Fall 2018- F1 Student Visa Experience: (Chennai Consulate | San Jose State University | Electrical and Electronics Engineering- Approved)

Applicant Profile:

University: San Jose State UniversityProgram: MS in Electrical Engineering

Chennai ConsulateDate: May 2018Result: ApprovedCounter Number: 27Visa Interview Transcript:

Arrived at the consulate at 6 AM and gained entry at 7:20 AM. The queue was quite manageable because it was the early morning slot (morning slots are highly recommended), and the weather outside was comfortable.

The consular officer was a young woman in her late 20s. I happened to be the first F1 student applicant of the day and stood at the front of the lineVO: Hi! Good morning! Pass me your passportME: Hi officer! Very good morning! How are you? Here is my passport (along with my I20)VO: I am doing well. So you are applying for an F1 visa?ME: Yes ma'am!VO: Which program?ME: Master's in EE focusing on the field of networksVO: Which institution?ME: San Jose State University

VO: What was your undergraduate major?ME: Electronics and communication engineering(I felt very nervous at this moment as I had trouble hearing clearly)

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VO: Why San Jose (with a smile)?ME: Ma'am, this university offers 14 distinct courses aligned with my area of interest, whereas other institutions provide a maximum of only 7 relevant courses. They feature subjects like this. Furthermore, I am extremely eager to study at the Cisco networking lab, cloud computing lab, (and mentioned a few other labs), which will help me acquire deeper practical expertise in my chosen field.VO: That is wonderful. (She looked impressed, typed continuously for several minutes, and stepped away briefly)ME: (Wondering about my response and feeling very anxious and tense. I thought she might be consulting someone regarding the course curriculum)VO: (Returning) Who is sponsoring your education?ME: My parents are sponsoring me, and I have also secured an education loan of XX lacs.VO: What is your parents' occupation?ME: Professionally, my father is an advocate and my mother works as a sericulture extensions officer (scientist)VO: What is their yearly income?ME: So and so lacs.VO: What are your objectives after completing your master's?ME: I plan to return and work as a network engineer at my current employer, and my long-term objective is to join prominent telecom clients such as Jio, Reliance, Airtel, Vodafone, Cisco, and Intel back in India as a senior network engineer.VO: Nice (she stepped inside for another minute and came back)Then came the wonderful words..VO: I am approving your visa! Have a pleasant stay in the US. I will keep the passport.ME: Thank you so much! You made my day. Have a great day ma'am.(I accidentally left my I20 behind, she reminded me of it, and in my excitement I barely heard anything else, grabbed my I20, and left quickly)I was completely overjoyed.