F-1 VISA Interview Experiences

𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐀 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄: 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞: F1+F2 Initial Interview Slot: 28 may 2024 Rescheduled interview date: 15 nov, 2023 at 10:00 AM Visa Status: • Initially Approved by VO on 15 november 2023 at around 10.30 am. [right after interview] • F1 + F2 issued on 16 nov, 2023 and Received passport collection mail on 19th nov, 2023 . passport collected on 20th. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫: spring 2024 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: North Dakota State University Intended Program: Masters in Agricultural and biosystems Engineering 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝: Graduate Research Assistantship with Full Tuition Waiver+ stipend + health insurance . Deficit: 2969 dollar F2 On the day of interview: 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝: All passports including the previous ones • Visa Appointment confirmation page • DS 160 confirmation page • SEVIS fee payment confirmation page • I-20 form • Bank statements • All transcripts & academic certificates • NID • University offer letter • Marriage Certificate, Nilkahnama (Translated in English), Marriage Photos • 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐲: 9.00 AM. 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐲: 9.05 AM First check: At embassy gate. A male security officer checked all of our passports, visa appointment letter and DS-160 along with transparent file that we were carrying. Second check: Before entering the compound. (Had to wait for around 15 minutes ) Documents checked- Current passport and interview confirmation page [A Bengali male officer checked the DS 160 confirmation number and then attached a sticker behind the passport] Entered embassy and then interview room. We waited inside the room watching the interviews happening while a Bengali Male officer asked us to go to counter 3. Third check: A bengali officer checked our current and old passport, asked my name and name of the university and when i paid the sevis fee.then he told us to go to counter number 6 for fingerprint. In my old passport there was md written so i got scared but then i told him it was long before, I don’t have MD now. Fingerprint: An American lady greeted us with a warm smile and she took fingerprints of both of us. After that, we waited in the bench for our serial to come. This is a very intense moment as we were seeing many people giving interviews, VOs asking questions, approving and rejecting visas. I was trying to get an idea which counter will be good for us although it’s not in our hand to choose. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝: at around 10.30 am. 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨: 11 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫: A beautiful American lady with curly hair wearing spectacles, and a kurti 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Approx. around 45 seconds [Two people were standing in front of me in a queue. First one was a self funded student he described everything how his father gonna pay but unfortunately he got rejected. Then the person who was in front of me he was self funded and previously rejected, he was so nervous he wasn’t able to answer but VO helped him. he got accepted.Then my turn came.] Me and my wife: Good morning officer. she said with a smile, “Hi, please pass me your current passport and i 20” saw the funding and then said who is f1 please can you come to the left as my microphone is in this side. **Passed both of our current passport and i 20. VO: How did you manage the funding Me: So i saw an opening in linkedin of my professor x. I emailed him and then he set a time for a interview and after the interview, he told me there is funding available you can apply. This is how i got the funding. VO: So, you got research assistantship. So, what are you going to research about? Me : Autonomous steering system control of all terrain vehicle using machine learning. ( added some more engineering term) VO: (Looking at the computer screen and then asking question to my wife) So, how many days are you planning to stay there My wife: 2 years. VO(with a warm smile): Okay, I am approving your visa. Please collect your passport in 14 days.

Visa interview experience: Southern Arkansas University Program : MBA Interview date : 3rd May, 2023 Issued: 9th May, 2023 Session: Summer 2023 VO : Hi, Pass me your I-20 and passport. Me : Here it is. VO : Why this University? Me : Told. ( I mentioned my husband is a faculty of this university as one if the reasons of choosing this University). VO : So ur husband is a faculty of the same university you choose? When did he join this university? Me : Yes. He joined this university in January, 2023. VO : Can you show me his Visa documents? Me : I don't have that now, but I have his employment letter. VO: Okay, show that to me. Do you have your marriage certificate? Me : Yes, here it is. VO : Who is going to pay your expenses? Me : As you can see from my I -20, I have got full tuition waiver, and my husband will bear my other expenses like health insurance and living cost. VO : What courses are you going to take in first semester? Me : I will take 2 courses Managerial Economics and Strategic Marketing in my first semester. VO: Did you travel to any other country before? Me : No, I haven't traveled any other country yet. VO: Okay, I am approving your visa ( gave me that blue leaflet) Me : Thank you so much.

Visa Interview Experience: 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞: F1 Initial Interview Date: 30 May 2024 Interview Date After ER: 13 November 2023 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Issued. 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 10:00 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: University of Delaware Intended 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦: Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering (Photonics) 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Spring 2024 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 Details: Graduate Research Assistantship with 3k+ surplus in I-20. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝: Passport, Appointment Confirmation, I-20. Documents Carried: Visa appointment confirmation, Passports, I-20, Offer Letter, DS-160 confirmation, Visa fee pay slip, SEVIS fee pay slip, NID, Birth Certificate, Photos- 2 copies (2*2), Certificates and Transcripts, IELTS score. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview Duration: Less than 1 minute 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐎: Me: Good morning. VO: Good morning. Please pass me your passport and i-20. Me: I passed both my passport and the I-20. VO: You are fully funded, great. Me: Yes Mam. VO: Tell me about your research. Me: Told. VO: Tell me more. Me: Told. VO: Okay, I am approving your visa. Please collect your passport within the next 14 days. Me: Thank you . On that day, I rarely observed the visa officer approving visas; rejection after rejection was the common sight. While at Counter 10, I witnessed 8-9 consecutive rejections. I prayed not to face Counter 10 and fortunately found another counter. While waiting in line, I noticed a family of 5-6 people getting rejected before me. Consequently, I anticipated more questions from the visa officer. In my experience, if you are fully funded, the interview seems more like a formality, and visa approval is likely 99% of the time. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞: Undergraduate: Physics Institution: Khulna University. CGPA: 3.53/4.00 IELTS: 7 Publications: 4 (Conference, Journal) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- List of Universities I Applied: 1. University of Delaware I intended to apply for Fall 24 and was preparing myself according to that. I mailed many professors for Fall 24; among them, professors from University of Delaware, University of Dayton took interviews earlier and told me to apply for Spring 24 as they had a vacancy in their lab. ---------------------------------------------------- Those like me, trying to switch their subject, reach out to professors as much as you can; they can make a big difference, just like they did for me. There is nothing to lose while reaching out to professors. Don't give up even if you don't get replies or positive responses; patience is key. Lastly, thank everyone in this group - you've supported me tremendously throughout my journey. Good luck to all future applicants.

The embassy emailed me to update my passport (as my passport was expired) and submit both passports on 22 May 2023. I did all the procedures accordingly, and my dream came true.

Funding Status: Full-Funded (Tuition Fee waiver + TA/GSR + 100% Health Insurance) Documents Carried: The same as before Documents Checked: I-20 and Passport Duration: About 5-7 minutes VO Description: A very jolly person Counter No.: 08 Conversation with VO: Me: Good morning, Sir. How are you doing? VO: I'm doing good. Please pass me your passport and I-20. Me: Here you go, Sir. VO: Why this university? Me: Okay, I chose the University of California, Davis, because of my intended Professor's research. My research interest and previous research experience are totally aligned with my Professor's current research projects. Also, based on the USNews veterinary medicine ranking, UC Davis ranks first in the USA. VO: WOW, great! Then it is a great university! (He was super excited) Me: Yes, Sir. VO: Do you have any specific research interests? Me: Yes, Sir (Then I talked briefly about my research interest). I believe he was satisfied with my answer. After that, he stopped asking me any questions and looked at the monitor. His facial expression changed suddenly. He didn't talk for at least one minute. After 1-1.5 minutes, VO: I'm sorry. I think you have an idea about the administrative processing. Here is the 221g paper, and you need to give the answers to these questions. Please do it ASAP. Me: Yes, Sir. I know about administrative processing. But why again? I have been under administrative processing for the last more than seven months. Because of that, I lost my admission and funds from my previous university. I needed to change the university, receive admission, and secure funds. I'm afraid my admission and funds will be cancelled again if I can't go there in time. VO: I'm extremely sorry. I have nothing to do. We need to go through a regular process. Again, I'm sorry about you. Me: I can't understand what I should do now. Please do something so that I can get the visa in time. VO: I'm sorry. I can't do anything now. Please do it ASAP, as I suggested. Me: Previously, I sent the answers to the same questions. Today, I have brought a printed copy with answers to those questions. All the information is almost similar to the previous one. Please accept my printed copy so that you can take an early decision. VO: I'm sorry/ It is not possible for me to accept any printed copy now. Please do it as I told you earlier. . . . I talked to him for another 1-2 minutes. But I forgot those conversations. As I remember, he said "sorry" at least 20 times. The VO was super friendly during the whole interview. I didn't have any idea why he refused to approve my visa and put me under administrative processing. Even now, I don't have that idea and couldn’t find any clue that could hamper my visa. At the very last moment of my interview… Me: I'll send all the answers to those questions by today. Please do something for me. I'm really super frustrated due to this administrative processing. VO: We'll try our best to solve your case soon. I'm sorry again. Here are your passport and I-20. Me: Is it possible to keep my passport with the embassy? VO: Take your passport with you. You may need it to visit a country or for other purposes. Me: Okay. Thank you very much, Sir. Please do something. VO: We’ll do our best. Me: Thanks. Have a nice day. VO: You too. When I was leaving the embassy, I thought everything was done for me. I need to divert my focus to other countries. However, I submitted the answers to those questions after returning from the embassy. My waiting time started again. During that period, I contacted the embassy regularly and got the same reply. I even contacted the Congressman of Davis. His office tried to solve my case but failed. The embassy replied with the same answer to them that they sent to me. I was super frustrated, and I didn't know what I should do. I needed to defer my admission from Fall 2022 to Fall 2023. Then waiting and waiting…………… Finally, my case changed from "Refused" to "Administrative Processing" in September 2022.

Documents Carried: I-20 (Signed), Passport, Visa Payment Slip, Visa Appointment Confirmation, SEVIS Fee Confirmation, DS-160 Confirmation, All Original Certificates and Transcripts, Offer Letter, Admission Letter, NID, Photo (2 copies), All Scores, COVID Vaccination Certificate Documents Checked: I-20 and Passport Duration: About 1-2 minutes VO Description: A middle-aged, very smart-looking man Counter No.: 07 Conversation with VO: Me: Good afternoon, Sir. VO: Good afternoon. Please pass me your passport and I-20. Me: Here you go, Sir. VO: WOW! In Hawaii! Very beautiful state. I hope you'll enjoy your time there. Me: Thank you very much, Sir. I appreciate it. VO: You'll do your PhD in Microbiology, right? Me: Yes, Sir. VO: Great. From where did you complete your degrees? Me: I completed my MS in Microbiology from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. Before that, I earned my DVM degree from the same university. VO: Okay. Are you married? Me: No, Sir. Till now, I'm single. VO: So, you don't have any children, right? (Smile) Me: (I was shocked as I had already informed him that I'm single) No, Sir (Smiled) Then he used my passport to check something on the monitor. Immediately after that, his smiling face vanished; he took a paper (221g), showed a few questions (8) on that paper, and suggested that I should submit the answers to those questions to an email address as soon as possible. He also recommended submitting my passport to the Dhaka VFS immediately after submitting those answers. I was thundered and speechless at that time. What I can say now! You know, that moment just cracked my hard work and determination. However, I started……. Me: Am I rejected? VO: No, no. You're not rejected. You'll be under administrative processing. Please do ASAP what I suggested. Me: Okay, Sir. I'll do it ASAP (I couldn’t say anything as I didn’t have any idea about the administrative processing. Even I heard that a candidate having full funding wouldn’t face getting the visa. But I was wrong. Luck and other requirements do matter). VO: Here are your passport and I-20. Me: Thank you, Sir. My head became empty. I didn't have any idea what I should do. That time I could talk to a student who was also under administrative processing. After discussing with him, I submitted the answers and my passport accordingly (within three days because of off days). My waiting time started from that day, I emailed and called the embassy multiple times but got no positive response. "My case needs more time, and they cannot do anything"- like this. Due to administrative processing, I couldn't join UHManoa in time. My admission and funds, both of them were cancelled (First week of January). I talked to my Professor, and she confirmed to me that she'll continue my fund via Research Assistantship. Indeed, she was super friendly to me. But I had to say “No” to her because of my personal issue. And, of course, I let her know at an appropriate time so she could offer the position to another candidate. However, from that day, I started searching for more universities and applied centrally to the University of California, Davis, and the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (The application fee was waived at UA Tuscaloosa). Luckily, I got admission to UC Davis with full funding. Oh, I got a gentle rejection from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. 2. ADMISSION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS My case was still pending, but I was informed to face another interview. And I did it accordingly. Unfortunately, I needed to go through the regular process. As I knew, they normally provide an interview date in such a case. I was unlucky again. Visa Type: Same Visa Priority: Regular>Emergency Initial Visa Slot: 6 April 2023 Applied for Emergency: 24 July 2022 Emergency Approved: 25 July 2022 Interview Date: 29 July 2022 (10:00 AM) Intended University: University of California, Davis Intended Program: PhD in Animal Biology Session: Fall 22 (22 September 2022)

#Visa_Interview_Experience #Administrative_Processing_Experience "Alhamdulillah" I can't understand how I should start! Allah took the biggest test of my life and checked how far I could take the limits of my patience. However, I always believed that whatever Allah does, He always does it for good. I'm here to announce that I’ll be starting my PhD in the USA in the upcoming Fall semester. I could inform that news in 2021/2022, but unfortunately, I couldn't do that because of my visa issue (Administrative Processing; Please find the details later). However, with the grace of the Almighty, my 1.5 years of waiting time has come to an end. My visa has recently been issued at last. -------------------------------------------------------- NEXT JOURNEY TO THE USA Intended University: University of California, Davis Program: PhD in Animal Biology Semester (Quarter): Fall 2023 (I got admission for Fall 2022) Fund: Full-funded, no surplus and no deficit (TA + Full Tuition Fee Waiver + 100% Health Insurance) -------------------------------------------------------- VISA PROCESSING TIMELINE 1st Case Created: 13 December 2021 1stInterview: 15 December 2021 (Please find the details later) Refused: 15 December 2021 (under administrative processing) 2nd Case Created: 26 July 2022 2ndInterview: 29 July 2022 (Please find the details later) Refused: 29 July 2022 (under administrative processing) Refused to Administrative Processing: 26 September 2022 Documents Submission Email: 24 October 2022 Administrative Processing to Refused: 19 February 2023 Passport and Photo submission: 22 May 2023 Refused to Administrative Processing: 5 June 2023 Administrative Processing to Approved: 5 June 2023 Approved to Issued: 6 June 2023 Passport Collection Email: 6 June 2023 Passport Collection: 7 June 2023 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MY PROFILE You'll find everything about me in the following link: https://sites.google.com/view/drsaiful/home ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS MSc in Microbiology (CGPA: 3.968) Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (CGPA: 3.298 with two backlogs) - Session: 2013-14 PUBLICATIONS: Published/Accepted: 48 Under review: 7 As a first/co-first author: 17 Google Scholar Citations: 910+ I have several conference papers (n = 27), but I don't use them in my CV. WORKING EXPERIENCES Senior Officer: Senior Officer (March to date) Research Associate: One year Research Assistant: Three years APTITUDE SKILLS GRE: 307 (Quant: 160, Verbal: 147, AWA: 3.5) Duolingo: 115 ------------------------------------------------------- OTHER VARSITIES I APPLIED University of Hawaii at Manoa: PhD in Microbiology, got admission, Teaching Assistant with an 11.5k+ surplus in I-20 University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa: PhD in Biological Science, rejected -------------------------------------------------------- Visa Interview and Administrative Processing At the outset, I would like to say that what happened to me with the visa issue, I pray that it does not happen to my enemy. Only those who have gone through the administrative process will understand what I went through. However, I have tried to provide detailed information about my visa interview and administrative processing journey below: 1. ADMISSION TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA Visa Type: Nonimmigrant F1 Visa Visa Priority: Regular>Emergency>Reschedule Initial Visa Slot: 30 January 2022 Applied for Emergency: 19 November 2021 Emergency Approved: 21 November 2021 Got visa slot: 9 January 2022 Reschedule: 23 November 2021 Interview Date: 15 December 2021 (02:15 PM) Intended University: University of Hawaii, Manoa Intended Program: PhD in Microbiology Session: Spring 22 (10 January 2022) Funding Status: Full-Funded (Tuition Fee waiver + TA; Surplus 11.5k+ in I-20)

Visa Interview Experience: 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞: F1 Initial Interview Date: 25 April 2024 Interview Date After ER: First 11 December, then rescheduled to 15 November 2023 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Issued. 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 10:00 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: Baylor University Intended 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦: Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Spring 2024 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 Details: Graduate Research Assistantship with 4k surplus in I-20. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝: Passport, Appointment Confirmation, I-20. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview Duration: Around 30 seconds 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐎: VO: Good morning. Please pass me your passport and i-20. Me: I passed both my passport and the I-20. VO: I see you got a fully funded PhD program, congratulations. So tell me something about thesis. Me: (Explained it in two sentences) VO: It's really impressive that you could explain it to me in a way that I almost understood. Very fee people can do that. Congratulations, your visa is approved! (Kept my passport in a box, passed me the blue leaflet) Me: Thank you so much! -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞: Undergraduate: Mechanical Engineering Institution: BUET CGPA: 3.41/4.00 IELTS: 8 GRE: 167 quant, 155 verbal Publications: 1 conference paper accepted, 1 journal paper under preparation --------------------------------------------------------------------- Many of you are asking about my IELTS and GRE preparation. To be honest, I couldn't manage much time for my job (RA) and papers, but fortunately my score turned out to be satisfactory. And even though I took a very short preparation, I had a good knowledge about question type resources, so I could take an efficient preparation. For IELTS, I solved two tests from Cambridge book no 18, that helped me to create strategies about listening and reading part. For reading and writing, I watched videos from a channel named IELTS advantage. For GRE, I memorized Barrons 300 high frequency words. Solved the ets books of verbal and quant. Watched first 3 videos of Gregmat for verbal. Took powerprep 1&2. For AWA, watched Greg's video.

আমার MS first semester er semester final ছিলো তাই সেমিস্টার ফাইনাল শেষ করে ১৪ দিন মত টাইম পাইছিলাম হাতে GRE preparation নেওয়ার।। তখন একটা confidence চলে এসছিলো আমি পারবো, কারণ টুকটাক মেইল করতাম তখনও Duolingo যে ভার্সিটি গুলো accept করে ওগুলোতে। ভালোই রিপ্লাই আসতো আলহামদুলিল্লাহ, generic + positive ও ছিলো।। ওই ১৪ দিনে ২ টা প্রোফেসার কে interview ও দিয়েছি ( একটা GRE এক্সাম এর আগের দিন রাতেও ছিলো) আমার GRE এর পড়া পড়তে ভালো লাগতো না, ইচ্ছা ছিলো GRE ছাড়াই যাবো গেলে, কারণ Interview এর একটা Professor অনেক positive ছিলো আর ওই University তে GRE লাগতো না।। তাই GRE পড়তাম না। এক্সাম দিলাম স্কোর এতো খারাপ আসলো। ( TA ship এর minimum requirement ছিলো 300)।। আমি ভাবলাম এটা হবে না (এখন যেটাতে যাচ্ছি), প্রোফেসার কে মেইল করলাম, বললাম আমার স্কোর এমন আমার কি application continue করা উচিত হবে নাকি? মানে এই স্কোর পাঠাবো নাকি...এটা তো অনেক খারাপ। প্রোফেসর বললো apply করো, ভালো কিছু হবে, যদিও আমি তোমাক কথা দিতে পারছি না positive কিছু কারণ এটা Departmental decision তবুও আমি চেষ্টা করবো তোমাকে নেওয়ার। তাই application complete করলাম October এর ২৩ তারিখ, last date ছিলো ২৫ তারিখ।। ডিপার্টমেন্টের TAship confirm করলো ২৭ তারিখ।। আলহামদুলিল্লাহ।। এর পর ভার্সিটিতে এপ্লাই করে ১ নভেম্বর এডমিশন কনফার্ম হয়েছে।। .......................................................................... Universities: 1. Nicholls State University 2. Clemson University এর একজন Professor positive আছেন এবং apply করতে বলেছেন, phD fall 2024 এর জন্যে।। Application complete করিনি কারণ ফার্স্ট এ মাস্টার্স করার ইচ্ছা।। 3. Central Michigan এ একটা interview দিয়েছি, Professor কে পছন্দ হয়নি, অনেক রুড লেগেছিলো, PhD fall 2024 এর। 4. Winthrop University এর একটা প্রোফেসারের কাছে interview দিয়েছিলাম, তিনি আমাকে অনেক পছন্দ করেছিলেন কিন্তু তার ফান্ডিং অনকে কম। বলেছেন তিনি ফান্ডিং এর চেষ্টা করছেন, পাইলে আমাকে নিবেন। আর তিনি phD করেছেন University of Alberta থেকে, সেখানে তার Professor এর সাথে কথা বলবেন আমাকে কোনো position দেওয়া যায় নাকি।।😇 .......................................................................... Thank you.

#visainterviewexperience Visa Interview Experience Visa Type: F1 Interview Date: 19 November, 2023 Scheduled time: 10:00 AM VISA Status: Approved Initially CEAC Status: Issued on 22 November, 2023 ........................................................................... Intended Semester: Spring 2024 Incoming University: Nicholls State University Intended Program: MS in Marine and Environmental Biology Class Start Date: 22 January 2024 Offer Details: Fully Funded (TA+ RA+ Full Tuition Waiver) ........................................................................... Reached to Embassy: 9:15 AM (যাওয়ার পর পরই লাইনে দাড়িয়ে গেছি) Documents checked: Passport, appointment confirmation, i-20 ........................................................................... Counter: 09 আমি যখন bench এ বসে wait করতেছিলাম তখন মনে মনে চাচ্ছিলাম 09 counter এ পরুক। একজন fully funded ছিলো দেখলাম ১ মিনিট ও রাখেনি blue leaflet দিয়ে দিছে।। VO Description: White woman (অনেকটা Chinese দের মত দেখতে) আমার আগে একটা family এর interview নিয়েছে 10 minutes+ I guess. তারপর reject করে দিয়েছে।। আমি তো ভয় পেয়ে গিয়েছিলাম!! কি না কি হয়!! Interview duration: Less than 1 minutes .......................................................................... Me: Hello VO: Hi. Pass me your passport and I 20 Me: Here it is (Then she scanned the sticker attached back to my passport) Then checked my i20 VO: Ow you are fully funded! Me: yes please. VO: Tell me about your research. Me: Told ( কি বলতেছিলাম ওত খেয়াল করেনি) Monitor এ কি জানি check করতেছিলো। পরে মুখ দেখে মনে হইলো কিছু একটা দেখে ডাউট খাইছে, আমি তো ভয় পেয়ে গেছিলাম) VO: আস্তে আস্তে কি যেন একটা বললো শুনতে পাইনি।। Me: sorry!! VO: what are you doing now? Me: Currently doing my Masters from Bangladesh Agricultural University. VO: Okay. I am going to approve you visa. ( তারপর blue leaflet আর i20 আগিয়ে দিলো) Me: Thank you so much officer (with smile) .......................................................................... My Profile: B.Sc. in Fisheries (Graduated on April 2023) University: Bangladesh Agricultural University Cgpa: 3.641 Publications: 1 published publications (As a co author) in undergrad. Duolingo: 125 ( with one day preparation) GRE: 292 (V: 141, Q: 151, AW: 3.5) (with 14 days preparation) Details: https://sites.google.com/view/mdsameulislam .......................................................................... Score নিয়ে কিছু বলি, আমার আসলে spring 2024 এর চিন্তাভাবনা ছিলো না। ভেবেছিলাম November এ preparation নিয়ে IELTS দিবো এরপর Erasmus Mundus এ try করবো, না হলে পরে USA এর জন্যে Fall 2024 এ try করবো। আমি just practice এর জন্যে কোনো public post in Linkedin, different website like Agristok, job board etc (student লাগবে এমন) দেখলে mail করতাম, reply আসে নাকি, কারণ আমি জানতাম ওসব public post এ অনেক বেশি application পরে আর এগুলোতে হওয়ার সম্ভাবনা অনেক কম, কোনো আশা ছাড়াই এক রকম মেইল করতাম আর কি... ১১ নম্বর mail এ একটা ভালো reply পাই। তখন আমি আমার প্রোজেক্ট এর কাজে ভোলা যাবো। রিপ্লাই অনেকটা generic মনে হচ্ছিলো, কয়েকজনকে দেখাইলাম, কেউ কেউ বললো positive কেউ কেউ বললো generic. কি করবো বুঝতেছিলাম না। প্রজেক্ট এর কাজে বিজি ছিলাম বুঝতেছিলাম না কি করবোনা করবো।। ২ দিন পরে প্রোফেসার কে mail back করলাম, সে জিজ্ঞেস করলো আমার English proficiency, GRE score আছে নাকি, থাকলে যেন তাকে পাঠাই। আমার তখন কিছুই নাই।। বললাম নাই, বললো তাড়াতাড়ি দেওয়ার ব্যাবস্থা করে Department এ TA এর জন্যে apply করো।। আমি ভাবলাম IELTS দিলে atleast 14 days তো preparation নেওয়াই লাগবে, আবার স্কোর দিতেও অনেক সময় নিবে।। ওদের admission website এ দেখলাম University Duolingo accept করে কিন্তু আমার MS program এর website e TOEFL এর কথা mention ছিলো।। আমি Professor কে মেইল করলাম, বললো Duolingo দিলেও হবে সমস্যা নাই।। তাই এর পরদিন Duolingo এর basic দেখে preparation নিলাম, আর ল্যাব এ বসে দিয়ে দিলাম ১ দিনের প্রিপারেশন এ। এর পর GRE এর ডেইট নিলাম।।

#visainterviewexperience If you are going to OSU please let me know. 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞: F1 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Issued. 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 10:00 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: Oregon State University Intended program: MSc in Civil Engineering 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Winter 2024 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 Details: Graduate Teaching Assistantship with zero surplus. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝: Passport, Appointment Confirmation, I-20. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interview Duration: Around 2 min (a middle-aged American lady). When I was in the interview room, I saw they were rejecting everyone. There was a half bald guy. He was rejecting within seconds. However, at one stage, he took almost 7-8 minutes to interview a F1 student and then rejected him. Seeing those made me a bit nervous. Even while I was at the counter serial, all three of my previous members were refused. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐎: Me: Good morning, Officer. How are you doing today? VO: Pass me your passport and i-20. Me: I passed my latest passport and the I-20. VO: (took some time and examined all the documents carefully). Oh, you got a full fund… nice. Tell me about your program. Me: (Explained it.) VO: Listen, I’m going to approve your visa. But let me give you some advice. Do you know the weather at OSU? Me: Yes mam. At winter the weather can be very cold and windy. VO: Your Bangladeshi cloths wont suit there. So don’t buy cloths from here. You should buy it from the US. Me: Thank you, mam. -------------------------------------------------------------------- My Learnings: All you can do is just pray, take a good preparation and pray. I found that funding is somewhat depends on the luck, and obviously, it is similar to the admission test that we passed in Bangladesh; if you get a chance in a university, you will get a chance from others as well. It is always best to have a backup plan, such as applying to other countries such as Australia, EU, etc.

----------------------------------------------------------------- Emailing: I sent about 160-170 emails and got 10-12 generic responses, and 2 of them were positive. None of them were from the university where I am currently studying 😎 Interview with professors: I was interviewed twice by two different professors from the same department of NJIT. Finally, I was selected. Additionally, l was interviewed by a professor from Florida Atlantic University and he told that he shortlisted me for future availability. Tips for email and interview: 1. Be specific and clearly state your purpose with certain research interest 2. Avoid any jargon, email should be concise and clear 3. Before the interview, you must study the background of the professor and get a clear picture of his/her research interest 4. Don't try to be smart because they are way smarter than you, rather be gentle and professional 5. They know that you don't know everything and it's okay! Just don't forget to learn how to say "I don't know" professionally. Really, it's a great virtue 😊 Thanks for your patience! God bless you.

#visainterviewexperience Visa Type: F1+F2 Interview Date: 03 July 2023 Visa Status: Issued (Alhamdulillah) Scheduled Time: 8.45 AM CEAC Status: Initially "Refused" on 03 July 2023, approved on 06 July 2023, and finally issued on 10 July 2023 Passport Collection email: 10 July 2023 Passport Collected: 11 July 2023 ------------------------------------------- Intended University: New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Program: PhD in Civil Engineering Session: Fall 2023 Funding Status: Graduate Teaching Assistantship (Full Tuition Waiver +Health Insurance) with a surplus (~ $2.3 k). After adding a dependent, there was some deficit around $3.7k. --------------------------------------------------------------- Documents Checked: I-20, Passport, Visa Appointment Letter ------------------------------------------------------------------ Counter no 7 (A white, beautiful American lady) Duration of interview: Less than a minute Conversation with VO: Me: Good morning, mam. VO: Good morning, thanks. Please pass me your passport and I-20. Me: Here they are. (I passed both passports and I-20s) VO: What is your research topic ? Me: I explained it in 15-20 seconds roughly. VO: How did you guys met? Me: Told. VO: How long have you been married? Me: Told. Then, there was a situation everyone gets nervous...a pause for a few seconds while she was looking at the monitor and typing something (I wasn't that nervous but couldn't say I wasn't at all!). After the pause, she was approaching for the blue leaflet and I was super excited (murmurring Alhamdulillah) VO: Congratulations! I'm approving your visa. Collect your passports within 14 days. Me: Thanks, mam. Have a good day. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Profile: B.Sc. in Civil Engineering Institute: Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) CGPA: 3.15 GRE: 302 (Quant: 160, Verbal 142, AWA: 3.5) IELTS: 7.0 (speaking 7.5 and no band less than 6.0) Publications: 02 (a conference and a journal) Job Experience: 3 years 7 months in relevant fields -------------------------------------------------------------------- A brief story of my GRE journey: First of all, please don't expect any suggestions since you will find many in this group. Secondly, you might want to read this section and figure out why should not give up! I wasn't excellent in my GRE exams (I tried GRE 3 times), while many of my friends were excellent in their turns. Primarilly, I used to be upset most of the time during preparatio as I was struggling so bad to manage my time for GRE preparation. For instance, it was not that easy to study in containers at construction sites at different awkward timings, even during midnights. It was a luxury I couldn't afford! Like many, I had to maintain a regular 10-6 office hours plus 4-4.5 hours of tedious commuting time throughout my professional career as well. Yet I don't want to blame on those stuffs because there will be a lot of unwanted and uncontrollable things in your path that might frustrate you. All you have to do is to outsmart these booby traps and make those things your reason of strength! Summarizing these facts, I just want to tell you that you should not, by any means, stop dreaming! Many people will tell you that you are not capable enough to secure funding or admission with low or mediocre profile. Just ignore them and follow your dream and work super hard! Insha Allah, you will not be upset. I will suggest some simple but important "dos and donts" - 1. Don't lose hope, don't procrastinate! 2. Don't blame yourself for not being able to manage your time for proper preparation. 3. Try your limit to the fullest 4. Get rid of your comfort zone and make use the best use of your available time 5. Be honest to your pursuit of higher study 6. Last but not the least, don't be stingy while helping others ----------------------------------------------------------------- Applied universities: I only applied to one university (because my research and professional experience strongly matched)

#visainterviewexperience Visa Type: F1 + F2 Visa Status: Issued Intended Program: Ph.D. in Material Science and Engineering University: Clemson University Session: Spring 2024 Funding: Fully funded with Graduate Research Assistantship and Full Tuition Waiver ($3.2k deficit after adding F2) Interview appointment: Initially on May 19, 2024 After ER on Nov 19, 2023 CEAC status: Approved on 19 Nov. Issued on 20 Nov. Received the passport collection email on 21 Nov. Collected passport on 22 Nov. Documents checked: Passports (both old and new), I-20. Additional Documents we carried: DS-160 confirmation, SEVIS fee confirmation letter, visa fee receipt, admission and funding letters, BSc certificate and transcript, HSC, and SSC certificates, NID, IELTS Score, marriage certificate, nikahnama, and some wedding pictures. Counter No: 8 (Took less than 1 minute) Conversation with VO: (VO was a bearded American guy and he was smiling during the whole conversation) VO: Hello, good morning. Me: Good morning (I passed the new passports and I-20 while saying it) VO: So, you're fully funded. What is your research area? Me: It's additive manufacturing. VO: What kind of assistantship have you got? Me: Graduate Research Assistantship. VO: (Looking at my wife) Hello mam, how long have you been married? My Wife: We have been married for one year and four months. VO: That's wonderful, congratulations. (Both of us said thank you together) So are you planning to study in the US? My Wife: I haven't thought about it yet. VO: Oh okay. After that, he stopped smiling at looked intensely at the computer while typing something and then he said "Congratulations, I am approving your visa, you can collect the passports within 2 weeks." Both of Us Together: Thank you so much, Sir. Background: BSc in ME, CUET (2022) CGPA: 3.77/4.00 IELTS: 8.0 GRE: Waived Job Experience: N/A Publications: 1 (A journal paper on my undergrad thesis) Other Universities I applied to: Ohio State University (Rejected, Applied centrally) Pennsylvania State University (Rejected, Applied centrally) Johns Hopkins University (Rejected, Applied centrally) Things to share: When I first thought about studying abroad my initial target country was Canada. Since GRE is not needed there, I only sat for IELTS. After that when I found that there are very few funding opportunities in Canada, I started looking for universities in the US that do not require GRE. However, I couldn't manage any professors in such universities (emailed about 250+ by then) so I almost gave up on emailing professors and applied centrally to the three universities I mentioned above. Those universities did not require GRE. Meantime I thought I should sit for GRE since I hardly got replies from professors without mentioning my GRE score in the email. So, I started preparing myself and sat for GRE on Nov 2. However, even after applying centrally, I still kept searching for professors and I have sent more than 450+ emails to the professors of different universities that did not require GRE. Just before my GRE date, I got an interview. After the interview, I took the exam and scored 303 (V: 139, Q: 164, AWA: 4.0). However, the interview was a success and I got the offer and luckily GRE was waived. My verdict is that one should never give up on emailing as many professors as possible. I am grateful to some of my friends who helped me all the way through.

𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞: F1 Initial Schedule: 12th May 2024. Emergency Request Submission: 28th September Documents submitted for Emergency Request: • I-20 • Assistantship Offer Letter • DS-160 Confirmation page • Expedited VISA appointment letter from Grad. Co. • Admission Letter. I submitted my ER application over 90 days before my class start date. So, it shouldn't be an issue if you are fully funded. I applied for ER without paying the SEVIS fee. If you are not fully funded, then you should pay the SEVIS fee before applying for ER. Also, I used someone else’s credit card who is living outside of BD and faced no issues. Emergency Request Approved: 30th September. Rescheduled Appointment: 30th October. Visa Approved: 30th October. Visa Issued: 31st October. Passport Collection Email: 1st November. Passport Collection: 2nd November. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: University of Oklahoma 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦: MS in Petroleum Engineering. 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Spring 2024 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Full Tuition Waiver + Graduate Research Assistantship + Health Insurance + Small Surplus ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 Carried: Passport; I-20, Visa Appointment Confirmation (Printed from Gmail); DS160 Confirmation; SEVIS Fee Payment Slip; Visa Application fees Payment Slip; Admission Offer Letter; Graduate Assistantship Offer Letter. 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝: Visa Appointment Confirmation, Passport, and I-20. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conversation with VO: Me: Good Morning VO: Please pass me your passport and I-20. Why are you going to the USA? Me: I intend to pursue master’s in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma. VO: What was your school? Where did you get your bachelor’s from? Me: I did my bachelor’s from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology. VO: What are you doing currently? Me: I graduated recently so I am doing nothing right now. VO: Have you traveled to any other countries before? Me: Yes, I went to India. VO: So, Why Petroleum Engineering? Me: I did my bachelor’s in petroleum and mining engineering, so…. (He didn’t let me finish) VO: Who’s going to pay for you? (Then he looked at my I-20) Oh, you are fully funded. Me: Yes sir. (Then he typed for 10-20 seconds) VO: I am approving your visa. Please collect your passport within a few days. Me: Thank you. VO: You are welcome. ---------------------------------------------------------- Confusing DS-160 Questions: Home Address: Use your present address. It DOESN’T have to match your passport or NID. Social Media Identifier: You can change and shorten your FB, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, and YouTube profile links very easily. Your Instagram profile link may not fit in the identifier space, even after reducing the length to the minimum possible. In such case simply use your USERNAME. (Passport) City Where Issued: If “Issuing Authority” is DIP/DHAKA in your passport. Then input DHAKA straight away. Have you made specific travel plans? : If you haven’t, just input NO. Intended Date of Arrival: Give any date between the earliest admission date (mentioned in your I-20) and the class start date. Intended Length of Stay in U.S.: If your I-20 indicates more than 24 months or 2 years (for example 35 months), use the months/years mentioned in your I-20. Address where you will stay in the U.S.: Just give your university address (International service office). Additional point of contact Information: You can choose your friend and your supervisor.

#visainterviewexperience 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞: F1 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 22 Oct 2023 (Initial date was on 14 March 2024. Then I applied for ER. ER got approved and rescheduled to 8 Nov. Then again rescheduled (while it was showing ER rescheduling dates) to 22 Oct. 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 10:00 AM Reached Embassy: 7:45 AM (Then after almost 2 hours of standing in line, initial passport check, security checks, scanning, sticker, etc. the interview took place exactly at 10 a.m.) 𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐂 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Approved on 22 Oct, issued on 23 Oct, Passport collection mail on 25 Oct, Passport collected on 26 Oct) -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: Virginia Tech 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦: Ph.D. in Mining and Minerals Engineering 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Spring 2024 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Full Tuition Waiver + GRA + $1900 Surplus in i-20 (Along with 88% healthcare coverage) -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨: 10 (White American Male with hair & beard) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐎: Me: Good morning, officer. VO: Good morning. Please pass me your passport and I-20 Me: Sure. VO: Tell me about your research Me: The main research focus would be "Underground Hydrogen Storage". This work will encompass the feasibility study of storing hydrogen in depleted gas reservoirs in low-supply and high-demand situations. VO: Is that a new type of research? Me: Yes that's right. VO: Alright. [Now pointing my I-20]. What is this Graduate Assistantship? [Wanted a brief explanation] What type of work will you do? Me: This is a Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) which will cover my tuition fees and also provide me a monthly stipend. I'll be working in the Lab of my supervisor. VO: Where did you travel outside Bangladesh? Me: I visited India thrice. VO: What purpose? Me: Tourism. VO: Okay. [Passing me the blue leaflet] I am approving your Visa. Good luck with your research. Please collect your passport within 1-2 weeks. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞: B.Sc. in Petroleum and Mining Engineering Institution: CUET CGPA:3.54/4.00 Publications: 2 conference papers GRE:309/340 (Quant: 156, Verbal: 153, AWA: 4.0/6.0) IELTS:7.5 (Listening: 8.5, Reading: 7.0, Writing: 6.5, Speaking: 8.0) --------------------------------------------------------------------------

#VISAINTERVIEWEXPERIENCE 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞: F1 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 14th August 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: approved 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 10:15 AM 𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐂 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Approved on 15th of August Passport Collection: 17th of August -------------------------------- 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: Western New England University 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦: MS 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Fall 2023 ---------------------------------------------- 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 Carried: Passport, I20, Visa Appointment Confirmation, DS160 Confirmation, SEVIS Fee Payment Slip, Admission Letter, Offer Letter, NID Photocopy, All Original Certificates & Transcripts (SSC, HSC,Honors), Bank Statements. 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝: Passport, Appointment Confirmation, I-20 Interview Duration: 1 min ---------------------------------------------- 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐎: COUNTER: 7 Lots of people were getting Rejected in that time. Me : Good Morning officer. How are you doing today? VO: Good morning (with smile) pass me your i20 and passport Me : Here you go. VO: Why this University ( Then she stopped) oh! You are fully Funded! Congratulations! Me: Thank you officer! VO: So what will be your Reserach path? Me: Not Decided yet. VO: Okay! Have you ever travelled any country? Me: yes. I went to India for a conference. VO: Okay I am approving your visa. Please collect you passport within 14 days. And Please take warm cloths with you. (In that time i was not hearing anything properly) Passed me the i20 & and blue leaflet. Me: Thank you so much Mam. Tips: Be diligent and Focused. Always seek assistance from Almighty. Never loose hope and never stop trying. If you have honest intention nothing gonna stop you.

SOP and recommendation letters (LOR) are pivotal part your application process. After preliminary selection, your SOP and LOR can play a vital role in getting you a funding offer. So spend some time on this, don’t write a generic SOP. Show your passion, take SOP as a way of convincing them why they should give you the funding. Who should undergo WES evaluation? If you have a GPA in between 2.90 and 3.00, you should definitely consider WES evaluation. Your GPA may likely increase to 3.00 or above (do conduct your research and feel free to reach out to me). It will dramatically increase your options. For me, WES was a blessing. From the universities I got offer required a GPA over 3. There was one exception: due to additional complexities, I couldn't send my WES transcript to UCF (University of Central Florida). Nevertheless, I received a PhD admission offer with a GPA of 2.98, even though their stated minimum requirement was 3.00 (I applied without reaching out to any professor). Some mistakes that I made: I took the IELTS before the GRE. If you're aiming for a GRE score above 320, take the IELTS after the GRE. If you can achieve a score of 320 on the GRE, attaining a score of 8 or above on the IELTS will likely require minimal additional preparation. Conduct thorough research about universities before applying. This can save you both time and money. I made the error of applying to a couple of universities without fully exploring their funding options. For instance, I applied to a PhD program at the University of Kentucky's ECE department without adequately researching their funding opportunities. Later, I learnt from one of their documents that they rarely offer funding to international students. You can also reach out to the graduate coordinator before applying, which I didn’t. Suggestion for getting high GRE scores, writing SOP and overall application process. My GRE score was 331(Q:170, V: 161). For GRE preparation, I didn’t follow any third party resources like Magoosh, personally, I think these are too expensive and waste of money. I used 3 ETS books and practiced from different online free resources. For those who are interested, I am taking free Zoom sessions on 03/10/2023. In those sessions I will give you complete guidelines for GRE preparation, share the resources and exact links that I followed, offer insights from my experience on crafting an effective SOP, explain the entire application process, and provide guidance on selecting universities. If you are interested, please reach out to me via messages. Visa experience: My CEAC status changed to 'approved' immediately after the interview, but it took about 15 more days to change it to 'issued.' Those 15 days were challenging. As you can see from the dates, I scheduled the visa interview for the day after the ER approval date. Based on my research, they conduct a preliminary review of each profile before the interview. Since I didn't provide them with any additional time, it took a few extra days. If you find yourself in a similar situation, don't lose hope. I am going to share my opinion regarding visa interview in one line: The VO only wants to see your intention whether you are coming back after completing your studies, and whether you are going to work illegally while you are there. So keep in mind this while you are answering your questions.

First let me share my visa interview experience and I will attempt to answer some questions whose answers I was looking for once as a low GPA holder: University: University of Wyoming Program: MS in Electrical Engineering Funding: TA + Fellowship Initial Schedule: 04/01/2024 ER approved: 08/06/2023 Interview: 09/06/2023 Issued: 26/06/2023 Me: HI ! VO: Hello ! Please pass me your passport and I-20. VO: Why USA? Me: They have probably the best education system and research facilities….blah…blah…I spoke for 45 seconds and then paused. There was about 15 seconds of silence while she checked something on the monitor. She didn't ask any further questions and concluded the interview by simply saying, 'Everything is fine, and your visa is approved.' My Profile: GPA: 3.08(after WES, before that it was below 3) GRE: 331(Q:170, V:161) IELTS: 7.5 Publications: None Other offers: UCF, BYU, BU(All PhD) In this writing I will explain how I managed to receive three PhD offers and an MS offer for fall 2023 from US universities, all with funding, despite having a GPA of less than 3.00 and no publication. I will also share a different perspective (probably easier) on how one can obtain funding and highlight some mistakes that I made, which many others also make. This writing is long, so I am writing in the form of Q&A. Is it possible to get funding with a GPA below 3.00? The answer is a resounding yes, but you have to work for it. Life always gives second chance. First let me share my personal experience, my GPA is 2.98. For fall 2022, I applied for three low ranked universities’ MS program and got rejection from two and got admission from one without any funding. Before applying my only effort for graduate studies was just: I took preparation for IELTS for one week. But life isn’t that easy. For fall 2023, I started a bit later. Around July 2022, I began preparing for GRE. I worked relentlessly for three months and achieved a score of 331(Quant: 170, Verbal: 161) all while holding a full-time job. I put significant effort in writing SOP(Statement of purpose). With this profile, I got four funding offers after applying centrally. So yes, it is quite possible to get funding with a low GPA. With low GPA, you need to have something eye-catching in your profile. In my case, it was GRE scores. I will write other alternatives of getting fund in the following paragraph. How should I strengthen my profile for a fully funded offer from a US university? Most people will tell you that you need to have a well-rounded profile to get funding but I have a different perspective. I will tell you to make one aspect of your profile not just good but outstanding. I found this way less exhausting and less time consuming. US universities usually receive a large amount of applications, particularly for funding opportunities, resulting in intense competition. But with something exceptional in your profile, your application is more likely to be reviewed. That was the case for me. I received all my funding offers without having to reach out to professors; I applied centrally. Nowadays, especially after COVID, you can secure funding even without submitting GRE scores. In such cases, having research experience becomes important. My advice here is also to prioritize quality over quantity. Instead of publishing numerous subpar or average papers, channel your efforts into producing one or two outstanding papers. While GPA is undoubtedly crucial, faculty of foreign universities don’t know about most of the universities of Bangladesh. If you have an excellent GPA and you can sell it through Statement of Purpose (SOP) and recommendation letters, you can manage funding without GRE and having zero publication. I have seen people having 3.9+ GPA in both B.Sc and MS and applying to more than 12 universities and receiving no funded offer. I have also seen people managing funding from similar university with GPA of around 3.5 and without taking GRE and having no publication. Why SOP and LOR are crucial?

#Visa_Interview_Experience 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐓𝐲𝐩𝐞: F1 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 21 Aug 2023 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Approved ( 5th September) 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: 10.30 AM 𝐂𝐄𝐀𝐂 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: Approved on 5th September -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: Saint leo university, Florida. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦: bachelor of business administration 𝐒𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: initially fall then deferred semester to spring 2024 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: 28k$ tuition fees (15k scholarship) -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝: Passport, Appointment Confirmation, I-20 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐨: 09 (A white middle aged American man) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I was really afraid of the young lady ( counter 6) She was rejecting literally everyone. Luckily I went to counter 9. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐎: Me: Hello, Good morning sir with a smile. VO: Good morning with a positive big smile Me: already passed passport and i20 VO: how many universities did you applied? Me: I applied to four universities including California state university, wright state university, international American university and Saint Leo university (with strong confidence and loud voice) VO: why this university? Me: actually currently I'm studying in a private university in Bangladesh and I did some internship in our family business for coupler years and I realized that I need to do some practical and research based education for the betterment of our business which is not possible here in Bangladesh and I found Saint Leo really familiar with that. VO: how did you managed that scholarship? Me: I think they have evaluated my IELTS score and academic results. VO: did you travel outside bd ?( Initially when I passed my passport he was focusing carefully on the seal of Indian visa and asked that question) Me: yes , I went to India recently for my hair transplantation. VO: who will be your sponsor? Me: my elder brother is going to be my sponsor. VO: what does he do? Me: After completing his graduation from UK he started to take care of our family business with my father in 2013 . We actually import X and sell to the local mills. (He didn't ask for annual income) VO: Do you have any other siblings? Me: yes I have a sister,she is married and her husband is a lecturer in a renowned university in Bangladesh. Then he was typing something and giving the 221 g as I deferred the semester he asked for new i20 to submit to vfs global.(although I asked for the blue leaflet 🥲🥲)He returned my passport and gave me 221 g. Submitted passport on 28th August in vfs. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞: Ssc 2015 (4.17) Hsc 2017 (3.58 without optional subject) Ielts 6 ( speaking 6.5 and rest of the modules 6) Almost 6 years gap and alhamdulillah got approved today.. All you can do is be confident and smart .. I gave all the answers with 200% confidence and attitude as he found zero clue for rejection. Bank statement around 10 crores but he didn't even asked for that .. and thank you nextop I saw all the interview experience here and I gained knowledge about that . ------------------------------------------------------------------------