Getting the United States Student Visa, or any other visa for that matter, can be a nerve racking experience. What helps with the preparation though, is a good understanding of the process and learning about other’s experiences. These are my experiences in applying for the US Student Visa in March 2011 from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (I am not a citizen of the country). The process for US Student Visa is fairly consistent across the globe so hopefully this post helps some of you.

I am breaking down the entire process into 3 sections and explain what I did in the process of getting the visa

1. The Pre-Interview Phase:

• Filling up the Declaration of Finances form: My student visa procurement process began with me filling out a ‘Declaration of Finances’ form that was used by my graduate school, Hult International Business School, to apply for the I-20 on my behalf. I furnished details amounting to the fact that I had sufficient funds to cover my expenses during my duration in the United States. My school used the details from that form to apply for the I-20 and sent the form along with a SEVIS id number to me within a few weeks of initiating the process. This is a 9 digit number follow the letter ‘N’ on the top right corner of your I-20 form when you get it. (Sometimes you may be given the SEVIS id number before you get your form. This number will suffice for you to start with the remaining sections of the process). Once you get your I-20, make sure you take a good look at it to ensure all the information is accurate.
• Paying the SEVIS fees: Make sure you are connected to a printer before you start this process. You need to take a print out of the payment confirmation page to take with you to the consultate for your interview. DO NOT CLOSE the confirmation screen without taking this printout as there is no way for you to return to that screen EVER! This link (https://www.fmjfee.com/i901fee/students/formSelection.htm) at the Department of Homeland Security website helps you with the process of paying the SEVIS fees of $200. Keep your SEVIS id you received from your school handy in order to complete the process. Select the I-20 option and proceed by filling out the required details. You could pay using a credit card as this is the easiest option (However, if you are from certain countries you may not be allowed to do so. This is a precautionary measures applied by the Department of Homeland Security to help curtail fraudulent activities. If you are from one of these restricted countries there are alternate instructions provided on the website  for you).
• Take a digital photograph of yourself: You may choose to enlist the services of a professional photography studio for this or you may choose to do it yourself. Whatever be your method of choice, make sure they adhere to the required standards posted here on the United States government website. Make sure you have a digital copy of the taken photograph and you will need to upload this in order to complete the D-160 form
• Filling the DS-160 form:You can start filling your DS-160 form by clicking this link from the Consular Electronic Application Center (https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/). You will be required to enter a security question and an answer for your password. Make sure your retain this information along with the form application number (you will need this since it is inevitable that you will be logged out due to some sort of inactivity and these are key pieces of information that you will need to be able to log back and proceed from where you were logged out). Be prepared to spend some time filling this form up. It took my about and 1.5 hrs to 2hrs to fill this form out with its various sections and log outs and interruptions. Upload your photo and print out the confirmation page. You will need to take this to the interview
• Schedule a consular appointment: Check your nearest consulate website for their scheduling calendar and choose a date that works for you. You will need your application number (from your DS-160 form) in order to make an appointment. Print out the appointment page and take it with you to the consulate
• Pay the consular fees: There are specific instructions on how you may pay the consular fees. In my case it was to go to a specific bank (National Bank of Abu Dhabi and pay the required amount of $140 or in this case 540Dhs). This is a relatively pain free process – just go to the bank and pay the fees. Retain a pink and blue slip that you will be given as proof of payment. Take this with you to the consulate on the day of your interview.

2. The Interview Phase

On the day of your interview make sure you take all the necessary documents with you

1. Your Passport
2. The SEVIS payment confirmation page
3. The DS-160 Confirmation Page
4. The Interview Confirmation Page
5. The Consular Fee payment slips (pink pink and blue)
6. The I-20
7. Supporting documents to prove your financial capability and ties to your home country
8. Extra copies of passport style photograph that your took for the DS-160

This section will be specific to my experience here in Dubai.

Visa applicants were asked to assemble at the white cabin at one of the Dubai World Trade Center Building. Your interview papers will be verified by the security and you will have to walk through a metal detector and then wanded by another security. Then you will be asked to sit down and wait till your time slot arrives. Once there were about 20 people (I presume were all for our interview time slots) we were led into the World Trade Center building straight into an elevator and taken up to the 20th floor. We waited in a line and our papers were verified one at a time. I was asked to take a photocopy of my I-20 and was asked to go to the next room where they take care of administration services. Once all that was taken care of I was taken back to the old room, my papers re-verified and all my possessions x-rayed. There was a lady in front of me was asked to head to the restroom and wash her hands again as the machine was going bonkers during the scan.

Once all was done, we were asked to walk back the way we came to a security desk, where our contents (that were just x-rayed and everything) were re-examined and once again we were wanded down. Once this was done, we walked through a small corridor, up another elevator and were again X-rayed and wanded and our contents re-examined. And then we were allowed to go into the waiting room, which was just a huge room with consular booths against the wall. We were asked to show our confirmations papers, given a toke number and  10 printed (impressions of all your 10 fingers will be taken by pressing against a green lighted machine). And now you wait until your token number is called out and you approach the window with the visa officer on the other side to answer questions.

These were the questions I was asked:

1. Why are you going to the states?
2. Why do you need another degree?
3. Why did you chose Hult?
4. Who is paying for your trip and education?
5. What is your plan after graduation

That’s it and after a wait of slightly over 3 hours the entire interview was done in 3 minutes. They tell you if your visa is approved/rejected/pending further processing on the spot.

3. The Post Interview Phase:

This phase will defer with consulates as I observed. In previous attempts once the interview is over and if your visa is approved, they retain the visa and send you off. The passport with the visa stamped is then mailed/couriered to you. In Dubai, I was asked to take my visa down to the white cabin where it all started albeit in a different section. When I reached the white cabin, I was asked to fill my mailing details out on a sticker and paste in on the back of my passport. I get to keep a stub indicative of my giving them the passport. I was then asked to wait 3 business days and the passport would be delivered to me.

Once all these phases are over, wait for your passport to arrive, make arrangements and off you fly. Good luck with your visa and have a great time, studying in the United States.

Disclaimer: The depiction above is what I personally did when I tried to get my United States Student Visa from Dubai, UAE during March 2011. Visa rules and procedures change often so make sure you check with your school and the local consulate to make sure you are doing everything accurately.