Business Visa - B1

Interview scheduled on 11/12/2014. Biometric collection was on 11/10/2014.

Venue: Hyderabad US Consulate, Time : 12:30 P.M, reached by 12:00 P.M

Day 1: Biometric Collection
Biometric collection is pretty simple process and will take not more than 10 mins after you enter inside. You will be asked to place your left hand first followed by right hand and finally two thumbs for finger print collection. After that picture of yours will be taken, With that process will be completed.

Day2: Visa Appointment Interview, Time : 10:00 A.M, reached by 9:15 A.M

Entered into consulate at approx 9:45 AM, after 5 mins process started. At reception, guy took my passport and pasted token number. After security checks i entered inside and waited in lounge for hour waiting for my turn and they called my number at 11:00 A.M

VO: Asked to submit my passport before process completion of person who is before me.

VO: What is your company name?
Me: Told company name.

VO: What is strength of your company?
Me: 150 Employees

VO: What is your salary?
ME: Told salary per Annum.

VO: What is your role?
Me: ZZZ

VO: What are you going to discuss in meeting?
ME: Described meeting agenda.

VO: Are you going to client Office or US Office?
Me: I'm going to client office.

VO: Asked me to show meeting agenda.
Me: Provided meeting details document to him.

VO: You visa is issued.
Me: said thank you and left the counter.

My suggestion is give answer to the question. Only upon VO request provide additional details or documents.

In DS160 form, I gave Date of Arrival in US as 06-DEC-14. But I got Interview appointment on 8-DEC-14. Will it be problem while Interview.

Please help.

Hi All ,

I need a small help. I need a clarification like do the interview date matters in B1 visa interview. Like if my interview date is in last week of any month visa has more chances of rejection rather then when interview is scheduled in first week of any month.

Firstly I would like to thank immihelp for preparing me for the interview.

I applied for B1 visa for 2 week training. I am a fresher in the current company and I have only 4 months experience in the company.
First Day @ OFC:
On the first day it was pretty simple and doesn't take much time once you enter the OFC. They take the finger prints and ask for the interview date.

Second Day @ Consulate:
The most dreaded part was waiting before the consulate in a queue. My appointment was at 10:30 in the morning at Chennai. I had reached the consulate at 9:40 and waited in the queue till 10:45. Then the queue advanced and there is another queue, in which I waited for 20 minutes before entering the consulate. Then there were security checks. Don't take cellphone, wallet or closed envelopes. Just carry small change. Once you are through the security checks, you will enter the main block where they conduct interviews. First I had to approach a counter where an american woman scanned the bar code that was stuck on my passport the previous day at OFC and stuck another barcode on the passport with the token number. Then I had to wait, till my token number and counter number are displayed on the display screens. I don't think dress code matters. I wore a formal shirt, jeans pant and sneakers. No tie.

Interviewer was an american, roughly in his mid 40's.

Me – Hello , Good Morning.
VO-Hello

Upon request , I handed over my passport to VO.

VO-Purpose of your visit.
ME- Training and discussion on WSC product. Product name is FICB.

VO-Who will manage you in the US?
Me-Sorry..

VO-Who will manage you in the US?
Me-Maxim Zaritsky, Director.

VO-Why your director wants you to be in US?
Me- Sorry…

VO-What will you be doing with your Director?
Me-To understand product architecture..(VO was not convinced with my Answer.)

VO-What is duration?
Me-6 week

VO-How long you’ve been working with SUNGARD?
Me-2years+2Month

VO-What is Your designation?
Me-I am senior software engineer.

VO-Ok then you are going to work in US?
Me-No. I am going to attend meetings.(After this question VO started typing something in Computer and seemed convinced ?)

VO- You are going to attend meeting .Agenda?
Me-I explained Agenda.

VO-Why you need a week for every training?
Me-FICB Product is very complex.

Now she started typing in computer and said.
VO-Your visa is approved. You will get your passport in 2-3 days.

Hi,

First of would like to thank immihelp site and users who are writing down their experiences.
This forum helped me a lot to get prepared for us visa interview.

About my experience

First Day :-
Chennai OFC - had taken 2:30 appointment reached there by 2 and I was let in right at that moment(no queue). There was a check against DS160 and passport, few were asked to correct the DS160 application as the place of birth was not matching and few did not have Surname and was shown not as FNU for first name. After the check i was given a token no and was asked to wait inside the Bio-metrics hall in few mins my no was displayed against the counter no, at the counter i was asked for passport recorded my finger prints and photograph was asked to read the details available in passport and was done for the day, was out in 15 mins max.

Second Day :-
Chennai US consulate - had 8:30 appointment reached around 7:45 waited in queue for 30 mins. after few security checks got inside consulate office was asked for finger prints and a token no was issued and asked to wait. Kept an eye on screen and it showed my token no against a counter. was in the queue w.r.t the counter there were 2 more person before me for tourist visa. Finally my turn

ME : Good Morning Officer.
VO : Passport Please.

ME : Sure.

VO : was typing for 10 sec, asked are you a Software Engineer
ME : Yes, I am Sr. Software Engineer.
 
VO : again started typing, asked are you going for Business Meeting
ME : Yes, for Training and Business Meeting.

VO : started to type again, said your visa is approved.
ME : Thank you :)

Interview was done in 30 secs.
Had prepared for worst, but was lucky :)

Had prepared for all the questions around my travel, stay and business in US. Had practiced 2 line of answers for everything.
Questions i had prepared for was "http://www.immihelp.com/business-visa/sample-interview-questions.html" and read most of the interview posted here analysed the rejected ones from VO point of view.
If you are bit tensed and worried stand in front of mirror and answer the questions and check yourself from VO point of view .
Tips :-
As suggested by everyone make eye contact, be clear and specific, be confident.
wear formal, don't get tensed.
I don't think there will be rejection for B1 until unless you make a drastic mistake.

This immihelp forum is simply superb which provides ample of Q&A's for the visa interview. I kick started by preparation from this forum and Thanks to immihelp. Let me go to my visa processing experience.

The first day of the visa processing was recording my bio-metrics & photo @ Chennai consulate Offshore Center (OFC). My schedule was at 8:30 AM and i reached there at 8:00 AM...two long queues were there outside OFC, where one Q is for 8:00 AM and another one is for 8:30 AM appointment (Please do not ask any applicant regarding the Q and only ask the assistant/security personnel for the Q details). After the security check they allowed the applicants batch by batch. I entered around 8:15 AM. For bio metrics you need only your Password, Appointment confirmation & DS-160 form. Once i entered into the OFC, they gave a token and i had to watch the screen for my turn. within a minute, my token number displayed at the screen and i was at my counter. They asked my name, Visa type & DOB for confirmation and then asked me to record my left & right four finger prints and then thumb impressions. then they took my photograph and the procedure was over. They asked me to be there for interview before 15 minutes of the appointment. All the process over within 5 minutes and i was out of OFC @ 8:25 AM though my appointment was scheduled @ 8:30 AM..:)

Please be in formals, clean shave for both your Bio-metrics and Interview

The second day of visa processing is at US Consulate for the interview. My appointment was scheduled at 8:30 AM and i reached the place @ 7:45 AM. Same as bio-metrics, couple of Q's were there and i was in 8:30 Q. After the security check, they allowed the applicants into the consular office and i entered around 9:10 AM. A token was given to me inside the consular office and i has to watch my turn in the screen. Please be very careful and do not miss your turn in the screen. then my interview kick started with the following questions

Me: Good morning, madam. How are you doing?
VO: Doing good. How are you?
Me:Doing good Madam. thank you.

VO: Have you ever been to US before?
Me: No

VO: Looking at my DS-160 form in her system, Are you from XYZ company?
Me: Yes

VO: How big is that company?
Me: i was not clear about the question and said sorry, then she repeated question and i said its about 400+ employees.

VO: What is the purpose of your visit?
Me: Business meeting and Requirement gathering

VO: How long is your visit?
Me: Two Weeks

VO: Who is your client?
Me: YYYY

VO: What they do?
Me: I explained about my client business

VO: Whom are you going to meet there?
Me: Said the person name and designation

VO: Your visa is approved and Have a safe journey
Me Thank you madam

first of all thanks a lot to immihelp.time to help others by my experience.
10.am mumbai consulate.passport is evrything once you apply for US visa.its you and your identity.
reach by time 15 minutes before that or even before that.
if you going by railway then there are autos available just besides bandra station.
you will reach there within 20 mins.
nothing is allowed inside like pen drives or any electronic instruments.even your watch is checked before you enter.stay in discipline. keep calm. be honest.be confident.say in loud clear voice.keep documents ready for whatever you say.be in manners.greet visa officer. they are humans doing their duty honestly.they are trained and experienced enough to detect fraud.
if you have honest intentions then you will get visa.
questions asked are common.like why to USA? and further questions according to your case.they want to know your history and your truth.

First of all i would like to thanks to all the guys who had shared their experiences on this site as it helped me prepare all interview questions that could be asked in interview. Here is my experience.

1st day at Nehru place: My interview was at 12:30. i was in formal. i was new at Delhi. I came from chandigarh to delhi by 6:53 Shatabadi train and reached exactly at 10:30 at New Delhi railway station. It took me around 1 hour 15 minutes to reach at Nehru place. So at 11:45 i was in International trade tower building. They told me to wait for 30 minutes at their waiting area. After 30 minutes, i was in queue for verifying documents. First of all there was queue to check Appointment letter, passport and DS-160 confirmation letter. Then they told me to go inside room for my finger prints and photograph. Inside room, security guard told me to put all food items outside the room in a bucket(There was no token system) and also told me to switch off mobile. After switching off mobile, you can keep it with you. After passing through security checks, there was another short queue. After that they give me a token and told me to wait for my turn. Tokens were displaying on the LCD screen. when my turn came, i went to the counter. They asked me to give them appointment letter, confirmation letter and passport. He asked me my date and time of interview. After that he asked to look straight so that he can click my picture. After that he told me to stand up and put my left 4 fingers on the scanner, then right 4 fingers and then both the thumbs.
After all this he told me to come to interview at right time and wish me good luck. I thanked him and get out of the room, collected my food items,
switched on my mobile. At this moment time was 12:55. So it took around 40-45 minutes.

2nd day at Embassy: My interview was at 8:30AM. This time also, I was in formal. Light lining shirt and dark trouser. i did not know the time it would take to reach at embassy from patel nagar. i booked a cab for 7:00. it took around 25 minutes to reach embassy. Interview process was not started at yet, so all were waiting in the waiting area. At around 8:00, security guards told to come to all those people whose interviews were at 8:00. So i was still waiting. After around 20-25 minutes, security guards asks 8:30 guys also to come and make queue. Security guards collected all the electronic items and gave token for that and asked us to go inside room. Inside room, there was other security to check all of your items and to you also. After that they asked us to go inside and wait in the waiting area in a queue. After some time they asked our queue to go inside. Now this queue was for interview. All interviewers were foreigners except one. My interviewer was a foreigner lady which was already looking nice to me.

Questions:

Q: Good Morning. Your passport please.
A: Good Morning and handed over my passport.

Q: Where are you going?
A: I am going to city name, state name.

Q: For how much time?
A: i am going for 3 weeks.

Q: Purpose (Exactly only one word)
A: For business meetings and technical discussions.

Q: You are working with which company?
A: I am working for xxx company.

Q: Have you travelled anywhere outside India before?
A: No.

Q: Are you going to client side?
A: No, I am not going to client side. I am going to our US office.

Q: For how long are you with this company?
A: I misinterpreted the question and answered "3 weeks". She understood that i have misinterpreted the question and repeated the question then i answered correctly.

Q: Are you married?
A: Yes.

Q: Do you have any childern?
A: Yes, i have one daughter.

After that she looked at her computer screen for some time and said i am keeping your passport. you will get it in 2-3 days.
I said "Thank you very much. Have a nice day". She also smiled.

My Suggestions (Things that we can do):
Be in formal even on first day as they are going to take your snap there. So interviewer may have this snap with him and will imagine your personality based on this snap and based on your real look. So, It gives looks of decent personality. No need to wear suit or tie. There was only 2 guys wearing suit in our queue.
Go in clean shave if you can.
Be prepared for all type of questions.
Maintain eye contact with interviewer.
Be confident.
US arrival date mentioned in DS-160 form should be at least 15-20 days after your interview.
More short will be the visit, more will be chances of getting VISA.

The factors that i think matters apart from above factors:
Your total exp. and your exp. with the company. More is the exp. more are the chances.
You are married and you have childern. It shows your boundation with your country
Your age. More will be age, more are the chances.

Best of luck :)

Thanks to IMMIhelp for giving me confidence to face VISA interview.
My interview experience:

Me: Good Morning Sir :)
VO: Smiled

VO: Passport please
Me: Given

VO: What is the purpose of visit?
Me: Business Meetings. Also explained what type of meetings in one line.

VO: What is name of your company?
Me: Answered

VO: Who is your client?
Me: Answered

Then VO did something in his system for 5-10 seconds

VO: Sir, Your VISA has been approved.
Me: Thank you Sir (with Smile) :)

Just be confident and maintain eye contact.