Message: 7 Date: Tue, 11 Jun 2002 00:05:47 +0530 From: "Santosh Kumar Cheekatmalla" Subject: Important VISA questions for Chennai Consulate -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Important VISA questions 1.. where are you heading to ? 2.. why do you want to go to USA ? 3.. why that specific university ? 4.. whats u r major/area of intrest ? 5.. Whats u r undergrad college ? 6.. whats u r % of marks ? 7.. Is that distinction in u r university ? 8.. whatz toefl score ? 9.. whats u r gre score ? 10.. who is funding u r education ? 11.. what is he(sponser) doing ? 12.. whats his annual income ? ( better that be above annual liviing expenses ) 13.. how does he plan to fund you ? ( if annual income < total expenses :: Say from savings) 14.. do you have any siblings ? 15.. what does they(siblings) do ? r they married ? 16.. do you plan to study Phd after MS ? 17.. do you intend to work after MS in US ? 18.. do you plan to study while u r working ? 19.. do you intend to come back after your studies ? 20.. why would you return back to india ? 21.. U r a student from CS and have good credentials why would you return back to india ? 22.. for what is u r Univ famous for ? 23.. who are famous people from u r Univ ? 24.. who are famous people from state of u r univ ? 25.. for what is the state of u r univ famous for ? 26.. do you know any one from US ? 27.. do you know any one from u r Univ ? 28.. have you contacted any professors in ur univ ? 29.. have you got any aid from u r Univ ? 30.. what is annual expenses of your course ? 31.. how long do you intend to say in US ? 32.. whats the duration of your course ? 33.. what are sources of your finance ? ( Byheart CA stmt. ) 34.. do you own a car ? ( 34-37 are just intended to test whether u r lying by cross questioning , even if you lie , LIE cofidently ) 35.. what is its Number , model , yer of purchase ? 36.. do you own a two wheeler ? 37.. what is its Number , model , yer of purchase ? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tips and Tricks a.. Even if you have younger sister/brother , say u have elder brother/sister and he/she is married and he/husband of sis is working in INDIA. b.. even if you know any one residing in US say you know none in US. c.. even if you have not contacted any professors say you have contacted. d.. learn abt research areas in our major at your university. e.. Be confident and positive throughout . f.. dont contradict your previous answer in u r next answer. g.. even if grace period is mentioned in u r I20 say duration of corse in 2 years however you get visa for 5 years. h.. byheart CA stmt b4 going to consulate i.. write u r name address phone no passport no at back of DDs j.. sign both i20's b4 going to consulate k.. Be relaxed and dont show that u r desperate to go to us l.. Avoid going to NANCY American Negro looks like a muslim lady dresses in black, chances of visa if you go to her 10% , approx interview time : 30 mts ( She will not just reject you , she will also convince you that your going to US is waste and better u stay in INDIA ) m.. You can go to bald head french beard guy , drills but finally gives VISA , chances of visa if you go to him 75% , approx interview time : 30 mts n.. You can go to non-bald head, french beard guy , gives VISA easily , chances of visa if you go to him 95% , approx interview time : 3-5 mts o.. You can go to 6'2" guy , young , lean guy ( clue he always stands ) , gives VISA easily , chances of visa if you go to him 95% , approx interview time : 3 mts p.. Clue to change Q if you get in to nancy's line : wait for few mts. in line then slip out of Q for water placing u r docs in near by chair and return back after few mts. and join Q of u r choice. (trusted method followed by my friend) q.. avoid calling the officers Sir as they are vexed and irritated listening to those. r.. avoid saying pardon , come again , i didnt get you , Just say something expecting question based on document in his hand . They get irritated when you say pardon , come again , i didnt get you , If you guessed wrong question he will question you again. s.. Watch the lips of the person while you are at counter as you will not able to listen to them cause of bad quality of speakers, you can atleast guess question from lip movements , at worst you can atleast understand he is asking you something. t.. dont give more information than needed or asked by them. u.. answer only to question , do not try to justify u r answer unless asked. v.. do not let u r answers contradict values from your Statements w.. keep toefl score card folded if u r GRE verbal is better than Toefl score. x.. keep a summary statement highlighting u r academics and scores if you have gr8 scores and academic credentials. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AFTER ALL THIS YOUR CONFIDENCE MATTERS THE MOST BEST OF LUCK FOR ALL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adieu Amigo PyArA Santu ---------------------------------------------- Santosh Kumar Cheekatmalla ---------------------------------------------- ----------- Message: 23 Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2002 04:14:42 -0000 From: "renju_is" Subject: Chennai Visa - Tips Hi, This mail is just to inform all of you that I got my Visa on June 13th from the Chennai consulate. Id like to thank all those who've helped/guided me with my preparation. Well, many of you had asked me to put down my tips/suggestions as to how I went about the process, and what I encountered during the interview, so Im writing this mail. Please read it esp if you are yet to get your visa, and are apping from the Chennai Cousul. Else ignore it. 1) Prepare standard answers to the regular questions. I mean, we do not have to be dumb to know ATLEAST the basic questions that they could ask, so it helps to get prepared... a) Why WISC-MAD?/Why US?/Why this Field? The primary choice for my selection of this univ is the COURSE. I was keen on doing Computer Architecture and VLSI since my first year. In fact, I even did my Final sem project in Embedded Systems cos that is the closest technology to VLSI design available in India. WISC-MAD is known as the temple of Computer Architecture. Moreover, Prof. ______ and ________ are working on _____ which is directly my field of interest. So, hence my choice is obvious. (most of what I said was crap! Basically, keep talking till u think Uve convinced the officer, or he asks u the next question) b) Why are U going to come back?/What are your future plans? I firmly intend to come back and join the Circuit Design industry after my M.S. Moreover, my parents have been here for the last 50 years, and I, being their only son, do not intend to leave them for a period longer than my M.S. degree. Besides, we have a lot of ancestral property, both in Madras, and Kerala, where we hail from, and being their only son, I stand to gain all that they possess. So, it is my duty to look after them. Also, many companies like Real Chip, Intel, _____,_____ etc. are pumping millions of dollars into the research industry in India, and my M.S. degree will give me the edge over the others, and I intend to grab that opportunity. (again its basically rambing till u think the officer is convinced. Note that U do NOT vex the officer and that your answers are specific. In fact, the above para was the answer that I prepared, but I stated only 2 lines of the above para.) 2) Remember that the PRIMARY and Universal question that every officer is asking at the Chennai consul is for the monthy/annual income of Ur father. If U have both ur parents working, firmly state that BEFORE U mention their COMBINED salary. Dont make the mistake of mentioning only Ur dad's salary, esp if it is <=Rs. 20,000per month. When I was at the interview, i saw a person having documents worth 1.3 crores getting rejected, cos his dad didnt draw a salary. Remember, esp if Ur dad is retired, to somehow prove that he is doing consultation work and that he draws a steady salary. 3) If u have a bulk entry in your passbook through an agent or stuff, rather than saying Ur dad is retired, or that u received a gift lumpsum, tell them that Uve had FD's that have matured in private companies/banks along with SB from other banks and that Uve broken/matured the amounts and have put them into a single bank just for the VISA purposes. They know that not everyone has all their money in a single bank, so Chill. 4) I showed a total 11 SB lakhs from 6 different banks. So, dont worry about putting all the money in a single account. Of course, it helps, but its not critical. 5) NEVER EVER say that someone from the US is going to sponsor you. Ull probably get 90% rejected. The visa authorities are waiting for a reason to reject people and U present it in a platter. All they'll say is POTENTIAL IMMIGRANT. 6) Something I saw as a general view, is that the average scores of people around me were between 1700-1800. Of course, there is the occasional dude with 2300+ and the dud with 1200-, but those are exceptions. a) If any of you have 2000+ scores and/or have a good Univ (top 50), the chances of reject are minimal. Of course, if Ur dad is retired, it is a setback, but generally, unless Ur in a real financial mess, U are through. b) Those who have scores of 1700-2000, see if you can highlight some point, like Ur acads, Ur Toefl score, Ur Univ Uve been admitted to, esp if its a good one, and your financial position, if U can muster enough funds. People who have scores of 1700-, please prepare thoroughly, as the chances of a reject this time, unlike last year, are quite high. c) those who have some sort of aid, even if its a semblance, like 30% from a low rated univ, generally got their visas. 7) Going to any officer is OK, except the Muslim/scarf wearing lady. She must be notoriously famous by now. Actually, I know my friend who changed his queue at the embassy. Its no big deal changing Ur queue, but I suggest U do so only if U end up being at the queue for the muslim lady. i) dont rush to change Ur queue. Appear relaxed, wait for sometime, and when the guard turns his back to you, ONLY THEN try to change queues. I know of people who were embarassed by the guards, if they were found doing the same. 8) God forbidding U get to the unfortunate queue, do NOT panic. Something I realised is that this lady, is not as bad as people made her out to be. If you have scores of 1900+, and a good univ with her, u are mostly through. She just checks ur documents esp your financial papers. The key is, DONT PANIC, but appear confident. That's half the battle won. 9) Finally, as much as I wish that each and every one of you go to the US, it is sad that this is NOT possible. Remember that God has NOT willed it that way. So, if U dont get through, remember that probably God has a BETTER plan for you. I know this may sound philosophical, but its true. Most of us must have slogged our asses out for the GRE for a year, and then spent another year apping. To be bumped at the fag end of this journey is really disheartening. Many people break down at the embassy and have to be carried out.. But going to the US is NOT the end of the world, so also, getting bumped. Pick up your pieces and carry on... Cos Life's a journey. Im not describing any other procedure/details, cos they have been wonderfully described 9sometimes, even with diagrams) by the guys in their earlier mails. I sincerely wish to thank this group for the immense benefit that Ive gained from it. I am unsubscribing myself from this group, so if anyone wants some suggestions/help, Id try to help in any way possible by me. Please mail me at renju_is@yahoo.com {renju_is(at)yahoo(dot)com}. All the best to all of you. Take Care and God Bless. Ranjit P.S. - My credentials are.. Univ of Wisconsin at Madison - Electrical Department 2090-GRE, 280-TOEFL 74%-Madras Univ (Sathyabama Engg College)