Applying for F1 with a unique situation

Dear All

I am applying for a F1 visa and am in a unique situation. I am trying to prepare for the visa interview. I need some guidance on what I can expect and if there are any pitfalls I need to avoid during the interview.



[b]My background:[/b] I am 25 now and my family has been living outside India for almost 10 years, in South East Asia. I have [b]2 years of working experience[/b] in IT. I got married in Feb 2013 in India. My [b]husband[/b] is living in South East Asia now under an [b]employment visa, which will expire in 2 years[/b]. I have [b]two siblings under H1 in the USA[/b]. Over the past 5 years, [b]my B2 visitor visa was rejected twice[/b] - first time because I was a recent graduate, second time because my parents were visiting my family in the USA - meaning my whole family was in the USA at that time under H1 and B2 visas.



I applied to three universities in the USA. Got 2 rejects and 1 accept - waiting for I-20. 

[b]Current Situation:[/b] Husband has [b]applied to H1 this year (2014) and he is waiting[/b], like many others, for the lottery results. The university program I got accepted into is a MA degree at a university called New Mexico Highlands University. 

[b]Questions:[/b]




	Should I be concerned about my twice-B2-rejection during the F1 interview?
	 

	During the interview, if asked whether my husband will join me  in the USA or not, should I let them know that my husband has applied for a H1 and is waiting for the results?
	 

	Will they ask about my two siblings who are in the USA with their families?
	 

	Will my work experience cause a problem here - as I know that many people apply for an MBA after work experience? 
	 

	Are there any other things I need to look out for? 


PS: The reason I have applied for a F1 visa is to make sure I don't miss another academic year for my study. We are sort of placing two bets here, if my F1 visa gets rejected, my husband and I would go under H1 and H4, provided his H1 gets processed this year. 

Any suggestions, feedback and expertise is appreciated. Thanks a lot for helping many of us on this wonderful website.

Thanks for detailed review of your situation. I am sure it will help many here.

1. Should you be concerned about your B-2 rejections for the new F-1? No. Adjudication of B-1/B-2 is based on different rules compared to F-1. The course and university you are going to will be examined though. Our University has just announced a 1-year certification program in Innovative Micro-enterprise development. It is an F-1 track after which you can switch to a cap exempt or cap subject H-1B. A stipend is paid by a company in most cases. I mention this because your writing skills seem to be extraordinary. If you have already made a decision, that's fine.



2. Your husband's plans can be different from yours. Declaration of goals for the family will be appropriate and will not negatively impact decisions.



3. About your siblings, it is perfectly alright to state facts as is. Contrary to popular opinion, having family in the US is a positive factor.



4. Your work experience or lack thereof is not a problem. Many people decide to study taking time off from a career to better their chances in life, others continue their study track without working first.



5. You will do just fine, don't let prior rejections faze you. They are just random arbitrary calls that a consular post officer takes and we keep wondering about our answers or the way we dressed or the breakfast we ate that morning or the Gods we prayed to. Stay as close to the truth as possible, less stress to remember facts this way :))



All the best

Dr. Sandeep Shankar, Colorado Heights University, Denver, CO 80223, USA. www.chu.edu; sshankar@chu.edu

Your case bit simmilar to mine.i was holding B1 and gone for F1 4 times and they havent approved because of sister is In USA on H1 and have another siblings here.according to my personal experience

I would suggest you to wait until your husband gets his lottery result.if he is been selected already than you should not go for F1 interview,and just you can wait for H4 to come to USA and after coming here you can go for change of status from H4 to F1.

if your Husband won’t get selected in H1 than you wouldnt have another option and can go for F1 interview in India.and go to flash back and try to remember all the answers what you have given about your siblings during your Visitor visa interview and try to maintain same answers.

and be prepared for the extra question about why you going for MA because it doesnt suit your educational and work background.

Best of luck

Dear Sandeep

Thank you for your response. Your calm voice of reason is greatly appreciated.

Regarding the course, it is a MA program, jointly offered by the School of Business and Computer Sciences. Both of these departments and the university are accredited. I will be taking 36 credits in total, for the entirety of 2 years of my study at the university. My undergraduate education and work experience is more than a little related to this particular course.

I am not sure if these are the sort of things they will check about the university and the course.

Thanks again - uniquesitcom

Hi Aryan

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience! wow, that’s two really different point of views I have got here.

Your suggestion has crossed our minds many times. Since the H1 receipt numbers aren’t out yet and I haven’t received my I-20 yet, we are just waiting here.

As for the extra question you mentioned, the program is very much relevant to my undergrad annd work experience. I choose the MA option as this seemed to have more interesting coursework than the MS option.

Lastly, I am sorry about your F1 rejects. Since my husband and I have come onboard this whole USA visa shindig, all the things we have read online and heard from friends and relatives about the visas, processing, interviews plus the finances, our nerves have been frayed quite a few times and I see more of these times in the near future.

We decided early on to have a solid Plan B and Plan C. They might or might not be good but we still make sure to discuss about them often.

If anyone else is in a similar situation or has a different pont of view, please share.

Cheers - uniquesitcom

Hi,I m answering here most of the questions basis on my personal experience and research because i have suffered a lot without doing anything wrong.but sometimes luck doesn’t allow you to make it even if you go on straight way so let me tell you my case in detail and it may help you to decide what to do.and regarding course only what i mean was make sure it matches your educational and working back ground and it should be always higher than your prior education to avoid the rejection.
I finished my bachelor degree from Moscow in 2009 and while i was studying there i apply for visitor visa from there itself in 2005 and i was approved 10year multiple visa(my fathers own brother was sponsor in Visa)i traveled on visitor visa from Moscow 3 times in every summer vacation and i left US within 2 months during every visits. I came to home country and prepared for masters admission and got i-20 from 4 different university.i went for an interview first time and they stared my interview from my existing B1 visa and about my visits and sponsors and soon after those 3 questions i was sent back by saying that your Uncle and your sister is there and it looks like you are planning to stay there forever.
After that interview i went again 2nd time and 3rdtime and the lady didn’t even ask me second question and told me sorry for the same like previous interviewer.
After few days i got another pending I-20 from the university and i was suggested to go for better school I-20 by an agent to improve chance and i did go with better university.and third interviewer point out the change and told me you changed your university now and you are not particular goal for study.and he rejected me again with saying that family thing repeat.now i had 2 options.forget about USA or to do what most of the people do.but i didn’t wanted to this violation of B1 visa and wanted to come to USA on straight way because i was thinking that they will think as a positive point about my 4 visit to USA because i came back from US within 2 months each time but they don’t care for that.they didn’t left any option for me.i came to US with B1 after that rejection and waited for 2 months to apply for COS to F1 and spoiled my 6 months and i had to go to another university and by god grace i found better and good ranked university I-20 with better course curriculum.i had 4 more months to wait for the COS result.one can stay in US unconditionally while his change of status is pending but i did not wanted to violate my B1 by staying over than 6 months(as i was already violating by applying F1).see my luck was stupid.i was flying 2morrow and bag packed and today just on second last day i received notice of approval with F1 status.and after 10 days new sem was about to start.i started going school and finished masters and applied for H1 now and got selected in lottery and waiting for COS from F1-H1b.
Now you can have rough idea after reading my whole case that what can be done better in your case to avoid rejection(touchwood 4 u) and saving of time and money.
Wish u very best of luck and hope your husband make thru lottery.
Thanks

And forgot to mention that why i prefer you to wait for H1 and H4 because H1 is the only visa with dual intension of going to US and staying there while rest of the visa like B1,F1 and all are not dual intent visa so in those interview you need to prove that you willing to come back to home country while H1 and H4 you need to prove your educational and employer’s thing and they can not stop you by saying that your intension is to stay permanently in US.that dual intension thing is positive for your case.because if you remember about B1 interview they might have told you same thing that you are failed to satisfy to an interviewer that your intension of coming back is less likely.and thats what they can tell you when you go for F1 interview as well because they go 100% with the history to prevent fraud.so it always matters what you have answered in your previous interviews for the upcoming interview.
Good luck

Please make sure you point out the strong link between your undergraduate pursuit and present program choice and that not many academic institutions in the US offer this unique blend etc. You will be fine. Also, in the unlikely event of a 214b rejection, it is important to pursue a reapplication with the same school within 24 to 48 hours using additional documents from school DSO that dispute the first adjudication. An embassy is a gate-keeper and must not assume blanket authority on your career decisions. That is between you and your chosen school.