US consul Leon Gendin allays visa fears

Getting a student visa to the US is not a nightmarish experience, said the US consul    at the American Consulate General Chennai Leon Gendin. He was exchanging his views with students at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on Monday. The Consul said, “Only two things matter to the US: Your bona fides and finance. The rest is peripheral.”

It is not as difficult as it is made out to be, he assured students and parents. In some 3-4 months the whole process of getting a visa will be cleared. “From February onwards, a new online application process will be devised to quicken the pace,” he said.

“Students’ intention and one-year financial support are crucial. Who sponsors their education and why could be probing areas,” he said.

He also rubbished the belief that having a close relative in the US would go against the applicants’ chances. “The whole process is hinged on only one thing: honest intention,” he said. 

Leon also clarified that one could apply more than once and each application would be considered afresh. But the questions which had not been satisfactorily answered in the previous applications would be cross-checked. “We really do not rely too much on documents but we depend on students’ intentions. The consulate must be convinced that what you had stated in your application form is truth, ” he said.

However, a student intending to study in a US university had better research the area of his study well before the interview, he advised. “

Later, talking to DNA, the consul said, if the number of Indian students seeking an American education is increasing,  American students chasing Chinese and Indian education too are growing. “Earlier, American students were enamoured with studying in European or UK universities. But now they are heading to Asia and mostly to China and India for business and management studies,” he said.

He pointed out that students can, after completing the first year, finance their studies by working part time. “It’s only tourists who are forbidden from working in the US,” he said.
When asked about the criteria of the US Consulate to decide whether a student is a promising one or mediocre, he said, “We don’t really seek to know that. But the name of the university that accepted him or her will reveal to an extent the promising character of a student.”

Leon denied reports that the American Consulate is tough on students of a certain community from India. “Nothing of the sort. Every applicant is personally dealt with, not communally,” he said. Responding student queries, he also said that there is no difference in dealing with students seeking technical or scientific or humanities studies. “However, the fact is that most Indian students seek science or technology studies in America,” he said.