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You have secured admission to a school or college in the US. Now, you need to get your student visa.
Peter G Kaestner, US Consul General, New Delhi, offered his advice on student, work and immigration visas during a recent chat on September 26: 'Student visa applicants are required to show that they have sufficient funds at least for the first year of school. The I-20 indicates how much money is needed and who the school believes is financing the education, whether it is personal, family, or school funds.'
'While we don't stipulate which documents can be presented to show financial resources, a student should look for original documents that show the funds are available. It is really, really important that you do not get fake or doctored documents. I know of many cases of perfectly legitimate students who were denied because they presented false bank documents to the Vice Consul. PLEASE don't use fraudulent documents.'
For those of you who missed the chat, here's the transcript:
Part I: What is a US green card?
imagine asked, Hi Peter, me, my brother and sister are greencard holders. We want our parents to be able to visit us and hence get US visa. Our parents visited US 2 years ago when none of us had greencards. At that time, they got only 6 months visa. Can they get a longer (5-10 years) visa if they apply now ? How can we improve their chances for that ?
Peter G. Kaestner, US Consul General, New Delhi answers, The bottom line again is Section 214(b). Your parents will have to show why they intend to return to India and not remain with you and your siblings in the United States. The fact that they visited and came back should help their case, as long as they complied with the terms of their visa two years ago.
com asked, Hi, I have applied for H1 in April 06 and have it approved now.In the meanwhile I got married to a person who is a green card holder.He will be a US citizen soon, just the oath ceremony pending.Can I go ahead for the H1 visa interview as I have planned before?
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, I would do the H1. Since it is approved, you can get the visa and travel to the United States to work. The after your spouse gets his citizenship, you can adjust status to that of a permanent resident.
Ishaani asked, Hi Peter In 1999 I was rejected B2 (tourist) visa twice while planning for a visit to accompany my husband who was travelling for a business trip. However, in 2002, I was granted an L2 on which I travelled and returned back to India. My L2 expired in 2003. Now, in 2006, I am planning to apply for a B2 because my husband will be travelling for work again. Will the earlier (7 years back) rejections create any problem this time?
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, The earlier rejections should not necessarily adversely affect your visa application now. I am assuming that your situation has changed in the past seven years. In addition, the fact that you have gone to the United States and returned is in your favour.
Sunil asked, can u explain the various types of visas available
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, I really don't have the time to explain the dozens of different visas. But you can go on to the State Department's web site, which should provide you the information you need.
bhupathiraju srinivas varma asked, i got my i20 and i wanted to book my visa slot by november but i cannot get the date is it a problem if we book the emergency dates
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, According to our figures, we have student visa appointments available in September and October, except in Kolkata. We will be adding appointments in the next couple of weeks, so you should see additional availability soon. If for some reason the system won't allow you to book an early enough student appointment, you can ask for an emergency appointment. We don't want any student to miss school because of visa appointment backlog.
amit_ghosh asked, Hi peter, for an F-1 atudent visa interview, what sort of financial credentials does one have to produce?
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, Student visa applicants are required to show that they have sufficient funds at least for the first year of school. The I-20 indicates how much money is needed and who the school believes is financing the education, whether it is personal, family, or school funds. While we don't stipulate which documents can be presented to show financial resources, a student should look for original documents that show that the funds are available. It is really, really important that you do not get fake or doctored documents. I know of many cases of perfectly legitimate students who were denied because they presented false bank documents to the Vice Consul. PLEASE don't use fraudulent documents.
sindharish asked, Hello peter, My name is harish and i am a frequent business traveller to europe and USA, i am currently holding the visa for UK and senzen countries, however i have some important business meetings that i need to attend in the month of november in United states. However i had a valid visa to US only for one year which is now expired in June 06, is there any way possible for me to get the priority appointment for the visa appointment. Kindly advise.
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, Harish -- the short answer is that if you have an important business meeting, you can ask for an emergency business appointment. We are increasing the numbers of our business appointments now, so there should be greater availability within days.
Subbu asked, Dear Sir, there seems to be too much of rush in Chennai consulate as a result of which for B1 visa interview, we had to wait for a 6 month period to seize the schedule. Secondly those who reside in south of India seems to only go through the Chennai consulate office and the volume seems high. It also appears that those hail from south has to be routed through only Chennai consulate. Considering the fact that high number of visas are issued from Chennai consulate compared to other consulates in our country, is there any plan for the consulate to relax or do some special consideration to speed up the waiting time. As you know the business trip are planned adhoc due to need of the hour in IT world, how one can speed up the process of attaining an earliest interview date ? Also can we be able to seek an "Emergency Visa" here ? Please explain. Thanks - Subbu
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, Subbu, the matter of visa backlog, especially as it relates to Chennai, is of great concern to the United States. We are immediately taking steps to increase Chennai's capacity, and we are making plans for further improvements in the weeks ahead. In the long term, we hope to have a new consulate in Hyderabad in about 18 months, where much of Chennai's work load will be processed. I wish it were easier now, but look forward to the future when the backlogs will be a thing of the past.
x asked, Hi Peter, My mother is likely to visit my brother in US. She has an appointment in November. The problem is she does not any other language other than her mother tongue. How do we handle this situation at the interview
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, It depends on what her mother tongue is. In Delhi, we do visa interviews in Hindi, Urdu and Punjabi. And in other consulates, other regional languages are spoken. If your mother speaks Manipuri, she might need to bring an interpreter.
muzaffar asked, hi peter iam BE in computer science and how can i get good job in us give some tips on this pls
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, I see that there are lots of questions asking me for help in finding jobs in the United States. Unfortunately, we have our hands full just giving people visas and not finding them jobs. That said, I would like to warn prospective workers to be careful when searching via the Internet or other means for employment. If the agency or employer guarantees you a visa, that should be a warning signal. No one can guarantee a visa, not even me. We cannot recommend any agencies or web sites to get a job, but it's a good idea to proceed with some caution. The best would be to know someone who is working there or a family member who can put you in touch with a trusted source.
MadeinIndia asked, Hi Peter, I am a young film maker and plan to shoot a part of my first film in the United States. My producer is a reputed person in the Bombay Film Industry, what paperwork is needed? One more thing..My name is Uday. Considering Saddam's slain son's name is also the same, do you think there will be a problem for me? (Uday is a Hindu name and I haven't a clue why Saddam named his son that)
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, There are two issues here. If you are going to do work in the United States in the entertainment field, you need to get a special visa, which includes an approved petition from the Department of Homeland Security. Typically, film production companies hire agents or attorneys in the United States to expedite these special visas. The second issue, about the name, can cause some delay. I hope your last name is not Hussein :). But seriously, every case is checked against a database in the United States that has names of terrorists and other people who are not eligible for U.S. visas. If your name happens to match one of them, there is usually some delay in processing.
praveendu asked, Hi Peter this is a good opportunity for us to get clear on US visa.
Peter G. Kaestner, U.S. Consul General, New Delhi answers, I see it's 4 pm, and I need to run. This has been a great opportunity for me to see the kinds of questions on your minds. I'm sorry that I have not been able to answer you all, and I look forward to doing this again to respond to even more of you. Regards, Peter Kaestner