Visitor Visa - B2

Hi all,
Thank you for your expert commnts. My grandma applied for her tourist visa in may 2004 thru drop box. But they sent back all the papers asking to appear personally. Thru web appt we could get only for today(sep 15th). We were very scaren as she is 76 yrs old, what kind questions would she have to face. But the officer was very cordial and asked only a few like 1. how many months would you like to stay? 2. what is your daughter's name? 3. What is your grand daughter's name? that it. she was granted visa. We came to know of this site only 2 days back. Based on the interview we had prepared her to answer 25 questions. After she started answering us she got confidence. We had opted for a Tamil interview. I think it did the trick.
Thank you one again.
vidhya

I went to chennai for visiting VISA, according time mentioned in appointment letter, security allow to enter in side. Then first, checking the individuals for security purpose.after entering the office, deposit TTServices 400/-DD.next consular authority, ask/deposit the sponcer documents for verification. Then visitor wiil be given a green card with number on it. And they will ask to enter next main building for interview. there sufficient seats/chairs are available for waiting for their turn.

       Staff called individuals according number given to them . Consular asked me :

      1. Who is at USA

      2. What period i would like to stay at USA.

      3. What is my property status /salary/income etc annually.

       4. How many children
        
       Then consular informed me I have been issued VISA. and pay the DD at 1st counter. That all....

This is a tremendously helpful website for all catagories.If they follow accordingly.

Thanks for immihelp.com
Madhu.

Hi all,

       This is a tremendously helpful website. Its more or less my bible now for helping anyone visiting USA on B-2. True to its name, "immihelp".

       My parents went for their interview at Mumbai Consulate. Visa was approved. My parents asked for a Hindi interpreter. They were interviewed by a African American Lady Officer along with an Indian Hindi Interpreter. They carried all documents as mentioned on this website, plus I had prepared them well (around 4 times).

The VISA officer asked them only 7 questions and didn't ask them to show any documents. Both my parents were asked to come to the booth. My mom picked the phone to and answered most of the questions. Here are the questions:

Q) Who are going to visit in USA ?
A) My son, X Y

Q) How many children do you have in India ?
A) Two children. My son and my daughter

Q) Where does your son work ?
A) X Y Company

Q) What is his education ?
A) B.Tech and M.Tech from X Y College

Q) Have you ever been outside India before ?
A) No

Q) Which year did your son finish graduation ?
A) 199X. (My mom fumbled here a bit since she didn't know the meaning of 'graduation' and the interpreter used the English word. Luckily my dad understood the meaning and he answered immediately. This was one question that I had not prepared them for)

Q) How many days do you want to visit ?
A) 5 to 6 months

      That's it ! The Lady Officer was rather nice. She told them Visa was approved and said passports would come by mail. The interview was over in 2 minutes.

      There was on discrepancy from what happened at the consulate and what immihelp mentions. When my parents had first sent in their application they had sent a copy of the first page of their passport. They had kept the courier airway bill. According to immihelp if the Visa is approved then this first page copy is stamped and given back to applicants at interview time. When the passports arrive both the stamped copy and the courier airway bill are needed to received the passports.
 
      My parents did not get the first page copies at all. And they forgot to ask about it. So now I am hoping that when the courier comes the courier guy will give the passports to them just based on the airway bill. Anyone who recently went to Mumbai Consulate know what happened with them ? It will really help me if you can send me an email.

      Some more useful tips while preparing with your parents for the interview:

a) Spend time on the phone, don't stinge on the money for talking to them. Its worth it. If possible use a speaker phone at the other end so that they can both listen to you.

b) Arrange all your documents in order and _label_ them first. Do this before you prepare for the interview. The labeling really helps them. I had them write in both English and Hindi on the label (English for the Visa officer and Hindi for my parents)

c) If they can understand English a little bit then, make them read each and every document. They should become so familiar that just be looking at the document they know what it is.

d) Have a prepared Question/Answer list. I took two rounds with the prepared list. Then I had two rounds without it, to ensure that they remebered everything. In the last two rounds I asked questions in random order, repeated questions now and then and asked questions which were not on the list. By the last round my parents felt really comfortable and confident. Also I told them not to help each other at all.

       Thanks once again to everyone for sharing their experience and to immihelp for providing this excellent service.

Cheers,
Navneet

Thanks to all you guys, who are sharing their
experience, we learnt a lot from your experience for getting a Visitor visa for my in-laws, and their visa got approved today at chennai
sep 08 04 .

Thanks a bunch,
Ravi

I have to thank all the individuals who have made this site a very informative. My parents recieved all the papers sent by me in June and got an appointment for Sept 7. They were asked two questions-1) what does your daughter do? and 2) are you retired?

they were approved immediately.However, we don't know how long the visa has been issued for. I was wondering if anyone here can tell from experience regarding the length of visa. This is the first attempt to procure a US visa and they don't have any rejects.

Appreciate all the help

Hi,

My mother went for her visitor's visa on Sep 2nd to Chennai consulate. After the initial formalities of submitting the papers and the DD she had to wait for couple of hours before her interview. This 2 hours was very nerve racking for her seeing people getting rejected. One officer was outright rejecting visas for everybody. When finally her turn came she went to another officer and he asked her questions abt us and my brother who isnt married. They asked abt her work (she is a teacher) and why she wants to go now. She was asked to pay the fees after questioning her for 15 minutes. She still hasnt got her passport so dont know how long she has got her visa.

Thanks to this site for all the info.

Hi,

My mother got visa in second attempt, her visa got rejected on March 17th, 2004. I am on 7th year of H1 and at that time I was not having my approval notice, We prepared all the docs based on my wife's H1. They asked only couple of questions, what's the anual income and what do you do here. We took translator and even before translator translating my mothers answers, the visa officer said OK..OK and visa got rejected.

This time I sent my H1 papers and also written a letter explaining my H1 is going to expire and I would like to invite my mother before that time to visit US. The letter I prepared with the help of this site, there was a sample letter for the reapplying of Visa and I used it as reference and added some more info. This time no questions asked and my mother got 10 yr Visa!!

Thanks to this site for providing all info..

Sree

Folks

I have been a silent reader of this column. I would like to thank all those who had shared their experiences. I would like to now share mine

I spent several hours gathering the paperwork for my inlaws.

This is a long note. sorry, Just wanted others to benefit.

Here is all I sent..

a. Covering letter for each applicant-signed by applicant, I prepared it and had them sign it
b. copies of 3 years tax returns and W2 summary
c. bank letter, showing current balance and account opening date
d. copy of all pages of passport of self and wife
e. copy of marriage certificate
   copy of green card front and back
f. affidavit, showing property and stating ties in India, such as daughers, grandchildren
g. pension paper of fatherinlaw
h. my wife's birth certificate
g. front and back copy of our greencard
i bank statement of latest month printed from my banks website showing transactions.
j. I listed my 2 automobiles as property in the I-134 form
k, mentioned AirFare and room and board as financial support in the last section of I 134
l. invitation letter to each applicant,
m. invitation letter

In addition, I printed a map of the US with states clearly identified and pointed out important places such as a. city we live in, big cities such as New York, Chicago, some well known statess, to give them a sense of USA in case they are asked

Then I wrote a 2 paragraph note to my in laws, explaining my entire work history in the last 7 years (includign the time I was in India) and what job I do, overview of my company, locations, brands and products.

one set for each applicant. I think it weighed about 1 KG per person at the end.

for affidavit and invitation letter I broadly followed the guidelines in this forum

they told that the US Consulate officer reviewed the documents, particularly the 3 years tax returns

I had sent tax returns at the very last minute by courier, after reading it in this website. thanks.. that is one thing they wanted to see, who would have known.

they were asked some questions about where I work and what I do, how many children and grandchildren they have, how many are in India, why they want to come to US, how long since they saw my wife(their daughter),

the officer then reviewed the documents, and returned it to them and said approved.

I do not know how long is the visa for. they may get the passport

what a relief.....

my suggestin, you can never send enough documents. send as much as you can. they may look at it or they may not. the one thing you dont send is the very one thing they would want tosee. So send every damn thing you can think of

and best of luck to everyone.

Hari

Shiva

Sorry to hear about the refusal on 214 b. I believe that 214b does not preclude future attempts

What if you send a detailed letter addressed to the consulate stating that your W-2 stubs include the bonus. It would also help if you modify the employment letter itself to say something like - a "base salary of $ZZZ per annum. Have your employer add another line to that letter stating that "In addition,Mr.X is also eligible for variable performance bonus the value of which is to be determined at a future date based on invididual, division and company performance.

that should address the "misrepresntation"

If you have not already done so, please make sure to send copy of 3 years tax returns.

My inlawas were asked to show it yesterday. they got the visa approval.

I will write more detail later

I wonder why would anyone pay TTS services Rs.400 as they perform absolutely no service, except run that crappy website and act as postman.

When I went to TTS services office 2 years back, they could not even tell whether my documents are in order. They are making nice money I guess.

best of luck second time around.



thanks and good luck.

Hi All,
My parents had their interview on Sep 1st in chennai. By god's grace the visa was issued to them.
In Oct 2002, they had applied for visa and got only for 1 year. In Aug 2004 my mom applied for the visa as my dad was having work. Her visa got rejected as last time when she visited she stayed for 7 months by applying for the extension as she fell sick a month before her travel. Even though we produced the medical report and the extension papers the officer rejected her. Without losing hope both my parents applied again and they got it !!!!.

This time the new officer was very polite and patient.
Most questions where typical like..
1. For how long is your son-in-law there in U.S?
2.Whats your daughter doing?
3.How many kids do you have?
4.What is the reason for my dad not applying for visa on aug 2004 and not going to U.S in 2002?
5.Show the medical report and extension papers for my mom.
6. Reason for visit?

Thats it.. he then wished my parents to have a safe journey and enjoy the trip.

Thanx to immihelp and all others...