Clearing the last hurdle

Yesterday was a big day for me. After going through a painful process of applying to universities, waiting for their admits / rejects, gathering hell lot of document to prove that you are financially strong to survive in States; I was at the last resort yesterday - The Visa Interview. I remember someone saying, appearing for GRE and TOEFL is just the beginning, I whole heartedly agree to that statement now. This process has taught me lots of things of how system works and what it takes to leave your country and go to some unknown place for pursuing your educational interests. Right from getting the study material, preparing and appearing for exams, sending application packets, shortlisting universities, selecting between admits and not crying over rejects; I have got a lot of support from people around me and that's why I feel very much fortunate today. I messed up a lot in between the process, sometime I made terrible mistakes but somehow by hook or crook it got carried away; though I have to pay the prize of my laziness and nonchalance. For someone this post might seem like exaggeration of my feelings but it isn't, if you were at my place, you must have felt the same way. If you are unknown of the minute details and intricacies that needs to be cleared or thought of while / before appearing for a visa interview, go see someone who has gone through it.

I made some mistakes while filling up an online form and that delayed processing of my i20. This was essentially the reason for taking the visa date in July, ideally people get it done in 1st or 2nd week of June or beforehand. But what generally / easily happens with people never happens with me. This is a general observation and I have many experiences to support this argument. This D-Day interview was yet another story to tell. Before going to the consulate, everyone prepares the answers of standard questions and by the wish of almighty, they are asked same questions. As I said it earlier, it didn't happen with me. I was standing last in a queue of 7-8 candidates and everyone in front of me came out with a granted visa in a very short time, none of them had to show any documents. As it happens always, I was standing last and was thinking that they ( visa officers ) can't just let people go merrily without being asked tough questions. Being the last man, I knew that I will have to go through a tricky interview. As I entered in the visa interview compartment, I was welcomed by a middle aged (around 55 years) , fat white woman. She was wearing spectacles and has got a typical style of looking through the passage between eyebrows and the glass. I did not care about her looks as I was known to such styles since my school days, many of our khadoos teachers used to stare like that. But contradictory to what I perceived , she was totally different. She was very well mannered and pleasant, she did ask me lot of questions which don't fall in the list of FAQ's but never ever I felt myself uncomfortable while answering them. In fact, I was very confident, looking directly into her eyes, fearless. She even cracked a joke in my interview, which I did understand and I responded by smiling back, but somehow she knew that I was not in the mood of appreciating jokes at that time. 'I was just joking, please don't take it seriously' was her response to my reaction. Sometime back I used to think of what must be going on in the visa officer's mind ( I am even planning to do some research in this area !) , so that I can use it for my interview. Everyday they take hundreds of visa interviews, ask lot of similar questions and get similar answers always. It's not at all bad if someone enjoys pulling the legs of the candidate at the time of interview. When she joked and I replied back by smiling to it, a thought just passed through my mind - 'Maam' how about exchanging our positions? How about me asking you questions and cracking jokes? How about me deciding your fate of being there or not being there in United States... ' I am quite sure, if I would have been sitting at her place, I could have done lots of mischievous things.

So, after a rapid fire interview ( it lasted for around 300+ seconds including my answers, which were often precise except at few places. Later when I calculated the time, the rate of asking questions came out to be 1 question per 2 seconds) , it was a time to hear the golden words, words that I read lot many times in other people's visa interview experiences. ' Alright Onkar, I am granting your visa. You will be flying with your i20 and will get your passport back in 3 working days through courier. Wish you all the best in your master's studies, have a nice time'. I felt great after hearing it, and thanked her for her kindness. After many days, I did something which was very satisfactory.