If you have had the patience to read my visa interview, you don't have to wear a tie, just formal clothes are good. If you get a Caucasian-American whose accent you find it difficult to understand, say so, apologise and listen carefully. You too have to speak clearly and slowly. Usually they, having the experience, will understand you easily. Not losing your document is quintessential; organising them for the interview in an easy-to-reach manner will help.
As suggested earlier, if you need a visa consultant in Madras, you could go to the person I went to, Mrs. Shanti, whose website is here. I'm giving this information because I felt she was very appropriate and straight forward, not in the least manner 'crooked'. I've given my pros/cons about an agent in the previous doc. Matter of fact, she has a few appearances on TV too, and costwise, I definitely paid lesser than what my friend paid in B'lore.
Some possible questions(no guarantee on them being asked)...
Why this university..
Why this topic...
Your GRE/TOEFL scores..
Why you have supplie(if you have)(I guess you don't)
Will you stay in America after finishing..
What are your parents doing...
Any siblings.... Any relatives in the US...
If your interview goes well, they will retain your passport and you should get your visa in about 2 weeks max. The passport will be couriered to you via DHL. Sometimes VOs will say since your topic of interest for higher studies is highly 'sensitive', this will means that your visa will be granted subject to clearance - this could take weeks to even months. Partly this depends on what you say in your interview - if you speak in simple words, good, else if you put a few scientific terms in a description which the VO doesn't understand.....
Disclaimer... I have presented these from the view of a person who hasn't flown before.. so if you have, it is best you ignore them.
Note 1: Even though I have given some information here, it is best you contact the Indian Students Association(ISA) of your university. They will definitely have their own tips and suggestions, which will better fit your needs.
Booking Tickets
Basically once you have your I-20 in hand you can book your airline ticket, the rule when I applied was that students could enter the US not earlier than 30 days before college started, that date is on the I-20(e.g. if university starts Aug 31, you can land Aug 1). So you can book your ticket for any day within that 30 day period.
Identify the nearest airport to your university; decide which airport you want to depart from. You may want to hook up with friends and fly from Bombay, avoid B'lore, choose Madras....etc.
My suggestion is contact as many travel agents as possible; search by yourself on the internet; ask friends; carefully enquire about extra luggage and the charges.
Tip: Defenitely try and avoid flying into New York JFK, reconsider Heathrow - they are notorious for lost baggage.
You may want to ask many agents because they will merely 'block' your ticket - i.e. place a hold on it with your name and passport details - for some period of time. This is free(mostly), and the more agents you book with, the wider the range of pricing you will get. Then decide. Sometimes you may want to go with other friends - e.g. Sriram went to Bombay to rendevouz with Sriram(by train) so that they could fly together to U of Florida.
Tip: Air-India has a pretty bad reputation for poor service.
Tip: Make sure that the ticket you are booking can be cancelled - just in case - you don't get your visa in time. If your visa doesn't arrive in time you will have to forfeit all of that nearly 45k.
Of course, you are making these arrangements in the good faith(touch wood) that you will get through your visa interview. Hence in foresight, book your visa interview early....
Packing
Having completed your interview and your celebratory party(if you are spendthrift), its time to pack. First off, you will need two suitcases and a cabin bag.
The suitcases can be either hard shell or soft; hard shell will take more battering but the soft one can be packed with extra luggage. Hence one of both will be a good choice.
Again, don't expect your suitcases to be brand new when you land in America - they will have bruises and be pretty dirty - if at all they are not lost, that is. So another decision to be made - costly or cheaper ones? Arguments include disposing off the cheap ones after use; the costly ones can be used for a couple of up and down trips. One gentleman was commenting that he had to buy a new set of bags everytime he flew - such was the damage. As a matter of fact, my soft shell bag already has a tear at the corner... One of my relatives was even suggesting that second hand bags(disposed off by one-time travellers), available in Moore Market, are an option, but you may not be interested in that.
The suitcases will be pre-fabricated to flight requirements, showrooms will usually have those details on hand. You have to ask around to find out which bazaar is the cheapest, or else you might regret shelling a few extra thousands unnecessarily.
You will also have to buy a cabin bag, to take along with you at the time of boarding the flight.
(I was told these details have changed)
Next is packing. When I flew, the limit was 23kgs on the suitcases and 14kgs on the cabin bag(including the weight of the bag). You can increase the weight to 32kgs and pay an extra 50 euros(the price when I flew with Delta). An important point to note here is that the weight of an empty suitcase itself is about 4-6 kgs, so using a weighing scale is a very good idea at every point of packing.
A few insights into the nuances of packing: a jeans pant("a pair of jeans") weighs nearly a kilo, a formal pant about 0.7 kgs. I had bags of 32 kgs and 23 kgs, to accomodate for extra luggage. Now carrying bags of 24kgs or 33kgs will not be a problem, but if your bag weighs something like 28 kgs, you might as well stretch it to 32 kgs or whatever limit is set by your airline.
Clothes to carry: Students wear almost anything they want - half pants, jeans... Almost noone except the business and law students wear formals. So a couple of jeans, a lot of t-shirts, a set of formal clothes and the necessary inner wear to last a week or a week and half should be good. Buy about a dozen pair of socks of the same colour - so that you don't have to match pairs. Or just pack in all the pairs you have, you can definitely buy new ones here.
You might want to account for shrinkage... slightly..
Put in a 2-3 bedsheets and a couple of pillow covers. A couple of towels. A night pant/cotton pants which can also be used an thermal wear if you happen to be in a colder region.
Don't buy a new pair of sports shoes; a new pair here will be cheaper. My suggestion would be to buy a pair of Woodland shoes(for colder regions; otherwise I don't think you will ever need boots) and a pair of black shoes; wear the Woodland pair in-flight.
Don't buy a jacket/jerkin; bring along whatever jacket you have already. A good snow-jacket(colder regions) is best bought here.
I took along a pillow and rug; these, I feel are unnecessary as they are better bought here. It might be uncomfortable for a couple of days, but you can manage with the bedsheets.
The soft suitcase can be used for clothes and the hard for utensils.
Utensils: Usually a medium size cooker(with extra gasket, whistle and safety valve), a pan, a small kadaai, a few ladles, tablespoons and teaspoons, a couple of plastic plates(since they have a lower density), a couple of plastic containers, plastic tumblers.
The idea is to picture yourself cooking rice, curry, making an omelette... So whatever you will need to cook and store these, take them along.
By the way, have you started cooking? Are you a master chef?
Start learning. Make sure to cook independently for a couple of days to gain confidence. If you are really having trouble, I suggest you learn the basics well - mainly rice and sambhar. The exotic dishes can be learnt later, if needed.
Some basic supplies you should bring along, for atleast the first few days. These include 1 kilo rice(moderate this amount based on your overall weight), one kilo your taste of sambhar mix(this is arguably the most important of all the items, because it is unique to each family), masala powders, ~ ½ kilo dal, some salt.
Take along some cereal(for the first few mornings), avval.
You could take along rava, for upma. Include lots of ready-to-eat mixes, like tamarind rice, vegetable biriyani.. These help in making things quickly.
Include Boost/Horlicks/other mixes for milk, if you use them. These items, as we know them, will be available at an Indian store. I have improvised: instead of using Boost, I use chocolate cereals - it alters the taste and colour of white milk sufficiently.
Tip: Most of these items, sans the sambhar mix which your family may make by hand, will be available at an Indian store. The objective is to manage for atleast a week or two before the need to shop.
Very Important: Get a Dental checkup/required treatment in India itself, because the health insurance in US will cover the other things(dental is usually not included; depends), so it you have any dental problems you will have to foot the very very costly bills from your pocket.
All your documents should be with you in your cabin bag. Your passport, keep it safely on you.
Driver's License: In some states you can drive with an International Driver's License for 6 months, in some you need a state license. So ask seniors about it.
Laptop - Better value in USA. Your university may have a minimum specification for the laptop. Your university will usually have a Dell discount, otherwise refer Footnote1 at the bottom.
DVDs/Hard disk: Be very very aware - any pirated English songs/movies/shows will lead to serious legal issues... maybe even deportation.. So avoid anything English.. Discreetly you could bring it in, but if checked(that may never happen), you are in big trouble.
Electronic equipment: The power supply is 110 V, the plugs are thin rather than round, so plan carefully.
Textbooks: Books are expensive, so ask seniors if you need to buy/bring books from India for the coursework you will probably take, or if there are sufficient copies in the library.
Locking your bags: Do not, I repeat do not lock your suitcases, because at your port of entry(wherever you first enter in USA), your bags might be subject to random inspection.. So the officials will with no remorse break open your suitcase, if they wish. An alternative is to use a TSA(Transportation Safety Authority, USA)-approved lock, to which they have a master key, but these are quite expensive. Most bags are anyway 'sealed' at the time of check-in. Theft of goods from a suitcase, I have not heard of.
Tip: In both the bags, leave xerox copies of the following documents, on the top, so that they are visible immediately on opening: passport/visa, flight itinerary, I-20, address to which to communicate in the US. These help to identify your bag incase it is lost or misplaced. In any case your suitcase will lose all its sheen; you could spend some time painting it or decorating it so that you can identify it easily when you have to collect it.
You should not tightly pack your suitcases such that they fit like a jigsaw puzzle - because in case they open your bag and check the contents, it shouldn't seem difficult to put together - your bad should only be packes so tight that they don't move around, packing by putting clothes to fill in crevices.
Be ready to explain everything you have in your suitcases/bags - like the agents may ask what that red powder is(sambhar mix..).
Medicines to carry: Contact your doctor to get medicines for all the allergies/common ailments which affect you such as a running stomach, nausea or fever. Also find out the alternative names for the medicines. Carry the prescriptions in case you have to have to show them to someone here.
Carrying money:
a) The "Vishwa Yatra Card"
This is useful if you don't have aid, it is a kind of rechargable debit card, issued by SBI, a Visa card, it can be charged from India, in US Dollars, so you can use the card in the US, with money being added from home if more is needed. Withdrawals from ATMs will have a surcharge; commercial usage has none.
b) Traveller's Cheques
These are issued by some banks(my SBI wouldn't issue them) and can be used at almost all commercial establishments.
c) Hard cash
You can, but too much might be dangerous if you are checked.
I opened a bank account soon after I came here, so I put in the money I had brought along into there.
How much to carry? Well, there might be some deposit cost for your apartment, then some basic shopping/groceries/health insurance to do, which shouldn't come to more than $500 for a couple of weeks. So in hand cash of about $750 should do, but always ask someone who's already there about it.
For the fees, a demand draft for the fees will do.
.
Start off early from your house. If you are leaving from Bangalore, be all the more careful.
Remember: whatever you forget to pack, money can buy, except, that is your documents. Don't forget to take these. Moreover, these documents should be packed in the cabin bag, the one you take with you in the flight. Because, if you lose your checked-in-baggage, you still have the bag with the documents with you.
Also, you should be able to survive for about one week with just your cabin bag - so pack atleast one weeks' worth of clothes and necessities.
Visit the TSA site here and here and here, to find out the latest rules for what to carry and not to carry. You cannot carry more than the specified amount of liquid; whatever you carry has to be in the specified size of Ziploc(re-sealable plastic bags).
Inside the plane, it will get cold, they should give you a shawl. The flight will be quite boring sans the inflight entertainment.. food will be served as per your requests... Not much else.
For your first stopover, you will have to get off the plane, go through security again(remove shoes, belt, jacket, etc) and go to the terminal on the boarding pass and get on the plane by showing your I20 and passport. Even if you somehow get lost and miss your flight, you will be put on another. Be very careful with your cabin bag, don't lose it.
You will be given two forms, I94 and a CBP declaration. The I94 is proof that you have legally entered the USA. One half will be retained at the port of entry and the other half is pinned to your passport. The CBP(Customs and Border Patrol) form is for you to declare whatever you are bringing into the country; usually you will answer 'no' to all the questions, because you are not carrying food or soil or too much money.
At the port of entry
After you land you will proceed to immigration; be ready to show your I20, passport and if necessary the admission letter. The person at the counter will take your fingerprints and may ask a couple of questions; answer them calmly. They will stamp your passport and the I20 and attach one half of the I94 to your passport, retaining the CBP form. Next collect your big suitcases and take a trolley(paying for it if needed). Move to the next terminal, if you have another flight, or to the exit if this is the last of flights.
Don't act like an idiot; there will be officers, cameras, people watching and observing you; so just be normal, not making sudden gestures. If, God forbid, you are approached for further information, be calm and cooperate.
After landing at your final destination, if, your bags don't arrive, go to that airline's office and register your complaint; you will have to give an address and a phone number, with some identification for it.
In foresight, you should have a senior's/contact's address and phone number, hopefully the Indian Student's Association should have helped you with this.
In fact, I missed my luggage at my final airport, so registered a complaint with the Delta office, giving my temporary address(my gratitude with the ISA for their wonderful help) and a friend's cell phone number. Thankfully they were delivered to my temp accommodation's after 9 hours at 3 am.
In case you don't get your suitcases at all, you will be compensated. Again, in foresight, you should have a list of items you have in your suitcases, so that you know what is where and what you may lose.
In America
Cellphone: There are 4 options: (a) You have a really benevolent relative who is willing to add you on as a 'family member' to their 'post-paid' plan. You will pay less than half the amount you would normally pay if you took a plan yourself. If you agree to a simple phone, you can get it for almost free.(b) Since you will almost definitely need a social security card to get a credit card, you could convince a senior/friend to take the connection on his credit card, once you get your card you can transfer it. (c) Buy a new phone here and get a 'prepaid' account or a postpaid account (d) Bring your hi-fi phone from India and put it to use here for a 'prepaid' account. Decide on your options.
For the first few days, when you land here, you will need to call home.. so my suggestion is to get a Reliance call home card or an Airtel call home card, which you can use from any coin phone.
You will then have to head to the Graduate School-Internationals Office-Department Office to submit your credentials(marksheets, degree certi, passport,etc) and meet a/your prof. If you already have an assistantship, you will have to sign papers... Then you will, with some other papers from the Internationals Office go to the city office and apply for the Social Security Card.
Once you have your SSN(SS Number) you can apply for a credit card and use it.
The pay from the assistantship is usually more than required for expenses.
If you don't have an assistantship and have an on-campus job(I don't think any other form of employment is allowed) you will have the same procedure except that instead of papers from the department you will have to sign papers from the place where you are working.
Regarding interaction, the other students, American or not, are usually welcoming. Understanding their accent might take time, especially the East Asians. You will also have to speak slowly to them, not to mention pronouncing each word separately if anyone doesn't understand what you are saying.
At fast food chains, don't be afraid to ask what the ingredients are, if you are averse to non-vegetarian content. You will be asked "For here, or to go?," wherein the former means you will eat it there itself(a few cents more) and the latter means that you want it in a bag to eat outside of the eatery. You can, however, ask for 'to go' and eat it inside, but noone minds paying a few cents extra to get their order on a platter.
Laptops, you can buy from your university dept store(Dell, with a discount) or online from the sites of HP, Dell, Sony, Toshiba.. But my preference if an HP. See footnote for details.
Some safety tips... Be afraid of the darkness.. Being a foreigner be aware of your surroundings... Be aware of 'people of the lower end of the economic demographic'.. And find strength in groups.
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