F1 Visa Interview Questions and Answers

Q1. What course are you applying for? Why?

Answer to the point. For ‘why’ you can answer as one of the following:

Ans:
a. Passionate about that *subject* and want to gain more knowledge in it.
b. There are not many experts in this *field* in India, The knowledge I obtain while studying in *college name* will help me stand out once I return to India.
c. Upcoming field, there is a shortage of experts in this field in India, so this will help my career once I return.

Q2. Why are you switching fields? (If you are)

Q3. Why did you choose this university?

Ans: Do some research on this, List out the pros of the University.
For eg:
a. Their CS department is very reputed; they have many international publications.
b. I am a big fan of *this professor* (list out his achievements), I am excited to learn from him.
c. *this university* is well known for research in *your field*.

Q4. What about scholarships? Did you get any?

Ans: Answer to the point. Yes or No.

Q5. Did you contact any professors? What are their names?

Ans: Be honest, don’t lie. It’s good to know names of your professors, even if you haven’t contacted them.
You can reply as follows: I know *professor name*, he is an expert in *field*, he has many publications. I haven’t contacted him personally, but I am excited to learn from him.

Q6. Have you been to the U.S before?

Ans: Answer Yes or No.

Q7. Why don’t you stay back and study in India?

Ans: Again, its good to do a little research on your university, course, and professors.You can answer as following:
a. *University* has a well know *dept name*, They do a lot of research and have a lot of international publications. I feel this is a great opportunity for me to learn from these professors.
b. Wanted to get global exposure.
c. Course work for *your field* is far superior in *your university*, compared to what’s available here in India.

Q8. What are your plans after graduation?

Ans: Never mention: I want to stay in the US and look for a Job.
You can answer as following:
Will come back and take up a job, my degree will help me stand out, and it will be easy for me to get a job here.

Q9. How many admits did you get? Which universities?

Ans: Answer to the point

Q10. What was your GRE/TOEFL score?

Ans: Answer to the point

Q11. Why is your score low (if you have a low score)?

Ans: You can answer as following:
1. My undergraduate course was very heavy for the final 2 years, so I found it hard to focus on Gre.
2. My focus on *mention project*, this was a great learning experience for me, I was dedicated my entire time to it.This affected my preparation.

Q12. Who is sponsoring you?

Ans: Answer truthfully.

Q13. What is your parent’s annual income?

Ans: Answer truthfully.

Q14. What is your income (If you are working)?

Ans: Answer truthfully.

Q15. How much money will they be providing you with? 

Ans: Explain your finance, How much of it is the loan and how much of it is your parents/personal money.

Q16. If your father spends most of his savings on your education, what about your family’s expenses in India?

Ans: You can mention: Apart from the bank balance, your parents have other assets such as property, policies, etc.

Q17. Your bank statement shows that all the entries have been made recently. Where did these funds come from suddenly?

Ans: Answer truthfully.

Q18. Why does your passbook have only 1 page filled? Is this a new account?
Ans: Be honest; You can tell this is the first time you are traveling abroad.

Q19. What is your tuition fee of the University you want to join?

Ans: Answer to the point

Q20. What about your living expenses and accommodation fee? 

Ans: Your i20 shows the entire amount for one year i.e., course fee plus living expenses. You should have arranged for this money to be in your bank statement before your interview either from your parents or bank loan.

Q21. Do you have relatives in the U.S? Who?

Ans: Answer truthfully

Q22. Where is your University located? How will you reach there?

Ans: Answer to the point

Q23. What about your accommodation? 

Ans: Answer to the point

Q24. Do you plan to work in the U.S while you study, may be on-campus?

Ans: You are legally allowed to work for 20 hours on-campus. You are not allowed to work off-campus
You can answer as following:
I am not keen on an on-campus job. I want to focus on my course work. I would like to try for a TA or GA.

Q25. How many members of your family? What do they do?

Ans: Answer to the point

Q26. So how come you decided to become an Engineer?

Ans: You can mention what you like about engineering and people who inspired you do become an engineer.

Q27. Considering the current U.S economy, why do you want to go there?

Ans: US job market doesn’t have an effect on me; I am only going there to study.I apply what I have learned here in India.

Q28. Most applicants like you turn out to be potential immigrants. What about you? Do you plan to come back to India once you finish your course?

Ans: Yes, there is a huge shortage of skilled labor here in India.There are plenty of well-paying opportunities here for my qualifications.My entire family is here; I would most definitely come back.

Q29. Tell me about your grades in your undergraduate course in India?

Ans: The answer to the point.Be truthful.

Q30. If you run out of money in the U.S, what will you do?

Ans: I have enough money to cover my course fee and living expenses.So this situation won’t arise

Q31. What is your opinion about the U.S?

Ans: They have great universities, some of the best research is done here.The best place to study.

Q32. Will language/communication be a problem for you?

Ans: No, English was taught to me since I was 5 years old. All my courses are in English.I also scored well in my Toefl.

Q33. Have you visited/browsed through websites related to this interview?

Ans: I came across several websites, but since U.S travel docs declared that it’s the official website for visas, I followed the rules of only that website.

Q34. What salary will you get?

Ans: Mention a good salary, say of 1-1.5 lakhs per month.

Q35. Where are you planning to travel and what locations would you like to visit in the U.S?

Ans: I haven’t thought about this.My primary focus will be my course. This will take up most of my time.I might travel a bit during the sem breaks.But I really haven’t thought about this.