Embassy. | IEC Exchange

Embassy.

To be honest, I didn't prepare much for the embassy. (= Except for the fact that I made quite a few calls to the USA and watched the series Extr@. By the way, it's a very good series, it helps to improve English and perceive words by ear, I recommend it.

My interview was scheduled for March 12, 2010, in Moscow. I booked plane tickets in advance (Krasnoyarsk-Moscow-Krasnoyarsk) with S7, which cost me 6,500 rubles including all taxes and fees (web tickets, by the way, are a very convenient thing, and S7 also has them at a reduced price).

Every student must know by heart and be able to clearly say in English any information from their job offer, the name of their university, faculty, names of subjects (especially those for which exams were taken in the last session), the place of work of their father, mother, and siblings, the name of the program operator firm (International Exchange Center), which submitted your documents to the embassy, and the sponsor organization in the USA (InterExchange), which issued the DS-2019 for you. You must know exactly what you will be doing in the States: housekeeper – I’ll be vacuuming floors, sometimes doing windows etc. Before flying to Moscow, I translated the names of subjects from my grade book, my mother's place of work, and a few more sentences that might have been useful at the embassy into English. I already knew the rest. After reading the translation and collecting the necessary documents for the embassy, I just had to wait. (%

List of necessary documents for the embassy:

Passport of the Russian Federation (original, without cover)
Grade book (original, without cover)
Student ID (original, without cover)
Job Offer (invitation from the employer. You need to take a COPY of it to the embassy, even if you have already submitted it with your visa documents. Students for whom the job is found by IEC and who do not have a Job Offer at the time of the interview will be issued a guarantee letter by IEC, which replaces the Job Offer)
A printed memo about your rights in the USA with text written by hand on the last page: “Read. Surname Name Patronymic. Date. Signature.”

Address of the US Consulate in Moscow:

Moscow, Novinsky Boulevard, 21. (Barrikadnaya metro station)

Address of the US Consulate in Yekaterinburg:

620151, Yekaterinburg, Gogol St., 15, tel. (343) 379-30-01, 379-46-19.

So, March 12, 2010 - the day of the interview. (=

Waking up in the morning, having a light breakfast, and taking all the change and other metal objects out of my pockets, but taking my phone with me, I took the metro to Barrikadnaya station. (I'll say right away – take everything unnecessary out of your pockets if possible + it is advisable to leave a belt with a metal buckle at home).

How to get to the embassy? Exit Barrikadnaya metro station. We see a large building across the road in front of us. On the left, we see stairs leading up. We go to it, crossing the road paved with cobblestones(!). We go up the stairs and see a square. We cross it diagonally and then walk along the road in the same direction. It takes literally 7-10 minutes to walk from the metro station.

Arriving at the appointed time and meeting place (Chaliapin monument), I immediately found my group from Krasnoyarsk. We were lined up, counted, and asked to hand over our passports (= Then we handed over all prohibited items in the embassy to the IEC car. I handed over a bag with papers, a belt, and a phone. Since my luggage bag was small, they didn't charge me money, but they charged the girls 100 rubles. You don't need to take off watches, rings, or earrings.

And so we moved to the entrance of the embassy. We lined up again in one row according to the list and they started letting us through the checkpoint to the entrance of the embassy. It looked like this: a person in uniform has a stack of passports, he checks the photo with the person and gives the passport back. After everyone entered, they immediately started letting people into the embassy building itself. First, you show your passport to (another) person in uniform, you go further, and you are searched with a hand-held metal detector. Next, I entered the embassy building, took off my outerwear as required, and when my turn came, I entered the door. I put my clothes on the conveyor belt (the kind they use to scan bags at airports) and walked through the metal detector frame myself. That's strict control. (= Next, I took my clothes and entered another door. We were shown where to go next.

It was a room with many chairs. When the whole group gathered, we were given our international passports, DS-2019 forms, and confirmation of receipt of this form. Then we were asked to sign the DS-2019 form, put the date and place (Moscow) for those who hadn't done so yet, and put this form together with the confirmation into the international passport. I had signed the DS form back in Krasnoyarsk.

Then we were taken to another room, which had three windows. I went up to one of them, handed over the confirmation of receipt of the DS-2019 form, the lady in the window scanned the code from it (like in supermarkets) and asked me to place four fingers (without the thumb) of my left hand, then my right hand, on the reader. Then both thumbs together. After that, she returned my confirmation and I went into the room itself where the ambassadors sit behind the windows (=

In this room, there are several rows of chairs, about 10 in each row, a large TV showing some movie, a board with a running inscription “Embassy United States of America” and 5 windows behind which the ambassadors sit. We sat on the chairs to wait for our turn.

Here are a few tips on how to behave at the embassy: "Don't say anything you aren't asked about and don't try to shove anything into the window that you aren't asked for. Look only straight into the consul's eyes. Even when he isn't looking at you, muttering under his breath, and generally pretending to read your questionnaires - you need to look at him. Smile! Don't let your eyes wander. Don't make unnecessary movements with your limbs, and generally don't attract unnecessary attention to yourself!"

So, after about 10 minutes, part of our group was asked to go and stand in line for the interview itself. These are the most exciting minutes (= By the way, when you are standing in line or just standing in that room with windows behind which the ambassadors are, you can see the ambassadors themselves. Everyone except one (window 10). After some time, I was first in line. I wanted to go to window 9 or 10 because they are located so that there isn't a bunch of students behind you watching how you get a visa (% And then window number 11 became free. I went up to it (there was a young man with red hair).

He: Hi

I: Hello. I hand him my passport, DS-2019 form, confirmation of its receipt, and a memo about my rights in the USA. He started looking at something in these papers and on the computer.

What do you study?

I’m engineer. I’m in standardization and certification faculty.

Ok. You first year student?

Yes.

Where are you going to work in the U.S.

New Jersey. Somerdale.

Then he, pointing at himself, asks to place the index finger of my right hand on the monitor (the monitor for fingerprint scanning). By the way, some ambassadors told some students these words in Russian. (=

Then he put a few stamps and signed my DS form. He took the memo about my rights in the USA and asked if I had read it.

Yes.

Any questions?

No.

He gives me back the documents with the words have a nice trip.

Thank you!

Bye.

That's it (= Then I went to the exit with a smile from ear to ear (=

Then we stood and chatted near the exit of the embassy. It turned out that the ambassador spoke a little Chinese with one girl (% She told him she knew Chinese and he apparently decided to check (% Our entire group got a visa. I only know about one refusal, when a girl didn't know English at all, and she was refused. But I can't imagine what kind of knowledge you need to have to be refused for this reason. After everyone left the embassy, we were given our things back and everyone went about their business (=

Finally, a list of possible questions and sample answers at the embassy interview.

Are you married? Do you have children?

For most – No, I’m not. No, I don’t.

Do you live with your parents? Why? Why not?

Yes, I do ‘cause I like living with them and they like living together too. - No, I don’t ‘cause I like living separately on my own.

Have you got brothers or sisters? Are they participating in any exchange program? - Answer as it is.
Have you ever been abroad? Where & when?

Answer as it is.

Do you have friends or relatives aboard?

Answer: No! If you are going for the second/third time – you can “afford” to have a couple of friends in the States, but in general, it is better not to spread the word about this topic, especially if you are not asked about it.

What do your parents think about your participation in the program?

They are proud of me. They think it will make me more self-confident and mature.

Who gives you money for the trip? (Who pays for you trip?)
Only – My parents. (that's what everyone has written in their questionnaires)
What is your parents (annual) income? (How much do your parents earn?)

I don’t know. They never told me.

Where do your parents work?

Answer as it is, only clearly and understandably for Americans. And remember – BOTH parents must work and the family must NOT be in need.

Do you have a job? (Do you work?) If yes, where do you work & what's your job? Is it a full-time or a part-time employment? What is your income?

If you did not indicate in form DS-158 that you are working somewhere at the moment – answer: No, I don’t work. My studies take (eat) all my time. If you indicated – name the job. It must be ONLY "part-time"!

How many rooms are there in your flat/apartment?

Answer as it is.

Can you describe yourself? How can you characterize yourself?

I’m honest, kind, responsible, cheerful and energetic. I like to ...

Can you describe your hometown?

Something like – It’s a beautiful town with lots of trees and parks, old buildings. I love it very much. 14. Are you a student? Are you a full-time or a part-time student?
Yes, I am a (third-year) full-time student at ... (name of the university – to cut off all further questions). 15. Where do you study? What faculty/ department do you study at? What is your major? - Answer as in the previous question and – name of the main (profiling subject). 16. Why have you chosen this major/department/faculty/university?
I’m very interested in ... (name of the subject, specialization)

What year are you in? How many years do you have to go?

I’m in the ... year. I have ... more years to go.

When are you going to graduate?

In 2007 (for example).

Will you have problems at your university if you come back late?

Yes, I will. That is why I’m going to come back by the first of September. 20. Will you have any problems if you leave early?
No, I won’t. I’ll be through with my exams before the departure.

What are you going to do after graduation? What are your plans for the future? - I’ll be working at... (name of the institution) as a... (position).
What is your future job?

same answer

How well do you know/speak English?

Not very well. And I want to improve it in the U.S.

How long have you been learning English? Where?

answer as it is

Why do you want to go to the USA?

To improve my English, to travel, to make new friends during my school break. 26. What is the purpose of your visit the US?
the same thing

When do you want/need to start your job in the US?

On the ... of June (May). – as in your Placement Notice or Job Offer.

What job are you going to have in the US? How this experience will help you in your future? - I’ll be working at (name of the camp/institution, city, state) as a ... (position). 29. Where are you going to work in the US?