Preparing for your F1 nursing student visa interview to study in the USA requires careful attention to detail and a thorough understanding of the process. Visa interview transcripts are firsthand experience of what to expect during your interview at the American Embassy. These transcripts, especially those from individuals whose applications were denied, provide crucial insights into potential pitfalls and how to avoid them in your journey to study abroad.
Getting your F1 visa approved to study in USA involves more than luck and favor; it demands diligence, hard work, and preparation. One effective strategy is to analyze the experiences of others to better respond to questions by the Visa Officer (VO) at the US embassy.
Below is a list of F1 visa interview transcripts specifically from international students admitted to schools in the USA that offer nursing degree programs. These accounts will help you understand the USA visa interview process and identify some common questions and favorable answers.
VISA APPROVED✅✅✅
School: Saint Cloud State University.
VO: American young lady
I was tensed a bit but just believed there would be a positive outcome 🔥🔥
The funny thing is I was asked exactly what we planned in the session 😂😂.
VO: Pass me your I-20 and passport.
VO: What are you going to do?
Me: I am going to study Registered Nursing at Saint Cloud State University in Minnesota for four years after which I will pursue a career as a nurse at the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital.
( she wasn’t looking at my face, I looked at her eyes very well to see if it was the Chinese )
VO: Why this school?
Me: I chose this school because it has a much more competitive & incredible Nursing program. The school focuses much on nursing and also has a flexible & intensive curriculum of courses such as portfolio management and strategic management and this would help me in my studies very effectively. they also have a student-to-faculty ratio of 16:2 which is relatively small and makes it easier for me to.
VO: Why study in the USA?
Me: I choose steady in the United States of America because it has a flexible curriculum of courses and I am influenced by the way they bridge the gap between practical this would help me as well as the ecosystem in Ghana.
VO: Who’s sponsoring?
Me: I had a competitive scholarship of $8,000 based on credentials and my GPA and the remaining deficit would be sponsored by My uncle in the person of Mr Isaac Koomson
.He has three Restaurants in Ghana to be precise, East Legon, Kumasi, and Cape Coast. He works as a Surgeon at Korle bu Teaching Hospital and that’s where I’ll work after my completion. He also sponsored my senior brother, who is studying at the University of Derby in the UK.
(She took my statement and went inside, I was tensed 😂😂 )
VO: I see and start typing plenty. What is his name?
Me: and I said it
VO: How many schools did you apply to?
Me: Three, namely Boston College, University of North Carolina, and Saint Cloud State but I chose this because it has a much more competitive nursing program and was recommended to me by my high school counselor.
VO: How did you hear about it?
Me: it was recommended to me by my high school counselor when I told him I wanted to offer Nursing and he told me to apply to these three schools after I also made up my follow-up research I found out that it has the best competitive and intensive Nursing program And I got influenced by that.
VO: Your visa has been approved and find your Bla Bla Bla Bla.
I was smiling like I was crazy😭😭😭.
Hint: The five common F1 visa interview questions for undergraduate students are:
- Why did you choose this school?
- How many schools did you apply to?
- How did you hear about your chosen school?
- Why do you want to study in the USA?
- Who will be sponsoring your education?
Check on these scholarships for international students:
VISA APPROVED✅✅✅
11th July 2024(9:45am)
First and only attempt (The interview was very lengthy)
Location: Abidjan.
School: University of Northern Iowa.
Funding: $3,000
Deficit: $32,248
Course: Bachelor’s degree in pre-nursing studies
Interviewer: white chubby woman.
Note: Many people including Ghanaians and Ivorians were denied. Only a few people like 4% percent out of 100% were approved.
Main interview
Me: Walked to the counter and did not greet.
VO: pass me your documents
(Handed it over to her)
VO: What school are you going to?
Me: the University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls I.A.
VO: What program are you going to study? (Typing)
Me: Pre-nursing studies
VO: Is it a bachelor’s or associate’s degree?
Me: Bachelor’s degree.
VO: How many years is it?
Me: 4 years Bachelor’s degree.
VO: Are you a health worker already? (Typing)
Me: I’m a voluntary nurse in my mother’s private hospital where my duties are( I told her my duties) and I’ve been working there since I completed high school.
VO: Is that all you’ve been doing or are you schooling?
Me: No, I also took online courses.
VO: what courses did you take online?
Me: Mentioned one course and forgot the rest and I started stammering even though I was still bold, confident, and looking into her eyes (still stammering and snapping my fingers, and staring at each other and she was nodding her head at me while’s I was quite and snapping my fingers trying to recall for almost 15seconds to be honest. And finally, I remembered the other one and mentioned it.
VO: so will you go to another school for a bachelor’s in nursing after completing this one? (She asked because, for some universities, pre-nursing is a program taken before going to another nursing school to study BSC Nursing before becoming a Registered Nurse.)
Me: No, I won’t go for any other bachelors, this pre-nursing is a preparatory course I’ll be taking for this semester, It will only prepare me for the program before I start the actual BSc. Nursing course.
V.O: How old are you?
Me: I told her my age.
Vo: what about your deficit? Who will be paying for it?
Me: My lovely mother(Mentioned her name)who is a (mentioned her profession)and owns her private hospital would be paying for everything.
V.O: Do you have anything to prove that?
Me: Of course I do,(Hand over my bank statement to her)
V.O: went through the bank statement flipping from back to back for almost 30 seconds while I was quite staring at her.
V.O: Place your left finger here. (Types plenty)
V.O: I have approved your visa, take this yellow card for passport collection(Mentioned day and time) but I didn’t hear what she said.
Me: pardon me?
V.O: Repeated when I could come for my passport.
Me: Okay, and left.
NB: All the questions she asked except for the name of the school and my age weren’t part of my transcript, I never studied or practiced them it was actually out of context, and I answered everything off the head.
Everything felt like having a normal conversation, to be honest, I was bold, and confident and looked into her eyes. I didn’t necessarily use formal words, I just went with the flow. I joined plenty of visa mock sessions but listened to them instead of letting them interview me because I felt they weren’t V.O. and only judged based on their experience. (My opinion though)
Instead, I listened to every piece of advice they gave and sent my transcript to some of them to go through if it was perfect which they confirmed. I also, read every transcript I came across and fished out all the mistakes of those denied. I observed some points from those who were approved.
In all, I prayed for God’s mercies and Favour, and my mother’s prayers were my motivations.
Glory be to God!
Hint: You can’t apply for an emergency visa appointment in another country. Emergency visa appointment requests are meant to expedite visa appointments for domestic residents of a particular country.
Capetown Embassy
Administrative Process 🥺
15th July, 2024 – 10 Am
VO: American lady
Sch: University of North Carolina at Pembroke
Deficit: $22,110
Funding: 0
Sponsor: Uncle
2nd Attempt 🥺
My Transcript
My every appreciation and gratitude is unto God who meets us at our point of need🙏🏽
Throughout my time at the embassy before the interview, I kept praying and affirming that my visa had been approved. I can say it was a good day, with a lot of white sheets and people smiling everywhere. I said if these people are getting theirs I deserve it too! I got in line and Two people in front of me were approved.
VO: Why is this school?
Me: I chose this school because its nursing program is ranked third globally and my Mentor at the clinic where I volunteer highly recommended it to me
VO: Okay great, Why this program?
Me: The increase of cancer among patients where I lost an aunty and Cousin to Vo cuts in oh I’m Sorry, I thank you! Then I continued that it made my desire to study nursing intense to assist doctors at the clinic where I currently volunteer Vo cuts in again 🥺
VO: Is your uncle a Doctor?
Me: Honestly wasn’t prepared so I told her Yes he’s a doctor without borders and she said okay ..
VO: (quickly glance at my I-20 and looks at the screen, nodding)
Place your right hand on the machine
I will be keeping your Passport
I need to inquire about something
Blah blah blah
I took my sheet and off I go
Me: (just kept saying okay) Thank you! (No bank statements asked, no home ties, no sponsorship letter nothing nothing )
All I would say is, that they say there’s no formula but there is- it’s Grace🙏🏽
Every day with God is every day in Victory
We Dey pray but He Dey show!
Hint: What do you do when issued a 221g further processing white paper?
- The first thing to do right after your visa interview is to contact your school to inform them of the progress of your visa process and seek advice from your counselor.
- If the 221g further processing results from your sponsor’s bank statement, let your sponsor contact their bank to respond to the embassy to verify and address any discrepancies.
- If there is an issue with your academic credentials, contact your school and inform them the US Embassy will reach out to them in the days ahead.
First Attempt US consulate
Abidjan
Full funding
School: Gambling State University
VO: Good morning
ME: Good morning sir
VO: Why did you choose to study in the USA?
ME: I chose to study in the USA because of their flexible nursing curriculum which will allow me to do a lot of internships with numerous hospitals. Studying in the USA wouldn’t only allow me to be an expert in my field of study but a degree earned in the USA is globally recognised.
VO: how many schools did you apply to?
ME: I applied to three other universities..cut in
VO: Why Gambling State University
ME: I chose Grambling State University because of its smaller class size which would allow me to get access to like-minded people and faculty professors and also …cuts in
VO: full scholarship??
Me: Yes sir
VO: how did you secure that?
ME: I secured an academic scholarship and an Out Of out-of-state tuition Waiver that covers my living expenses and Tuition by submitting competitive documents such as my transcript, letter of recommendation, and personal essay.
VO: Great
ME: Thank you sir
VO: What do you do currently?
ME: I currently work as a volunteer nurse at the Shai Osodoku District hospital in the Greater Accra Region..where I check patients’ vital signs and educate them on safety protocols.
VO: typing…..
VO: Can I get you a scholarship letter??
ME: I gave him the emailed one I printed.
VO: is that all for a fully funded scholarship?
ME: Yes sir
VO: Why didn’t you schedule an appointment in your home country?
ME: I was here to visit my grandpa so I decided to ….cuts in
VO: sorry but this is a bad day …take this paper and have a nice day…
ME: Alright, Thank you.
VISA APPROVED✅✅✅
Me: Good morning, how are you doing?
Vo: Good morning, I am good thanks
Vo: Is this your first time applying for a USA visa?
Me: No, it is my second time because I got denied for the first attempt.
Vo: was I the person who interviewed you last time?
Me: No, it was a Man.
Vo: why are you going to the USA?
Me: I intend to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
(I started speaking English here to show my level)
Actually, I speak little English because I did the BYU pathway and got my certificate, I had the opportunity to share my plan with my advisor, who suggested I start intensive English before taking the degree to improve my English
(My I-20 shows IEI for 9 months)
Vo: Okay, who is paying for your trip?
Me: my uncle who has his own company of construction, will pay for all my expenses, he took me after my dad passed away.
Vo: do you have his bank statement?
Me: yes
I gave her the bank statement, it was up to 6 months
Vo: it has been since December, do you have the updated one?
Me: I told her my uncle travels out of the country and couldn’t update it.
She started typing…
Vo: are you working?
Me: yes, I am involved in volunteer work with one NGO …, I have the opportunity to meet with people who are in difficulties, so I am going to study nursing also to help my country.
Vo: put your hand here. Félicitations 🎊,passby on Monday…..
VISA APPROVED✅✅✅
19/07/2024
VO: Where are you heading to?
Me: I’m heading to ETSU Johnson City, Tennessee to study nursing.
VO: Have you been to the US before?
Me: Yes, I have gone to the US on holiday with my family.
VO: I can see that you only got a small scholarship of $5,000…. Who would be funding this?
Me: My parents would be funding my education. They own an Oil trading firm. They deal with supplying diesel and petroleum to large companies and filling stations.
VO: How much do they earn monthly?
Me: I don’t know how much they earn
VO: You are coming to the US on a student visa you need to know how much they earn…
Me: I apologize for not knowing the specifics of their salary but I wouldn’t want to give any random amount that would be a lie. They have been able to pay my previous international fees.
Me: I have their bank statement here and they make a ballpark between 100-150 million a year.
VO: Okay. Did you say you were in a school outside of the US?
Me: Yes, I was a medical student in St.Lucia
VO: How much were your fees there?
Me: my parents pay $40,000 a year at my previous school.
VO: okay (she smiled). You can take this paper to pickup your passport. It should have all of the information you need.
Me: Thank you
Hint: Be honest about your answers to avoid getting your visa denied.
Visa Denied
Johannesburg
Murray State University
COA:28,130
14th August 2024
8:00 am
No funding
Young white man
VO: Good morning
Pass me your passport and i20
Me: I didn’t respond 😂I passed it to him
VO: Why are you going to the US?
Me: I’m going to pursue a bachelor’s degree in nursing at Murray State University in the US
VO: Who’s sponsoring you?
Me: My dad is sponsoring me.
He is a businessman, and he’s into real estate. He owns a construction company called xx, and he earns an annual income of 300,000$
(He took the white sheet before asking the next question)
VO: Have you been outside Ghana before?
Me: Yes, Benin and Togo
VO: Okay, what about outside Africa?
Me: No
We will keep updating this page with new visa interview transcripts.
If you wish to have your transcript featured, you may submit it via the comment box below.
