<p>of course you do! unless you're canadian or from bermuda. i know you dont need a student visa that way.</p>
<p>where are you from jimmy?? also, which college are you attending? they should have sent you your I-20 and told you what to do with it!</p>
<p>Jimmy's Canadian. :<. You know, the upper part of America :P</p>
<p>And he's going to JHU :P It's on his location.</p>
<p>oh ok then you dont need a visa. hahahaha</p>
<p>I had my interview on the 17th and I got my f-1 :). It was much easier than I had previously imagined.. The consul was a really nice young woman. She asked me only a few questions, such as why I had chosen that university and what major I plan to pursue. She also wanted to know a few things about my sister, who lives in the US (job, whether she studied in the US or not). Then I gave her the statement about my parents' account to prove that I can pay for my studies (besides scholarship). She concluded that everything was fine, and that was all :). She told me to be there the next day to take back my passport.</p>
<p>As long as you have the documents mentioned on the site of the embassy, and you don't lie, it is highly unlikely that you'll have any problem. Good luck to all of you!</p>
<p>Yeah, right. Don't get scared because the officer interviewing the guy before me didn't respond to his "good morning, sir" and he got really nervous.And then, during the next few minutes, he's not even able to express himself well. Poor guy. Some officers tend to be cool but that can be scary. It feels much better when he issues you the visa and says "have a good day". That's probably the most wonderful moment of the day. And he's right, I bought a lottery and I got it!</p>
<p>Yeah dont get too nervous. There isnt really much to worry about. I dont see many scenarios where the visa will be denied. Its not a B1/2 visa where it can get denied if the interviewer think you are a "stay risk" (IE fly over and never come back). Answer the questions the interviewer asks and dont say anything you dont have to. They are not there for your benefit. Their job is solely to collect the information and analyze it according to a guideline. Your college will help you as well. Unless you totally **** up as in forgot paperwork or has been to North Korea on a regular basis for the past year (lol) you should relax. </p>
<p>p.s. When at the consulate if you have the chance look for a "good" interviewer (IE sometimes multiple window frees up). More often than not a foreign interviewer tends to be more easygoing than a native one.</p>
<p>thanks for the tip lixuelai!</p>
<p>Whats this with biometric passports???</p>
<p>I think it is just a passport lol. You need your picture taken, maybe fingerprint scanned etc. Never heard of special passports. If you already have a passport make sure the picture is taken after you are 16. Best if it is as recent as possible. This is really for when you are about to enter the US. Should not be a problem unless you are very unlucky. Iv used my green card which should have been renewed when I was 16 for like 4 trips abroad after it technically should have "expired". Never had a problem. </p>
<p>What WILL be a problem is if your passport expired lol. MAKE SURE your passport isnt set to expire any time soon. Iv known people (me included) who forgot when we got our passports and went abroad with an expired passport. No one really care when you are leaving the country however when entering it is another story. I nearly got deported from Hong Kong to Japan which would have deported me back to Hong Kong...not something you want to be a part of.</p>
<p>Hey guys, I just came back from my visa interview! and I got it (almost! because I need to turn in my brother’s copy of green card and his 2005 taxes still) Anyways, I’ll start writing about the whole interview and everything related to it</p>
<p>First of all, make sure you fill in every single space; I didn’t write anything on “who’s travelling with you” and I had to do it right there with pen. I also forgot to write my telephone number (yeah I know.. who can forget that?!.. just me) </p>
<p>I organized all my papers in two folders, and I made sure that I knew exactly where every document was.</p>
<p>So here is the dialogue: </p>
<p>V: visa interviewer
A: me</p>
<p>A: Good morning
V: Good morning, what’s your name?
A: Andrea S.
V: So tell me about why you want to study in the US
A: Because I want to get a higher quality of education
V: And why Duke U.?
A: Because it is a top in research, and it’s one of the best universities of the country.
V: What are your plans after finishing college?
A: I want to pursue my master in Oxford. That is my goal number one.
V: (looking at my sides) Is that your mom?
A: Yes, she is my mom and he is my dad
V: Do they speak English?
A: No, they don’t.
V: What do they do?
A: They are retired
V: And who’s going to pay for your education? Oh I see here (looking at my I20), your brother.
A: yes
V: What is his name?
A: Alvaro S.
V: Full name please
A: Alvaro S.
V: His full name
A: (he doesn’t have a middle name!) ummh Alvaro S.
V: His full name (looking at the computer)
A: (oh how dummy! his second last name!) oh Cer…
V: Ok, can you show me all his financial support documents please?
A: Sure ( I handed in a bank letter)
V: Do you have something else?
A: I have his bank statement ( I handed it in too)
V: (started writing really really fast on the computer) Un momentito por favor (one little moment please)<br>
A: (waiting)</p>
<p>(After 5 min)
V: (started writing with blue ink a paper) ok, I need to have your brother’s 2005 and 2006 taxes and a copy of his green card.
A: ok, I have his 2006 taxes
V: Great, so I just need his 2005 taxes and a copy of his green card then. You don’t have to pay anything else.
A: Thank you
My parents: Gracias!</p>
<p>Ok guys, I really hope this helps you in some way. The interview was far easier than I expected. Don’t be nervous and just say the truth. Finally, try your best. </p>
<p>There was a 50-55-year-old woman next to me who wanted to go to the US to visit her pregnant daughter. The interviewer told her that she didn’t qualify for a visitor visa. And this woman told the interviewer: “Why not? I’d never stay in the US because I love my country.” Then the interviewer issued her visa!
Incredible huh? </p>
<p>Ok guys, good luck! =D!</p>
<p>Thanks andriux! It helped quite a lot.</p>
<p>Umm.. i still dont have my I-20. They said that they'll send my I-20 ~6 weeks after they recieve my deposit (processed on 26th May). So I should be getting my I-20 this week or next week.. but isnt this too late?</p>
<p>you mean 6 weeks?! what?! that's a lot of time! which college is it? I got my I-20 three weeks after I sent all my financial support documents..</p>
<p>I don't really think it's too late... but make sure you know the waiting time to get an interview (in my country it is 1 day while in others it is more than 2 weeks)</p>
<p>hey guys! i also just finished my interview! it was way quicker than andrea's was though. here's the breakdown:</p>
<p>my appointment was at 7:20am, you have to be at the embassy at least an hour before your interview. So i woke up at 5 and by quarter to 6 we were already there (yeah, i was cautious. haha) anyhoo, i dont know if it's the same in all US embassies around the world, but in the Philippines it goes like this:</p>
<p>step 1 - you fall in line outside the embassy so they can check your documents. the line is usually split into two; immigrant and non-immigrant. student visas are non-immigrant (but you prolly already know that. haha) this line doesnt really read your documents, they basically check what documents there are, and sometimes they check if there are blanks.</p>
<p>step 2 - you're still outside the embassy but now there's a line to get inside. there's a color code for your type of visa (red was the non-immigrant's) so the guard at the door let's people in a few at a time. once you're in, you go through those scanner things like in the airport to make sure you dont have electronics on you. OH! i almost forgot, in the embassy ABSOLUTELY NO ELECTRONICS ARE ALLOWED. NOT EVEN CELLPHONES OR IPODS. AND THEY DONT SAFE KEEP IT. SO IT'S BEST TO LEAVE YOUR STUFF AT HOME TO AVOID TROUBLE. so anyways. once you're cleared you enter the embassy and you go to the pavillion.</p>
<p>step 3. once you're in the pavillion look for the window with your time slot posted. you fall in line there and wait your turn. at this point they'll only ask you to bring out the following: PASSPORT w/o plastic covering or any covering it may have, DS-156, 157 and 158, I-20. that's all. you can keep the rest. so when you're at the window, they just get your documents and give you a number. when you get your number wait for it to be called.</p>
<p>step 4. once your number is called, you fall in line (again!) for finger-scanning. once you're at the window, you state your full name and your birthday. once they give you the go sign, you place your left hand on the scanner (just the 4 fingers, excluding the thumb) then when it beeps, it's your right hand's turn, after that beeps, you do both your thumbs. once you're cleared, they give you back the passport, ds forms and I-20 you surrendered at step 3. DONT LOSE THE NUMBER YOU WERE GIVEN AT STEP 3, OR AT LEAST DONT FORGET IT. IT'S CRUCIAL IN THE NEXT STEP</p>
<p>step 5. after your finger scanning, you go inside the building already (the previous steps were just in the embassy grounds and not inside.) anyways, once you're in there, you again wait (this time there are chairs! :)) for your number to be called. this is where the interview happens. in the philippine us embassy, there was like a scoreboard looking thing (like in basketball) anyways it showed your number and which window you should proceed to once your number was called. i was called to window 7. </p>
<p>step 6. THE INTERVIEW! :) here's how mine went:</p>
<p>i - interviewer
v- me</p>
<p>i - hi
v- hi
i - where are you going?
v- boston university
i - and is this the course you're really set on or do you just not know what you wanna do yet? (my college is cgs)
v- haha, i don't know what i wanna do yet. hopefully i figure it out there, but right now im thinking of going into international relations.
i - and who's going to pay for your education?
v - my parents.
i - <em>sees my mom hovering behind me</em> is that your mom?
v- (im pretty sure i blushed a bit) yes.
i - hi ma'am
mom - hi! <em>mom now stands beside me</em>
i - so ma'am what do you and your husband do for a living?
mom - we're lawyers. we make about ---censored financial information---
i - <em>calculates in his head</em> ok, so where are you going to live?
v- freshman housing.
i - ok. you speak very good english
v - thank you
i - do you currently have a visa to the US?
v - yes, <em>takes out my old passport with my 10 year visa in it. (meaning i was about 8 when the picture on it was taken)
i - *gets the visa, looks at me. looks at the visa, and raises his eyebrows (i was a chubby kid.)</em> ok then go to the courier booth for your passport delivery and have a nice time in boston. stay warm!</p>
<p>and that was it. :)</p>
<p>step 7 - go to the passport courier section, fill out a form and get a number. you wait for your number to be called and you go to a window where they verify your name and address for delivery. then you pay them. it was about 135 philippine pesos. that's about $3-4</p>
<p>and that was it! it was really very simple! my interview lasted about 5 minutes. he didnt even ask for any financial documents or even what my plans where after. just my old visa and that was it. goodluck you guys! :)</p>
<p>thank you very much! and congratulations.</p>
<p>Congrats!</p>
<p>Andriuxs - So you mean we have to fill out every single box in the Ds 156/157/158??? You can't leave any blank or do you have to write 'None' or something?</p>
<p>Stuff that's not applicable can be left blank. The whole page about Jobs was blank for me.</p>
<p>Ah ok. Thanks.</p>
<p>yeah, you can either leave it blank or write n/a :) it's the important stuff they need. like address, home phone, stuff like that. :)</p>
<p>Got my visa yesterday.</p>
<p>Short breakdown:</p>
<p>Monday, 14:05, I'm 5 min late, but the line is non existant.
The lady at the counter was old and unpleasant, ^^.
14:45, a young and nice guy interviews me:</p>
<p>I: So I see you'll be in New York, nice college btw.
M: So documents do you wanna see? I got them all with me.
I: Um... no that's alright, you seem like a decent guy, <em>smiles</em></p>
<p>14:50, I'm on my way out of the embassy.</p>
<p>2 days later, my visa arrives, :D.</p>
<p>The morale: Don't worry guys, as long as you're not from Iran or something like that, you'll have an easy time there.</p>
<p>Where are you from?</p>
<p>India's not so easy, we have a few illiegal immigrants from here.</p>
<p>Also, there arE ENDLESS QUEUES.</p>