‘Your interview will not be document-focused’

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Your interview will not be document-focused’

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.