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Advice from current International Advisors and previous Consular Officers

As an International Student Advisor, one of the most disheartening things to see and hear is that international students who are filled with potential end up not getting the opportunity to study in the U.S. due to visa denials. 

 

I had a student worker a few years ago who was doing amazing academically and socially and I was surprised to know later that the student’s visa was denied three times. 

 

To help international students to do better at the visa interview, the current International Student Advisor and the chief editor of SEVIS SAVVY, and previous Consular Officers from Argo Visa got together to share their expertise.

 

If you have an upcoming visa interview, make sure to read this article thoroughly and you will get one step closer to visa approval.  

 

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Visa refusal

The historical number of refused F-1 visas

Raw data from Travel.State.Gov

Fiscal Year 2017
213,388 out of 608,631 35%

Do you know how many F-1 visa applicants get denied?

 

When the world did not know about the Coronavirus, around 195K student visas were denied in 2018. Given that 363K students around the globe were issued the F-1 student visa, it can be calculated that more than a third of the total student visa applicants were refused.

Fiscal Year 2018
195,187 out of 558,116 35%
Fiscal Year 2019
123,871 out of 488,075 25%

The most recent numbers from 2020 and 2021 are no different. According to one of the U.S. official government websites, travel.state.gov, among 161,877 international applicants, 50,490 F-1 student visa applicants were refused in 2020. On average, the F-1 student visa refusal rate is around 30~60%.

 

Prospective international students who got rejected can be frustrated as all the efforts that they had put into making studying in the United States possible went in vain. What is more, it gets harder for applicants to make it over time, if they have a record of failed attempts. Thus, it is important to make the first attempt work by understanding the reasons that some students fail to get through the F-1 visa interview.

Fiscal Year 2020
50,490 out of 161,877 31%
Fiscal Year 2021
88,583 out of 446,422 20%

Prospective international students who got rejected can be frustrated as all the efforts that they had put into making studying in the United States possible went in vain. What is more, it gets harder for applicants to make it over time, if they have a record of failed attempts. 

 

Thus, it is important to make the first attempt work by understanding the reasons that some students fail to get through the F-1 visa interview.

The average number of F-1 visa denials per year since 2017
0

Why 30~60% F-1 visas are denied

Mandy Feuerbacher from Argo Visa is a former U.S. Diplomat and U.S. Immigration Attorney and had processed 150 nonimmigrant visa applicants every day. Mandy shares the most common reasons for refusing student visas stem from lack of understanding of 1. what Consular Officers would like to know from the visa interview and 2. how to present themselves at the interview. 

 

 

This blog post will summarize previous consular officers’ testimonials on when they would deny F-1 visas and draw important points that visa applicants must keep in mind for successful visa interviews. Also, at the end of the blog, you will learn how to get special discounts for customized private consultations with former U.S. Visa Officers.

Argo Visa

1. Understand the Consular Officers

Not every student is aware of how Consular Officers work and make decisions. It is actually shocking to hear that Consular Officers would interview 4,400 visa applicants every day. This means Officers interview 20 nonimmigrant visa applicants in an hour. This also can be rephrased that around 3 minutes are allocated for each interview!

 

Therefore, how visa applicants interact with Visa Officers in such a short time is the most important part of a successful visa interview. Students might think that ‘I prepared all the documents, so I should be fine.’

 

However, if students don’t answer clearly enough for Officers to decide that they need a student visa, their visa request might be refused.

 

This is why Mandy and other U.S. former Visa Officers say documents are just requirements but not the determining factors. According to their advice, as much as it is important to prepare all the required documents, it is critical to practice how you are going to present yourself at the visa interview.

 

The list of required documents for the visa interview can be found in the related blog post below and how to present yourself as a successful visa candidate will be discussed in the following paragraph.

Read more: F1 visa interview wait time and what to bring

"Around 3 minutes are allocated for each interview! ... it is critical to practice how you are going to present yourself at the visa interview. "

2. How to present yourself as a successful visa candidate

Now, how can you engage with Visa Officers successfully? As Visa Officers are human as well, don’t just memorize your answers which would sound like you are giving a speech.

 

When English is not your native language, the fact that you are going to have an interview in English which can determine your next 4 years, can make you very nervous. Even though you are tempted to ask if the interview can be conducted in your native language, U.S. former Consulars advise applicants not to ask.

 

Instead, visa applicants are encouraged to practice how to answer some common questions to the point where applicants feel confident with their answers. Remember that you will have a very short interview, thus, each answer shouldn’t be too long. Be concise and focus on sharing your academic goals and why you would like to study abroad in American colleges and universities.

 

On the other hand, when you answer, say more than one word. If you are asked, “why would you like to study in the United States?” You should proactively share why you want to study in the U.S., what you want to study, why you want to study that major, etc. Basically, the purpose of the interview should be to provide the information that makes Visa Officers easier to make decisions.

 

Student interviewees need to be able to explain their strong ties to the home country as well. To learn more about this and other common questions, click my previous blog post below.

Read more: How to answer for visa interview questions

"purpose of the interview should be to provide the information that makes Visa Officers easier to make decisions."

3. What to do with the refused student visa

What if your visa request is refused? How long would the record follow you? And does the visa refusal means forever no? How can the decision be overcome?

 

While students can always re-apply for student visas, each decision is final. Even Officer’s supervisors cannot change the decisions. This is why again well-preparing the first interview is very critical.

 

Furthermore, the visa record is for life or until the student becomes a U.S. citizen. Therefore, the second Visa Officer will read the case note from the first Visa Officer. Because of the visa records, it gets harder to overturn the previous decisions on each visa applicant case. But this doesn’t mean that the first “No” will be forever “No.”

 

Former Consular Officers from Argo Visa advise refused students to prepare answers that explain what has been changed from the last interview. Although it is difficult for student visa applicants to know the exact reasons why their visas were refused, it is important to say something that is different from the last time.

 

For example, if you weren’t clear about your academic plan before, tell the new Officer why you would like to pursue higher education in the United States. If you didn’t show a strong tie to your home country last time, make sure you emphasize it in your future interview.

 

To sum up, re-applicants should make the new interviewer think ‘I see that the previous Officer refused the student’s request based on XYZ, but now it sounds like it is fixed, so I will grant her/his visa.’

"While students can always re-apply for student visas, each decision is final."

4. How to get customized private consultations with the U.S. former Visa Officers

Visa applicants in the following scenarios might want to seek some professional assistance:

  • who would like prepare the successful visa interview;
  • who consider themselves as the ones who have high chances to get denied
  • who have family/relative members in the U.S.
  • who got refused before

This is why SEVIS SAVVY and Argo Visa teamed up to share their expertise as current International Student Advisor and previous Consular Officers. 

 

Just like SEVIS SAVVY which was created by International Student Advisors to deliver accurate F-1 and J-1 student visa regulations and updates based on official and trustworthy sources, Argo Visa was founded by Visa Officers to assist all visa applicants to get through the visa interview successfully.

 

SEVIS SAVVY and Argo discussed the official partnership to make the one-on-one consultation sessions more affordable for international students. If you would like to get special discounts ($25 off), please click the link here. The original pricing is as below:

30m consultation

30-minute one-on-one ($479)

Perfect for students who applied for visas for the first time and who do not hold potential risks to be denied.

60m consultation

60-minute one-on-one ($789)

Perfect for students whose visas were previously denied and/or who have families and relatives in the U.S. and/or who would like to tailor their visa interview answers.

Visa applicants may think the price is too high- but did you know that the average salary for bachelor’s degree holder in the United States is around $50,000*? What is more, the cost of applying for immigrant based visas like permanent residency (green card) and employment based visas (H-1B or O visas) can be more than $1,000.

 

Therefore, with one time investment, visa applicants can get the right service and save their time to get the visa, start the study in the U.S. and increase their expected earnings upon graduation.

 

In the next paragraph, some of the questions that visa applicants can ask at the consultation with Argo Visa will be shared. (It is worth noting that this special discount applies not only to F-1 visa applicants but also to all types of visas. To reiterate, all applicants in every visa category are eligible for consultations.)

 

*Click here to learn more.

"If you would like to get special discounts ($25 off), please click the link here."

5. Questions and answers about the visa denial​

The common reason to refuse a student visa is INA section 214(b). Although the section is about the lack of ties, it covers everything and the consular officer can refuse for any reason under INA section 214(b).

Again, it can mean anything. Some examples might be a passport is near its expiration date or a semester start date is near and DSO should fix the start date on SEVIS.

Yes, generally it is easier for renewal cases unless something new happened.

There’s never been a quota but Consular Officers go through the norming process where Officers try to have similar approval/denier rates.

If you apply from a foreign country, you might need to be more prepared and let officers know why you are taking interviews from foreign countries. Keep in mind that the visa record will follow the applicant even if he or she takes interviews in different countries.

Scholarships will not make it easier to get a visa but can be good evidence that the student is hardworking.

"If you would like to get special discounts ($25 off), please click the link here."

Testimonials from visa applicants who prepared the interview with ARGO VISA​

Argo Language
"I got my F1 visa approved today in China and I'm most thankful to the team for the unflinching support given to me
Mei, Chinese
"I just want to thank you for your professional and amazing company and team. With all of your assistance and wonderful consultation that I have, I had an amazing interview and my visa was issued."
Samira, Iranian in Pakistan
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