Visitor Visa - B2

Hello All

Yesterday (09-16-2003) my parents got B1/B2 visa from Kolkata consulate. I got a call on my cell phone at 10:15 PM with UNKNOWN caller id and my heart stopped running. I said Hello and Papa replied from there – congratulations son, we got the VISA. I was absolutely thrilled.

We waited for more than 6 months to hear this. My parents applied for the first time in March-2003. That time we were so cool, we presumed that US consulate grants visa to every parent. After all what harm they can do to anyone. I am on H1-B. I sent all the documents listed on immihelp.com, required to get B1/B2 visa. They scheduled an appointment and went to consulate on time. Here are some of the questions they were asked for the first time –

Q: Why do you want to go?
Ans: To meet my sons.

Q: For how long do you want to go?
Ans: 6 months

Q: Do you have any source of income in India?
Ans: Yes, I get almost 12000 Rs from my pension. I have a home, car…. blah blah….have ZZZ,000 thousands bank balance……

Q: Your surname is Choudhary, why is it different from your son’s sir name?
Ans: I preferred Kumar as surname for my sons.

Q How many kids do you have in India and in the USA?
Ans: 2 sons in US, 1 son in Delhi, 1 daughter in Mumbai

Q: What would you do when your sons would go out to work? You will not get time to roam around
Ans: We will roam around on weekends

Section214 (B) – Rejected! You are a potential immigrant.

That day, we were waiting for a call from my papa. With every passing minute I was getting restless. After midnight, I was carrying my cell phone in right hand and cordless in left hand. My feet were never so cold.

Suddenly my phone rang and I heard the familiar voice. “Are beta – wo to reject kar diya. Bolta hai 214(B)”. (Son, I got rejected, he says 214(B)). I fell from sky. I had absolutely no idea, what is 214(B). I called up my elder brother in California and after hearing this – he could not even breath. My parents went back to hotel, we called them up, tried to console. Our whole family was so dejected. We were extremely depressed. My parents went back to Bihar next day. Once they reached there, I called him up and asked him to reapply. He simply refused saying – I do not want to come over there.

Meanwhile, I started reading all the news groups and horror stories on immihelp.com and came to know that I am not the only person on this earth who is suffering from 214(b) syndrome. It gave me some relief as well as some hope. There were few people, looking for help after 2 rejections. There were few people who got rejected for the first time but got it next time. I found an immense knowledge base on immihelp.com. I remember I use to wake up at 2 AM sometimes, just to read the messages on this board.

Somehow my father agreed for a second attempt. Meanwhile I tried to get a recommendation letter from my employer for my parent’s visa but they gave a letter, which said nothing, more than my designation and salary. While I was preparing all these documents, I knew that all the documents were there even first time and nothing much has changed since then. After all, how can someone make new ties with his home country in 6 months. If you read US consulate web site – it clearly says that if you feel that nothing has changed since the last rejection, you are likely to get another rejection. This line was haunting me like anything.

Anyway, after I sent all the documents second time, I came across one message on this message board. This guy whose parents got visa – had managed to get a letter from his state senator. It really impressed me. I am on H1-B and I do not think anyone on H1-B even knows the name of the senator of his state. Anyway, I found few telephone numbers on my senator’s web site and started calling randomly. Whosoever picked up the phone, I explained her my situation. My phone was routed from Washington DC to St Louis to Kansas City. At Kansas City office, I found a lady, who works on immigration related issues for this senator. I politely told her my story. Her reply was – Get a new interview date and send me following in written. We will fax it with a cover letter to Kolkata consulate.
1. Name of applicant
2. Age, DOB, passport Number
3. Ties with India
4. Assets in India
5. Why would they go back

I faxed her all these details and within 2 days, she faxed this document with a good cover letter to Kolkata consulate, CC to me. It was very encouraging. Thank God, it was the office of a democrat senator. Republicans do not like immigrants.

Yesterday my father went for another round and here is the set of questions he was asked –

Q1. Why were you rejected last time?
Ans. I was rejected under section 214(b). I was carrying only one son’s papers and I was asked to show my other son’s documents as well. I guess, last time I could not explain my ties with India properly.

Q2. What are your ties with India?
Ans: 1 Son in Delhi, 1 daughter in Mumbai, and 2 grand kids
Home, other stuff worth 1.2 million Rs
Pension and other income 200,00 Rs per anum

Q3. Do you have documents from both the sons in US?
Ans: Yes, here it is.

Q4. What is the proof that you have 1 son and 1 daughter in India?
Ans: I can give you their telephone number and you can call them up right now. You please give me 24 hours and I will provide you with supporting documents. As of now, I have no document to proof this.

Q5. Since when your sons are there?
Ans: One son since APR-2000 and other son since AUG-1997.

Q6. When do you want to go and for how long?
Ans: We want to go in October and for 4 months.

Approved! They were asked to give visa issuance fee and the officer said that you will get your passport in 3-5 days. Papa called me up and informed me about the good news. Our whole family is delighted right now. We have booked their tickets and they are coming here next Saturday.

So bottom line is, I do not know whether Senator’s letter helped us or not but if definitely boosted our moral. The day I got the letter from senator I felt so encouraged. I also made a list of probable questions and out of 6, they only got 1 unexpected question. Here is the content of Senator’s letter –


Visa Officer
American Embassy
Kolkata, India

Dear Visa Officer

Please find enclosed a letter from one of my constituents who is concerned about obtaining visitor visa for his parents, YYYY and YYY. It is my understanding that they have an interview on Sep-XX-2003 at 8:15 AM.

I urge your office to review the enclosed information regarding their ties to their home. I would appreciate knowing promptly when your inquiry is completed. Your reply should be directed to my office at the address and fax below.

Thank you, for your prompt attention to this matter.

XYZ

Senator


As you can see this letter is not the most encouraging one but ask yourself, would your representative in India give you anything like this? At least Senator has asked to look into the matter deeply and that’s all on this earth we wanted that time.

I owe a lot to immihelp.com. This is a wonderful site. Ton of information! Good experiences, bad experiences, encouraging people, discouraging people. To make a long story short, I would say, my parents got visa because of the information and experiences listed on this site. Thank you to everyone. I would pray to God that every parent, back in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or any other country get visa.

Once again Thank you very much immihelp and it’s users.

Hi All!
       I had booked for visa interview appointment on 1st Oct 2003 and went on collecting all those documents stipulated, suggested, hinted at or implied by all the souces like the consulate website, friends and Immihelp.

    It was a document overkill with tons requisitioned from my daughter and a tuckload of photocopies of my credentials to show without an iota of doubt that me and my wife will come back to Mother India without leaving any part of our person behind - though a good part of our soul is all the time residing there with my daughter's family!

      But then I was confronted with another avoidable problem. I had planned to buy the demand drafts on 29th but forgot totally due to heavy work at office and preoccupation with some serious issues demanding immediate attention! (My wife: "Just plain laziness and procrastination. Accept it, stupid!").

    When I right earnestly went to the bank on 30th Sep, Lo! what did you find - it was a holiday for the entire banking community! No alternative, no time to change the interview, no draft left with the known travel agents. Real tailspin. My heart missed a good couple of beats! Suddenly my wife got wind (after circumnavigating the city 3 times clockwise) that Abn-Amro Bank Branch at Haddows Road works on all 365 days 10 to 7. That was a God-send and here we are armed with the prized possession of 4 drafts - all crisp and dandy but costing 150 Rupees more each!

    There was, of course, another last resort. The Bharat Overseas Bank has a branch very near US Consulate general on the Cathedral Road next to the Church - on the building where Cognizant Technology has office - right opposite to the Drive-In Woodlands - which opens at 7- 30 AM with a special counter for issuing visa for American Consulate at 100 bucks fee apiece!

    The moral of the story is, do not postpone the draft thing till the last moment!

   We assembled on the pavement leading to the consulate entrance at 8-00 AM sharp for 8-30 interview along with 8-00-walas.

    The first counter lady only wanted the passport copy of my daughter, the "No Objection Certificate" from my employer and our passports. Nothing else, though I offered her a truck-load of papyrus!

And the interviewing gentleman did not look at all those piles of papers which I dumped on the counter ready to be pushed beneath the glass pane, but verified from me:

.. that I am working in Government,
.. that we have visited US earlier and returned within time,
.. that our daughter and son-in-law are green card holders,
.. how long we plan to stay this time,
.. that I'll get leave,
.. who will bear the expenses,
.. keep the documents with yourself (this with a pinch of irritaion - since I was trying to shove the sheets through the bottom slit for each question ("silly you" - my wife)
.. and to make the long story short, we were asked to go to counter number 1 and pay the visa fees and here I was profusely thanking the nice gentleman, with my wife's eyes welling with excitement and joy!

   And today we got the passports stamped with 10-year visa. The businesslike fashion with which the whole affair was conducted was a real eye-opener. The hi-tech interview booking on line was also a cool feature!

    And a big Thank You to the good Samaritans at Immihelp.com who provide such comprehensive information and guidance and to those who have posted their experiences here in these columns and also to those who have shared their knowledge in the forums. We need all your wishes for a happy journey and the stay at US with our kin!

Hello All :

This is for your info. My parents got through successfully with their visitor visa interview at US consulate in Chennai and following are the details in my father's own words...By the way I am their only son - no brothers or sisters...

Documents sent by me to my parents:
(1) DS-156 forms one for my mother another for my father...fully filled by me...with preparer's signature as myself...
(2) last 2 years copies of my FEDERAL TAX returns, schedules and W2-Forms.
(3) last 6 months bank statements with as much as possible large balance kept in it..
(4) My passport and my wife's passport inclusive of all pages in Black & white Xerox copies....(wife's passport necessary if name mentioned in TAX Returns)
(5) My Invitation letter to my parents..
(6) My request letter to the consulate for their visa's..
(7) Letter from my employer mentioning my annual pay, designation and date of joining..
(8) Letter from my bank mentioning date account opened, current balance, etc.


"Recd. Yr msg and thanks for all the help and advice given from time to time with various websites which alone helped us to get visa thro’.

We got appointment thro internet with US embassy after we got first set of documents from yr end. We were advised interview at 9.30 AM to 9.45 AM and were asked to report at embassy office only at 9.15 am.

On interview day, morning reached embassy office at 9.05 am. and stood in queue. I kept the set of documents sent by you separately in a cover and one more set of its xerox copies separately. In another cover I kept one set of my documents i.e.
property title and deeds, Income Tax returns for last 3 years, bank savings account books, etc. I kept handy interview appointment letter and 2 sets of 3 DDs each (for your mother & myself – each set total Rs 8750/- approx). Number of persons who stood in queue at 9 am is not very large nor too small. At first gate one official checked our DDs and allowed to go to next gate where they collected 2 DDs and told last DD to be given once interview over successfully. Then next counter the lady collected all documents sent by you and in return gave us one small red card indicating a TOKEN Number. She asked us to go to next building where interview will take place and meantime when she asked me whether I want interview in "Regional Language" or English, I
replied saying "Regional language" though originally I opted for English when I had asked for interview date – this I had done as I thought American English accent some times one cannot fully understand..

Though we were in interview hall at 9.55 am, but our turn for interview came only at 12 noon – there were 6 interview counters and mainly initial 2 hrs almost taken by people who sought English – about 75 persons each took about
10 mts (with 6 counters). I just noticed many boys going to US for higher studies got through successfully but TOURIST VISAS, etc. OUT OF 4 PEOPLE ONLY ONE GOT THROUGH’. As I recollected several important info read through websites and remembered your main point as to the manner in which replies to be given ie. precise and brief to the point and not even one unnecessary word,
so that the interviewer will not put forward more supplementary questions.

Finally When my turn came at 12 noon, I made your mother to stand by side of me and wished the American Interviewer who put questions and another lady who stood by his side for translating his questions in our mother tongue. I got questions in our mother tongue after the American told questions in English thro translator. First of all I noticed that all documents including second set sent by you 100 percent all required. Hence this American Interviewer, when your documents came to him after perusal/inspection thru 3 or 4 next sitting
table fellows, he did not even utter single word about yr documents.

Then he went ahead and asked us his questions:

(1) Have you got only one son ?

My reply was...Yes.

(2) How long he is in US?

My reply was...last 6 years....but my last meeting him was about 3 years back

(3) Where you worked and what designation ?

Reply: I worked in AAA Corporation Which is a Govt. undertaking and retired as so and so MANAGER.

(4) How much pension u are getting ?
My reply was Rs 12000 p.m. ( this I told since in yr last website it is mentioned one person told Rs 8000 and did not get through)

(5) Will u stay with your son at US permanently ?
My reply was that....I have got one handicapped sister and dependent old mother who are important for me and as I have to look after them, I have to necessarily come back to India...... while telling this I picked up their photos from my set of documents and immediately they told keep it with you.


Then they told u both are getting visa and give the last Visa fees DD to next counter.

I and your mother immediately thanked them. The translator told that period of visa I can see in passport when received and immediately asked next person standing next to us in queue for interview.

Then the last Visa fees counter lady told that we will get passports visa stamped and then sent to us through TT services courier shortly in a day or two. Next we came out of the Consulate..."


Hope above experience helps those who are seeking visitor visa currently at US Consulate Chennai...

I am in pending I-485 stage since Oct 2001. My H1-B as expired. I am working in EAD. When my parents went to Ahmedabad application center to take an appointment for an interview for a visitor visa. The person at the application center refused to accept the application based on my I-485 receipt notice. The receipt notice says that it will take between 240 days to 365 days for this kind of application. Remember those were the good old days when it used to actually take less time. Now the person at the application center argued that it is way past 365 days from the receipt date on the I-485 notice. Hence the it's not valid. It was very difficult to convince that person that it's an estimate that INS (now BCIS) gives for this kind of application and that doesn't mean that it's an expiration date. Moreover my parents also showed a copy of a valid EAD as well as a copy of Advance Parole which is granted based on the pending I-485 application. After that, I sent my parents a print out of the case status page from USCIS web site and notarized it. The case status now says 990 to 999 days. The visa applications were finally accepted.

My In laws just attended the consulate at chennai and interview details are here
* they didnt see any of the documents provided from their side, i.e. photos, property documents, pension papers etc
* they asked about the birth certificate of my wife
* they took some of the documents sent by me
* they asked only three questions..... did you go to any other country before, has your visa rejected before, when are you travelling, thats it. and and took their pass ports. we have to wait and see the time period of the visa, I will post again as soon as we receive the passports

Hi, My parents and sister appeared for interview at the calcutta consulate and were granted visitor visa. I followed the procedure outlined here in this website and all the interview questions were the ones posted here hence it was great help. This is a great website and I have already referred it to all my friends for future reference. Thanks everybody.

Hi Everyone,
I wanted to thank immihelp.com for the comprehensive, useful information that they have put down in their website as well as the many contributions made by people describing their experiences at the U.S.Consulates.My mother got a one year visa from the Chennai Consulate after giving her interview on Sep 23, 03 at the Chennai consulate.She was asked only three questions :- 1)what does your daughter do in the U.S? 2)What does your son do in India? 3) What ties do you have in India which will bring you back? None of her documents like the bank statements, property papers, pension papers etc were looked at, nor did they look at our affidavit of support, invitation letters etc.She said that the officers at the Consulate were very rude and prefer concise, to-the-point answers as they are in a rush to move on to the next interviewee.So please answer in short one/two sentences only.Be prepared with the answers beforehand by going over the questions listed in this website.Looks like the Consulate officers depend on the interview more than your documents to issue the visa as they hardly go over all your documents .I'm not saying that the supporting documents don't carry weight, sure they do , but how you answer too makes a big diference.You may have all the documents but if you don't give a satisfactory answer to their questions they just reject the visa without going over your documents .So please make sure that you answer correctly.
Good luck to everyone out there for their visa's and thank you once again to the people at immihelp.com for coming up with such a fantastic website!!!Keep up the good work !
Sonal.

Hi, my parents went to the Mumbai US Consulate for verifying the documents for visitors visa two weeks back and the lady there by mistake considered my parents for the drop box category though my dad is 58 and mom 49. She said that their passport and other papers will arrive thru courier in 3-4 days. My dad asked her 2-3 times abt personal interview and she said its not necessary. So we assumed that they got the visa but when the courier came, they recd a letter from the consulate mentioning that they r not eligible for drop box category under section 221(g) and will hv to come for a personal interview. With that letter they also received their passports and 2 demand drafts of Rs.3,675/- each. Yesterday they went for the personal interview and the first thing the american interviewer asked my dad was 'is ur income more than one lac per annum' and he said no as his income comes below one lac p.a. and she directly said that she cannot grant visa. My dad/mom requested her to check the other papers and the affadavit of support we sent, etc. but she was not ready to listen and did not check a single paper and directly rejected the visa.
If anyone knows abt the above, can u pls answer my questions:
1) In their passports there are 2 stampings of Application received, so does this mean that they hv been rejected twice? Is the first mistake of drop box category also considered as a rejection.
2) Since the drop box category was the mistake of the US consulate, is there any way we can convince them of the error from their side?
3) Why did they ask my dad his annual salary and reject my parents visa based on that just because his salary is not above one lac? I didnt find anywhere in this immihelp site that having salary above one lac per annum is also a criteria for visitors visa? Why didnt they check the affadavit of support and other property documents they had?
4) Based on the above, I feel that it was unfair of them to reject my parents visa. Are there any suggestions abt wht to do now? Has anyone experienced such type of problem?
Pls help. Ur suggestions and reply will be greatly appreciated.

hi ,

 My IN-Laws applied for Visa at Chennai in July - They got only visa for 3 months ending on OCT 8. They came to US end of September to Boston and were issued 6 months visa. The point is the Duration of stay is based on POE not visa expiry. Only thing is we should be at POE before the Visa Expiry.

Hi,

I heard from my parents that chennai consulate approved their visitors visa, this is first time for my DAD and 2nd time for My Mom. I don't how long they got it for. The questions are:
1) who lives in usa, what he do
2) what you do here for living
3) how long you want to stay.
4) why my mom went to delhi first time(in July)
5) what is my Dad's salary.

thanks to immihelp site for all the details, and thanks to you all who posted their experiences which helped me in preapring the perfect documentation and also preparing my parents for interview.

Have A Good One.

Thanks,
Srinivas