Be Immaculately Prepared for the Most Important Interview of Your Life. The Perfect Dress Code for the US Visa Interview for Both Men and Women (2020)

Be Immaculately Prepared for the Most Important Interview of Your Life. The Perfect Dress Code for the US Visa Interview for Both Men and Women (2020)

Getting a US visa whether you want it for further studies or for work, is one of the most difficult things because their visa screening process is extremely detailed and complex. Therefore when you are preparing for the visa interview you need to be thoroughly prepared for it and that includes the dress you are planning to wear for the interview. This BP Guide will take you through the perfect dress code for both men and women and also share with you important tips to make sure your US visa interview is a success.

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Introduction

Getting ready for a visa interview can be a really daunting task. Be that as it may, it can even become the sole reason for the acceptance or rejection of your request. This is so, because, how you look puts the first impression on the interviewer and the first impression can have a lot of impact on how the rest of the interview goes.

In addition to that, looking good will boost your confidence level and also make you appear more serious. Also, this will show that you respect the interviewer's effort and the time that he put into this interview. For these reasons, you need to make sure that you are properly dressed for the interview. In this article, you will get to know some dress code tips and some additional ones for your interview.

Dress Code Tips for Men

Wear a Suit for the Best Impression

Wearing a suit is the best option for you as nothing can beat the formality of such an outfit. However, you need to make sure that this suit is not brightly-coloured and also doesn't have any patterns on it. Instead, it should be neutrally coloured with a solid pattern. You are suggested to wear either black, brown, or navy blue suits as they give the best impression. The shirt that you wear should also be of a matching colour and your whole outfit should be properly pressed.

If You Don't Want to Wear a Suit, Wear a Blazer with Proper Pants and Shirt

The second best choice would be to wear a blazer with a shirt and pants. However, this can be a little tricky. For instance, you may wear a blazer that is too casual or the outfit may not be properly balanced. Be that as it may, if you choose the right pieces of clothing, this can also work like magic. So, you should wear a nice pair of formal pants with a simple pattern on them. The shirt should be of solid as well as neutral colours and the blazer should be a little formal with the whole outfit being nicely ironed.

Make Sure That You Shave, Trim Your Nails and Style Your Hair Properly

This is also very important because you may wear a formal dress with the proper accessories but it will all be a waste if you do not trim your nails or don't shave. So, you are advised to shave or, if you have a beard, shape it properly for the best impression. Other than that, your nails should also be properly trimmed and your hair styled adequately. The hair should also not be too long and should be cut properly. If you do all these things, you are sure to put up a good first impression of the consular officer.

Choose the Right Accessories

For the accessories, you should wear a nice and elegant watch with no jewellery at all other than your wedding ring. You should also not wear too much perfume as the interviewer may be allergic to it or not like it for some other reason.

Next, you should also not wear any sunglasses and keep it all simple. Furthermore, the shoes should be formal and you are suggested not to wear any sneakers or sport shoes. Instead, you should wear the elegant ones like Oxfords, Derbies, monk straps or brogues.

Dress Code Tips for Women

Wear Formal Wear

This is the very first tip for the dress code, proving its importance. Wear formal clothing which can be a suit, a trouser-shirt combination or a conservative skirt-shirt combination. Choose elegant and sober colours. If wearing a skirt ensure the hemline is within three inches of your knees. The blouse you wear also should be formal and preferably in a neutral colour like white and black. Avoid wearing too bright-coloured clothing or something too glitzy. You can also wear Indian style formal clothing – a simple and classy sari or a neatly fitted sober-coloured salwar suit.

Make Sure to Trim Your Nails, Don't Apply Too Much Makeup and Style Your Hair Properly

Just as the interview clothes, all the accessories that you want to take along need to be slightly conservative as well. This means that you can wear some makeup in case you don't feel fine without it, however, you need to make sure that it creates a perfect balance with your dull-coloured dress, it shouldn't be really bright.

Furthermore, your nail polish should also be extremely professional with translucent or dull colours. The nails also need to be trimmed as you need to look completely neat. In addition to all that, your hair should also be properly styled. The style of your hair should also be simple and not complicated at all and it should be easy to carry.

Get the Right Footwear

Your footwear is also very important because, if it does not go well with the rest of your outfit, it can make you look bad. So, you should choose some formal shoes that have either a good contrast with the dress that you are wearing or have a matching colour. Make sure that these are not too casual or you will not look serious. Additionally, you need to make sure that the shoes that you wear are not too noisy or they may give a bad impression. Other than that, you are suggested to wear flat shoes or low heels as high heels can reduce the level of formality.

Choose the Right Accessories

This is a very important part of the dress code as it can make or break your look. So, firstly, you should wear a simple and elegant watch that isn't too fancy. In fact, none of your accessories should be too fancy as they can make you look too complex and all.

For the jewellery, you should try and minimise it as much as possible. However, you should not remove it from the equation completely. You are suggested to wear a simple ring, a small pendant, and a nice pair of earrings. These three things should be more than enough for you.

In addition to all that, you should not wear perfume. This is so, because, the interviewer may be allergic to the constituents of the perfume, or just like many others, perfumes may simply be too overwhelming. However, if you can't skip it, wear a light one.

Additional Tips to Make Sure That You Ace the Interview

  • Firstly, the thing that most people don't know – you should show that you have reasons to come back to your home country. Otherwise, it will make you look like an immigrant and impact your interview badly.

  • You should be able to speak fluent English, and, therefore, are suggested to take some classes if you are not that fluent, as this can have a huge impact on the outcome.

  • Next, you should go alone as it will make you seem more independent.

  • You should also keep your answers short and to the point as you do not want to take too much of the consular officer's time. In addition to all that, you will have 2-3 minutes and should have the documents properly organised and presented so that the consular officer can easily know what they signify.

  • In case you are a student, you should show that you will be coming back to your country after the studies and will not reside in America permanently.

  • Lastly, most people know this but still don't follow it much, you should not get into an argument with the consular officer and keep a positive attitude throughout the interview.
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Preparation is the Key to Success

You need to prepare meticulously for your US visa interview notwithstanding any other factors that may be in your favour. Your dress plays an important part in creating a positive impression on the consular officer and conveying to him how serious you are about going to the US. All these factors play a role in deciding whether your visa application gets accepted or rejected. We hope this BP Guide would have helped you prepare for your forthcoming US visa interview. Stay connected with us for more such engaging content.