F-1 visa interview questions — New Delhi
Ranked by how often each topic actually came up across 48 reported F-1 interviews at New Delhi — with the wording applicants remembered hearing.
The questions, most likely first
Share of the 48 reported interviews in which the topic came up at least once. These overlap — one interview covers several.
- 1Social media handles58%
- “Are your accounts public?”
- “Do you have social media?”
- “Is your social media public?”
- 2Who is paying42%
- “Are you getting a stipend?”
- “Does your uncle have kids?”
- “Who will fund your studies?”
- 3Why the US23%
- “Why did you choose this course?”
- “Why are you going to the United States?”
- “Why do you want to go to business school?”
- 4Other universities applied to19%
- “Where else did you apply?”
- “Why not other universities?”
- “What other admits do you have?”
- 5Sponsor's job and income19%
- “What does your father do?”
- “What do they do?”
- “What do your parents do?”
- 6Why this university19%
- “Why this course and university?”
- “Why did you choose this university?”
- “Why are you going to this university?”
- 7Plans after graduation19%
- “Where do you want to work afterwards?”
- “What will you do when you come back to India?”
- “Are you going back for OPT or completing your PhD?”
- 8Your course / major17%
- “What did you study there?”
- “Why did you choose this course?”
- “Which university and what program?”
- 9Which university15%
- “Which university are you going to?”
- “Where did you do your undergraduate degree?”
- “Can you tell me about your university and where it is located?”
- 10Your degree15%
- “When did you complete it?”
- “Do you have a master's degree?”
- “Did you do Mechanical Engineering in your bachelor's?”
- 11Previous US trips10%
- “Have you been to the U.S. before?”
- “Have you worked in the US before?”
- “What were you doing in the US last year?”
- 12Gaps in study or work8%
- “What have you been doing since graduation?”
- “What have you been doing for the past 2 years after your bachelors?”
- “How did you end up going into your business after mechanical Engineering?”
- 13Threats or harm at home6%
- “Do you feel threatened in India?”
- “Do you feel your life is at risk once you come back to India?”
- “The regular harm questions”
- 14Your research / thesis6%
- “Tell me about your research”
- “They asked about my research in detail”
- 15Relatives in the US6%
- “Do you have family in the US?”
- “Do any of your friends or family live in the US?”
- “What her sister is doing in the US”
- 16Intent to immigrate6%
- “Will you continue your job while you're on F-1?”
- “Why would you return to India if your sister stayed and worked in the US?”
Documents asked for
Requested at the window or listed on a 221(g) slip, in these F-1 reports.
- Passport (retained at the window)62 reports
- I-2054 reports
- CV, publications or research plan18 reports
- DS-5535 supplemental questionnaire14 reports
- Financial documents10 reports
- SEVIS fee receipt7 reports
- DS-160 confirmation5 reports
- Academic transcripts4 reports
How to use this
- Prepare the top five, not all 16. The tail exists because someone was asked it once; the head is what you will most likely face.
- Answer short. In these reports the interviews that stayed brief were the ones where answers were direct and matched the paperwork.
- Consistency beats polish. The follow-up questions in this data almost always trace back to an answer that did not match the DS-160 or the petition.
- Self-reported data. These are applicants’ recollections, aggregated by VisaMoves — a ranking of what is likely, not a guarantee of what you will hear.
Related breakdowns
Quick answers
What questions are asked in a F-1 visa interview at New Delhi?
Across 48 reported F-1 interviews at New Delhi, the most frequent topics are social media handles (58%), who is paying (42%), why the us (23%), other universities applied to (19%), sponsor's job and income (19%). Most interviews cover only a handful of these, not all of them.
How long does a F-1 interview take?
Reported interviews are typically short — a few minutes at the window. A longer interview usually means the officer is working through a specific issue rather than that something has gone wrong.
What documents do they ask for at a F-1 interview?
The documents most often requested in these reports are Passport (retained at the window), I-20, CV, publications or research plan, DS-5535 supplemental questionnaire, Financial documents, SEVIS fee receipt. Carry them even if the appointment letter does not list them — officers ask for documents far more often than they ask hard questions.
Interviewing at New Delhi?
People with your date and post compare notes the same day — including what they were just asked at the window.