Questions regarding B1(business) Visa for US

[misnelstain5]

Hello, I have been remotely working (from India) for a US based company as a Software Engineer (on contract basis) for almost 2 years now, and have been receiving the monthly payments from US directly in my bank account.




Next month, I am changing jobs and going to be start working with a different company based out of US. They want me to continue working remotely, but come to SF for two-three weeks and go through the initial onboarding + training and other sync-ups required for the job.




It's really important for me to make this happen, otherwise the contract may not last long. They really wish for me to spend some time with the team on site and get a glance of how things work.




Recently, my friend applied for a B1 visa to go to a training at his parent company - they also have an office in India, but it was rejected in the matter of 5-10 mins at the visa interview. He was told that he couldn't prove the fact that he had intentions to come back to India after the training(?).




So, I'm out here trying to figure out what can I do best from my end to make sure I secure the visa for my travel. Thanks for reading!

[R78]

There may have been other underlying conditions in his case where he was unable to satisfy the consular officer.
B1 is a short term visit visa used for business, attend conference, training, etc. As long as you do not work while in the US, you should be fine.
The company letter should clearly specify that you only plan on attending the US for training and that your actual job starts after that. It's even better if they do not pay you during this time (only start paying after your get back to india and work. They can do this by giving you a bonus after you return to India). It is OK for the company to pay-pay your hotel and travel expenses.

For B1, you need to carry evidence that you plan on returning to India (financial statements, property, family that is still in India,etc)