My friend went to the U.S. in September 2010. As a graduate student at Caltech he maintains a F1 visa status that will expire in June 2015. He will be coming to India in December 2014 on a long break for his wedding.
I would like to know if he can renew his visa before the expiry date. His visa was issued by the consulate in Chennai. Can he get it renewed at Hyderabad or is he supposed to go to Chennai?
Sivani Vempati
Assuming he is still in student status with a valid I-20, your friend may renew his visa before the visa expiry date at any of our consulates in India.
Students returning to the same program at the same university for which the previous visa was issued are usually eligible for the Interview Waiver Program.
To determine whether or not he qualifies, your friend should visit the website at: www.ustraveldocs.com/in and click on ‘Renew my Visa’ under the category ‘Non-immigrant Visa Applications.’
I am planning to go to the U.S. to attend my son’s graduation ceremony in May. What are the documents I need to take for the visa interview? Should I book airline tickets before the interview?
Shobha
You may wish to bring documents that you think will help demonstrate your ties to India and ability to finance your travel plans. However, your interview with the U.S. consular officer will not be document-focused. You should be prepared to answer questions about familial, socio-economic, and other important ties to your home country. Please visit the website: http://hyderabad.usconsulate.gov/visaservices.html for information on the steps to apply for a non-immigrant visa and document requirements.
My son is planning to leave for the U.S. to pursue his master’s beginning this fall at the University of North Carolina. He will be applying for a visa interview in the last week of April. For the submission of financial documents do I need to show the funds in a single bank account held by me or do I have the chance of showing funds in different accounts held by me or by my spouse (in different banks)?
P.V.K. Apparao
Your son needs to demonstrate to the officer that he can afford to pay for his education and live in the U.S. He needs to present whatever supporting documentation he has that shows this.
A student applicant needs to show financial evidence that he has sufficient funds available to him to cover the tuition and all living expenses for the entire first year and a sufficient income source to support the subsequent years during the entire period of intended study.
Along with my wife and daughters, I plan to visit the U.S. in the first week of May for about one month. We have completed the DS-160 and deposited fees. The tickets will be purchased once the visa is approved. Our appointment at Hyderabad OFC is on 22-4-13 and at Hyderabad Consulate General’s Office on 23-4-13. These dates are now clashing with my elder daughter’s university examination starting 22-4-13.
May I now request you to reschedule our appointment, if possible, before 15-4-13 so that we attend the visa interview hassle free and also without hampering my daughter’s examination? Please allot us two consecutive dates for OFC n Consular Interview as Hyderabad is about 26 hours of journey from my hometown Sambalpur (Orissa), so that in one go we attend both and come back.
Jugal Kishor Pattanayak
You can re-schedule your appointments based on availability at http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in. You may also contact our call center numbers 0120-660-2222 (or) 022-6720-9400 to check for availability and change your appointment dates, both for the OFC and your interview. Keep checking back, as dates are added but fill up quickly; there is no guarantee that sufficient appointments will be available for your family prior to your current appointment dates.
