Business Visa - B1

Hello All,

I work for a US-based giant networking MNC. I am a Procurement Professional currently based out of Bangalore.

I was denied a B1 visa twice in 2019 -the first time in Sep and the second time in Dec.

INTERVIEW 1- Purpose- To Attend the Supplier Day in San Francisco. I got the invitation a bit late (just 2 weeks before) and contacted the travel desk for a Visa Interview Date. They gave me a date that was scheduled after the event. In order to expedite I logged into the US visa website- https://ceac.state.gov/genniv and scheduled appointment for an earlier date. In between the process, the website blocked me once as I refreshed the site too many times.

However, I got all the right documentation and appeared on the interview day in Chennai.

VO: Can I see your passport, please?
Me: Handed over the passport.

VO: What is the purpose of the visit?
Me: I am going to attend a Business Conference?

VO: What is your designation?
Me: Procurement Specialist-Category & Supplier Management.

VO: How long will you stay in the US?
Me: 7 Days

VO: How long have you been working in ZZZ?
Me: 4 Years

VO: What is your Annual Salary?
Me: YYYY Rupees

VO: Have you visited any other countries in the past?
Me: Yes, I went to Indonesia in May 2019 and that too to attend a business conference.

VO: Can I see some kind of invitation
Me: I handed over the HR Letter issued by my company. (The letter talks about my Medical Insurance Coverage during travel, my stay tenure, and that the company takes full responsibilities during my stay in the US)

VO: I’m sorry but currently you do not qualify for this Visa.

She handed over a 214(b) slip.

I had an invitation email from our Procurement VP, which I thought later, I could have produced.

Many of my colleagues told me later that since I rescheduled the date myself, I was not given the Visa. Really?

What went wrong?

INTERVIEW 2: I spoke to my boss and he suggested me to reapply after a couple of months. When asked for the purpose of the visit, he said he can issue an email asking me to come down to the US to attend a workshop on a key project with our key stakeholders based out of the US and get their sign off- which he sent after few days.

This time it was New Delhi

VO: Good Morning
Me: Good Morning

VO: Can I see your passport, please?
Me: Handed over the passport

She looked into her system and seemed to read something for around 10 seconds

VO: What is the purpose of the visit?
Me: I am going to attend a Business Meeting and workshop?

VO: What business meeting?
Me: I’m a part of the Global Procurement Team and we have a project of IT Spend Optimization which aims to reduce the total cost of operations. I’m going there to discuss the strategy, take inputs from my stakeholders...

VO (interrupting): What strategy?
Me (realizing something was not right): Um…strategy means to present the project plan, taking inputs..um.. to discuss on Spend Optimization Levers..get sign off…

VO (interrupting): Why you need to go to the US for this? It can happen over a VC?
Me (realizing its falling apart): (Nervously) Um…well..um.. face to face meeting makes more sense …um.. and my boss wants me to lead this project once I am back in India.

VO: What is your designation?
Me: Procurement Specialist-Category & Supplier Management.

VO: How long have you been working in ZZZ?
Me: 4 Years 4 months

VO: Thank you Mr.XX but currently you do not qualify for this Visa.

I walked out slowly and not knowing what went wrong.

She returned my passport with a 214(b) slip again. This time a yellow slip.

I was extremely upset and felt humiliated. The B1/B2 rejection rate in my organization is extremely low. In my department, I have not heard anyone’s B1/B2 getting rejected ever. People travel to the US every now and then.

I am so frustrated with my condition.

What am I doing wrong?

How long should I wait before applying again

How do I ensure I clear the interview next time?