Everyone is scared that there are tons of visa denials in May. BUT! On May 21st of this year, I had my interview scheduled at the embassy. I suspected I might get denied, but there were no real reasons for a denial other than the lack of a job offer and weak English. Otherwise, my situation is quite normal: I'm 19, a third-year student at a prestigious institute studying a major I like. I have normal parents who work and are able to help me if needed. But, as they say, you never know when luck will turn its back on you.
The interview was scheduled for 6:30 AM on a Friday, when we had a lecture for my major during the third period, and if I skipped it, I could have had problems getting credit and passing the exam. I woke up at five, and by the time I washed up and had breakfast, the long hand of the clock was approaching 8. I thought I would be late, but fortunately, the roads were empty early in the morning, and I reached the embassy in just 30 minutes. I walked up to the Chaliapin monument; about 30 students had already gathered at its feet. Everyone was dressed differently, but casual-style dominated, apparently due to the recommendation of the agency.
People kept arriving, a crowd gathered at the monument, and pedestrians sometimes found it hard to get through this crush, all surprised by the gathering of so many young people. Closer to 7, the agency staff arrived: Ivan, Natalia, Marina, Zhenya. They gathered everyone in a semicircle by the monument, Ivan and Marina climbed up to the monument and started reading out names and handing out numbers like "group/number". I got number 2/58, second group and 58th in line. There were about 70 people in the groups, two groups in total. About 130-140 students just from our agency and as many from other agencies; the pedestrian lane of Bolshaya Dmitrovka from the Chaliapin monument to the end of the US Embassy building was a living queue, like for sausage in the 90s. Everyone who received a number went to Natalia and handed over all their extra belongings in a file with the number attached.
They started letting us in around 8 AM. First, they collected our internal passports, gave them to the police officer, and he returned them to us when we were already at the threshold of the embassy gates, thus managing the queue. Then, in the embassy courtyard, an American was already standing there, taking the passport, looking at the name, and crossing it off the list. Next, an American lady with a metal detector, with a pleasant accent, asked to "raise your hands to the side" and "turn your back" and let me into the embassy building itself. In the building, I went through one door where it was written that you should pass only one person at a time, so I waited for the girl in front of me to pass and followed her. Then the students went through a metal detector frame; I said hello to the guard there, he nodded his head, as if to say good luck, dude. -) Then another door, but it didn't say to pass strictly one by one, so without hesitation, I went through the door behind the girl before it slammed shut.
I entered the hall, there were chairs in a row and all the chairs were occupied. We stood for a bit, Marina came and said that we couldn't stand here and told us to go to the far hall. I rushed first and grabbed a seat on the edge. 10 minutes later, Natalia came and handed out the DS-2019 form and passport to five people, and I was among them. I sat for a bit and wanted to go to the restroom, because it's unrealistically cold in the waiting hall, a ton of air conditioners are working. The restroom is civilized, but a little dirty and splashed, although it's clear that this is the work of Russian students who were just let into the embassy. Naturally, if everyone is on edge, everyone is worried and it's freezing in the hall, a student will want to "go out". Everyone sat quietly and few people talked, apparently, everyone was repeating their stories to themselves. And only my friend and I sat and stupidly joked and laughed until we were invited to the hall where you have to submit fingerprints. There is also a queue for fingerprints, and even though Natalia explained how to submit them, I didn't remember. In the window where I ended up, there was an instruction where it was clearly written that first four fingers of the left hand, then the right, and finally two big thumbs.
I approached the window, there was a guy with a beard who said:
- Mekhron?
- Yes, I am.
- Put four left hand fingers. Then four right hand fingers and two big fingers.
I did as he asked, he wished me luck, said goodbye, and I headed to the interview hall. There were also chairs there, about 6-7 rows with 5 chairs in each row. There was a large plasma panel playing the "Tom and Jerry" cartoon, apparently so that students wouldn't be nervous. They succeeded, I watched this cartoon while talking to the neighbor to my left.
While I was sitting, denials were equal to successes. That is, they were giving them out every other person, some came out upset, some happy, and some with a poker face. =) Our turn came, we approached the barrier tapes and one by one started going to the free windows. I ended up in window 13, where a pleasant lady was sitting. I approached the window, she was chatting with her colleague from window 12 for 3-4 minutes. I thought that was it, it's over, the colleague asked her not to hand out visas, because before me she had approved at least two visas.
She: Hi. How are you?
I: Hi. Great. And you?
She: Thanks, good. What year are you in?
I: When do I graduate?
She: No, what year are you in?
I: When did I enroll?
She: No, what year, first, second, third, fourth...?
I: Ah... I'm in my third year.
She: Where do you study?
I: Moscow State Institute of Electronic Technology.
She: Faculty?
I: Electronic and Computer Technologies.
She: What will you be?
I: An engineer, a designer of integrated circuits and microsystems.
She: Do you have a job offer?
I: No, but upon arrival in NYC I will be intensively looking for a job and I will find it -))
She: In NYC? Do you think you will be lucky?
I: Yes, I am lucky -)
She: Do you live in Moscow?
I: Yes, in Moscow.
She: How many years have you been in Russia?
I: Since 8th grade (and started counting on my fingers :) )... 8 years.
She: Are your parents Russian?
I: Passport? (I wasn't sure if she was asking about citizenship)
She: Yes, yes (nodding her head).
I: Yes, Russian.
She: Do they live in Moscow?
I: Yes, in Moscow. I live with them.
She: What do they do for a living?
I: Dad does this and that, mom does this and that.
She: Ok. Did you read the memo?
I: Yes, of course.
She: Any questions?
I: No.
She: Your visa is approved. Have a happy summer.
I: Thanks. Bye.
Everything lasted about 2-3 minutes, I was always smiling and almost every question I asked to clarify or confirm.
→ P.S.
I returned to the institute, made it to the lecture. On Wednesday, there is an exam for this subject.
While standing, I talked to several guys, everyone was without an offer, I went out and met them on the street, everyone got a visa. An offer no longer affects anything, but if yours is fake or there are any other problems with it, then a denial awaits you. In that case, it's better not to take an offer with you and say that you will find a job on the spot.
I wouldn't say that my English is at a conversational level, I was barely answering there, answering as best I could, just so the consul would understand me. Bad English is when you don't understand anything and can't answer anything; in all other cases, just answer all questions somehow so that the consul understands that you understood him.
I took a certificate from the institute, a grade book, and a student ID with me. I handed the DS-2019 form, the memo, the passport, and the certificate from the institute to the consul; she didn't even look at the certificate. After the first question, she started typing something on the computer, after the 3rd or 4th question, she put a checkmark, a stamp, and a signature on the DS-2019 form, and only then did she talk.
I got the impression that everything was predetermined and nothing depended on me. My friend was interviewed before me, we are from the same institute and the same group, he had exactly the same situation. There was also a girl before me, she was nervous, when the window became free, she didn't dare to go and let one guy go ahead. When I saw her on the street and asked if she got a visa, she replied: yes, I got it, the consul asked only one question - where I study, and immediately said have a nice summer -).