Start practising
US exchange visa · J-1 interview

A real programme, its funding, and your way home.

Enter your programme as it is on your DS-2019 — research scholar, intern, physician, teacher, au pair or Summer Work Travel — and an officer interviews you on it: what you will do, who funds it, what you return to and whether the two-year rule applies to you.

Five minutes free, then the officer's decision. You need an account, not a card.

900+ visa interviews purchased

How it can end
Approved
Clear, consistent answers on the programme, the funding and your return.
221(g) · administrative processing
More information or checks are needed — common for sensitive research.
Refused under 214(b)
The officer was not satisfied you will return at the end of the programme.

The report tells you which of these the officer reached, and the moment that decided it.

It turns on three questions

However they are worded. The interview takes a few minutes, so every answer has to carry something.

What exactly will you do on the programme?

The host, the person you will work with, and what you will do or learn, in a sentence or two. An internship that sounds like a job is the commonest problem.

Who is funding it, and how much?

The figure on your DS-2019 and where it comes from, stated plainly. The officer has the DS-2019 on screen.

What will you do when it ends?

What waits at home — a post held for you, studies, family — and whether the two-year home-residency rule (212(e)) applies to you. Plans to switch visa straight after the programme are a serious problem.

Built from your own file

Not a sample applicant. You enter what you filed, and the officer interviews you on it — and notices when what you say does not match.

The programme
Category, sponsor and host, dates, and what you will do.
The funding
Who pays and how much, as on the DS-2019.
Home
What you do now, what you return to, and the two-year rule as you understand it.
Family and history
Relatives in the US and any earlier refusal, so the officer can ask what changed.
Enter my case

The rules the practice follows

As checked in October 2026. Check the US Department of State and your embassy's page before your appointment; rules change.

  • Section 214(b) applies to J-1 applicants: you must show a residence abroad you intend to return to, as for a student (9 FAM 402.5-6).
  • The two-year home-residency requirement (212(e)) applies to programmes funded by the US or your government, to countries and skills on the State Department's Skills List, and to graduate medical training: every ECFMG physician is subject to it. India was removed from the Skills List in 2024. Whether it applies to you is a legal question: check your DS-2019 and ask your sponsor.
  • Since 2 September 2025 almost all J-1 applicants interview in person. The SEVIS fee must be paid before the interview.
  • A 221(g) is not a refusal: the officer needs more information or administrative processing before deciding.
What this will not do

It will not teach you what an officer wants to hear. The report marks you down for an answer that contradicts your file, and never rewards one that is not true. Telling the truth briefly and consistently is the whole skill.

This is practice, not legal advice, and no one can promise a visa. MockLive is not affiliated with the US Department of State or any sponsor. If your case has a complication, talk to your programme sponsor or an immigration attorney.

Visa interview pass
$19once

10 interviews — student, visitor, work or exchange — each with the officer's decision and the reasons, to use within 90 days. Nothing renews. Your first five minutes are free.