Hard truths I wish I knew before studying in the US (visas)
Part 2: Visa Approvals
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I have been studying in the US for 4 years now, and I've made some mistakes along the way.
So I sat down to reflect on what I wish I knew before coming to the US. With them, I could have gotten the best US opportunities without making many mistakes.
After thinking about it, I wrote out 50 points divided into five parts:
Scholarship
Visa
Mindset
Money
Lifestyle
Last week, we covered Part 1 (Scholarships). You can read about it here:
Today, let's talk about visa approvals:
1: The visa interview is a lie detection test.
Visa officers are trained psychologists.
They can easily find out if a person is lying within 2 minutes. They are very good.
And it's no surprise since they have to conduct 100-120 interviews per day. Something you've done a lot of, you get really good at.
Everyone will come with a different story. Their job is to find out if you are lying. Or if you are telling the truth.
How do they do this?
They make you feel very comfortable in the interview, then ask you a tricky question you weren't expecting. This gets the truth from you.
For example, they asked my friend who was going for a PhD:
What if you decide to undertake an expenditure that your GA stipend wouldn't be enough for (like buying a car)? What would you do?
The secret to answering tricky questions is to always ask yourself:
"Why are they asking me this question?"
You should answer this in your mind before responding to every question.
They approve your visa if they feel you are a student who is actually going to study.
2: Your funding source matters
Financial stability is a big thing visa officers check during the interviews.
Let's refer to visa officers as VO from now on.
VOs want to know that you won't be a financial burden to the country when they grant you the visa. They need to be sure your financials are well covered.
I spoke with a former VO some weeks ago, and she gave me this order in which funding is ranked:
Scholarships
Self
Sponsors
Loan
From my research, parents are the best sponsors over relatives like Uncles and Aunts.
Also, you can take a loan. But your loan should not be more than 50% of your total cost of attendance.
Your cost of attendance consists of your tuition, living expenses, and books. This is usually written on the left side of your I-20.
3: Traveling out of the country shows disposable income
"Have you travelled out of the country before?"
That's a question they ask in almost every US visa interview.
Initially, I thought it was just to show travel history. That you've traveled out of the country before and returned.
But after speaking to the former VO, I found out I was wrong.
She told me, "Travel history shows disposable income".
Even if you haven't traveled outside your country before, you should mention cities you have visited within your country.
Only people with spare cash can afford vacations.
4: Practice but don't memorize
This is a hard one to do.
It's a good idea to prepare your answers for any questions they may ask you during the interview.
After all, your future depends on that 2-5 minute discussion. So you want to give it your best.
It's good to have answers ready, but you should not memorize them.
Practice them very well and know the key points, but don't memorize. The VO won't connect with you if you are reading from a "mental script".
This caused my first two visa denials.
5: Any visa denial hurts future approvals.
Don't go for a visa interview unless you're ready.
Because if you get denied, it goes into your record. After that interview, the VO inputs their notes about your denial into their records.
In any future interview you have, the VO will see those notes.
If the VO is lazy or tired, the visa will be denied after just two questions, as their colleague has already deemed you unfit for a US visa.
This ties to the previous point of preparing before any interview.
Don't just pray and hope for the best. Prepare very well for it.
6: Don't do your interview outside your country (except for special cases)
Dates are far in my country, Ghana, should I go to Ivory Coast for my interview?
I get this question very well. The answer is No.
Not having closer dates isn't a good reason to have your interview in another country. The VO will see you as someone who is visa shopping, and you won't be approved.
The VO also isn't trained in the culture of your home country, so how do they understand the home ties you need to show. Or the financials you will mention?
If the dates are far, book that date first. Then, check the portal once every day to see if earlier dates open up. (They usually do from time to time) Reschedule when they do.
There are only 2 cases where you can do your first interview outside:
You are there with something other than a visiting visa. For example, a work visa or permanent residence.
The embassy in your country is shut down due to insurgencies or war.
Apart from these two, please do your interview in your country.
7: Confidence helps more than humility
It is your responsibility to convince the VO to approve you.
At the heart of it, this means you must provide information that makes the visa officer feel that you won't abuse the visa.
If you do this successfully, you will always be approved.
You can't speak well if you are scared of someone. If you are feeling "humble".
You need to be confident, and this is hard for a lot of Africans. We have the culture of respecting people in power. And we see VOs as powerful people so we get nervous on the spot.
This is another reason you have to practice.
You need to get used to presenting your points so well that it becomes second nature to you.
Will you be shy about telling your president your name?
I don't think so because you've practiced saying it all your life.
8: You must show strong home ties
Every visa applicant is a potential immigrant unless they can prove otherwise.
In football terms, you start the match with a score of 0-2. You are already losing at the start.
So how do you win the match?
You need to work hard to equalize the game (2-2), then do more work to win (5-2). 😉
That's exactly how a visa interview is. If you just give "okay" answers to every question, you'll be denied.
People don't realize this until after the first denial. Then their eyes open.
Apart from strong financials, you need to show strong home ties in the interview.
Strong home ties are mostly work, business, and family.
9: Your visa interview starts when you're applying for schools
Not every visa applicant has a good profile that can be approved.
No matter who prepares you for it.
If you have a sister in the US and you're going to a school in the same state as her, you will be denied.
If your deficit is $50,000 and it is your cousin who's paying for it, you most likely won't be approved.
So your visa interview starts from the school selection. Make sure you apply to schools with scholarships and located in a different state from your sponsor.
I mentor students on how to do this in the Scholarship Accelerator bootcamp. The Spring 2026 application cohort just started (Late registration is still open). The Fall 2026 cohort begins in August.
10: Your interview country matters.
The perception of the country where you are interviewing matters.
I have done my interview in the UK and Nigeria. And the experiences of both places were different. I covered my experience in this video.
Phones aren't allowed in the Nigerian embassy. But phones were allowed in the UK.
They are more aggressive towards some countries, and you can't blame them. Our citizens who went before us didn't give us a good reputation in their eyes.
All this is to say that you should be aware and better prepared.
If you are in Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Cameroon, Uganda, Malawi, etc), you will have a tougher visa interview.
Don't be scared. Use this information to prepare better.
That's why you are here reading this after all. So you are better informed and well-positioned for success.
That’s it!
As always, thanks for reading.
Hit reply and let me know what you found most helpful this week—I’d love to hear from you!
See you next Wednesday when we talk about mindset, so you start thinking like an American.
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F1 Visa Interview Consultation: Get your F1 visa in your next interview. I combine my five F1 visa interview experiences with my expertise in learning from visa officers to prepare you for your visa interview thoroughly. We will identify your strengths and prepare you to deliver them confidently. Your story is the secret to your visa approval.
Thank you for sharing this content with me—it was a refreshing and inspiring read.
Thank you sir. Please how do I join your fall boothcamp