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Indian student's F-1 visa rejection in seconds sparks online debate, ‘Everyone ahead was rejected too’
An Indian student's Reddit post about his friend's F-1 visa rejection at the US Consulate in Chennai sparked discussions among people.
An Indian student's account of his friend being refused an F-1 visa at the U.S. Consulate in Chennai in a matter of seconds without any clarification went viral on Reddit. The post has generated a lot of online discussion among prospective international students and prior visa applicants.
What is F-1 visa?
With the F-1 visa (Academic Student), you can enter the country as a full-time student enrolled in a language training program or at a recognized college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or other academic institution.
Here's what happened during interview
The interview of the candidate, as per the post, took place on November 10 at a 9:30 am.
In the post, the Reddit user explained that his friend's F-1 visa was quickly and unexpectedly rejected after being accepted to Northeastern University for a Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence. The post, whose authenticity cannot be verified by HT.com, claims that the visa officer merely inquired about two things:
When the officer asked which university? “Northeastern,” the student replied.
On being queried about the program, he said, “Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence.”
The Redditor claimed that the officer returned his passport, informed him that the visa was denied, and advised him to try again the following time. He added that everyone in front of him at that desk had also been turned down. “Literally everyone ahead of him at that counter was rejected too.”
Reddit post draws attention
As the post garnered attention, many people expressed their dissatisfaction with the unclear and unpredictable nature of the visa acceptance procedure.
The replies on the Reddit post showed a blend of realism and sensitivity. “It's not really unfair as your friend is not entitled to a visa even if he spent months applying,” one person said. “I recalled 10 years ago, I had an agent who helped me and a lot others to prepare for F-1 visa, they were all rejected. The reason can be various. They never guarantee you will get a visa. And honestly, why would you want to go with the state with issues in the US. There are so many other countries to go study/work at. One door closed is a sign you’re not supposed to go anyway.”
Another commenter made the observation that the university's standing might be important, stating, “If you go to a no-name school like Northeastern, you might as well go to school in India and save a lot of money.” The interviewer is aware that your sole motivation for attending Northeastern is to work in the US in the future, the user added.
