Why did you fail your F1 visa?

One thing we often hear from students is "I do not know why my visa was rejected". In this blog post, we will dive deep into five reasons why students fail to achieve their visa in their first attempt. Before we dig into the reasons for failure, it is imperative that students understand some basic facts, listed below:

1. I-20 for everyone - It is almost always possible for any student to get their admissions (I-20) from a US university since there are hundreds of universities that offer admissions to international students

2. Getting an admission is not the same as getting a visa - We have noticed that several students start procrastinating right after they receive their I-20s. Some of them even start planning on the places they would like to visit after booking their visa appointment, let alone getting their visa approved.

3. The 4 magical words - All students aspiring to get their master's or bachelor's degree from the US should know that you will enter the US only when you hear the VO say "Your visa is approved". So it is this part of the journey that is the most critical and important and yet many students pay little to no attention to this aspect.

Here are the four reason we have noticed regarding failed F1 visas and what you can do about it

1. Lack of preparation: You should always start your visa preparation (research the university, the courses, the professors, the place the university is in, and all other relevant questions) from the moment you start your applications. Several students go easy on their visa preparation. They somehow believe that last minute preparation will get them through and unfortunately with such plan, students retain 20-30% of what they learn and become vulnerable during the interview.

2. Lack of practice: While preparing is like making a tool, practice is like sharpening it. As the old adage goes, "practice makes a man perfect". If you practice the common and most important questions such as "Why this university?" or "Why MS program?" you will most likely overcome the stranger anxiety which all students are bound to have during their interview. Practice is the key to success right next to preparation.

3. Self-Assurance: This is just another way of saying being too confident about one's own skills. While we certainly recommend all students to be confident in their approach, we sometimes see students being too confident. This simply refers to students who may not have prepared well yet believe they have left no stone unturned. They are usually reluctant to take mock interviews or do not heed to any suggestions from professionals.
   

4. Lack of professional help: Another very important reason that many students fail the visa interviews is because they do not seek professional help. This could be out of ignorance or a deliberate decision (as mentioned in the point above). The problem with not working with professionals is that you would be skating on thin ice. This means that you do not know what to expect and your preparation may be limited to a few articles or worse, some pointless youtube videos. Here it is also vital that you work with legit professionals (such as Achiever Overseas Educational Services) who know their province really well.

5. Tough Luck: Though we hate to admit, sometimes you could just be unlucky and have an unyielding VO who just does not regard any of your responses. We have seen this happen with some students who have done all the above and still failed. Though this does not happen often, it is a possibility. However, we recommend that you follow the above four steps to mitigate your chances of getting your visa rejected.