacks when you scour through sites ranging from Quora to Facebook groups to blogs and a bunch of people who made it here. I am saying this with confidence because I went through the same series of anxiety attacks every time I searched about these interviews on Google or Bing (Yes, I still use it. Do not judge, I have bad days too!).
These people sharing experiences, good or bad give a lot of advice in the end and some with a detailed dialogue-by-dialogue conversation of how they sat and the questions they asked (verbatim) and the answers and their opinion to as to why they got selected or rejected. It feels good to read the selected ones, but when you read the rejected ones it's highly possible that you would imagine yourself in that scenario and possibly cannot fathom as to why one person was rejected and the other selected for the same set of questions and answers.
Let's look into a small step-by-step guide I put together to get to and through that day.
Disclaimer: These steps are based on my experience and precisely what I followed.
Step #1 - Get your checklist ready
There's no such thing as less checklists. Draw out to pens and pencils and highlighters and get ready to prepare 3 sets of this checklist. If you already have a list, even better. It's fancy and easy to do a checklist on your phone or laptop, but I insist on writing it down, all 3 times. Since you can't copy paste and you are forced to write all of these items, there's a high chance that you'll memorize these items and can do a last-minute check even if the actual list is not present with you. One bonus is that those 3 pieces of paper will teach you responsibly handling the papers that you have to carry as you have to keep track of them.
These are set of documents that you have to take
Passport (Old and new)
Visa interview appointment letter
SEVIS fee receipt
Proof of Visa fee payment (MRV fee payment confirmation)
I-20 from the University (a copy sent to your email by the University because of the pandemic)
Financial documents
Degree documents
Letter of admission from the University
Proof of employment (your relieving letter or employment acceptance letter)
GRE and TOEFL/IELTS score
DS-160 (Not required for the interview, but necessary for fingerprint VAC appointment)
2 Passport photos
Financial documents
Consolidated bank statement on bank letter head obtained not before 6 months
Last 3-year tax return filed by your parents
Last 6-month bank account statements of earning parent(s)
Last 6-month salary slip of earning parent(s)
If self-sponsored based on salaried income,
Your last 6-month salary slip
Your last 3-year tax returns
Your consolidated bank statement
If self-sponsored on business income,
Letter from CFA consolidating all your and parents assets (not necessary, but recommended)
If on loan,
Loan sanction letter (if on loan)
Copies of asset documents against which loan was taken
Degree documents
10th and 12th class certificates
Bachelor's and/or master's degree certificate
Vocational or any other degrees
I suggest you have the documents in this order, 1 through 12, with 1 at top and 12 at the bottom.
I divided the set of documents into two parts
The Originals
The Copies
(Tip: Do not confuse "The Originals" with that TV show with handsome vampires. Just saying!)
Originals are usually your degree certificates and bank documents
Always carry the originals in one folder and the copies placed in order in another folder.
Step #2 - Know yourself more
Understanding the course that you will doing and the courses that you wish to take is the first and foremost thing to do. Before you can justify why you are going to pursue the course to an officer, it is important that you can justify it for yourself. These are some questions that you can help you better:
Why did you apply for that particular course?
Why that university?
What are the courses that you wish to pursue in the University?
What's the relation between the course you will be doing and the degree and experience you have?
If you have chosen to apply in a particular state, what was the reason behind it?
If you applied for only one or two universities, why only those?
What will be your employment prospects when/if you come back to India immediately after finishing your course?
Step #3 - Get the numbers right
Anything and everything money related should be on the tip of your tongue. This mainly showcases that you are confident and know your entire situation, both academics and financials alike. It is okay to know how much you are spending in your local currency. Just have an idea of approximate dollar amount, rounded to the thousands.
Here are some numbers that you have to be thorough before you go in:
Loan amount, rate of interest and repayment period (if you have taken a loan)
I-20 amount and total tuition fees (in dollars and local currency)
Living expenses (in dollars and local currency)
Split of funding methods, how much is being funded by your parents and you (if self-sponsored)
Tip #4 - Confidence is the key
All that matters in the end is how confident and genuine you are in your answers. Keep your answers simple and to the point. If it's a simple yes or no answer, reply it with yes or no. Keep in mind that every person gets interviewed for 5 minutes or less. So it's important that you listen to the question and keep the answer brief if it requires some kind of explanation.
There's one more word of caution here. Since there will be a lot of people before you, you can see people coming out with white slips or green slips and if you are near the interview area you can hear the questions others before you are getting asked. Not all of them will be asked the same questions, so do not prepare yourself to answer those questions.
In fact, I tried not to look at people's colored slips when they came out. When closer to the interview booths, I tried to not hear what others were asked (which is very difficult)
DO NOT get discouraged or encouraged by the decisions of people ahead in the line.
Step #5 - Breathe in! Breathe out!
Finally, don't forget to breathe. It might sound silly, but is quite essential. When you stand in that long line, there will be a lot of people talking around you, sharing their friends' experiences or something that happened in some other embassy. At this point, knowing something happened elsewhere doesn't help you and remember that it's all about you and the outcome is individual. Every time you feel nervous breathe in and breathe out and remind yourself that you are confident and will put your best foot forward. Also, don't forget to hydrate.
So, all in all,
If you have scheduled an interview already or just looking into how the interview process might be, let me warn you that there will be times you can go a little overboard with the overthinking, but rest assured it will all be fine at the end. Now, some of you might say "It's easy for you to say, you got lucky". For those fellas, I say, "Hang tight. You never know your luck"
Good luck :)
S.
P.S. If you feel that I have missed something or gotten some of the facts wrong or want to share some thoughts, email me at tsindhu24@outlook.com
P.P.S. Yes, I still use outlook, I like the look and feel of it. Now don't give me that look!
Keep up the Good Work.....
Thanks❤️