Business Visa - B1

I had attended the interview on 10th April & 24th April for B1 visa and both were rejected with 214 b.

Here is the full narrative of both the interview. Kindly help me by telling me what reason my Visa was denied.

On 10th April :-

VO: Good Morning
Me: Good Morning

VO: Your passport pls.
Me: Sure ( and I handed over the passport to her)

VO: So your last passport was lost. Did you had US Visa on it.
ME : No I didnt had US Visa on it.

VO: Why you want to go to the US
ME: I am going to attend a conference (gave name of the conference ) held in Chicago

VO: Do you have an invitation letter from them?
ME: Yes I do and handed over the letter.

VO: Why your organisation has selected you to attend the conference?
ME: As I have been promoted as a Sr. Sales Manager last year and now my organisation wants me to explore other regions for business prospect and this is a Annual meeting which will help me and my organisation in developing business.

VO: How much is your annual salary?
ME : 2LAC 40 Thousand.

VO: How long have you been working with the employer?
ME: Its 3 and a half years.

VO: Have you traveled outside India before for such conference>
ME : NO this is will be my 1st business trip.

VO: Sorry I cannot issue you a Visa and gave me a 214b rejection letter.

I again applied after a week as my employer wanted me to attend the conference.

24th April :

VO: Good Morning
ME: Good Morning

VO: Can I have your passport?
ME : Sure(Handed over the passport)

VO: What type of Visa are you applying today>
ME: B1

VO: Why you want to go to the US?
ME : I am going to attend Annual meeting for global wholesale telecommunication held in Chicago.

VO: Name of the conference>
ME : Gave the name of the conference.

VO: Why do you think your last application was rejected?
ME: To be honest I dont know the exact reason for the denial.

VO: How many days will you stay in the US?
ME: 7 days .

VO: Do you have got all your bookings done?
ME: Yes I have .

VO: Is you company hosting the conference?
ME NO, we are only attending the conference.

VO: What is your designation ?
ME: I am working as a Sr Carrier Relation Manager for Sales.

VO: How you think that this conference will help you?
ME: As i mentioned this is annual meeting of the entire telecom community and it gives us an opportunity to discuss possible business case in order to develop our business. Also it gives us an advantage of showcasing our products and services in front of the entire globe.

VO: Are you married:
ME : Yes.

VO: I am sorry but i cannot approve your Visa. You can surely reapply again if you think your situation has changed.
ME: if its possible can I know the reason as I have been rejected twice and my employer wants me to attend the conference.

VO: I am sorry but I cannot coach you regarding this.

Then she gave me the passport along with the 214b letter.

This is quite disheartening as I am married and have a one year old kid. I have been working with the company for 3and half years, Have been promoted and my job is stable. The entire expenses was taken care by my employer even then the VISA was rejected twice without giving any proper reason.

Can someone help me in guding what went wrong and what can be the possible reason of decline twice in the same 214 (b).

Regards
Prakash

I applied for B1 Visa to attend Training and my interview was scheduled on April 20 11:30 AM. I went 45 Mins early (10:45). I dint took wallet, mobile phone or anything else apart from Visa Documents. There are no secured locker available to keep things(some local shop helps to keep which i didn't prefer).
I went through security check and bio metric verification completed at 11:05. Then i was standing in the queue for the Interview.

VO: Waved his hand
Me: Good Morning!

VO: Passport pls
Me: Sure (Handed over passport)

VO: What is the purpose of your visit?
Me: To attend Training

VO: What training?
Me: Explained that it is related to YYYY XX

VO:Which Company?
Me: Said company name

VO: How long you are working
Me: 7 years

VO: How long is the training?
Me : 2 weeks

VO: Cant hear you
Me : (went near mic and spoke)

VO: Speak loud
Me : Is it audible now

VO: You need to speak loud,Why training is happening in US?
Me: Pardon me

VO: Why is it in US?
Me: Told the reason ( I got nervous becuase 2 times he said he cant hear me)

VO: Why did you visit "Country"?
Me: Project Transition

VO: Your Visa is approved
Me: Thank You

I carried bunch of documents but he didn't ask for any. As per me DS160 plays major role in VISA approval. The purpose of your travel should match with your profile and your experience with company also matters.

I applied for a B1/B2 visa to attend internal business meeting and my interview was on April 13, 2017 at 11:30. I was tensed because of two back to back rejections in 2007.

The first question VO asked was “So, you have applied for this type of visa earlier as well?” I got confused and said “No”. (I got confused with the type of visa because in 2007 the trip was self sponsored and this time it is company sponsored. Although, I mentioned about the rejection in form DS 160.) Then, he sarcastically confirmed “didn’t you ever apply for US visa?” I realized I have messed up in the first question itself; however, covered it by saying “Yes, I applied for the similar type of visa in 2007.” His next words were- “let’s find out the truth.” My heart beat got 10 times faster.

After that, he asked all the general questions like- purpose, job profile, clients, project, marital status etc. He didn’t ask for any documents. Then, he started typing for 30-40 seconds and I can’t express the feeling of those a few seconds. I was thinking he is typing the reason of rejection. However, he said those golden words “Your visa is approved.” I thanked him and came out. I was very happy.

I received my passport yesterday (April 19, 2017, third working days from the interview) with 10 years visa stamp.

Like many other members who have shared their visa experience, I would also advise to dress formal and wear a tie. An additional advice to read as many visa experiences as you can from this site. It will give you a fair idea about the whole visa process.

Special thanks to Immihelp.com and its members for sharing their experiences which helped me a lot in preparing for the interview.

Me: Good Morning Sir
VO:Good Morning, Passport Please

VO: What is the purpose of your visit/
Me:To attend knowledge sharing session on a feature YYYY added to the YYY functionality of XYZ enterprise software.

VO:Do you have any area of Expertise?
Me: Yes, I am the Point of contact for YYY functionality of our team in India office.

VO : What is your role and responsibility?
Me:Explained my roles and responsibility.

VO:Can you please name some of your customers using your Software ?
Me: Named five of our customers .

VO:Are you going to meet your client?
Me: No, I going to attend knowledge sharing session with our internal team.

VO: Which team ?
Me: XX Team , A senior engineer from XX team is providing the Knowledge sharing session.

VO: Package
Me: Said my yearly package

VO: Your visa is Approved!!
Me : Thank you sir.

( Be confident, wear formals dress and Company ID card)

I applied for B2 tourist visa for attending my cousins graduation ceremony, in year 2010 and it got rejected.

Later I have applied for B1 Visa(2012) through my organisation and in the interview they asked about my relationship with cousin and any plans to meet her, for which i said no plans to meet her.it was rejected twice without much of query process.

Now I'm working in different organisation and got an opportunity for B1 Visa processing.

Not sure how much my previous rejections will effect the present situation(2017). And also my passport got expired and had to take a new one. .

Will this effect in any means , help me how to face the present B1 Visa interview process

I was bit nervous, but please be confident. I was in proper fromals with light color shirt, I guess how you present yourself also matters.

My interview went on this way

Me: Good Morning Mam and gave my passport
VO: No Answer, checking in computer

VO: Where are you going
Me: told the answer

VO: What is the purpose
Me: Team meeting

VO: How long is the meeting
Me: 6 days

VO: Which company
Me: Told company name

VO: What is your designation
Me: Answered the designation.

VO: Where are you going (asked again)
Me: Answered the same

VO: How long you are working in this company
Me: Answered

VO: What is your company Email Address
Me: Answered

VO: What was your previous company
Me: Answered

VO: What was your designation there
Me: Answered

VO: Your visa is approved, thank you
Me: Thank you

I was very happy and came out of the consulate.
Please be confident while answering, and answer the truth and to the point, no explanation required until and unless they ask you for more details

Good luck to all

I applied for a B1 visa and my interview will be on 18/4/2017. I work for United Nations Regional Service Centre Entebbe. and I am also a PRO for the board of directors of Global Techlogies Uganda ltd. I am 27yrs old and Global technologies is sponsoring my trip to attend a conference on their behalf in may 2017. I am married with two kids, what are my chances of getting this visa. and what should i expect.
thank you.

Hi All,

First of all, I thank to the users who shared their experiences on immihelp and helped me to prepare for the interview.
I attended my interview on 20th of this month and it was quick( less than a minute).

I was asked regular questions( current employer(exports company)/experience with current employer/previous company/designation/purpose of visit). All I did was to answer confidently, looking straight into the eyes of the officer,
Wearing that smile on the face and answering to the point(this is important..Don't add too much info as it might lead to several other questions).Don't be nervous and be confident. You will get your visa.

I got my visa stamped on 4th day after my interview.
I was previously had a rejection of B1 visa and I hope people who follow the tips given above can overcome the nervousness and attend confidently. All the best friends :)

Sue

Hi all, Thank you for this wonderful forum It really helped me in my interview yesterday.
Attended Chennai Consulate office. Line was bigger than I expected but well managed.

Note: Watch need to be kept in the plastic bag you are carrying for your documents. I payed 100 Rs to a shopkeeper to keep my mobile phone and 20 Rs to the greedy auto driver who was standing at the gate of the office shouting "Mobile allow illa" to everyone and demanded 20 Rs extra for tea (in exchange of taking us to shopkeepers who keep electronic devices!!!

After About 45 minutes I was in front of the counter. A lady was talking to the VO and my tern was next. I could hear the conversation, Lady Indian but was talking in foreign accent, she sure must have spent years abroad. Her interview was quite long though about 10-15 minutes. she got the visa.

The VO signed me to come forward,

Me: Good Morning
VO: Good Morning (smiled) Passport Please
Me: Handed over (purposely did not open my plastic zipper bag, I had a feeling I am not going to use 1/2 Kilograms of papers I have carried.
VO: Typing some thing and asked simultaneously "purpose of trip"
Me: Product Training
VO: What Product
Me: Instruments manufactured by my company's US Branch.
VO: What type of instrument
Me: Scientific instruments used by Aagriculture scientists and I sell them in India
VO: Company name
Me: XYZ, UK based
VO: In DS-160 some Indian based ABC company name is entered
Me: Yes, My company dont have office in India so made arrangements with payroll service providers for my salary and other documents, ABC is a payroll service provider. My company can not pay directly to me in foriegn currency
VO: Ok
Me: (Glad she understood this, I was concerned about this point only)
VO: Are you married
Me: Yes
VO: How many days you are planning to stay in USA
Me: 6 days (did not tell the exact dates, it was mentioned in DS160, she didnt ask, I didnt tell
VO: Your annual income
Me: told (though it is a company sponsored trip)
VO: How many years of experience
Me: In this company 8 months
VO: Who are your clients
Me: Plant scientists, Seed companies
Vo: But you are not in Science right?
Me: No, Just Sales of these instruments
VO: typed for few seconds (I was nervous obviously)
VO: Your Visa is approved, Have a happy Journey
Me: Thanks Ma'am

Note: Dress matters for Business Visa, people were in full suits with tie (in chennai climate). I was in formal trousers and a plain shirt no tie. If you are not lying and able to explain your points crisp to the point, It is very likely VO is not going to ask any document. I carried my invitation letter, Cover letter, Bank statements, Marriage certificate etc..no use.

My situation was little different as I was employed by 3rd party in India as my company dont have direct presence in India and I am the only employee of my company in India. So my offer letter and salary credits in bank statement was from India company but my business cards and other documents from UK company. Luckily I managed to explain these things to her in proper way.

Good luck to all.

This is my first interview experience at the US Consulate, Kolkata.
 An African American lady took my interview.
  Greeted Good Morning (With a Smile)
She greeted back ( with a smile too)

> Why are travelling to US?
      I am going for a Conference (XVZ) with my parents.
> Can I see your invitation letter please?
     Gave the letter
> How long is your stay?
    2 weeks..
> Which places have you visited earlier?
   Told her..
   Then she was interrupted by her colleague for something.. Shuts off the MIC and close the drawer.
      Waited for few minutes before she continues..
   After waiting for like 5 mins, she continued..
> What are you working?
    Told her the answer
> What is your job?
    Told her the answer
> Who is sponsoring your trip?
    My father
> How much does your father earns?
   Told her the amount
> What is your father working as?
    Gave her the answer..
> How much you earn monthly?
    Told her my income..
   That's about it!! She told me those beautiful words " Thank you sir, your visa has been approved!"

   I was so happy coming out of the US embassy, I was nervous a bit when she couldn't understand one of my answer... I thought oh damn.. im not gonna get it.. somehow she understood and continued with the interview... i was also nervous before my turn came because the person in front of me had her Visa on hold for a while.. but as soon as the consulate smiled greeting me, I was confident answering her questions..