 After being shut for months, the US Embassy in India finally reopened the student visa process and also some of the ban and restrictions that were imposed by the Trump administration on student visas have been lifted which means that all of you who have either got admission into US universities and colleges or who are planning to apply can go right ahead and you can appear and give your F1 visa interviews and this video is going to help you do just that. Keep on watching. Hi guys, my name is Shachri and I am a travel and visa coach. On this channel you will find tons of useful videos on the US visa process right from filling the form to appearing for the interview so make sure that you check them out. This video is all about the student visa also known as the F1 visa and in this video I am going to talk to you about the most commonly asked questions in the interview and more importantly how to answer them. With this video we have also included a free document checklist so this is a document checklist for the F1 interview and this will help you get all your documents in order. It's a free PDF. The link for that is in the description box below so once you're done watching the video make sure that you go there and download your checklist. Before we start here's a disclaimer. I am not an immigration lawyer. This is not legal advice. This is based on my experience of working with my clients. So with that out of the way let's get started. So at the start of the interview one of the first questions that the embassy officer can ask you is what is your purpose of visit and when he asks you that obviously you're going to tell him that your purpose of visit is to study in the US and you're applying for a student visa but the key here is to not stop at just that. Add few more relevant details so you can tell him the college that you're applying to study in if you've got any funding in place or scholarship in place you can add that and if the college has a good ranking then make sure to mention that as well. So a sample answer for this could go something like this that my purpose of visit is to study in the US. I plan to study in XYZ college which is one of the top 15 colleges in the field of information science and I also have 100% scholarship for the tuition fees for this course. So this is just a sample answer to give you an idea of how to answer a purpose of visit. The key here is basically to obviously mention that you are applying for a student visa to study in the US but also to add a few more relevant details. Now why this particular college or why this particular course? I think this is one of the most commonly asked questions in F1 visa interviews and almost every student will be asked this by the visa officer and this is where you need to show your sincerity and the research that you have put in and all the effort that you have put in. So avoid giving generic answers. So avoid giving answers such as it's a reputed college, there is good faculty and so on which can apply to any other college or university. What you really need to do here is to get specific and to get detail oriented. So truly dig deep and find out what is it that stands out in this particular college or what is it that appealed to you? Is it a particular faculty member? Is it a particular subject in your course? Is it the industry exposure? So the more detail oriented you are, the more specific you are, the more convincing will be your answer. And one more tip that I have for you here is to link your reason for selecting the course or selecting the college or the university to either your background or to your future plans. Now next we have a question which troubles a lot of students and this is why are you pursuing this course in the US or why not pursue this course in India itself? And this is something which is true for courses in the field of economics and finance for which there are a lot of options back home in India. So my advice here would be to really understand the course structure thoroughly, understand what are the electives, what is the USP of it and then link it to your long term career goals. So for example, maybe you want to start a business and this particular course from this university in the US has something which will help you in starting that business. Maybe the electives offered in the course are highly advanced, they are cutting edge and that is something which is not being offered in India currently. So really be specific with the details of the course and show that you have done your research and you're serious about it. The next question is what are your future plans or what are your long term plans? And again, this is something which is asked to almost every student appearing for the F1 interview. Now, when you go to the US on a student visa, it is expected from you that you will study there, you will complete your course there and then you will come back. And throughout the interview, the visa officer will assume that you are a potential immigrant and your job is to prove that you are not. So do not give any indication of long term plans which involve taking up a long term assignment or long term job there or settling there because if you do then there's a very good chance that the visa officer will reject your visa. Your long term plans have to be something which is linked to your home country and it has to be something which brings you back. Another really important part of student visa interviews is funding. So it is very likely that the visa officer will ask you about your funding plan and here you need to be extremely clear about what is the total expense, what is the breakup of that expense and how you are funding it. Funding that you show needs to be steady, it needs to be stable and it should not be something which looks like it will just vanish one day and put you in a state where you run out of money and you are dependent on the government for it. Also it is completely okay if somebody other than your parents fund your education. So let's say that your aunt or your uncle is willing to sponsor you and fund your education. It is completely okay to say that and show that in your application but you just need to be prepared to answer the question why? Why is this other person, you know, why is this person other than your parents funding your education? So now that we've understood and got an idea of what are the important questions that can be potentially asked in our F1 visa interview, let's quickly look at how the interviews are being conducted currently because ever since the COVID and ever since the pandemic there have been a few changes in the way these interviews are being conducted. So the student visa interviews in India reopened on August 17 and since then I have had the chance of interacting with some of the students who have gone through this process and getting a few real-life experiences and this is what they have to say. The first point is that the interviews are much longer. So the earlier interviews would be about one to two minutes to maximum to three minutes but now the interviews are stretching much longer to five to six minutes and the simple reason for this is that ever since the pandemic there are fewer and fewer people who have been applying and who have been appearing for the interviews which means that overall the crowd and the embassy has reduced which in turn means that the visa officer has more time to spend with each candidate. So if you feel that your interview is going on for really long, don't be alarmed. Just remember that this is what is in trend right now. And the second thing which a lot of people have to say is that details are being asked of the course. So a lot of details are being asked about the course and whether how many classes are online, how many classes are in-person, if it's a hybrid course and what exactly is the structure of it. So make sure that you're well aware of all these details and how exactly this course will be conducted once you're in the US. The third thing is you're also expected to know the quarantine rules and the regulations that you will have to follow once you're in the US and this again differs from state to state in the US and from college to college in the US. So make sure that for your particular college and your particular course you are aware of the quarantine rules that you will have to follow once you land in the US. So this is what is happening currently but of course things always keep changing especially now things are changing really really quickly and rapidly but I will be tracking all of these changes and bringing these updates to you right here on this channel. So make sure that you subscribe and hit the bell icon so that you don't miss out on any of these updates. So in the end I want to tell you that from my experience of looking at students who have managed to clear the F1 interviews the two things that they have in common is preparation and practice. You need to be really thoroughly prepared for this interview. Do not think that you'll just you know get the answers on the spot and say whatever you feel like. The visa officers really know their stuff so you need to be extremely prepared and very very careful and you need to practice. Don't keep the answers in your mind. Say it out aloud either write it and keep them ready. Say it in front of a mirror or in front of somebody else. If you're interested you can take a mock interview with me. This will be a video interview it'll be a one-to-one session and this will make you go through the drill and give you a feel of the actual visa interview experience. The detail of this is in the description box below. Make sure that you check it out. Of course you have any more questions leave them in the comment section. You can also DM me on Instagram my Instagram handle is right below. Don't forget to download your free document checklist. This will help you to get all your documents in order. Thank you so much for watching. I hope this video has helped you preparing for your F1 visa interview. In the description box below I have few more useful resources such as a consultation session which will basically help you to be more thoroughly prepared and it'll be tailored to your profile. So make sure that you check out all of these resources and give them a try. And yeah that's it. I'll see you in the next video and till then take care signing off for now. Bye.