Tourist Visa For USA From India
By now you will be familiar with the basic outline of the Tourist Visa For USA From India process. Here is a quick summary – You need to book your appointment well in advance, it’s a two-day process, and; there is biometric and document verification involved. But in this article, I’m going to be focusing on the last. And the most crucial part of this entire process which is the Visa interview.
So let’s jump right into it. When you go for your interview 99.99% of the time. This is the first question that you’re going to be asked.
“Why do you want to visit the United States of America”?
The way you answer this question pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the interview. Now keep in mind that these interviews are short they are just three to five minutes. So you need to be very well prepared for this question and also you need to make sure that you are clear and concise.
Also, read – How to Apply For Visa
So while preparing for this question why do you want to visit the United States of America. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you need to have a clear purpose of visit which means that you need to have a clear agenda or a clear plan as to why you want to visit the United States of America.
Some of the good answers to this question could be that you want to go to the USA to visit your friend. You want to go to visit a relative, you want to go to attend an event or you want to go on a vacation.
Apply for US Visa Online
Whatever your answer is make sure that you have done enough research. And you have enough supporting material to support your answer. Now let’s say for an example that you want to go to the United States of America for a vacation. Now the embassy officer is going to ask you where you’re going, how many days you plan to go, where are you staying what are the things that you intend to see and so on.
You should be prepared to have answers to all of these questions. So this shows that you have a clear purpose and a clear plan of visiting the United States of America. Now while applying for the visa it is not necessary or not compulsory to have your tickets booked and your hotels booked. But it’s a good idea to carry a travel itinerary or a travel plan with you. Which basically shows that you have a clear agenda in mind.
Let’s take another example let’s say that you are going to the United States of America to attend an event. Now if you say that you want to attend a particular event. You will be expected to know all the details of that event. So you should be able to tell him or her what event is, what’s the venue, what are the dates. What’s the purpose, who’s the sponsor and so on and so forth.
Avoid things in US Visa Interview
At this point let me also tell you what are the answers you need to avoid. So when you are asked why you do want to visit the USA the worst thing that you can do is to be vague and too lost. So saying things like I haven’t really thought about it. I’m applying for a visa for my future plans. I plan to travel but I’m not really sure where I want to go. These are the things that are not going to lead you anywhere and will just get you in trouble. So avoid being vague, avoid being lost, and be as clear and concise as you can.
Now that we have covered why do you want to visit the United States of America? Let’s move to the second most important part of the interview process and this is the question.
“ Why would you come back to your country” or “what are your reasons to come back to India “.
This question will probably be the deciding factor between you getting the blue slip. Which basically means that your visa is approved or you getting a pink rejection slip.
This question might be asked explicitly to you the embassy officer might just directly ask you. What are your reasons to come back to India or how do I know for sure, that you are going to come back to India? or he might ask a bunch of questions around your work, around your life in India. Around your family to decide whether you are somebody who’s likely to come back or not.
Whatever be the case here is how you need to prepare for this question. When you answer this question it is very important to show that you have a set grounded life in India. And you have enough reasons to come back to your own country. This could be your job, the company that you’re working for, it could be parents or siblings. Who are dependent on you it could be investments or funds that you have in India. It could be properties or other assets that you have purchased here. Another thing which can add to your credibility is your passport itself.
So in the past, if you have traveled outside of India to Asia, Europe, or in fact anywhere else make sure that you highlight that. This shows that you’re a person who loves to travel. Who in the past has gone outside the country and has come back and this will add to your credibility.
Now I want to clear something here I feel like a lot of people who are freelancers or. Who has their own business feel like they’re at a disadvantage here because they cannot really show a set job or a fixed income? But that’s not really true I’m a freelancer and when I went for an interview I told them that. I make travel videos on YouTube and that I’m a freelancer.
Because when the story checked out, I had a YouTube channel, I had uploaded enough videos to prove that. I was, in fact, taking it seriously and my passport had stamps from other countries. I had traveled enough in the past all this contributed to the fact that my story was valid it checked out.
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I indeed wanted to go to the USA as a tourist and hence I got my visa. This of course combined with the fact that my entire family was in India. My base was in India and I had investments here in India. So if you’re a freelancer or a business person do not feel intimidated by the fact that you cannot show a fixed income. Make sure that whatever story you’re telling checks out and that you have enough proof to show that you have a base in India.
Required document for US Visa Interview
The third thing that I want to cover is the documents that you need to carry with you for the interview process. If you read about the U.S. interview process or the US visa process. It does not explicitly mention any documents that you need to carry with you for the interview. I spent days preparing for documents that I would probably need. And in fact, during the interview, I was not asked to show even one single document.
These documents are everything that will support the two things that we discussed earlier. What is your purpose of visiting the United States of America and what are your reasons for coming back to your country? The reason you need to have these documents ready is when you are giving these answers. If you’re asked proof for anything that you’re saying you should be able to show. It to them then in there for example if you say that your reason that you need to come back to India is that. You have properties invested here then you need to be able to show proof for that.
It could be property tax it could be ownership papers or anything else. Similarly if you say that you have enough funds invested in India and therefore you will come back then you need to show proof. It could bean FD statement, mutual fund statement and so on.
I have classified the documents you need to carry with you into three different categories and now let’s quickly go over them.
The first categories are the financial documents. Now in the financial documents you most definitely should carry your salary slip. Your income tax returns, yourbank statement, your proof of funds and additional things. Like mutual fund statement property tax statement or anything else which adds to your financial credibility. One thing that you need to keep in mind here is that if you are an individual. Who is planning to visit the USA and if you are saying that somebody else is going to fund your travel. Then you need to carry with you all the financial documents of that other person. Who is funding your travel as well so this would include their bank statement their salary slip their investments.
The second category is travel documents. When you apply for a Tourist Visa For USA From India you don’t need to have booked flight tickets. And booked hotel accommodation but you do need to carry some travel documents with you. The first thing that you need to have is a travel itinerary. So you need to have a definite day-by-day itinerary of what you plan to do during your visit. You need to have the address of your friends or relatives with whom. You plan to stay or a list of two to three hotels that you are most probably going to book. When you visit you also need to carry with you details of all the events, venue sightseeing locations. That you are going to cover during your visit to the United States.
The third and final category of documents that you need to prepare and carry. For the Tourist Visa For USA From India interview process. This might sound a little confusing. But what mean by this is that this is basically all the documents that check out your story.
For example, if you are married and you’re saying that you are going to travel with your husband. Then you need to have a marriage certificate if you’re saying that your husband is going to fund your travel. Then his financial documents his proof of funds is required. If you’re a freelancer then you would need to show some proof of your work. So probably you know carry some work with you. If your work is online then probably you know carry a list of links that you can show to them.
Conclusion
So basically this list is endless and the best way that you can prepare for this set of documents is by practicing. What exactly you’re going to say what exactly is your purpose of visit. What exactly are your reasons for coming back and then double-checking your story? And see what all are the proofs that you can add to support your story.
So guys this is how you can prepare for a Tourist Visa For USA From India and clear interview. And get a blue slip which basically means that your visa is approved.