Business Visa - B1

First things first: Thanks to Immihelp. This is not the first time I have used this forum as earlier I had B1 and H1 visas and followed Immihelp experiences and guidelines which helped.

The ASC Experience:
Appointment booking was on 30-Sep at 8.30 AM. Two days before went to that place at Kodambakkam High Road and got myself familiarized. So on D-Day it was bit easy.

After 3 to 4 minutes in line, I was asked to go inside. Went inside and they checked DS form and appointment. A sticker was placed on passport. This sticker is important as it carries the DS160 CODE. From now onwards, at ASC and later at Consulate they will scan this barcode on sticker. So be careful to protect it on your passport back cover.

Photo was taken and fingerprints given. 30 seconds work. Thats it.

The Consulate Experience:
Interview date is today i.e. 7-Oct at 10.30 AM. Started 1 hour before, but surprisingly Chennai traffic suddenly caused problems and arrived at consulate only 15 minutes before. No queue outside. They check your passport, appointment confirmation, one round of frisking and you go inside.

There again one more round of scanning - this time electronically. These desi ladies there really behave roughly with your documents trying to bend them and see if you have hidden a mobile inside. So tell them to handle your docs softly.

On my interview day, there were not tokens. Fingerprints verified (as I wrote earlier, Barcode on Passport scanned). Green markers are used to mark on the barcode. It is like a small tick mark on the barcode sticker with green marker.

I joined a que that was around 6 lines long. We could see counters 21 to 26 and VOs interviewing aspirants. Questions could be clearly heard as they use a Microphone.

Some Questions I overheard are:
1. How many employees in your company
2. What is your project
3. Can you show me your agenda
4. What is your salary - this is almost a constant question
5. Where you are going

There was one family which was grilled for about 30 minutes. It seems that guy travelled to many countries such as Germany, France and Slovakia. The VO was repeatedly asking why you went to Slovakia, which cities you visited, what you did there. These questions were asked at least 3 times one after another mixed with other questions. Don't know whether that family got visa or not, but might be Slovakia could be a block. No idea. Anyway, thought sharing on this forum for others benefit.

My turn came.

Me: Hello Officer, Good Morning.
VO: Good Morning, passport please.
I handed over the Passport.

VO: What is your Project?
Me: We won an RFP and it is for XX Client. VO Interrupted saying Congrats.
Me: The application is G YYYY YYYY . I am the Project Manager.

VO: XX Your client?
Me: Yes.

VO: Which city you are visiting:
Me: Detroit.

VO: How long is your stay:
Me: 3 weeks. I do requirement gathering and come back to India to finish development, it is onsite offshore model.

VO: When is the last time you visited US on H1B?
Me: I didnt expect this question so told him: 2006 or 2007. I dont remember. Later I remembered it was in 2006.

VO: Smiled and said: Your visa is approved.
Me: Thank you officer. Have a great day.

That's it. While speaking, I was maintaining eye contact and speaking confidently. He didnot even ask for one paper.

Thanks to Immihelp for providing an opportunity to share my experience.