Yello Peeps! I am Dr. Mir Hasnain Ali. I graduated from Zaporozhye State Medical University (2006-2012) & Finished my Internship from Osmania General Hospitay Hyderabad, India from Dec 2012-Dec 2013.

I finished my USMLE Step 1 with a score of 239 in Sep 2014. I Will be giving my Step 2 CK in March 2015.

I have prepared this list of Visa Interview Questions to help me with my interview. I spent hours on the internet to find the right questions and appropriate answers.

I think this would be of great help to others who are either new to this topic or dont know what questions to expect on the interview day.

But before you start going through this text, I have a few tips which helped me a lot.

• Dress well on the interview day (I wore white shirt with a matching tie and formal pants and shoes). Many people wore jeans & t shirt and got the visa. I personally prefer to look professional at a professional place. So it’s a personal thing.

• Look confident & cool. Don’t give the look you give your mother when she is using your PC and you forgot deleting history….

I mean this….don’t do this…

• Greet the visa officer with a smile.

Like this…

• Dont take too long to answer anything. If you do not understand what they are saying, say "I'm sorry i could'nt hear what you just said. Could you PLEASE repeat that SLOWLY for me".

Don’t do this either….

• If your visa is rejected, dont argue or even try to explain anything. It was rejected either because of a missing document or you were not prepared well.

For the love of god, don’t ever do this!

• The most you can say after being rejected is "Could you PLEASE give me a moment to explain myself?" If the person says YES, explain yourself. If they say NO, shut up, take your documents and go home. Its pretty much over at this point. Better luck next time.

Definitely do this…

• Dont go the interview with any document missing. If you get rejected, it will be because of THAT MISSING DOCUMENT.

NOPE….

• Organize your documents well so there is no digging in front of him when you need the right document. Keep Passport & Visa Invitations on top end everything behind. You might classify documents like I did….

• DONT try to hand them unnecessary documents. Give only what they ask.

• If you want to show him any specific document, first speak about it. If the interviewer is interested, he/she will ask for it.

• The interviewers are looking for well informed people. If you are going for step 2CS exam, you are expected to know the basics and the details like WHAT IS USMLE? WHAT IS STEP 2 Cs? Why that city? Why that date? The address of the test center etc. These things matter a lot. They hate it when you dont know what you are going to do in an alien country or when your answer suggests "I'll figure that out once I get there..."

• If you are going for externship/Clerkship, know the address cold. Know whom you will be working under and for how much time. Bottom line is give the impression that YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING…

Like this….

• DO NOT!! And I repeat DO NOT EXPECT THE INTERVIEWER to know whats USMLE or ECFMG or NRMP. Just because they do this on a daily basis does'nt mean they know it. My interviewer genuinely didnt know these words. I had to explain them and then he verified what i said with the interviewer at the other window.

One last piece of advice which helped me the most…Print these questions and ask your friends to interview you at least twice you go for the interview. Ask them to make fun of you or ridicule you ask ridiculous questions. This part loosened me a lot and I was actually having fun with them on a serious way…

A lot of questions are really long. You WONT get time to say all that. Just get the essence of the answer…

And Finally, I thank my friends Dr. Kavya Reddy & Dr. Faisal a lot for insulting me on a daily basis…& making me ready for the final day…Look…I got the Visa….10 Years Multiple Entry….

Visit to USA

1. Why do you want to go to USA?

I chose USA to do my postgraduate surgical training in USA because it has the most technologically advanced hospitals in the world.

Out of 30, 16 of the best hospitals in the world are in USA. This shows that Medical R & D in USA is constantly pushing the boundaries of health care and redefining what is and isn’t possible. Being a US Board Certified surgeon is the highest standard a surgeon can achieve.

Besides,The American teaching hospitals are well known for their quality of education and research opportunities. Their programs are well designed with equal importance on theoretical knowledge along with strong practical skills.

My qualification & exposure in USA is bound to enhance my career opportunities in India.

Examples of some kickass hospitals..

El Camino in California

Johns Hopkins in Baltimore

Palomar Medical Center California

Mayo Clinic Minnesota

Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland

2. Are you going as a student or for work in USA?

I am already a graduate. The soul purpose of my visit is to give STEP 2 CS exam followed by 3 months of externship in General Surgery at Advanced Ambulatory Surgical Center at Harlem Avenue, Elmwood Park, Illinois under Dr. BohdanKroczek, MD.

3. What would you be doing there during your externship?

My rotations take place in a full service outpatient surgical center. I will be working under several surgeons throughout the week including teaching faculty from local residency programs. I will be allowed to observe and scrub in on procedures related to General Surgery.

4. Why will you return back to your home country?

I worked for one whole year just to get myself registered as a doctor in India. I plan to finish my Residency, come back & stay with my family.

5. Do you plan to visit any other place apart from giving your exam?

Yes. After my exam and externship, If I have time, I would love to see some places..

6. Why should I give you Visa?

You should give me Visa because I have a strong academic profile. I am a person of strong determination. I am goal oriented & focused. This right here is a great opportunity to make my dream come true.

Travel 1. When are you leaving your home country?

I'll be leaving my home country in the month of May 2015.

2. Do you have a specific plan?

Yes I do.

I plan to give my Step 2CS before May. Do externship from June to Aug and come back home.

3. Have you ever traveled outside India?

Yes. I completed my Medical Graduation from Ukraine.

4. How much do you expect this trip to cost?

5600$ for Externship + 1600froAccomodation + 1500$ for food and travel.

About 10,000$

5. Did you buy your tickets?

Not yet. I will buy them as soon as I get the Visa.

6. What will you do after you return?

My current place of employment is giving me a 4 month leave. So I'll resume my job as soon as I get back home.

Stay 1. Where are you going to stay?

I will be staying at a hotel until Chicago Clerkships find me a place.

Chicago Clerkships is a Chicago based corporation that provides high quality hands-on clinical training with board certified physicians. They also assist FMGs in housing & transportation.

Lori Ramos, CEO

loriramos@chicagoclerkships.com

312-985-6354

2. How many days?

I will be staying for about 4 months i.e, from May till Aug end.

3. Distance from hotel to testing center?

Haven’t booked a hotel.

The distance from my hotel to testing center is 8.2 miles (From Skokie Blvd, Skokie to West Higgins Street)

4. Who will take care of your house when you are away?

My sisters will take care of my parents when I'm gone.

Relatives in USA 1. Any relatives in USA?

No. I don’t have any relatives in USA.

2. Do you have brothers and sisters? All of them in ? What do they do?

I have a brother and 3 sisters. All of them are here in India except my brother.

Exam related 1. What is USMLE step 2CS and ECFMG?

USMLE Step 2 CS is the only practical exam in the USMLE series. It is a One Day, 8 Hours Long test that uses 12 standardized patients to assess examinees to apply medical knowledge, skills and understanding of basic medical sciences to diagnose diseases. Each patient encounter lasts 15 minutes long.

2. Why do you want to give this exam?

The Usmle Step 2CS is an absolute requirement to apply for residency in the US.

3. Have you given any steps earlier?

Yes. I have cleared my USMLE Step 1 with a score on 239 on first attempt. I sat the exam on 28th Aug, 2014.

4. How long is the exam?

The exam is 8 hours long with 2 breaks of a total of 45 minutes.

5. Where is exam?

The exam is in Chicago West Higgins Road.

7. Why this test center?

I applied for externship in different hospitals in different states. I got a placement in Chicago. Hence Chicago.

9. Why this date?

My externship starts from 1st June. So I want to finish the exam before that.

10. What will you do after exam is over?

After my exam, I will immediately join my externship at Advanced Ambulatory Surgical Center at Harlem Avenue, Elmwood Park, Illinois under Dr. BohdanKroczek, MD.

11. What do u do in this exam?

I will encounter 12 standardized patients who are not real ones and my job will be to diagnose them.

12. What's your specialty now?

I am MD Physician gearing up for post graduate training in General Surgery.

13. What is Residency?

Residency is a post graduate training program to be a specialist in a certain area (e.g. Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Ob-Gyn).

14. What is Fellowship?

Fellowship is a training program to be a subspecialist in one particular specialty following residency (e.g. Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Pediatric Endocrinology).

Sponsorship 1. Who is sponsoring/Financial supproting your visa?

My Father and my brother is helping me financially. Here is the Letter of Financial Support...

2. What is his occupation?

My father is a farmer & my brother works as a clerk in Dubai.

3. Show me your bank details?

Here...

4. Who will pay for your trip? What do they work? How much of their income? Show me the bank statement. Does your father have another bank statement or is this the only one ?

My father & my brother will be paying for the whole trip. My father was a farmer (Retired now) and my brother works as a clerk in Dubai.

Tell their income

Show the bank statements if asked

Show the affidavit of support if asked

Residency issues

1. Which field?

Surgery and Surgery only! I want to be a Mechanical Heart Transplant Surgeon.

2. Why USA?

Because USA has the most technologically advanced hospitals in the world. The hospitals are equipped with the latest and state of the art equipment. Getting trained in latest procedures.

3. Why not home country? I want to get well versed with the latest technology, Equipment & Procedures and also do research. Unfortunately the hospitals in India and the universities don’t provide much research opportunities.

4. What is ECFMG? Where is it?

ECFMG is EDUCATIONAL COMMISION FOR FOREIGN MEDICAL GRADUATES. It certifies FMGs so they can apply for residency in USA through NRMP.

It Conducts 3 tests: USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS.

5. Why would you return after completing residency?

I worked for one whole year just to get myself registered as a doctor in India. I plan to finish my Residency, come back & stay with my family. One day, when I have enough resources, I would like to open a hospital of my own in my home country.

6. So finally, will you settle in USA? At this point of time my only priority is the finish my residency from a great surgical program. I have not made any long term plans. I want to come back and stay with my family one day.

Employment

1. Are you currently working?

Yes. I am currently working at GET WELL CHARITABLE CLINIC at DarulShifa in old city.

2. Since how long are you working?

I have been working there since Jan 5th 2014.

3. What are your job obligations?

My duty was to assisting the senior doctor for patient’s check up. -Performing basic duties like checking the BP, sugar, etc. -Observing them while performing their duties.

-Assisting to them in surgery. -Performing patient’s check up under guidance of senior Dr. -Checking the reports of patients. -Taking follow up from the nurses about regular treatment and dose of the patients. -In case of emergency performing basic treatment

4. Duty hours?

8 to 11 and 5 to 9 everyday.

5. How many beds in the hospital?

Its a 50 Bed hospital

6. If you are working, how will you go to US for 4 Months?

My hospital has granted me a 4 month leave from May till Aug. I can resume my job as soon as I fly back home.

7. Your Income is not enough to support your Travel to USA. How will you pay for it?

Yes it is not. Fortunately, My father and my brother have been saving a a good amount of money for my higher education. Here is the letter of financial support....

8. What is your annual income?

About 5000$ as of now.

9. Do you pay Income Tax?

At this pont of time, NO.

Medical Student questions

1. Why did you become a physician?

2. How good were you student?

Yes I always was a good student. I finished my School with 83% and my college with 92%.

3. How long is your graduation?

I graduate in June 2012 and did my Internship at Osmania General Hospital from Dec 2012 to Dec 2013.

4. What will you do during your externship?

My rotations takes place in a full service outpatient surgical center. I will be working under several surgeons throughout the week including teaching faculty from local residency programs. I will be allowed to observe and scrub in on procedures related to General Surgery.

Some of the answers need to be changed accordingly. I hope this helps..

Regards,

Dr. Ali…