F-1 interview: Travel History

[paulab]

Hi everyone!

I have a question regarding the F-1 Visa Interview that came up in my school's webinar on tips for the visa application process. They mentioned that I could be asked about my travel history to the US with exact dates. Has anyone experienced this during their interview? How specific were the questions? For context, I have traveled a lot to the US just for vacation purposes and I haven't kept track of all my entries and departures. I was advised not to estimate because it could seem untruthful to the officer and a possible reason for visa denial. Does anyone know if there is a portal I can check to retrieve my travel history? I know the us gov has one but it goes back only 5 years.  Any tips will be really appreciated!

[PokePsych]

check your i94 (you can google for this). Other than that I just used old passport stamps

 

I also brought my old passport (since I didn't know the exact dates of my trips) with a vague entry stamp and based it on that (didn't know my exact date I left, I may have been off by a day). If you try to answer truthfully they wouldn't really make an issue. The officer did check my old passport and asked me for the purpose of that trip - which was travel. You probably want to be truthful or try to be as much as possible. They may be a bit suspicious whether you really want to study or have other reasons to move. However, it really depends on a variety of things such as where you are from (i.e., country of origin), nr of trips, which school you're going, etc.

[AP]

As from now, keep track of all your entries AND exits of the US. You are going to need them for visas and tax purposes. Go to your I94s (found online) and keep records.