Visa abroad: Things applicants should pay attention to when interviewing with the visa officer

At present, many people have received admission notices from foreign colleges and universities and are entering the visa preparation stage. Applicants who want to study in the United States also need to prepare for a visa interview. How to prepare to successfully pass the interview? The reporter recently interviewed Zhang Hengrui, chief consultant of Gosden Xuamei Study Abroad. He reminded applicants to pay attention to the following matters.

Proactively present visa materials

Zhang Hengrui believes that applicants who come to the United States for the first time must have an interview with a visa officer, which is what everyone often calls a visa interview. Applicants must prepare visa materials before the interview, including passport, ID card, visa application form, photos and English test scores, etc., and actively present them to the visa officer during the interview process.

Among academic materials, applicants must present original academic qualifications and degree certificates, original Chinese and English certificates, and original Chinese and English certificates of transcripts. Applicants for postgraduate studies should not ignore proof of work and income, such as family and financial information, income certificates, family property, spouse’s income certificate, original business or company certificates, etc. It is important for applicants to provide proof of savings that can cover study expenses while studying in the United States.

During the visa interview, the visa officer will not proactively ask the applicant to produce these materials. During the conversation with the visa officer, the applicant should present corresponding supporting documents in a timely manner as the conversation content requires, and do not wait for the visa officer to question and inquire before responding.

Deal with sensitive topics skillfully

During the interview, applicants will be asked some sensitive questions, so they must deal with them skillfully.

When answering the visa officer’s questions about major selection and employment, applicants should indicate that their study purposes are simple and reasonable, and should not reveal their tendency to immigrate. They should indicate their intention to return to their country after completing their studies. This is One of the conditions for passing the interview. In addition, applicants must clearly explain their future development and not let the visa officer think that they will immigrate and stay in the United States to work. This will increase the risk of visa rejection.

In the process of applying to study abroad, majors such as military industry, biochemistry, and aviation are sensitive majors. Applicants for such majors should pay special attention to the sensitivity of the major. When making a professional presentation, applicants should highlight the parts of their major that can be used for civilian purposes, highlight their advantages in returning to the country for employment, etc. Do not highlight their role in the military or biochemical fields to avoid allowing the visa officer to seize the reason to refuse the visa. If professional sensitivities are unavoidable, applicants should provide reasonable explanations.

According to reports, in addition to testing the applicant’s language level, the visa officer will also observe the applicant’s personality characteristics to determine whether he or she is adaptable to overseas life. The applicant's logical reasoning, adaptability and other comprehensive abilities will also be tested during the conversation.

During the visa interview process, applicants should try to shorten the distance between them and the visa officer to make the communication atmosphere relaxed and pleasant. During the conversation, the applicant must make eye contact with the visa officer. Wandering eyes will affect the visa officer's trust in the applicant. Applicants should also pay attention to the other person's expression and reaction, and be careful not to make jokes about the other person, so as not to make the other person feel despised.

Introduce your major in a concise and comprehensive manner

Applicants should be concise and comprehensive when describing their major. They should not just introduce it in professional terms, which will ignore the feelings of the visa officer.

The visa officer may not understand the applicant’s major due to professional limitations. When the applicant cannot understand what he or she has stated, the visa officer will naturally lose the relevant basis for judging whether the applicant has a tendency to immigrate, and may ultimately reject the application directly. When introducing the major, the applicant should use simple and clear vocabulary to describe it, and talk more about the reasons and purposes of learning this major, including its development after returning to the country, to help the visa officer understand and make judgments.

Many applicants are very nervous during the interview process, which usually manifests itself as vague expressions, inability to express what they mean, incoherent speech, and wandering eyes. In this regard, applicants should have a preliminary understanding of the visa officer's questions before the visa interview, and enhance their conversational skills in a targeted manner so that the visa officer can make a clear judgment after talking to them.

Zhang Hengrui reminded that the interview is a communication process, and applicants should try to relax as much as possible. If the applicant just passively answers the visa officer’s questions, he may not be able to fully express his thoughts and intentions. When preparing for the visa interview, applicants should determine what content they want to convey to the visa officer, so that they can consciously say what they want to say during the conversation, thereby increasing the chance of getting a visa.