Student Visa Week - Former Visa Officer Q&A

Added: 2026-04-28

[00:00:00]Heat. Heat. N.

[00:00:54]Good morning, good afternoon and good evening everyone wherever you are in the road. Happy Monday and welcome. Thank you so much for joining us today. Uh we truly appreciate your time and we are excited to have you here. My name is Renard. I'm the director of Argo Visa.

[00:01:12]I'm a former US Department of State employee and I worked at the US consulate s in Brazil as a senior counselor supervisor for over 23 years.

[00:01:21]I'm very excited to be here with you today. Um this week we've prepared a series of valuable sessions resources and special activities designed to help F1 visa applicants better understand the visa process, stay informed, and feel more confident throughout their journey.

[00:01:39]Be sure to stay connected with your YouTube channel so you don't miss important updates, expert insights, and upcoming events throughout this week. We will also have a live Q&A session at the end of this session today. So, please feel free to share your questions in the chat. To stay updated on visa policies, changes, future events, promotions, and educational content, please share your email with us in the chat. And now I'm pleased to turn things over to Caroline.

[00:02:10]>> Hi Ranata. Thank you and thank you for that introduction. My name is Caroline Ember, a foreign service officer for over 16 years. My whole career was in consular affairs. I have worked in the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, South and Central America, Washington DC and India. And I've also been lucky enough to train a large number of visa officers during my career. And today I'm delighted that all of you are here um to join us on this great week, student week that Argo has put together. And I'm going to ask my colleague Sebastian to load the PowerPoint and we will get straight to the information that you are all longing to hear.

[00:02:54]Okay. So the F1 visa interview in 2026.

[00:02:58]um a little bit different in the last year and a half on how we need to approach the visas and we're going to talk a little bit about that today as we continue. Um next slide, Sebastian.

[00:03:10]What is the F1 visa? F1 visa is what you need to get to come to the United States to attend the school you wish to attend.

[00:03:19]It's you need to be accepted, have your I20 and your service so that you can be prepared for your visa interview. Um you could be going to a university, a college, a language school or a specialized program, but in each every case you do need that infamous I20 and service for your U visa interviews. Next slide.

[00:03:48]How long can you stay in the US with an F1 visa? You can stay in the United States for the entire duration of your academic program as long as you remain a full-time student. After finishing your studies, you have 60-day grace period to either prepare to depart, transfer to another school, or apply for OPT, which grants you work authorization. You must always always maintain your student status. Do not please let your students stop stat status elap elapse. Next slide. Thank you.

[00:04:23]Common issues F1 applicants have. As visa officers, we see trends on the windows and we begin to to realize, you know, what students are lacking in. And today I want to make sure I cover that in depth with all of you. Most students don't know what to expect at their visa interview or what the consular officers are expecting from you as a visa applicant and the most common complaint we hear and all my colleagues at Argo I know would agree with us. The visa officer refused me without giving me a chance. And I always say to my um consults, my clients, you need to own your own visa interview. You need to be confident. You need to be ready. you need to have your eye contact with the officer. And I'm at the end of the PowerPoint, I'm going to go in a little bit more depth on these um common errors. But here, not showing sufficient financial support, failing to demonstrate strong ties to your home country. Please remember it's a non-immigrant visa. You're expected to be returning to your home country, giving weak or unclear academic plans.

[00:05:34]You have to know your curriculum inside out because the officer expects you to remember the officer is looking for the three things they're looking for is that the academic connections to why you want to go to this university. So you've got to be able to talk about your courses.

[00:05:53]They need to know you have the financial resources to attend the university or college. And they also need to know you have home ties and a plan for when you return home. Now a lot of people sound scripted and visa officers have got antennas. We can tell when you're scripted. We know when you've been me memorizing. Don't memorize. Be yourself.

[00:06:16]Talk to the officer. Make a conversation. Tell your story. Next slide please.

[00:06:24]How long can you stay in the US?

[00:06:26]Everyone is always is very anxious about that and rightly so. Are you ready to explain honestly why you chose this program and how it connects to your future? Have a strategy strategy to show how you will finance your studies and your living expenses.

[00:06:45]And again, I probably repeat this.

[00:06:48]Reinata will tell me I'm repeating this 10 times through this webinar. Be confident. Half the battle of a visa interview, shouldn't say battle, but half the pleasure of a visa interview is being confident. The more you know why you want to go to the college, the more university, the more you have your resources in place and the more you able to show your ties to your home country throughout the interview.

[00:07:15]That makes you confident when you're answering the questions. Next slide, please.

[00:07:21]Don't assume that being admitted to a school means your visa will be approved.

[00:07:26]It's totally two different things everybody. You I20 yes is your admittance to the school but you still have to pass your visa interview. In 2024 the F1 refusal rate was 41%.

[00:07:42]And it's got a lot tougher since then.

[00:07:44]And I expect that the visa when we eventually get the numbers for 2025 will be higher than 40%. Your I20 form, service fee receipt, and school acceptance letter are all requirements for your application. And for those of you who have scholarships, make sure you have proof of your scholarship with you because that's part of your financial resources. The final decision depends on your visa interview and how prepared you are to face this stage because let's face it, it is a stage. It's a two and a half three minute stage where you have to give the performance of your life. So um next slide please.

[00:08:26]So we're going to go into questions just in a few moments but I prepared something that I hope you will find useful. Um, I've looked at some common errors and I've also looked at keys to success which I'd like to share with all of you. Um, Renat, I'm sure we're okay for time. Am I Are we >> Oh, yes, definitely. Yes.

[00:08:47]>> Thank you. So, and please ask questions on anything I'm covering today. I'm more than willing to answer your questions.

[00:08:54]So, make good use of the time that Argo's given you with a former visa officer today. um failure to explain a clear reason as to why you want to attend XYZ University. What I mean by that is the officer is looking for the academic connections. They want to know you know your curriculum. In all honesty, guys, officers know the rankings of your schools. We're not overtly interested in the professors and that takes up a lot of time in two and a half minutes. Talk about why you want to study at the school. Does your bachelor's degree tie into the master's?

[00:09:32]If you have relevant work experience, tie that in and do it very strategically.

[00:09:38]But that officer that's pretty much your first qu officer will ask you is why do you want to attend this university? Why do you want to study in the US? So be ready and be prepared with that answer.

[00:09:50]Failure to explain funding sources officer due diligence is to make sure you have enough money to pay your tuition and your living expenses in the United States. Okay. Fully explain your source of funding. Give your funding amounts in dollars and know the information on your loan. Officers will ask, "When are you due to repay your loan? Are there interest payments on the loan?" because if there's interest payments on your loan, that's going to have to be paid when you're in the United States and the officer needs to make sure there's enough money.

[00:10:28]Um, scripted answers. We mentioned that earlier. Don't sound robotic. I mean, I've interviewed thousands upon thousands of F1s and some officers, you know, will say to you, let's start again. Tell me why you want to go there.

[00:10:44]Because when we hear these robotic answers, we know you've been on Reddit, YouTube, everywhere else. Or you've been listening to the person ahead of you in the queue and that person was approved and you suddenly think, I need to use the sentences and the answers that person did. Please don't ever do that.

[00:11:03]I've seen it thousands of times on the windows. There is no secret sauce or secret answer that the way you're you will get your visa is to be yourself. be confident and know what you're going to how to answer the questions. Pure communication. As a consultant, I think um a lot of my clients start rambling and I say, "Oh, we're off on the runaway train here." And you know, you have two and a half minutes, two and a half minutes, maybe three. This is a fast interview. And if you are giving irrelevant answers or you don't answer the officer's questions, that wastes up the time that you could be convincing that officer of your academic connections, your financial resources, and your ties to your home country. Always make sure that you are consistent with what's in your DS160 to the information you give that officer. and Argo has a great service where they can help you complete your DS160 and this is particular to both firsttime applicants but and return applicants.

[00:12:10]So they do have a great service and I've seen a lot of the consult clients I've worked with use that service not clearly explaining your plan after graduation that shows weak ties. For example, what do you plan to do when you graduate? Oh, I'm just going to go home.

[00:12:27]or what's your plans after you graduate?

[00:12:30]Well, my plan when I return to my hometown of XYZ is to look for a position with XYZ. Have a plan. Okay, guys. Have a plan. I can't emphasize that enough because you've got to show that tie to the officer. Now, there's all the bad things I've just talked about. Let's talk about keys for success.

[00:12:51]So, again, an interview is confidence.

[00:12:55]When you get to the window, say good morning. Um, you don't have to say good morning, mom. Good morning, officer.

[00:13:01]Just say good morning. Have a smile on your face. And I know mostly underneath, you know, you're shaking underneath. Eye contact. Be confident. Confidence.

[00:13:11]Preparation is a key to confidence. And that's where officers like myself and my colleagues at Argo come in. We help you prepare. We look at your weak points. We look at your strong points. Sometimes you don't even know your strong points, but we can see them and we pull that information to give you a strategic foot path to move forward with your interview. Clearly articulate your financial resources for your course of study. If your parents are supporting you, tell the officer what they do for a job. Tell them what their accumulative salary is in US dollars. Again, just a rough conversion if you can. If you have a loan, talk about the loan. be able to answer the officer's questions. Officers are digging deep on loans to make sure you know exactly all the numbers and they're also needing to look at the numbers to make sure you have enough money. If you have a scholarship, don't forget I have so many clients that I say, "Don't you have a scholarship?" If they've sent my their I20 to me, I see these things. Now, the officer, some clients say to me, "Well, Colin, it's on my I20." They can see it.

[00:14:16]The officers want to hear it from you.

[00:14:18]They need to know you know the numbers.

[00:14:20]They can read it. But if I have a confident applicant in front of me who write who lists off the financial resources and offers me the financial documents because on an F1, we're not always going to believe what you say to us. We're going to need to see it in writing, too. Be direct with your answers. Again, don't ramble. Excuse me.

[00:14:42]Provide strategic responses that contain relevant information. Use your visa time wisely. Do not waste that valuable time talking about, and I mentioned this before, rankings or professors. Talk about the academics. Talk about why this is important to you. If you've just graduated from school and say you're going for a degree in robotic science, if you've been part of a group that worked with robotic science, you use these things to your advantage and you tell the officer this. Bring your original school transcripts. Don't bring copies, guys. Bring your original school transcripts and organize your documents before you go. There's nothing worse for a visa officer because, you know, we are really busy and we want to move through when you drop all the documents on the floor because you can't find something. So, I tell my clients, organize your I20, your service, your financial documents, your acceptances letters. Put little tabs on them so that you can go straight to the document. Okay? And if you do offer the document to the officer, there's nothing wrong with that. You can offer it to them and say, "Hey, um, I just say, "Hey, I'm sorry. I brought along my financial documents if you wish to see them." So, be organized. And lastly, and probably the most important thing I'm going to say in this keys to success is try to talk to the officer. Have a conversation with them. And I know probably most of you are thinking right now, you got to be kidding, Caroline.

[00:16:12]I'm so terrified when I'm at that window. But re try and relax. I um I say to my clients when you're waiting in line, bring a book, bring a magazine.

[00:16:22]You can't take your phones in with you to most locations. And don't focus on what's happening on those windows. Your story is different from Renat. Like my story is different from Renatas and your story is different from what you're watching. The other thing I'll caution you about is there's a lot of people out there that I call armchair visa officers.

[00:16:47]When you're on the blogs and you're on the different areas, be really careful what you're reading. Um there's lots of great videos out there. Um Argo has great succession of videos. So just be really careful because it can shake your confidence a lot. Um I know it's a great resource, but just be really really careful on what you're reading. And again, Renato mentioned this morning that we have lots of information going out on changes on what's happening on social media. And just before I forget, I'm going to touch on social media.

[00:17:20]Renata, if you need to cut me off, cut me off.

[00:17:23]>> No, no, no. These are all valuable information. Caroline, please go ahead.

[00:17:26]>> Um, social media officers are looking at social media. We all know it. We've read everything what everyone's reading. Make sure you put all your social media information on the DS160.

[00:17:37]If you've forgotten something, type it out. Please don't handwrite it because we can't read your handwriting. Type it out. And when the officer asks you for your appointment letter and your passport, say to the officer, "I'm so sorry. I forgot to put a link on my DS160, but I've typed it out and brought it with me." So, because you often cannot change or update your DS160 depending where you are in the process. So don't worry about about if you forgot something, give it to the officer when you get there. Okay?

[00:18:10]And just and you can hand it over with your passport. On social media, um officers are now, you know, last year um we probably 2024 when I retired. Um we were issuing visas out the window. Now that no longer happens. If the officer is going to give you the visa, they're going to say to you, um, your visa is approved pending administrative processing or pending social media review. The reason the officers have to do that is nothing about you is they just don't have time on the windows.

[00:18:44]They have another 140 50 people to interview in four to five hours and they do not have the time. They will review the social media later. I suggest you watch the seak. Um, a 221g letter is a soft refusal. It is not a denial. It's pending administrative processing. So, don't let it freak you out. Just keep an eye on the seak and it'll show where you're approved and when you can pick up your visa. So, guys, I hope that was all helpful to you. I see some questions are coming through. I'm going to let Reinata um handle those and I'm happy to answer whatever you have for me. Okay. And and it's my pleasure, Reata. Thank you. And I'm sorry for talking so much, but I do love I do love my counselor work.

[00:19:35]>> Thank you, Caroline. These are all great insights from a former uh consular officer perspective. And yeah, we do have some great questions coming through the chat, but one of them is really interesting. Um, and you were talking about the visa officers and that two or three minutes, right, that you have to present yourself to the interview. Um, and one of the questions that we have in the chat is what if the counselor officer doesn't give the student time to make their case? Many students report having 30 seconds to two minutes at their interviews. What's your opinion about this?

[00:20:12]>> Well, Verinata, as as you know, you you've worked in the field yourself. 30 seconds is a long time. It's how you answer that question. Why do you want to go to CargI Melon? Well, I have a bachelor's degree in XYZ. Um I want to take my masters in XYZ and CargI Melon offer me courses. It's how you answer it. You it all 30 seconds is a long time. When I consult, I have a stopwatch here and when I work with my clients, I watch how long it's taking them and I you can say a lot in 30 seconds. You've got to capture the attention of the officer. If you give one-word answers and vague answers, you're not capturing the officer. You've got to get their attention. And that's why it's vital that you have to be prepared. And for those individuals, oh, I'll mention something, Renata. They didn't ask it here. And I'm not reading the questions cuz I'm not really good at multitasking.

[00:21:09]Um the the those of you who have had a denial, the first question might be what's different from your last appointment. So don't let that shake you. Be ready for that to be the first question. It's very often the first question, not why you want to go to the particular university.

[00:21:28]>> That's so true. And that's one of the important things. It's be prepared, right? And we do that in Argo visa. We prepare you for your interview. We offer mock visa interviews with former visa officers who have been in the field. So, uh, please email us at helloargovvisa.com and we'll be able to help you. Another great question, Caroline, can you were talking about documents, right? Can you explain what the I20 means? Well, the I20 shows us as officers at a glance where you're going, how long you're going for, what university you're going to or college, what degree program you're in, but what we're really looking at is the money. And many officers, including myself, I'm calculating the money. When you're talking to me, we're doing it in our head. We have to know there's enough money. It's nothing against any individual, but we have to know you can afford to go to the United States. We're looking for a definitive one year, but if you've got a three-year degree, we've got to know there's continued funding. So, this is why it's really important and and be clear on that answer, but know your money yourself because I have had so many applicants that I've said to, "How much is your tuition?" And they've just looked at me blankly. You really, really have got to be able to display to them.

[00:22:50]calculate the money before you go on many many of my consultants as is with Argo I have said to my client the money's not here and they says well we've got property I said the officer is looking at how you're going to fund your current so you've got to know that and then they then we work through it we work the money is there they just my client hasn't worked out how to really say it so you know know your whenever you're going for the visa interview whether you work with Argo or haven't do not do that. Just know your what your money is.

[00:23:25]I I can't emphasize that enough.

[00:23:28]>> That's great. And uh speaking about financial ties, Caroline, uh one one colleague said, "I would like to know if my company can support me with a certain certain amount even though my uncle is my primary sponsor."

[00:23:44]>> Well, we often see uncle, aunts, godfather, godmother. We see this all the time. Remember, it comes down to the finances and how they're supporting you.

[00:23:54]If your company, oh man, I love when I get a client who's comp having them come back to work for them that supports their degree. And bring a letter that says that you tell the officer, "My company is supporting me with a 30,000 um dollar stipend or per year and I will be returning to this company. name the company at when I graduate and I have a letter here confirming my reemployment that that's gold that's that is really great there so if they if you do have that if you're lucky enough to have that bring that information and tell the officer okay >> okay so this means Caroline that for example parents relatives and even companies they can sponsor a visit student >> yeah and you know you have to categorize it because you might have five sources of sponsor which you can't put on the DS160 because you don't have that luxury but you can say oh my my um sorry guys I'm falling over my words here um I have a variety of um financial resources for my tuition and li and living expenses my po my parents have saved $35,000 um my aunt who and if your aunt lives in the US own it guys say it. We know anyway. We're reading on your DS160.

[00:25:19]Um, my aunt who lives in the United States works as a nurse at XYZ hospital.

[00:25:26]She also wants to contribute to my uh tuition of $40,000.

[00:25:32]I've also secured a loan of 75,000 from the Bank of XYZ.

[00:25:38]So, and and if you have a scholarship, put the scholarship first because always like to get start with the scholarship, start with your parents, start with any other family member, leave the loan to the end. But I have never interviewed anybody with a loan that I've not said how much is your loan, when is your loan due to be repaid, and are you paying interest in the United States? So, if you are paying interest in the US, remember that has to be figured in. And don't say to the officer, I'm paying 3%.

[00:26:06]say to the officer, "My interest payment is $250 per month." Because the officer wants to know that information to make sure there is enough money for your education.

[00:26:18]>> That's great, Caroline. Um, another question from our chat. I have threeear gap in study after the 12th. I was doing job in restaurant planning for bachelor in August 2026.

[00:26:33]How much visa chance do I have?

[00:26:36]Okay. Well, without knowing your whole story, that's a really hard question for me to answer, but I'll give you the high-grade answer to it. So, I do answer it for you. Many people graduate and they go to work. Um, because they're either saving to go to the US or they work some work experience. If you're working in a restaurant, um, I suggest that depending on what your bachelor's or masters is, maybe you can volunteer in the field. Maybe you can um you know go and work as an intern in your spare time. Try or maybe you're doing a culinary degree which is great if you're in the restaurant you know you tie that work experience into it. But if you are try and keep you know like your foot in the water and look at some volunteer work if you can or into some internships. That really does make a big difference if you do have that gap.

[00:27:32]Um, and if it is a restaurant, you're doing computer science, maybe you can help them do some data processing.

[00:27:38]There's always ways.

[00:27:40]Great. Another question. Uh, I was refused on December uh, 2025 and I want to apply again on June. What could be good to write in the past in the part uh, in my DS160? Did you have refused before and explain? Well, again, this is where Argo can come in with your DS160s and help you with this because after the consults, I just mentioned this. After the consults, um, Argo's officers write up information on the consult if you do take the DS160, which will help complete the DS160. But the short answer that to that is you really don't know why you were refused because the officer is not going to tell you. So if you write chapter and verse and half a novel in the DS160 about why you think you were refused, the officer is not going to read it. Remember this is two and a half to three minutes. You want to give a powerful interview and whatever you did when for denied try and think back maybe and I know it's hard because when you're denied your whole mind goes blank. Try and think about what might went wrong.

[00:28:45]Um, Renata knows when I work with clients, first question I often get asked is, "Well, do you know why I was denied? Did you read my DS-160? And do you know why I was denied?" And I say, "I have I have no idea why you were denied on the DS160."

[00:29:00]I said, "But let's hold that question until we finish the consult."

[00:29:05]And at the end of the consult, I say, "Now, can you tell me why you were denied?" I don't really have to tell my client because the different way that we work through it. They say, "Oh, yeah. I just I I never even told them my financial resources. I talked about professors. I talked about the weather in the US." And it's always great for us too if you can remember what happened at your denial and give us the transcript.

[00:29:29]But my and for the DS160 again you DS um denied 214B on in December 2025.

[00:29:40]Okay. Um another one. Hello officer. I'm going to F1 visa interview for bachelor in microbiology and it's my second attempt. So what do you recommend for my application?

[00:29:55]>> Well, kudos to you in microbiology. I can hardly spell that. So, well, I was never good at science. I was good at talking. But, um, you've had two denials. You need to really break down and think about why you had those denials. Um, again, there's three things, well, four things. If you've been denied, they want officers are looking at the academic reason you want to attend the university. You need to know your curriculum. I can tell straight away as an an adjudicator when somebody hasn't got a clue about what they're going to study and then I'll just say what's your favorite course going to be from that point on I'm pretty much off down the denial road because if you don't know why you want to study there and you can't concisely and don't use vague words like well the university will give the tools for my future um the university has great courses you got to dig deep and tell that officer why. Okay. Look at your financial resources. They need to know the money is there. Look at your ties. You can show ties right from the beginning.

[00:30:59]There's no specific tie questions. Yeah.

[00:31:02]The officer might ask, "Are you married?

[00:31:04]Do you have kids? Do you own your own home?" But you show ties from the beginning with your plan for graduation.

[00:31:11]You're you know, you some most people have not traveled overseas internationally. Some have. those officers like to see travel, but also if you haven't traveled, you've been too busy graduating and going to work to earn a living. So, you really have to look at it, but you also going to need to be able to tell that officer why, what is different from the last two interviews because the officer will ask and you've got to come up with some kind of response to that. And usually, you know, maybe you've had, if there's been a year between the denials, maybe you've been promoted at work, maybe you've gone and done an internship.

[00:31:55]Don't be denied and just sit watching Netflix. Go out and do some internships.

[00:32:01]Go out and do some volunteer work. It all counts. And put those internships and volunteer work on your DS160.

[00:32:10]I have seen so many people not do that.

[00:32:12]put it on your DS160.

[00:32:15]>> That's great. And still speaking about visa denial, Caroline, how can an applicant prove strong ties to their home country?

[00:32:24]Oh, right from the beginning when you're talking about why you want to go to XYZ University, you can interwind into there and you know when I you talk about why you want to study there, you talk about the curriculum, but you also say and this this meets my goals of XYZ when I return home. You you show it from the beginning. You also on your financial resources on your graduation plan.

[00:32:50]That's a big one, the graduation plan.

[00:32:52]But you can show it in that first 15, 20 seconds. You don't even need 30 seconds to show it if you're prepared.

[00:33:01]>> Okay. And what are the most common denials for an F1 uh visa application?

[00:33:08]>> You don't know why you want to go to the school and you spend 60 seconds telling me how much you like the weather, the ranking off the school, you like the c you like the groups that they have in the university. You know that's 60 seconds that we both lost.

[00:33:24]>> Yeah.

[00:33:25]>> Me listening and you telling me nothing about why you want to attend a school.

[00:33:29]Okay.

[00:33:30]>> Okay.

[00:33:30]>> Yeah. I'm going to get a t-shirt made for me one days and my clients would like this. Know your curriculum. Know your numbers. Talk about your ties. Um but the thing is is that you have to the officers are not looking for a way to give you a visa. They're not there to pull questions out of you. We're not there thinking, "Oh, I'm sure there's more." You need to tell us. That's why you can't give yes and no answers, but your answers have to be strategic and they have to be very targeted in the information you provide.

[00:34:04]>> That's great. Yeah. And Caroline, um, one other question that we had in the chat, can you explain briefly what is the OPT?

[00:34:13]Well, OPT is where you can, you know, finish your finish um finish your sorry be graduate and then join a company relevant to the skills that you have and you get the approval through USCIS for the OPT. Um but I will caution everybody at the moment that OPT is not a graduation plan. Okay? Um because OPT is not guaranteed. You don't know three years down the road if you're going to get OPT. The laws, the regulations can change. Companies may not be hiring. But for those on OPT, it's great way to gain experience. But it's not it's not a graduation plan. So just be very careful about that because officers are listening to that. Especially when I would interview and somebody would say to me, "Well, after I graduate, I plan to pursue a position in OPT in a hospital or something." And I said, "Well, what if you don't get OPT? What's your plan?" And I get met with a blank stare. That's a denial for me as an officer.

[00:35:19]>> Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for that.

[00:35:22]Another great question from our chat.

[00:35:24]How do you tackle when it's your second attempt and your sibling went to the US in F1 visa and then they converted to H1B in a legal way through the legal means. How do you show that this applicant will not be like adjustment of status in the US that they are really going to study in the US? That's a great one.

[00:35:47]>> Yeah. And I see it all the time and again it's nothing unusual for us as officers but it's how you explain it to us. Um, when you're asked, do you have any family in the United States? Yes, my brother is going to Texas State Univers my brother went to Texas State University and he now works for Microsoft on an H1B.

[00:36:04]Okay, you you own it. And the officer might say to you, well, I've often asked the question, um, why should I believe you you're going to return to your home country? You can make more money in the US. It's how you answer it. the officer will say to you, "What's your graduation plan? What do you plan to do?" If you go straight in and say, "OP, that could be a gray area." Now, plans change uh for everybody, but if you show a strong plan and you show it from the beginning of your interview, that's the main thing.

[00:36:39]But be honest and upfront about your sibling that's in the US. Um, I recently had a client that had three siblings and a mother in the US and he still got his visa because it's a way he explained it.

[00:36:51]And don't don't cast your eyes down.

[00:36:54]Don't think, "Oh, this is why I'm going to be denied." You don't know why you're going to be denied. You just need to be tell the truth and tell it in a way that the officer understands. Okay. I hope I answered that. I might have gone off.

[00:37:07]>> Yeah, sure. No, that's that's a great uh explanation. Um, another one is I'm going to Texas. I'm going to Texas State University and my interview is May 20th.

[00:37:18]Oh, it's coming. How should I prepare?

[00:37:22]>> Well, you're preparing by being here.

[00:37:23]So, kudos to you and you're listening to a former visa officer with 16 years of experience. So, number one, you're on the right track here. Um, I would suggest that you you attend this visa seminar. You're going to see officers as the same as me, better than me on the Argo visa. So, watch this week of programming. Watch the videos. There's so many resources and Argo are really, really good. Um, Argo was created by a former visa officer. So, they're very visiven.

[00:37:58]So, I recommend that you attend these webinars. Um, they're free. You may be in up in the middle of the night depending where you are, but you know, you're young. You're often up in the middle of the night. But attend the webinars. Um, listen to take what works for you. It's not every size fits all.

[00:38:18]It's what works for you. So, take from it what works for you and be ready. I mean, I've I've said it here and I always say it. Know your information more confident. turn on your cell phone, you know, watch the videos and write down the questions. Um, I know I think on Friday we're there's going to be a chat with four officers on it if I remember right.

[00:38:39]>> Yes.

[00:38:40]>> Um, you know, listen to it, you know, go back, watch it, write down the questions we're all talking about. You just saw a great PowerPoint. Then ch make that question to your story and listen to yourself when you're answering them. Turn on the recordings. If you don't believe yourself, the visa officer won't. So, that's a great way to prepare. And May the 20th, you've got plenty time. Um, I know it doesn't sound like it, but you've got three weeks and you can do a lot of of study and a lot of, you know, practicing before that visa interview.

[00:39:20]>> Yes. And I'd like to remind everyone that not only this week, but we do have a lot of like videos on our YouTube channel, Instagram account. Uh there are many free resources through Argo Visa channel. So please enjoy that. We are the only consultation company former by uh visa officers that has a lot of visa officers, former visa officers working all together including myself as a a local staff. And on Thursday we'll have a discussion with four former visa officers. All of them talking about F1 students. So please join us on Thursday.

[00:39:56]It will be great to have you there.

[00:39:57]Another great question from our chat.

[00:39:59]It's about the dress code. Uh how should I dress as a male applicant applying Ghana? Can I wear jeans with a polo top or club tea? How should I dress? That's al a great question and some people think it's, you know, that's not that's a question that maybe isn't relevant. It is relevant. You've got to be tidy. I certainly wouldn't go in in a pair of jeans and holes and ripped jeans, but to be honest, we're not really focusing on you when you walk to the window, but we are seeing your persona. Okay? So, if you dress where your mom or your grandma would approve, that gives you confidence. Don't go in in the t-shirt.

[00:40:40]wear a nice polo shirt, button-d down shirt, wear a pair of slacks, okay? You know, you don't need to go in a suit and tie. Um, not that. But, you know, the way you're professional, the way you're dressed leads to your confidence and leads to what the officer is looking at.

[00:40:57]So, um, you know, be nicely dressed. Ask your mom or granny if you look great.

[00:41:02]And they're usually a good they're usually a good barometer.

[00:41:06]>> That's so true. Yeah, that's so true.

[00:41:08]Um, we have time for two more questions here. One is, "What happens, Caroline, if my visa expires while I'm in the US?"

[00:41:19]>> Well, you you need to try that for that not to happen. Okay. You need to be prepared for that. And most of them will expire. I would have to know what the actual circumstances are to give the to give an in-depth answer, but I can do overall. If you know your visa is expiring, you know you're going home to your home country to renew it. Okay? So, prepare for that. Don't take it for granted that you're going to get that F1 renewed. Okay? Do not take it for granted. Okay? You need to be prepared and again try not to let expire if you can avoid that.

[00:41:55]>> Okay. And uh one of our last questions here today um my I20 in the financial part I have all my funds by my personal funds but in the DS16J I put my grandma is going to be my sponsor for my travel because I want to show I have financial support from family. Is this a problem?

[00:42:19]>> No, it's not a problem. You know the problem would come if you didn't explain it correctly. It's like I said um you know my family funds is family funds.

[00:42:29]Granny grandma is part of the family. So you would just you know articulate to that officer my funding resources are coming from my parents and my grandmother. My parents work as XYZ their accumulative salary or maybe just your dad works his salary is $66,000.

[00:42:45]My grandmother also has saved because she wants to um you know help me in my education in the US. She's a savings of $30,000. So, it's just the way and bring along the substantiating documents because I don't think I've ever interviewed an F1 that I haven't looked at at the financial documents.

[00:43:04]>> Okay, that's great. Um, one client is saying that he or she has an upcoming interview on Thursday. Do they still have time to book an interview or book a consultation with Argo Visa? The thing about Argo visa is if you tell them you need uh you need an interview, they will get you in before your interview. Try and do it if it's on the 4th, try and do it a couple of days before because you're going to learn so many new things. You need time to, you know, think about it. You need time to prepare yourself because the consultant may change the way your responses are. So try not to do it the day before because you need really the night before you need to rest, get a good meal because at that point you're in the hands of the visa gods. So yeah, I would reach out to Renata and the team at helloargovvisa.com.

[00:43:59]Mention that you were on the webinar, you have a visa appointment on May the 4th and that you'd like to talk to a consultant. Um and um me, a other consultant, we're all great consultants.

[00:44:12]I all think we're great consultants, but um and that you would like to get with somebody maybe 30th April, the 1st of May because we do work weekends, too. So guys, we're not five days a week at Argo. We do work weekends. In fact, I work the majority of Saturday this weekend with clients.

[00:44:30]>> So don't think we're five days a week.

[00:44:32]We're 24 hours. We got we got consultants all over the world that work in different time zones, too.

[00:44:38]>> Exactly. So we are here to serve you. So I know that it had a lot of questions in our chat. So if you have additional questions after today's session, please email us at helloargovvisa.com.

[00:44:50]Share your email with us and we'll be able to to uh reach out to you. You can also schedule a consultation with argoisa by visiting our website at www.argovvisa.com and our team will be happy to assist you and respond uh as quick as possible. I'd like to thank everyone for joining us today. It's been a great session. Um, a very special thank you to Caroline for sharing all of your expertise, your experience, and your valuable guidance with us. I truly appreciate your your time here with us today. Um, and uh, as we wrap up, we sincerely appreciate your time and participation. Uh, I'd like to wish you all a wonderful day ahead and an amazing uh, rest of your week.

[00:45:33]>> Okay, Ranata, can I just close out one thing to everybody? Everyone, you are the driver of this train and you know you've got a lot riding on your visa interview. I highly, highly encourage you to prepare as best you can. I wish every one of you the best of luck and now I recommend you all practice and go get your visas. Okay, it would be my pleasure, Reanata, and thank you to you and the team for putting on.

[00:46:01]>> Bye everyone.

[00:46:02]>> Bye bye.