How To Crack Any US Visa Interview (Ex-US Visa Officer POV) - w/ Duden
I’m Naman Pandey — welcome back to Ready Set Do. If you’ve ever felt blindsided by the US visa interview process, this episode is your map. My guest is Duden Freeman: a former U.S. diplomat who served over nine years with the Department of State and now runs Visas 101 — the first education platform built by former visa officers to teach applicants exactly what consular teams look for. Duden tears down the opacity of the visa system and gives clear, no-nonsense advice you can use whether you’re applying for a visitor visa, student visa, work visa (including H-1B), or an extraordinary ability petition.
Why listen? Because most visa advice is hearsay. Duden served on the other side of the glass. She explains what a visa officer is actually assessing, why the default mindset for every application is “rejected until proven otherwise,” and how small changes in preparation can dramatically improve your chances. We walk through real examples — including my own visitor visa rejection — and translate those lessons into actionable steps you can follow.
What you’ll learn from this conversation:
• Exactly what visa officers test for and how to present the truth clearly and concisely.
• How to treat your DS-160 — the form most people rush through — as a central part of your story, not a checkbox.
• Practical techniques for interview framing: how to answer, what to avoid, and when brevity wins.
• A breakdown of visa categories (visitor, student, H/L/O/P, EB), what each officer is focused on, and how to tailor your evidence.
• What to do — and absolutely not do — if your visa is rejected, including next steps that actually work.
• Myths about body language, “tricks” recruiters use, and why transparency beats theatrics in a consular interview.
Duden also pulls back the curtain on training for consular officers and shares the human, sometimes surprising perspective behind decisions — including how institutional pressures and busy caseloads shape outcomes. If you’re preparing for a US visa interview, this episode will give you the confidence to tell your story the right way.
Who should listen: international students, professionals applying for work visas or H-1B interviews, travelers worried about visitor visa denials, and anyone who needs a practical, evidence-based guide to the US consular process.
If this episode helps you, subscribe to Ready Set Do, leave a rating, and share it with a friend who’s filling out a DS-160 right now. Got a visa question after listening? DM me — I’ll pass it along to Duden for future episodes. Press play, take notes, and treat your next visa interview like a product you can design and iterate — because you can.
Timestamps:
00:00 — Intro + Background
02:17 — Duden's Journey to US Diplomacy
07:46 — Duden's experience as a visa officer in Spain
09:48 — Training to be a visa consular officer
12:18 — Naman's visitor visa rejection - live retrospection
17:27 — What is the visa officer trying to assess?
21:26 — Every applicant's visa result defaults to rejected
22:39 — Dealing with God complex
26:45 — Navigating H,L,O,P,EB Visa Categories
29:47 — The Visa Officer's Unheard Perspective
34:14 — Does body language really matter?
36:05 — The DS160 should not be taken lightly
40:18 — Navigating H1B Visa Interviews
45:04 — Success Stories from Visas 101 and Lessons Learned
49:33 — Visa acceptance after multiple rejections