Business Visa - B1

Hi All,

First of all thanks to immihelp, Today i have attended B1 visa interview second time at mumbai consulate,first time my visa had been rejected in May 2012, i was trying almost after an year , reached there little early as my interview was scheduled at 7:45, I reached there by 6:45 so there were very few people ahead me, after security check they make sat on waiting area, after 15 mins of waiting they called 10-8 us inside VO room, after that they assigned us a token...
and fnally i had beed assighned some window. I was not nervous but little bit curious whats gonna hapen because i had faced rejection and what would consulate officer ask about that.

Hi

Went for my B1 visa interview on March 19, 2013.
Background: I was in the US for ~9 years on F1 and then H1 visa. My company in US had filed for GC but I returned before the GC came through. I joined a new company in India and have been working for last 3 years now. Current company asked me to file B1 visa.

Here is how the interview went
Questions from the VC

Good morning
How are you?
Please give me your passport
Where are you going
Why are you going
Were you in the US before
Where in US were you before
Did you join current company in india or did they offer when you were in US
How long will you stay in US
Will you take your family with you
Visa is approved. Thank you.

Hope it helps others...

Firstly I would like to thank all the folks here for sharing their experiences and offering tips. I have gone through almost all the posts here and I must say it has helped me a lot in preparing for the interview.
 
I am single and have a total work experience of about 1.5 years. I have never traveled before and my passport is as clean as a slate. Even my HR had taken more time talking about how vaisa rejection is not the end of the world than helping me with the interview questions (she had no hopes whatsover!).

In spite of all the above negaqtive points, I decided to give it a try.

The boimetrics was scheduled on 8th March at 1:30pm. I reached the place about an hour before. DO NOT make this mistake since they make you stand outside the gate till your slot comes and I will assure you standing in that balzing Chennai sun for long is not a good idea. The process itself takes about 10-15 minutes. I was out by 2.

The interview was on 11th March at 08:30 am. I reached about 15 min before. There was a long queue outside. I had wore a tie though I didn't see many people wearing tie. After the formalities, I found myself in a hall where the interviews were going on. At this point I would like to say that there would be a lot going on in that hall. So, maintain your cool and don't be too intimated by the proceedings. Just relax and go over the answers in your head. When my token number was displayed, I joined the queue in front of the counter. The officer was a middle aged man. The guy in front of me had got his visa rejected. The officer signaled to me that it was my turn. I approached the counter and wished the officer good morning with a smile.

Officer: Please hand over your passport.
Me: I handed over my passport to him with the BEP letter inside. He looked at the BEP letter and kept it aside.
Officer: What is the purpose of your visit?
Me: Meetings and trainings
Officer: What is the duration of your visit?
Me: 4 weeks.
Officer: 4 weeks is too long for meetings and trainings.
Me: I explained to him that I would have to go over many case studies which would take a major chunk of time. I was beginning to get quite nervous by now since he appeared kind of unconvinced.
Officer: I am still not convinced that you need 4 weeks. He then looks at his system. He looks back at me and gives me a symphatetic smile. I flash the best smile I got. He looks up his system again and finally after what seemed like an eternity says the golden words "I will approve your visa sir". Thats's it. No documents asked. He was telling something about sending the notification via mail but I guess I had gone deaf by that time. I told the thank you's and fled out of the building punching th air all along.
I collected my passport today. It's stamped with a 10 year visa.

Few pointers:
--Be CONFIDENT and look SMART. I have never liked ties but I made an effort to wear it for the interview and I must say it kind of makes you look well groomed and adds to your confidence.
--Keep your answers crisp and simple.
--Prepare a tentative week-wise schedule of your activities in the States. Though he may not ask you for it, it's better to have a schedule ready as it helps you in answering the questions better.
--Never ever mention the duration of you stay to be longer then 4 weeks unless you have strong reasons and are sure to convince the officer. Stick to 3 weeks or less. You can always extend it later during your stay.
--Never give any document to the officer unless asked to.
--Be courteous and smile while answering questions.
--Always maintian eye contact with the officer
--Its ok to be nervous but don't make it too obvious.
--Be present minded. The guy in front had done a stupid act while standing in the queue. Though he apologised to the officer later, I do think it had a small role in his visa getting rejected.
--Lastly don't get dejected if your visa gets rejected. There's always a next time.

Thanks and best of luck.

Pls find below my experience for getting B1 Visa

I had my OFC earlier @ Chennai - cenatoph Road - 8.30 A.M. - Got over very quickly. Simple process , they will take your photo and fingerprints. You can carry mobile phone , but needs to be switched off.
Documents Required
Passport
DS-160 confirmation page
Appointment confirmation page

8th Mar 2013 - Appointment Time 8.30 A.M. - Joined the Que @ 7.15, they r sending in batch wise , first batch - 7.30 , next 8 and then 8.30 ...
You can carry mobile phones , but there is a seperate counter for keeping the mobile in the locker, better to avoid
mobile since it will consume your time.

Step1 - Security Check

Step2.1 - Verification Counter - In the passport front side they will stick your token number, where you need to watch the big TV for the allocation of the respective counter against your token number.

Step2.2 - In the same lobby , they will do the finger print in another counter

Step 3 - Walked inside to reach the interview location. Looking in the big TV screen for the allocation of the counter

VO asked only few questions

Which company?
How long you are going to stay?
What is the purpose of the visit?

Then,he said your visa is approved. VO kept the passport with him.

Enquired with the support staff people there, for the document delivery. If we want to courier the passport to our address, we need to fill a seperated form and pay extra Rs.300 or so for the delivery. Else we can collect it from the pick up location in 2 business days.


Good Luck

One thing which I would like to emphasize is.. If I can get B1, anybody can get it!.

College dropped, only high school, joined this organisation just 5 months before, I have 8 months gap between the current and previous employer. Hope all this is enough for the rejection.

Filled my DS and after confirming I realised that I forgot to mention all my employer details, so created a new DS with all same information but added one more employer.

My biometric was at 28th Feb 10 am Chennai. Took my bike as I started from home only by 8.50am and reached OFC by 9.50. Many were standing in the big queue, but I just walked to the gate and told the security 10am interview, he allowed me in.

Please don't take all your documents, just your ds160, appointment confirmation, payment receipt, valid passport, 2 US visa photographs (They will not ask for your photographs, it is only if the camera doesnt works).

No hurry even if you are late they will allow you in, but if you come late you will get tensed and you will look terrible and your Visa photo will not look good LOL... Use the restroom to refresh and wash your face.

Security check, they will stick the barcode in your passport, token will be issued and when your turn comes they will take your finger prints, photographs and scan your passport and ds160.

Visa Interview on 4th March 7.30 am. (I always think that 4 is an unlucky number and I will never do any important things on this date).

Left home by 6am, as there is no proper parking facility, I parked my Car in my friends place which is very close to the Embassy and handed over the keys also to my friend. Kept my Mobile and Wallet in the car itself.

Many says don't carry all the documents, but I will say carry sufficient supporting documents as it will give you the confidence that you can justify any questions.

Many says don't wear a tie or suit, but I purchased a white shirt 12 hours before the Interview and went with a tie, which eventually gave a professional look and I was looking stunning lol.

Reached the embassy by 7am sharp and the queue started to move, got into a conversation with a person who was standing next to me as I have to kill time and we had some informative chat. 7.50 they sticked the token number on my passport. After the security check you will have to go to the left hand side. It was exactly like A/C waiting hall with LCD TV and counters.

Wait this is not the actual Interview, my token number was called, An Indian guy who asked me to show my passport, Visa Invitation, DS confirmation and he asked where is the hard copy of the Visa Invite, I said it is still on the way, he gave me a sarcastic look and asked me to go the next counter, An American lady who scanned my passport and ds160 and returned it back and said go the next building.

Here comes the actual Interview, A big row of too many counters, Almost all the counters were busy. I had no fear and I was not at all nervous, I am sure my dressing gave me a good confidence and my documents and I was well prepared.

Almost every one was granted a visa and especially a counter close to me was approving almost all the visas but asking too many questions (2 minutes atleast). I was praying that I should go that counter but I was called at a different counter and I was so eager to see the face of my VO :P. Luckily, he was a cool chap early 30's or may be late 20's no idea.

I waited as he was busy with his system, he said come forward sir.

V.O: Can you hear me? (He just switched on the mike, so he wanted to check)

Me: Yes, sir. Am I audible?

VO: Yes, How are you doing?

Me: Doing great, how you doing?

VO: Where are you going?

Me: SF

VO: Why?

Me: To attend a conference.

VO: What conference?

ME: Explained in 20 words exactly and I stopped as VO was busy typing something, I am sure he didn't googled.

VO: He come on continue

Me: Then told him it is the best chance for me to grow my network

VO: Who all comes to that conference

Me: Told him what type of companies come (not more than 10 words again)

VO: Which Company you said?

Me: Told my company name

VO: So what you guys do?

Me: Mobile applications

VO: Mobile applications? Interesting. (VO started typing again something very fast, and I was just looking at him with a lil smiling face, please dont turn your head, just look at your VO's face.)

VO: And what are you?

Me: I am into sales, business development.

VO: How long you are staying?

Me: 6 days

VO: Alright sir, (He raised his hand which had my passport, he showed the passport to me and said the golden words, I am approving your visa sir.

Me: Thank you. (I wanted to ask how many years, but then realised not to stand even for a second, What if the VO mind changes and call me back lol, so left the building immediately.)

Picked my passport today (i.e the 2nd day and I was so happy to see 10 years m entries)

Note: Don't ask for 6 weeks, 8 weeks, ask for 1 or 2 week, anyways they gonna offer you a year or 10 year visa.

Please be very slow when you fill your DS 160.

I almost read all the experiences in immihelp, which actually gave me the various scenarios and during all this process it was not at all new for me, as immihelp experience gave me a clear idea how things works.

Be serious, as this Interview might change your life and don't worry if it fails as you will get something better. I had too many failures in my life and this was my only success.

Good luck guys, feel free to ask questions, I would love to help you all..

If you have made errors on you DS-160 you just have to submit a new one and get the confirmation number.

1. If you have not scheduled your appointment -->Simply retrieve you old DS-160 by entering you old confirmation number, last name, date of birth and secret question. Once you login, the website would ask you if you would like to see your confirmation or create a new DS-160. Select Create New ds-160 and fix the errors.Review, Submit and priint the new confirmation to schedule you appointment.

2. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SCHEDULED YOUR APPOINTMENT --> Don't Panic, you can still create a new DS-160 even 1 hour before the VFS appointment time. Simply retrieve you old DS-160 by entering you old confirmation number, last name, date of birth and secret question. Once you login, the website would ask you if you would like to see your confirmation or create a new DS-160. Select Create New ds-160 and fix the errors.Review, Submit and priint the new confirmation. Copy your new confirmation number and visit http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/,Click Apply Now. Login with your credentials. On the Left Vertical navigation menu, click 'Update Profile' --> change the "DS-160 Confirmation Number: " & enter new DS-160 confirmation number. Save Profile. Print your new Appointment letter and make sure it mentions the new confirmation number under the bar code.

Mkae sure you keep all your old Ds-160 and Appointment confirmation letters with you when you go for interviews. You would not need the for anything but it is suggested that you carry them with you.

I had my biometrics scheduled on 27th feb, 2013 and interview on 28th Feb 2013 @ US Consulate Mumbai.
This was my third attempt. My visa was rejected twice last year. First attempt was on 15th Feb 2012 and second was on 1st Mar 2012. Both the times I was given 214(b).

27th Feb 2013: Appointment time - 2.30pm
I reached the OFC by 2.00pm and was told to go in. I had to stand in a line for sometime as the person in front of me had some corrections in his DS 160. They had made him update the DS 160 and he had come back after making the changes. They saw my appointment letter and DS 160 confirmation. Everything was OK. I was told to go in. They gave a token number at the entrance. As soon as i went inside and sat down, the called my number and told me to go to a counter. They verified my appointment letter and DS 160 again. They took my photograph and biometrics. I was told it is over and to leave. I came out by 2.25pm.

28th Feb 2013: Appointment time - 7.45am
I reached the consulate by 7.10am. There was not much of a line outside. I went in, they had the security check. Then I went inside and was told to sit. In about 10-15 mins they made us walk inside. At a counter they gave us a token number and were told to move towards the verification counter. At the verification counter, they took the finger print again. I then waited for about an hour. My token number was displayed on the screen. I went to the counter and was informed by the officer that they entered the number by mistake and my number would be displayed again at another counter. In about 10 mins, my token number was displayed at another counter. The officer was a young man and he asked me a couple of questions.

What is the purpose of your visit?
Which company do you work for?
How long do you plan to stay?
What is you salary?
What is your role in the company?

He then read something on the screen for a few seconds, giving me vibes of another rejection. But then he looked up and said that the visa is approved and I will receive the passport in 2-3 days.

1st Mar 2013: I checked the status online and by afternoon 3.00pm it showed that the passport is ready for pickup from the pickup location.

4th Mar 2013: I went in the morning at 10.00am and picked up my passport.

I ll explain in detail w.r.t US consulate @ Hyd

I went there early morning by 7 15 AM today for 8 AM slot and stood by check-post. You should not go beyond checkpost
Then we were moved to blue shade beside GATE-1.
Checked passport and we got moved in and entered the security check room.
All things inside the pockets, docs and belt is being removed and after the check you can wear the belt, take the docs and go to another waiting area.
One of the staff came there and verified DS160 confirmation and appointment, I was told to go to counter beside cashier and asked for passport.
The next thing was to go to VISA waiting area and they will provide you a token number.
By this time it was 8 30 AM.
After 15 min, the tokens started and I am first for one of the B1 counters.
She was a young lady and here is how it went

Me :Good morning Ma'm
VO : Good morning and smiled

VO: Your passport pls
VO: What is the purpose of your visit
Me: explained

VO: What is the company you are visiting ?(She meant how is it related to your company)
Me: answered

VO: What meetings?
Me: explained, there are new changes at onsite, and I have to learn and come back so that I can support back from India

VO: What is your salary?
VO: What is your prev. company
VO: How long have you been with the present company? It is just 5 months for me
VO: Are you married ? and any kids
VO: Do you own a property here ?

I waited for nearly 10min as I am the first person for that counter and sys network is pretty slow
She also checked my schedule twice and did not ask for anything else

VO: How long you will be there ? 4 weeks
VO: Where will you go ? Answered

and then the words !! Your visa has been issued and you will get SMS when you can collect your passport.

I still cannot confirm if the visa is really done as I have see people (where their passports were taken, but nothing was said) and their visa was not confirmed.

Hope this long note helps !!!

I Applied to chennai but didn't get visa dates in Feb'2013,so took an appointment to delhi, finally reached to delhi, 1st day gave the finger prints n second day visa interview.

I went to the counter,

VO: give me ur passport
Me: i gave my passport

VO: purpose of visit?
Me: i am going to attend business meetings and discussion of YYYY project.

VO: what will you discuss?
Me: I am going to discuss about the YYYY X project which is into YYYY X

VO: where are youworking?
Me: I said my company name

VO: What do you do for your company?
Me: Itold my desigination

VO: How long will u be in us?
Me: 15 days

VO: Have u ever travel to us?
Me: NO

she told, your visa not approved, again she told i am rejecting us visa n gave a letter of 214(b)


I have reapplied after a gap of 1 week, please help me, what can i tell if vo will ask about my previous visa rejection??

Biometrics - 24th Jan 2013 Chennai OFC
Interview - 29th Jan2013 Chennai

Given 221g as I had no proper agenda.

19th Feb Visa approved
21st Feb 2013 collected passport with the visa