B1 rejected twice after it was approved twice in the past for one year each

[swethasajjalgud]

I appeared for a B1 visa interview in 2014 when my profile was of a software developer. I work for one of the biggest conglomerates in the US. I was issued a visa with a one year validity. Shortly after, i took up a business analyst role in the same company and I traveled to US for 5 weeks i with a planned schedule as we were launching a new software product portal and i had to meet with various teams across various locations in the US for requirements & planning discussions. I re-applied for a visa in 2016 and was again issued one for 1 year validity and this time i could not travel as i was expecting a baby.I re-applied for a B1 in 2018 September with a profile as product manager, in the same company and the visa officer was not convinced with my reasoning of 5 weeks past travel and rejected my visa (Chennai Consulate). Since my travel need was very critical and urgent ( i lead a huge product portfolio and there are several discussions in the US that need my in person participation) and i re-applied from Mumbai consulate in Feb 2019,again the visa was rejected without too many questions asked. I am now promoted to a people leader and again need to travel to US. Please advise if it makes sense to re-apply or will i get my visa rejected again?

[Libra_14]

Did you by any chance mentioned that you "worked" in USA on your previous visit?

[swethasajjalgud]

Not that i remember. I clearly mentioned the 5 weeks travel for to attend business meetings with different stakeholders across different cities in the US

[Libra_14]

Sometimes the questions are indirect to identify if you misused the visa. Try to re-collect what questions were asked.

[Mogu]

Thing is, with these extended visits of a month or more, they almost look like a consultant role. Business meetings are usually not going to span that much time. Then it becomes everyday planning and work (even if it's system design, planning and analysis, etc.) When the position is at the lower end of the hierarchy, that too sounds like it's low-level hands-on work instead of a senior official really doing meetings, etc. If you said you did 5 week of requirements analysis, then that seems like 5 weeks of consulting work for a system analyst, not business meetings. I could be wrong but that sounds like it's more appropriate for an L visa.

Some of the difference between these visa categories is a bit ambiguous I think, but at other times, it seems companies are just bring over workers for short term consulting and that's when you see denials: lower rank employees, longer durations spent in the US, etc.

You need to make sure the precious few words they allow you to write in the DS-160 and say in an interview indicate that you are genuinely a higher-up person doing meetings, decision-making, etc.