Visa Power - Go Get it!!!

I’ll just start over with my visa experience from the very beginning for the sake of ppl who still haven’t taken a date. I’m assuming that you guys have all the necessary paper work ready and have already submitted the online portion of form DS-156/157/158 (and maybe the SEVIS fee as well) - If you want more detailed info on how to fill up the form and other stuff about the visa application in general, drop me a line over here.

A few things to keep in mind while paying up the SEVIS (www.fmjfee.com) (Student / Exchange Visitor Information System) and the visa application process in general:

1. It seems that US consulate has received huge sums of money from Microsoft Corp, cause the damn VFS site does not seem to work at all (past the login page) in Firefox or any other open source standards compliant browser. That was a huge huge huge setback for a supporter of open source software like me. I run Linux (Ubuntu) on my PC and had to work my way around all this by introducing minor hacks into my system config. Bah!! I’m going again into all that technical stuff.

Moral of the story - Use the buggy (I can’t help criticize Microsoft) Internet Explorer to fill up and submit your visa application (I expect more Microsoft scandals once I land in USA)

2. SEVIS Fee: Paying up is a very simple 4 step process and there is no need to guide you in this, but the most important part is when you make the payment. SEVIS will send out a receipt for the $100 fee via regular mail (unless you specify a $30 express mail option - which I find totally absurd) and as you might have guessed by this time, regular mail takes eons to reach its destination. Never fear, cause we have our friendly neighborhood superhero - the desktop printer, to our rescue :razz: (My sense of humor sucks, but that’s what you get after spending 5.5 years in Med School)

Just make sure that you take about 4-5 copies of the SEVIS fee receipt when it is displayed on your screen (As a rule of thumb, make 3-4 copies of your Interview letter and SEVIS receipt)

All the other documents (except SEVIS fee receipt) can be downloaded to you PC for printing at a later date. Once you submit the online application, you will be presented with a choice - whether to print the documents right now or email the documents to your specified email address. If you have your friendly neighborhood “printer” around, then go ahead with the printing of copies right then and there. If you chose the email option, you will receive an email the next second with a link to the VFS site from where you can view and save your PDF documents for later printing. There should be a total of 6 documents to print

The Application process:

When you’re done with your application and printing, you have to submit your documents to your local VFS office (if there is one in your city - I dunno what to do if there isn’t any). You should have printed the checklist that came included in your email link. Go through the checklist and check that the documents you will enclose are in the correct order, sign the check list and go to the VFS office.

Once in the office, you have to just submit all these at one of the counters and they will give you a confirmation. Depending upon your city of residence, you will be offered a Rs. 200 per head package by the VFS office. Basically anyone from out of town will come accompanied by at least 1 relative and this package is a must have for all those ppl. It includes a nice locker facility, changing rooms, AC waiting lounge and a pick up service to the consulate for students and their parents/guardians ( Did I forget to mention an abysmal cheese sandwich thrown at your face and a good cuppa hot coffee, courtesy CCD ? ) All in all the package was a good bargain and I took it. They will give you entry coupons and I suggest you place it in your travel bag the moment you reach home (I forgot to take it along till the last minute when I was in the loo going through a mental checklist - They don’t call Loo’s “Shouchalay” - Thinking rooms, for nothing).

And you’re done… Now that was easy. Wasn’t it?. I would recommend all you guys visit immihelp to find accommodation places near your consulates and book rooms in advance. The site is nice to find other relevant information too.

I would vote for Hotel Royal Classic near Kemp’s corner for anyone coming to Bombay Consulate. The place is damn cheap but with good facilities at the given rates. 900 bucks for an AC room is just unbelievable in a city like Bombay. The room was a bit small but if you’re looking for a bigger room then ask for their 1500 per day rooms (Enough about hotels - none of them pay me to advertise them :sad: )

The D-day:

Try to sleep well before the D-day (It helps if you’ve got Fashion TV on cable - I wonder if there is something like that for the gals too). I reached VFS office 45 minutes prior to my visa interview call (7.45 AM) and they let me in exactly at 7.15 sharp. So there’s no point reaching there very early - Just be there 30 minutes prior to your interview time. Once you’re in, they will collect your pass and offer passes to anyone who did not purchase any at the VFS office previously (it’s all about commerce these days). You’ll be directed to a closed AC room overwhelmingly smelling of coffee, with a ample seating and possible a huge TV (At least it was there at the Bombay VFS office) - which played Himesh reshimya’s songs (I think it is their plan to test our mental and auditory strength before they let us in the consulate).

You can change, freshen up and put your valuable in the lockers provided. When the time is right, a security guard will come and announce the departure of the VFS bus for students scheduled at a particular time. The bus wasn’t exactly like one I had imagined. It was just a mini bus with greasy seats which smelt of dust. But you probably wont smell it that time cause by the time you reach the consulate (which is 2 minute drive from VFS Bombay), you will be drenched in the unearthly, hot and humid Bombay weather which will divert your attention (Seriously, I can’t see why ppl have such a craze for that place - no offense to my fellow students from Bombay). I just can’t imagine the plight of students & relatives who did not take the VFS voucher and had to stand in a very long queue outside the consulate for a long time in such a hostile weather. I thank my stars that my interview was at 7.45 AM (I would have died of dehydration if it were somewhere in the noon).

We were ordered to stay seated in the bus until we were called out: Single females, Couples and then Single males (It’s like we guys have committed a crime by staying single - mental note to myself, get married soon). Finally I came down and we stood in a short queue where we were instructed to keep our appointment letter in hand for a security check. For the sheer sake of amusement and my newly found interest into stage drama, I will divide the next part of this dramatic experience into 4 acts.

Act 1: The security check

The curtain raises and we find that our hero is standing in a queue with what seems to be a piece of paper and a very weird expression on his face (somewhere in the background someone farted). He enters the security door and is asked to remove all metal objects from his body. He obliges by removing his watch and pen, tries to enter the security door but is stopped by the guard.

“My dear sire, you need to remove your belt too”

“Art thou kidding? this iota of leather is what keeps me from embarrassing myself in front of ppl.” (I have lost 1 inch of waist recently)

“Thou shall comply to the rules my sire, there is no exception”

Our hero obliges and with blushed cheeks removes his belt with fingers crossed hoping that his pants wont slip down. Miraculously, as if there was a greater force working, the pants stayed on. (Either that, or the fact that I took a deep breath that made my tummy swell).

Moral of the story - wear tight pants and avoid belts if you can.

Curtains falls

Act 2: The internal queue

The curtain raises and we find our hero standing in a long queue wearing his belt back on. A young gentleman comes up to him and asks him to keep his passport, I-20 and interview letter in hand.

A voice in the background - “Cut the crap, just type it simple and comprehensible.”

(Our investigations later revealed that this was the voice of the author’s fingers which were tired after 2 hours of typing)

So back to my basic style of writing. You will be handed over the original documents that you submitted at your local VFS office and will be directed to a window for fingerprinting.

(There goes your plan to make it big in the US mafia. I was planning to join MS-13 but now that they have taken my fingerprints, I’ll just study public health and finish up my MD in internal medicine.)

Once you are fingerprinted, the officer will ask for all your documents and give you a token number. You’ll be asked to wait.

Curtain falls

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Act 3: The long and noisy wait

The curtain rises again and we find our hero looking for a comfortable seat amongst the chaos at the embassy.

Expect total chaos and din at the consulate. There will be ppl ranging from 1 month to 90 years applying for the visa. Needless to say that you need to be cautious of these extremes of ages. The seating arrangement is adequate and you just need to settle down on any empty seat that you can spot first before someone else behind you does.

Vishwas’s 3 Testaments for seating

1). Thou shalt not talk to strangers (Concentration is the key at the consulate. You token numbers are called out only once or twice and if you miss out, dont worry, they will take your interview at the end of the day - be prepared to explain why you missed out earlier)

2). Speakst only to guide (If anyone comes over and asks, dont be a jerk and stay mime. Tell them to go to the security desk and ask questions over there)

3). Take corner seats - I’ll need to elaborate on this one

I warned you of toddlers and octogenerians because of a simple reason. The kids will be making too much noise and runing around here and there. You might miss out on your token number announcement if a damn kid decides to shout at the very same moment (The devil has it’s agents working at the consulate too). The same goes for the elderly. Its not their fault that they cant hear properly, but neither is it yours (stop being a Samaritan). They will continuously ask you whether their number was announced or not. So the best seating option is to pick a corner seat, where you might end up with a noisy neighbor on one side at the most.

I personally sat next to an ugly bloke who was constantly picking up his nose. I had a choice to sit next to a volumptous & beautiful girl just 3 rows ahead of me, but then I might have just looked at her and missed out on my announcement. Avoid sitting next to any gal if possible (If there is any lady reading this - To make my stand clear, I am no Misogynist). The same goes for girls too - avoid sitting next to a good looking boy (Although I doubt if you’d find any cause I have already given my interview and dont have any brothers) Vishwas - Narcissist to the core :cool:

There would be speakers installed on the roof and try to find a seat immediately beneath them. Token numbers will be announced in speakers and it would help if you were sitting beneath one.

I found something highly amusing at the bombay consulte which I’d like to share. The bombay consulate is located in a Marathi speaking city but the most amusing thing I found was that the announcements were made only in English and Gujarati (not even Hindi!! :shock: ) - This gives you an idea of how many Gujarati’s make it to US every year.

Well anyway I was seated in front of window number 3 and was shocked at the long interviews the VO was taking over there. 5 ppl are called up at a time to a single window and while the other windows had cleared their first five interviews, this guy at window number 3 still had the first student inside. Finally, my number was called and as luck would have it - I was called to window number 3.

The curtain closes…

Act 4: The Interview

Immediately as my number was called, I made a beeline for the window as I wanted to get it over with ASAP - but I came second. So the first guy went in, came out after 15 minutes, sweating and with a passport in his hand - Rejected. (I was anxious, OK OK I was was sweating…. OK fine, I was on the verge of having a diarrheal episode)

I went in, opened the door and greeted him: (TIP - Always look directly into the eyes of the VO)

Good morning sir

Morning

(he then looks at my I-20)

So why do you want to go to Temple University?

You see sir, I want to learn public health from an asian perspective and I am highly interested in the work done by Dr. Grace Ma, who is a professor of MPH at TU and also the director for Center for Asian Health at TU. I want to learn under her and implement some of her policies back here in India

That’s good. So who will fund you?

My family. We have sufficient funds to meet my expenses and If you want I can show you the necessary documents.

That’s fine. So did you graduate?

I have finished my course study and am awaiting my degree certificate which will be awarded to me during the convocation to be held in the month of July this year.

So you have graduated?

Yes sir. I have graduated and as a proof I can show you my Provisional Degree Certificate issued by the university.

(I show him the the certificate, he looks at it for a minute and then returns it to me)

So what are your scores?

I got 1310 in my GRE and 290 in my TOEFL

That’s good.

(I smile) Thank you sir

Well I’m going to approve this visa. Have a nice experience in USA.

(I couldn’t control my happiness) Thank you very much sir. Would that be all?

Yes. You may leave.

(As I was leaving) Oh wait, Can I see your SEVIS fee receipt?

Sure sir. (I hand him a copy, he compares it with some document)

That’s about it.

Thank you sir and have a nice day.

You too.

Phew! It hardly took 1 minute or a little more. I came out smiling at the crowd and made way for the exit. As I came out I wanted to shout a la sachin style “I’ve got visa power - go get it” hehe. It was a short wait before the VFS bus got filled up (I heard that there were at least 5 rejections till that hour) and we reached VFS office. Its party time now and no one can stop me… hehe

If your visa interview gets over before 2PM, chances are that your passport will be ready to be collected at the VFS office the very same day at 5.30 PM. If your passport is not ready or you do not turn up to collect the passport on that day, it is sent via courier to your specified address (in the visa application process) within 3 working days. I had specific travel plans for the next 1 week so I decided to collect it the very same day. That was a huge mistake cause standing in a queue on the road from 5 PM to 5.30 PM totally took it’s toll. Welcome to the Indian Summer…

If you intend to collect your passport, come just before 5.30 PM. Don’t mind the long queues as you will be handed over your passport by 6.15PM max (the VFS guys are really fast). That’s about it for my visa experience. Any questions, compliments and thank yous are welcome (I’d prefer cash though).

(This article can also be found on my other site for Temple University Indians)