VISA Interview

Finally got my VISA yesterday, which undoubtedly was one of the most memorable days of my life.. :D

My VISA interview was scheduled at 9:15 am at the Mumbai Consulate..Me being from Pune, left for Mumbai a day earlier with a friend of mine who had his interview scheduled at the same time as of mine..
We stayed at the Central Line Guest House, Belasis Road which was quite close to the US Consulate (hardly 10-15 mins by taxi).. The place was really good, hygienic and sasta( 350 per head for the AC dormitory).. Got up early at 6:30 a.m( hell yeah, thats early morning atleast for me :D)..  I along with my frnd had bought VFS Lounge passes ( which I feel are quite necessary if you don't have an early morning appointment, since the waiting time can be huge depending on the crowd and you would have to stand in the queue on the road outside the US Consulate for a long time) Then had a light breakfast at the Lounge.. Got an entry into the lounge @ 9 a.m..The VFS officer informed us that there's a delay of 2 hours for every VISA appointment.. So it was quite obvious that we had to wait in the lounge for some time..Then, at 10:30 am the VFS officer asked all the people from the 9:15 slot to get ready and we were then dropped to the US consulate by Bus..We had to wait outside the Consulate for 2 minutes and then we were called inside..There was a security check initially before we got an entry into the hall..After the security check, we had to stand in a queue where we were handed all the documents which we had submitted 3 days back..Here we were given pink tokens, each having a number..After this got over, we were asked to move into a different queue ( Counter 1) where the finger print scans were being done..We were asked to take a seat after the scanning was done , and then to wait for our token number to be announced.. Immediately in 5 minutes, my token number was announced along with the Counter number where I should go..It was counter no 6..

The VO was one funny guy in his mid 30's..seriously sala itna mota tha, mutton ki dukaan :lol:  Dhigara is one perfect word which best describes him..Dhigara/tarpya is a Marathi slang to describe a person who is obese in the extreme :lol:..

Me: Good Morning Sir.
Dhigara: Good Morning, Why have you booked an emergency slot?

Me: My course is staring on 11th of Jan and there are not many days remaining.

He removed his headphones which had the mic and then started talking to someone behind asking him wat to do..After 2 minutes, he put on the headphns and started talking to me..

Dhigara: Sir, you are not eligible to book an appointment in an emergency slot. The VISA slots open every 6 days and you could have booked a regular appointment.
 I tried to say something here, but he continued
Dhigara: wait, wait, listen to me first.. You could have booked a regular appointment.. You have used up an emergency appointment which would have been really important for some other applicant ( Saale ne bahot sunaya)
Me: Sorry Sir
Dhigara: Don't do this the next time! (I thought he'z goin to reject my VISA)

He then started taking a look at my documents.. Staring  at my I-20

Dhigara: Why USC?
Me: USC offers excellent courses in the field of Database Systems and Web technologies, which are my areas of interest.. The coursework is very practical and I would get a chance to study the latest technologies pertaining to these fields..Also the Information Science Institute which is one of the pioneers of the research in the US is a part of USC and i'm really interested in doing research there( This thing was told to me by my uncle who is an USC alumnus and i just rephrased wat he had told me to answer here!)

Dhigara: Why databases and web technologies?
Me: It has always been my area of interest ,also my UG project was based on these two subjects..

Dhigara: Tell me about your UG project
Me: Explained ( yahan usko pura pina diya maine..lambi lambi feka..told him that my project is running on our college server and is used daily :lol: )

Dhigara: Did you take GRE/GMAT?
Me: Yes sir , took the GRE and scored 1140 .

Dhigara: TOEFL?
Me: 103

Dhigara: Ok good! So what are your plans after US?
Me: My father owns a Pvt. Limited Software company back here in India( Though its a very new setup, its been 9 months since the incorporation)..I will come back here and take my company forward!

Dhigara: Congratulations, Your Visa has been approved !!

Not a single question about sponsor/finances asked, not a single document checked :D :D

Came out with a smile..my frnds turn was the next...his visa got rejected..i felt really dejected.. Didnt knw wat to tell him..but hopefully he'll get his VISA the next time :D