Hyderabad Student Refused US Visa ‘Surprise Quiz': Here's What Happened

News18

a day ago

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The Visa Officer (VO) at the US Consulate in Hyderabad initially asked normal questions but soon turned into a surprising and difficult technical quiz.
A recent student applying for an F1 visa at the US Consulate in Hyderabad faced an unexpected rejection under Section 214(b). After finishing their undergraduate degree in April 2025, they applied to several US universities for a Master's program in Data Science. The Visa Officer (VO) initially asked normal questions about their education and university choices but soon turned into a surprising and difficult technical quiz. Even though the applicant stayed calm and answered clearly, the officer decided to refuse the visa and asked the individual to reapply. Feeling confused and unsure about what went wrong, the applicant shared their story online, hoping to get advice and support.
Taking to Reddit, the applicant explained, 'I had my F1 visa interview at the Hyderabad Consulate, India. He is a white male VO in his 30s. Unfortunately, I was rejected under section 214(b). Here's how it went: VO: Are you still studying? Me: No, I completed my undergraduate degree this year, in April 2025. VO: What universities have you applied to? Me: Indiana University Bloomington, University of Colorado Boulder, Northeastern University, Arizona State University, University of Florida and University of Washington. VO: Tell me about your project. Me: I explained my project, what I worked on, the technologies I used and what I learned from it."
'Then, he unexpectedly asked some technical questions: Do you know coding well? Me: I'm decent at it. What's the difference between Array and Linked List? What is Linear Regression? He then repeated: VO: Which universities did you apply to again? Me: (Repeated the same list: IUB, CU Boulder, NEU, ASU, UF and UW.) VO: Why Indiana University Bloomington? Me: It has one of the oldest and most established Data Science departments. They offer specialisations across different tracks like Applied Data Science, Computational DS and Analytical DS," the individual added.
The applicant shared that during the interview, the officer asked which track they had chosen and they replied with Applied Data Science. When asked why, they explained that this track includes job-focused courses that match their career goals and will help them gain useful skills. After a short pause, the officer informed, 'Unfortunately, your visa has been rejected. You're welcome to reapply." The student was surprised by the technical questions. They tried to remain calm and answered truthfully, but they still didn't understand what caused the rejection.
Reacting to the post, a user wrote, 'Industry-oriented is not the word you should say. Or if you say it, you should emphasise that I would work back home."
'Two things I would say might have been the cause for rejection would be: You did not indicate that you planned on returning after your program. None of your answers showed your personality, they seemed scripted and robotic," a comment read.
An individual stated, 'After the new visa slot pause, there has been a hike in technical questions asked, so anyone having an upcoming interview, do the basics right and be sure you know what you're saying, as the counter questions will feel like arrows coming at you."
Another mentioned, 'Maybe he just ran out of time and had to make a decision, for the last question, maybe you should've looped back to how this will help you get a better job in your country, but other than that, I don't think you could've done anything differently."
One more added, 'A visa denial under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) typically means the consular officer wasn't convinced you intended to return to your home country after your studies."
A new Reddit post has gained attention after news broke that the US government, under President Donald Trump, has temporarily stopped scheduling new visa interview appointments for student and exchange visitors. According to Politico reports, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a message to embassies around the world, asking consular offices to pause adding new interview slots for F, M and J visa applicants.
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