Business Visa - B1

I am very much thankful to this IMMIHELP.com... i read amlost all comments from other folks for my B1 interview.
Today morning i attended B1 visa and iam quite lucky to face no issues.
My interview was scheduled @ 10.45, i managed to reach there at 10.15.
As soon as i reached US embassy near Gemini Flyover - Chennai.. i see no Queue outside(thank god , otherwise i would have sweat like anything in chennai climate)..so i happily had my passport check and went inside the embassy after the security check too..

Then stood in a Queue for 10min, had my documents checked and my finger prints got scanned.
i was adviced to sit in a queue in right side.. and i see that Interviwer(lady) was really Rude.. luckily i was asked to sit in left side queue and the interviwere rejects too many Visas this side :( so i suugest you guys not to check how many got visa and how many got rejected.

then in antoehr 10min my turn comes..
ME: Hi Sir, GOod Morning(smiling)
VO: Hi, give me you folder
ME: Sure
(gave him my documents)
VO: So your client is ZZZ.(i couldn't hear properly)
ME: Pardon..(after recognizing the question) Yes sir.. its ZZZ
VO: How long you will stay there?
ME: 4 Weeks
VO: For wat?
ME: Knowledge Transfer.
Vo: for KT 4 weeks is too long
ME: But sir , it includes business discussion too.
VO: still 4 weeks is a long time.
ME: (need to win this situation, so started making up the things confidently) Sir there is an existing framework which has some issues. so i need to go there analyse the issue and propose some solution for the same.this itself willl take 2 weeks.
The 3rd and 4th week i need to get knowledge transfer on the new initative.so obviously it will take 4 weeks.
but we commited to client not more than 4 weeks.
VO: (in Silence)
VO: What is your Highest educational qualification?
ME: Bachelore of Engg
VO: Which University?
ME: Anna UNiversity
VO: (typing something for 30secsm,scribbled something on my docs)
VO: You will get your Passport in 8-9 days
ME: Thank you sir..


So its all the matter of confidence level you carry and the presence of mind which will answer for tricky questions.

So be Confident till you say Good Bye to the VO.
All the best guys!!!

Hi,

Excruciatingly detailed account of my visa experience. :)

I'd applied for a B1/B2 visa through my company in Bangalore - which registered as a BEP company with the Chennai consulate. My interview was scheduled for 11:00AM a few days back.

I had traveled from Bangalore and had checked into The Park hotel which is very conveniently situated at a 5-minute walking distance from the US consulate.

I reached the consulate at 10:45AM - 15-minutes in advance, as advised by the interview appointment letter. I wouldn't recommend anyone reaching the consulate too much in advance. The initial wait of 15-20 minutes is in a queue out in the sun. Reaching 30-40 minutes before the interview doesn't help you score additional brownie points.

A tip about dressing. As everyone recommends - dress smartly. Whether it appeals to the visa officer or not, it'll certainly boost your self-confidence and you won't do / say anything silly at the actual interview. However, DO NOT over-do the dressing. For Bangalore folks, remember - Chennai is usually hot and sweaty. I felt sorry for the folks who had turned up in a suit and had to wait under the blazing sun.

Wear smart but airy cotton clothing. Formal trousers, full-sleeve shirt, and optional tie should be fine for men. Carry a handkerchief or two!

Had to initially wait outside the consulate in a queue till 10:55AM. Then was made to join a different queue (again outside). At 11:00AM, an officer checked my passport and visa appointment letter and let me into the consulate. Before you can enter, you're subjected to multiple security checks. Do not carry anything electronic - mobile phones etc. I just had 2 files - one with the mandatory visa documents, another with additional supporting documents, and my wallet.

Inside the consulate, things were a little chaotic. Fortunately, there are officers on the floor ready to guide and assist you. One officer guided me to a counter. At this counter, the officer took my thumb / finger impressions and also looked through my documents. Most documents she returned to me. The passport, visa appointment letter, DS-160 confirmation letter, and BEP letter - these she handed in a separate file.

After this, was guided to another queue for the actual interview. If in doubt, just walk up to an officer on the floor who'll assist. The officer guided me to a specific queue based on (I think) my visa type and maybe the BEP status.

I had to wait about 20 minutes in this queue.

The actual interview was taken by a youngish-looking man, presumably American. I didn't have any difficultly with the accent. He looked at the following documents:
- Passport
- Visa appointment letter
- DS-160 confirmation letter
- BEP letter

Didn't ask me for any other documents. The conversation:
Me: Hi, good morning
VO: Hello Mr. Mohan. How long have you been with <My company name>?
Me: Been there around 2.5 years
VO: Why do you need to travel to the US?
Me: For an external training / seminar being organized by my company. There are also a few business meetings I need to attend
VO: And how long do you plan to stay there?
Me: About 2 weeks
VO: Thank you Sir, your visa has been granted. You'll receive your passport in 3-4 days
Me: Thank you! I need to travel in a few days to make it there in time for the training. I wanted to request priority processing for the visa so I can collect it tomorrow. I have these supporting documents...
VO: Sorry Sir, I cannot confirm delivery by tomorrow. You can check with VFS tomorrow. Thank you

That's it. He handed me back a print-out with some VFS details. I left the building by 11:50AM - so the entire process from start to finish took about 1 hour.

Hope this helps. All the best for your visa processing! :)

I attended the B1 Visa Interview today at Chennai Consulate. I was nervous before attending and was going thru this website for tips on how to face it. The consular shot me with the questions like:

1) Which company do you work for?
2) What is the purpose of your US Trip?
3) What is your role in the company?
4) How long you gonna stay in US?
5) What is the schedule? (He wasn't interested to look at the documents)

Note: Visa officer monitors how well we can talk and eye contact while talking. He didn't ask me even a single document though I carried a bunch of it!! He just got my VISA appointment letter, VISA form confirmation & Passport.

Finally he said my VISA has been approved and will get it in 2-3 days.

I express my thanks to immihelp :)

i got my b1 visa on augest 11.

only they asked me where are you going?

i have been working 4 years in my current company.that is also added advantage for me.


thank you very much this site.

Hi All,

I got my B1 approved yesterday at 11.30am. Only two questiones were asked to me as below:

1. Which place are you going?
2. Whats the purpose?

He typed something in his system for min and told "your visa is approved and you'll get it by monday".

Speak with smile and confidence.
All the very best.Good Luck :)
My special thanks to the moderators of this site.

Hi All,

My B1 Visa got approved yesterday. I was waiting to return to Bangalore to post my experience.
My interview was scheduled at 9:15 AM. After my documents were verified, I was asked to wait for my turn in the B1 interview queue. The VO was the same person who conducted my L1 Blanket interview and rejected my visa. I was super nervous. As I waited for my turn, I saw a couple of rejections just ahead of me. One of the guys stupidly told the VO that he was going to do some design.
When I was called for the interview, I greeted him with a smile and said "Hello! How are you doing". I did not understand a word of what he said after that.
He asked me to place my right middle finger on the finger print scanner. I paused for a moment, though which finger was my right middle finger and then placed it(He can ask us to place any finger in the finger print scanner). I think placing the right finger creates an impression on the VO. I may be wrong, but I personally think the interviewers are kind of personality readers and may imply something if we place the wrong finger, so better pause for a second and think through it before placing the finger.
Now for my interview questions.
VO: Where are you traveling:
Me: Livonia, Michigan
VO: For how long
Me 10 weeks
VO: Do you have a travel plan. Can you show me.(This question is kind of ambiguous because my DS-160 says that I don't have a travel plan. He may have asked the question to verify something)
Me: No. I don't have a travel plan.

The VO scribbled something and said something that I did not understand.
Me: Excuse me
VO: Your visa has been approved.<I didn't understand the second part of what he said but it did not matter as he kept my visa.>

The accent of the VO is not American and the accent seemed like Russian or Eastern European so the difficulty in understanding.

All the best to all of you.

Hi, this site really helped me in clearing the B1 Visa Interview. Actually i was rejected once for the B1 visa before 11 months. i again applied and got the date on 30-Jul-10 morning 9 am slot.

ME: Good morning Sir,(in fear because, just before me, he refused visa for one candidate)
VO: Good mrng, how are u doing?
ME: Good sir, thanks
VO: What is ur purpose of ur visit to US?
ME: i am working on YYYY project .To attend a business meeting with my customers for the changes in technical requirements
VO: Who is ur customer
ME: ZZZ
VO: How long u r working with this comp
ME: almost one year(also told XX months,XX weeks and X days to be exact since i did not complete exact one year)
VO: why you need 3 weeks for Business meeting(since i applied for 3 weeks)
ME: am having different variants in that project
VO: wat is that variant is about
ME: Explained the difference
Vo: where u r previously working with
ME: YYYY comp
VO: how long
ME : YYYY years and XX months
Vo: have u went outside of india
ME: Nope
Vo: wat is ur anuual salary
ME: YYYY
VO: (scribbled something over my confirmation letter and typed for almost 1 min in system)
adn said that, ur visa has benn approved, u will get ur cisa within a week's time.
ME: Thank u sir, have a nice weekend

Things to remember:
1. go in formals , dressing sense is very much appreciated(even though i seen some ppl coming in t-shirts and jean)
2. put your company tag such that, VO can easily see that
3.Better to be there before 1 hour(since many of them are requested to take their photograph again inside , because of the poor background on their photographs , i also had that :0:))
4.One guy actually given his original documents, certificates in the documents verification counter itself mistakenly they also missed. don give any documents in the pre screening counter other than visa fees receipt, passport interview confirmation letter.(they will give you a file with passport and interview confirmation letter again)
5. be confident about ur project and know about ur customers and ur company
6.Make sure that, ur invitation letter and ur purpose of ur visit states the same also tell the same purpose to VO when he asks (because, the guy who was rejected before me, had the difference in purpose of visit , Vo told the same and rejected him.(but it depends on your luck, because he did not asked me any documents)

all the very best

Really Immihelp helped me a lot, to overcome the all hurdles and get a B1/B2 VISA to USA.
and My frends and collegue helped me a lot.

Thanks one and all.

I would like share my Experience in Chennai cosulate

Me: Good Morning, Hope you are doing good..!!
Vo: Good Morning Thanks

VO: Why are going?
Me: I'm going for training.

VO: Who is your client?
Me: ----

VO: On which application you are going for training?
Me: -----

VO: Did you worked before on the ---?
Me: Yes.

VO: How many years of experience you have in -----?
Me: 7 months.

VO: What is your Highest Degree?
Me: Bachelor Of Engineering.

VO: When did you completed your degree?
Me: 2008.

VO: YOu have joined --- recently, What you were doing in 2009?
Me: I was doing social service in one of the NGO called ----, which is tied up withworl health organisation,Becuase --- has delayed my Joining date due to recession.

VO: Yes, -- Does normally, We have approved your VISA, you will receive in a week.

Me: Thanks, Have a nice day.

VO: Thanks

Hi I got my B1 VISA approved. Iam very thankful to this Web Sire. It is very informative.

The Question were like this.
VC : Good Morning
MW : Good Morning Sir

VC : Where are u going?
Me : I answered in a confident manner

VC : Purpose of I visit?
ME : Business Meeting

VC : How lonmg u r working in this company?
Me : Answere abt the present exp & of Previois employment also.

VC : Ur VISA is approved is approved.
ME : Said thank u & left.

Iam very happy for getting the VISA.
As i had only one name and no surname i was tensed. infuture if a person who ever does not have a second name. Example in my Passport my First name is Murali and no surname. but while filling the Form i had mentioned my First Name as FNU (First NAme Unknown) and last name as Murali.

Be confident while giving answer, Be in a formal dress as u r going for B1 VISA.

You can clear it

Hi,

I had my visa interview on 15th july. thnx a lot for all of your posts over here.

Co: what do you do for your comp?
me: i spoke abt my roles & resp in the current org

Co: how long you are working in this comp?
me: 2 mnts

Co: is xx lacs per annum ur ctc
me: yes

Co: how long u will be in us
me: 4 weeks

one thing i would definetly suggest is dress well. be confident, greet Co gently

ur done