16/06/2026
Alhamdulillah
Visa Interview Experience (F1)
Visa Status: Issued
Intended University: University at Buffalo [State University of New York at Buffalo]
Program: PhD in Computer Science and Engineering
Research Domain: Deep learning and NLP
𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫: Fall 2026
𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Fully Funded (Graduate Teaching Assistantship + Full Tuition Waiver + Health Insurance)- no deficit
𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞:
• Interview Date: April 08, 2026
• Visa Approved: April 13, 2026
• Visa Issued: April 15, 2026
• Passport Collection Mail: April 16, 2026
· Passport collected: April 19, 2026
𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬:
• Scheduled Time: 10.00 am
• Entered Embassy: 8.30 am
• Interview Time: 10.20 am
• Interview Duration: 1-1.5 minutes
𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝:
Passport, I-20, Ds 160 confirmation, Visa Appointment confirmation, SEVIS payment confirmation, Visa Payment Confirmation Receipt, Offer letter, TOEFL Scores, DET Scores, Transcripts & Certificates (MSc, BSc, HSC and SSC), NID, 8 (2×2) photos, Printed list of social media URLs
𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐕𝐎:
Passport and i20 (Signed) before final interview:
At the entry gate: my passport was checked, and a sticker was placed on the back cover of the passport.
Then, entering the building via the first gate,
At counter 04: a Bangladeshi officer (female) verified my passport and asked if I have any old passports, which university I am going to, starting date of my classes.
At counter 06: fingerprints were taken.
Then I waited for my turn for the interview. (There was a long queue)
𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
The Visa Officer (female) was at Counter 8.
Conversation with the Visa Officer:
Me: Good morning.
VO: Give me your passport and i20.
Me: (Passed the passport and i20)
VO: What research do you work on?
Me: I research large language model optimization and their robustness on different domains like healthcare, software engineering, and social computing.
VO: (She was typing and reviewing my i20), Is your wife going with you?
Me: No, she will not. (I did not expand as she did not ask why)
(After that, she looked again at the screen, was preparing to ask another question but opted not to)
VO then provided a 221g document with SM review seal and said: I am keeping your passport, and social media screening will be done. It could take up to 14 days. Keep your profiles public.
Did you bring printed social media links?
Me: Yes.
VO: Pass the printed social media links. You could see the updates on the CEAC site mentioned here (in 221g).
Me: Thank you very much. Have a nice day.
Other offers:
1) University of Idaho (Central)
2) SUNY at Albany (Central)
3) Indiana University (Professor-managed)
4) Tulane University (Central)
5) Iowa State University (Waitlisted -> offered; they also waived my GRE based on my research profile)
6) University of Louisiana at Lafayette (Central)
7) Kennesaw State University (Professor-managed)
My Profile:
B.S. in Computer Science and Engineering, North South University
CGPA: 3.81/4.00
TOEFL: 92 (It expired in December 2025)
DET (Duolingo English Test): 140
LOR: Strong
SOP: Moderate.
Publications:
3 Q1 Journals and 3 Conference Papers (5 as first author and 1 as Second author).
Work Experience:
Lecturer at BRAC University (Part-Time), 2.5 years
Undergrad and Graduate Teaching Assistant at NSU, 2 years
Suggestions and things that worked for me:
PREPARE YOUR PROFILE FIRST:
1. Get your provisional certificates/main certificates and transcripts ready as soon as you graduate.
2. Take the IELTS/TOEFL/DUOLINGO/GRE (if required) first. The ready scores will help you decide university listing.
3. Create your portfolio/homepage showcasing your projects, profile, and experience [keep it simple and on point].
4. Create your CV/Resume with utmost care; revise it multiple times. Consult with people who have the expertise. This is the initial document that gets screened by the admission committee and professors, not your SOP or LORs or Transcripts.
CREATE UNIVERSITY & PROFESSORS LISTS
1. Based on your profile (test scores, CGPA, publication/research experience, work experience), select 15-20 universities. You have to research and analyze hard yourself to figure out the suitability of yours to the universities. My suggestion: select 3-4 above your league, 5-8 well suited to your profile, and 5-7 below your league. Do remember, lower-ranking universities could give you admission but don’t guarantee admission with funding. For ranking, you can follow mostly CSRanking.
2. For professor selection: This is more important than university selection. Visit their profiles by searching from university pages, LinkedIn, CSranking etc. Look for research projects that align with your interest or prior research work, and whether you contributed novelties in their future works.
3. MASS GENERIC EMAILING WILL BE A WASTE OF TIME: In most cases, they will not reply or will reject politely. The best way is to read some of their papers and mention the paper with your novelties and contributions. This has to be brief. No problem in using AI to understand the paper. But do not use it fully to construct the email.
4. DO MAINTAIN A SPREADSHEET/EXCEL FOR ALL THESE.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE IS THE GAME CHANGER.
1. You have to put as much time as possible while constructing. Constantly revise it.
2. Learn the difference between SOP, Research Statement, and Personal Statement. For CS, the research statement is the most useful for mid to top-tier universities. Nobody cares about your childhood PC interactions and origin from BD.
3. For every university, use a customized SOP. Even though most of the structure would remain consistent.
4. DO NOT USE AI TO WRITE. Remember, this is your only chance to talk to the admissions committee and professors.
5. CHECK CS SOPS REPOSITORIES FOR BETTER IDEA.
MANAGE LORs EARLY
1. Your first job before applying is to manage LOR referees.
2. Contact faculty members under whom you did research/ thesis [this is strongly tied to LOR], a professor under whom you worked as a TA, and under whom you completed a course.
3. Inform them early, 1- 2 months prior to applying. MUST REMEMBER that every year, a single renowned professor gives around 300-400 LORs at minimum. You have to be patient and remind them constantly to submit in the most respectful manner.
4. LORs are not only a document that needs to be submitted by the referees, but have many questionnaires and answers that need to be typed. Meaning it is not possible for any professor to provide all of your LORs at a single go, unless he/she has plenty of time.
5. Gather all LORs before 15 December for fall admission. Because many students will be over the professors for LOR submission.
TEST SCORES
1. I took TOEFL back in 2023 16, december, in a 9 days of preparation from GregMat. It was a mistake because with a 92 score, I could not apply to many universities that I wanted to. I used this score to apply in fall 2026. [Didn’t want to waste another 24k on TOEFL or have any time]. But the scores expired on December 16, 2025. I sent my official scores before they expired. But only SUNY Buffalo required a new score. So, I gave DET.
2. DET is easy, cheap, and can be given from your home. Bought two tests for 118 dollars. Got 135 in the first test and 140 in the second. They provided scores within two days. The best thing, you send official scores for free. For TOEFL, I had to pay 29 dollars for each university! DET preparation was taken from their official materials and practice problems. But not every university accepts DET.
3. For GRE, I had taken some preparation from Gregmat + KMF, but could not find the time or motivation to take it.
DO NOT STOP CONTACTING PROFESSORS UNTIL YOU RECEIVE ANY OFFER.
IDEALLY, YOU SHOULD BE CALLED FOR INTERVIEWS, OPEN HOUSE PhD SESSIONS, AND ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE GIVEN. If you are not getting any of these by January or MARCH, chances are near zero.
FOR CS, the competition is very high; AI, NLP, DL these domains are very saturated. Unless you have A*/A ranked conference papers or Q1 journal publications, chances are quite low. Even getting into R2 universities is now difficult.
In essence, trust in Almighty Allah. Don’t miss your prayers. Pray Tahajjud. He is the planner. Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Don’t get upset or lose hope. Your time will come. Just keep working hard.
I am most thankful to my family and my mentors. This journey requires immense support, both mental and financial. I am ever thankful to ALLAH!
Do pray for me to Almighty ALLAH so that I can do well in my upcoming endeavors. I pray and hope that my experience would be helpful. I will do my best if anyone needs any help.
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