One F-1 visa applicant said he was asked during his visa interview what he would do in Boston on Saturdays, and his visa was denied.
Amid a sharp rise in the number of student visa rejections in India, former US diplomat Yvette Bansal said it is possible for your visa to be rejected due to an unexpected informal question that you did not prepare for.
Bansal said this while speaking to YouTuber Pritish Jagani who said that he received a message from a student who applied for an F1 visa at the Kolkata consulate. The applicant was asked, “What are you doing on a Saturday night in Boston?” After the applicant said he chose a college in Boston. He was also asked how well he knew Boston.Basically, the F-1 visa applicant was asked three questions: the name of the university he applied to, how well he knew Boston and what he would do on a Saturday night in Boston.
The applicant said he applied to Northeastern University in Boston; He knew Boston well, and by the time the course would start, it would be around the start of the new year. The third question made him a little nervous as he thought about several things and then said that he would visit the library and walk around the campus and maybe study.If a visa officer asks such a question, she wants the applicant to go off script, Yvette Bansal said.
Bansal said they wanted to check if the applicant had researched their city because a serious student would do that. It is also to check whether the applicant has been eliminated, and whether it is still clear. It’s a tough and smart question and there’s no right or wrong answer, Bansal said. “There is no wrong answer.
“It should just show that you are a student and have done basic research about the city you are going to,” the former visa officer said.Regarding the overall increase in rejection of F-1 visa applications from India, Bansal said: “The administration is not keen on immigration, so there is a tightening by the state and that extends to the consulates and embassies in India. There is not a significant degree of pressure from the US to approve more visas. There is no pressure on the ambassador to direct the consulates at the embassy to approve more F-1 visas.”
“They may have been told that you need a higher level of scrutiny on these applications.”
