The Visa Interrogation

I finally got my F-1 visa done yesterday, laying to rest fears that i might have to fly back to India just for this.

Visa Officer: Who is funding your program?

Me: My father and a friend of his.

VO: A friend! Why is he doing that?

Me: He is a good friend!

VO: I have plenty of good friends, nobody ever gave me so much money!

Me: errrr…

Anyhow, all is well that ends well and after my tickets are done im looking forward to getting down to the serious business of studying.

By the way, books are dirt cheap in India (1/10 the price in US). So all Indians and others who know someone in India, you would do well to purchase the cheap paperback asian editions of the books u need for the course.

Resignation

Its bye-bye DBS…Well in spirit and on paper atleast. I will continue to work during my notice period of one month and 8th June will be my last working day.

 Travel plans: I plan to leave for NYC on the 14th of June and meet some of my friends there. One of the advantages of going to IIT-IIM has been that i am not short of friends anywhere on the planet! Its a shame though that most of my friends in the US are on the east coast and i will mostly be on my own in California. I then fly to Stanford on the 19th and will straight away move into my aptmt for the summer.

Visa Application: This is a tricky one for me. Since i am an Indian citizen i might be asked to go back to India and apply for a Visa. I really want to avoid that. Plus it makes sense for me to apply in Singapore given that i have been here for a year now. If ever there was a genuine case, it is mine

Some really funny questions i was asked in recent weeks while filling forms:

1. Do you seek to enter the US to engage in subversive or terrorist activities? (Wonder who has answered that with a ‘yes’!)

2. Are you suffering from a terminal illness? (Excuse me! would i spend my last days studying math!)