A student interviewing for an F1 visa at the US Consulate in Hyderabad on May 30, 2025, faced unexpected technical questions from a visa officer, sparking a widespread discussion on Reddit’s immigration and visa communities, as reported by Siasat.
According to the applicant's Reddit post, the interview was conducted by a white male officer in his 30s. It began with routine questions about the student’s educational background and university applications, but soon shifted to technical topics.
The officer asked about data structures, machine learning basics, differences between arrays and linked lists, and linear regression.
Despite answering the questions, the student's visa was rejected by the officer, "Unfortunately, your visa has been rejected. You’re welcome to reapply.”
After the interview, the applicant sought help from Redditors, "If anyone has gone through something similar or has suggestions for improving in my next attempt, I would be really grateful for your insights.”
Reddit users offered varied perspectives on the rejection. One user commented that sometimes they test your seriousness and expect stronger technical answers.
Another commented that while the student’s project explanation and university choices seemed adequate, the visa officer might have doubted their academic intent.
While student visa rejections at the US Consulate are not uncommon, the inclusion of technical questions marks a shift in the interview process, raising further questions about the evaluation criteria and increased stringency due to changing visa rules.
