Just because you have a family member with a Green Card doesn’t necessarily mean you will not get a VISA.

Lets say you are not prepared! Well, then Yes! you will most probably will get rejected!
So here are few tips to avoid this.

What most people consider true/often true:

If you have a sibling with a green card in US, you are likely to be rejected. You would then become a risk candidate to the interviewer.

HOW TO AVOID REJECTION??

simple answers like the ones below should help.

Remember, dont get defensive.

- “Yes, i have a brother working in ssdjdsdf company with Green Card. He always tells us how much he misses the family and the festivities here in India. He is very happy to learn that i want to settle here with my family and not follow what he did, he is very supportive!”

- “Yes, my sibling adjusted to the US but was always homesick and missing the family. I am the family pet and cannot put myself away from family for long. I would give everything i have to be with my family.”
-”Yes he/she is in US and is happy with his/her life. I am supportive about that. He/She is supportive of me wanting to settle down with our parents here. They need me here and i need to be with my family. I have given interviews with Satyam/wipro about my interest in working for them and am looking forward to finish my degree and start a great job!!”

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***HOW MANY CREDITS DO I TAKE??

Undergraduate students must be enrolled in 12 credits. Graduate students must be enrolled in 9 credits (without an assistantship) or 6 credits (if they hold an assistantship). But all this varies with each institution. Students who will go below these limits for valid reasons must speak to an international advisor prior to enrolling in fewer than that required credits. Students who have an unauthorized reduced course load will not be able to work and may be required to apply for immigration status reinstatement.

1. What is Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)??

This is the place you would go to acquire a state drivers license.

Take essential documents like:

1. Passport,
2. visa documents and
3. Letter from the OISS(another name for your campus international center,Office of International Students and Scholars ) to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Ofcourse official rules follow, like.. You must be a student in good standing who is full-time enrolled to obtain a letter.

2. DO I NEED AN SSN?

You can pick up an application for a social security number or most probably your international center/dept will give you a brief and take you to the SS-office.

You must complete it and present it at the social security office, along with your passport and visa documents. While it is best for everyone to apply for a social security number, only people who may work in the U.S. (F-1, J-1, H-1B, J-2 with work permission) may obtain a number.

And, yes, everybody in US gets an SSN. And yes, everybody who earns from an office has to pay taxes.

3. CAN I WORK AS AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT?

Talking about work: An international student using an F-1 or a J-1 visa can work but there are many restrictions. Eligibility to work is based on full-time student status. Working on campus is possible for a full-time student for 20 hours per week in the academic year, and 40/37.5 hours per week during school breaks(like in a summer semester).

4. DO APPLY FOR TAX RETURNS?

Well ofcourse, unless you want to loose so much in tax dollars!!

Everyone in the U.S. needs to submit some form of tax return! If you have not earned any money or received any scholarship, it’s very simple. Otherwise, it can be a bit complicated. Either way, the your international center should offer workshops each year to help international students and faculty learn a bit about their tax obligations.

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Yes, i do that.

I sit at home and refill/recharge my prepaid account with Cingular ( Pay as you go – card ).

I do this at comfi.com : link.

You also have option of buying a $15 recharge, but you wont save anything.

Ofcourse it is not all the same as buying in a store, you wont be able to recharge as soon as you buy it.

The first few times, the site will as your details, like the bank details of the card you paid with etc..

Once you email them the details, the PIN will be in your email in 2 – 10 hours.

I did get fed up of this process at one time, so i emailed the help desk asking why they have to verify the account details every single time. I had to raise/re-open the same ticket like 10 times..

What did it achieve?

My invoice goes through in an hour. I get my PIN no in my email in couple of hours instead of a 10 hour wait..

For all you guys thinking that im lazy to go out and get a card from a store, i wish there was an EMOTICON with the tongue out!

WHATS THE POINT OF TECHNOLOGY IF ARE NOT PUTTING IT TO USE??

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Today i attended the wedding of my school friend. I was in same school with same classmates from 1st grade till 9th grade, before i moved to Hyderabad.

Today was emotional.

I had a school picture from 5th grade in my phone. The bride was my friend sitting next to me in the picture. I showed it to her, she showed it to her groom. That was precious. Cant believe my friends married already.

Today was wonderful.

I met my maths teacher. I said what i always wanted to say. I said “You are the best teacher. You are the greatest.” He had tears in his eyes. I had too.

Then i met my Hindi Teacher. Before i could recognize and say a word, i saw a tear rolling off from the corner of his eye. I greeted him and moved into his vision to see if it indeed was a tear. It was.

It was wonderful. I told my teachers that they should be proud to be a teacher. They were.

They were proud of me. They were proud of themselves. How lucky i am today, to go back to my favourite teachers and let them know that they are the best.
When i look at my school teachers, i felt myself in the white-maroon uniform. But looking at all the people around, how they grew older, how they are discussing about what their kids achieved, how they are acknowledging their kids grown up as adults with their lives, their future with Satyam / Wipro / Dell / GE, i had a reality check.

Today was as if i walked into Nizamabad 10 years ago.

Cant believe all the kids i went to school with are so grown up!

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i came here for a lot of reasons, mostly for having a good time at home. Somehow nothing has changed here in the last 8 months. Hyderabad is still the same, if anything, more roads are dug up disrupting the traffic. Heat is competing with humidity and is a unpleasant vacation, if i can call it one!

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