Chances of getting an F1 visa from India? Please help!

[rian]

I am a physician practicing here in So. California. I am hoping to bring my brother here, currently an anesthesiologist in India (7 years experience). I am willing to pay for his studies here with Kaplan and provide him boarding. But what are his chances of getting an F1 visa thru admission in Kaplan. Anyone here has come here in the same fashion.

My question is, when he is evaluated by the consulate in India, doesn't the fact that he is coming here for USMLE make him a potential immigrant and hence cause rejection of his visa.

Any advice in this regard will be greatly appreciated

 

[Studious]

I am a physician practicing here in So. California. I am hoping to bring my brother here, currently an anesthesiologist in India (7 years experience). I am willing to pay for his studies here with Kaplan and provide him boarding. But what are his chances of getting an F1 visa thru admission in Kaplan. Anyone here has come here in the same fashion.

My question is, when he is evaluated by the consulate in India, doesn't the fact that he is coming here for USMLE make him a potential immigrant and hence cause rejection of his visa.

Any advice in this regard will be greatly appreciated

I did not know anyone entering US on Kaplan's admission initially. I know many doctors coming on MS (Public Health) or MS (Health Care) though. I know some of them transferred to Kaplan's USMLE program. The student visa rejection rate for doctors is relatively high when compared to other majors. It is highly risky to show to US Consulate in India that the student is coming to US solely to study USMLE.

 

[hadron]

If you want to circumvent the consulate in india for the F1, you could invite him as a visitor, maybe for a 3 month time period. He will have to provide all the usual nonsense to show his attachment to india like job and place to live etc.

After 30+ days in the states it is considered relatively safe to file for change of status to F1. (I know a nigerian doc who did it that way. After he had finished his USMLE's he filed COS to J1 for his residency)

That way you circumvent the embassy in india. Somehow I start to believe that CIS (however painful they are otherwise) is a bit less suspicious than the guys at the consular posts in the high-immigration countries.

 

[mithya]

Kaplan has been in India for a while, so he could definitely face issues at the Consulate on that...they have offices in Delhi..atleast..earlier docs used to take this route but now this is risky. You could try the tourist visa route, but they have been rejecting that in great numbers for doctors, specially since he will show that his brother is already in the US etc etc...

Best bet is still an F1 but in MPH or anything similar, not available in India..it has a very high probabilty of working. As with any F1 application from India, he should show enough ties to India...property, parents, etc...
Other indirect 'safe' route...his spouse can try to get here on H1 or F1 and he can initially come here as her dependent...If the spouse can get a visa...dependent visa from India is rarely refused...

As Hadron suggested, you could try the tourist visa route, but I have known my friends, relatives...all docs...who have been refused it 'n' number of times...not saying that they don't approve tourist visas for docs in first attempt..

If you want to circumvent the consulate in india for the F1, you could invite him as a visitor, maybe for a 3 month time period. He will have to provide all the usual nonsense to show his attachment to india like job and place to live etc.

After 30+ days in the states it is considered relatively safe to file for change of status to F1. (I know a nigerian doc who did it that way. After he had finished his USMLE's he filed COS to J1 for his residency)

That way you circumvent the embassy in india. Somehow I start to believe that CIS (however painful they are otherwise) is a bit less suspicious than the guys at the consular posts in the high-immigration countries.