He had rehearsed this with his mentor, a WPI alum named Priya who now ran a supply chain analytics firm in Pune.
His father, a high school principal, and his mother, a homemaker, had liquidated a small piece of ancestral land in Kerala to make that $20,000 possible. To the US visa officer, it was a number. To Aarav, it was his grandmother’s paddy field. wpi i20
Aarav pulled out a printed email chain. "Yes, ma'am. He said there might be a funded RA position in Spring. That would reduce my family's burden. It's in the folder." He had rehearsed this with his mentor, a
This was the unspoken question behind every line of the I-20. The I-20 was his invitation, but it was also a contract. It said: We, WPI, believe Aarav has the academic chops and the financial backing to survive here. Now, US Government, do you believe he will leave when the party’s over? To Aarav, it was his grandmother’s paddy field