What they actually ask at the visa interview
Every “top 50 visa interview questions” list on the internet is somebody’s guess. This one is counted: 999 reported interviews, ranked by how often each question really came up, split by visa type and consulate.
Pick your interview
The question set differs sharply by category — a visitor interview and a work-visa interview barely overlap. Start with yours.
By consulate
Posts with enough reports to break out separately. Officers at different posts lean on different parts of the script.
Across every visa type
Share of the 999 reported interviews where the topic came up at least once. Percentages do not add to 100 — most interviews cover several topics.
- 1Social media handles26%
- “Are your accounts public?”
- “Do you have social media?”
- “Are all your socials public?”
- 2Purpose of your trip13%
- “How long are you staying?”
- “Where are you travelling?”
- “Why are you going to USA?”
- 3What you actually do12%
- “What is your job profile?”
- “What is your work nature?”
- “What do you currently do?”
- 4Who is paying11%
- “Why are you self funding?”
- “How are you funding this?”
- “Who's paying your salary?”
- 5Your salary10%
- “How much are you earning?”
- “What is your current wage?”
- “How much do you make here?”
- 6Who you work for9%
- “Which company is this for?”
- “What's your company called?”
- “Is it at the medical school?”
- 7Relatives in the US8%
- “What does your sister do?”
- “Where does your son live?”
- “Who will you be visiting?”
- 8How long at this employer8%
- “How long have you worked there?”
- “How long have you been working?”
- “How long have you been employed?”
- 9Client / project details7%
- “What is the project name?”
- “What does the company do?”
- “Do you have an end client?”
- 10Your course / major6%
- “What did you study there?”
- “Is there a specialization?”
- “What was your degree plan?”
- 11Your degree6%
- “When did you complete it?”
- “Did you go for a master's?”
- “What is your final degree?”
- 12Countries you have visited6%
- “Why did you go to Russia?”
- “Which match, and who won?”
- “Have you travelled abroad?”
What the December 2025 rule changed
H-1B interviews reported before and after the universal social-media vetting rule took effect on December 15, 2025. Only topics that moved by 6 points or more.
| Question | Before n=103 | After n=144 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social media handles | 2% | 67% | +65 pts |
| New visa or renewal | 3% | 15% | +12 pts |
| Where you will work | 25% | 14% | -11 pts |
| Threats or harm at home | 0% | 10% | +10 pts |
| Who you work for | 23% | 30% | +7 pts |
| Your job title | 21% | 14% | -7 pts |
- Social media went from absent to routine. It is the dominant new question, and it is usually phrased as an instruction — make the accounts public — rather than a question you can answer wrongly.
- A new safety question appeared. “Do you have any threats in your home country?” and “Do you fear returning?” show up across every visa category after the rule, and in none before it.
- The substantive job questions did not get harder. Employer, salary and duties are asked at roughly the same rate as before. The interview got a new topic, not a higher bar.
Documents officers asked to see
Counted across all 999 interviews — what was physically requested at the window or listed on a 221(g) slip.
- Passport (retained at the window)218 reports
- CV, publications or research plan69 reports
- I-2054 reports
- I-797 approval notice52 reports
- Court or police records50 reports
- LCA39 reports
- DS-5535 supplemental questionnaire36 reports
- W-2 or tax returns26 reports
- Financial documents26 reports
- Passport photo25 reports
- Medical exam25 reports
- DS-160 confirmation22 reports
- Marriage certificate18 reports
- Client or employer letter18 reports
How to read this
- These are probabilities, not a script. A 40% topic means four in ten reported interviews touched it — not that you will be asked it.
- Self-reported and self-selecting. People post about unusual interviews more than routine ones, so unusual questions are over-represented. Treat the numbers as a ranking, not a forecast.
- Quotes are applicants’ recollections, written down after the fact and reproduced here without names or any identifying detail. They show typical phrasing, not official wording.
- Thin slices are not published. A visa type or consulate needs at least 25 reported interviews before it gets its own breakdown, and each individual question needs at least three.
Quick answers
What questions are asked in a US visa interview?
Across 999 reported interviews, the most common single topic is social media handles, raised in 26% of them. But the question set depends heavily on visa type: work-visa interviews centre on employer, salary, job duties and work location, student interviews on funding and choice of university, and visitor interviews on the purpose of the trip and ties to home. The per-visa breakdowns on this page give the ranked list for each.
How many questions are asked at a US visa interview?
Most reported interviews are short — commonly three to six questions over two to five minutes. The long interview is the exception, not the norm, and usually signals a specific issue such as a document discrepancy, a consultancy/third-party placement, or a prior refusal.
Do they ask about social media now?
Yes, and it is the single biggest change of the last year. In H-1B interviews reported before the December 15, 2025 vetting rule, social media essentially never came up; after it, 67% of reported interviews included a social-media question or instruction. It is usually not a question at all but a directive — set your accounts to public, and confirm the handles on your DS-160.
Are these questions officially published by the consulate?
No. There is no official question list. These are self-reported accounts of what applicants say they were asked, aggregated by VisaMoves. Treat the percentages as what is likely, not what is guaranteed — an officer can ask anything, and every case is judged on its own record.
Interviewing soon?
People interviewing at your consulate on your date share what they were asked, the same day it happens — that is where next month’s version of this page comes from.