B1 Visa travel after EOS, AOS, COS in previous visit

[GSG]

I got my B1 visa in September 2013. And i visited USA on 6th October 2013 for the 1st time.

During the immigration interview, the questions went from very broad to very granule. The officer wasn't convinced that i was there only for meetings and my own preparation for the interview was not good enough. That got me to a point where he gave me only 15 days of stay with an AOS, EOS, COS.

I stayed in USA for 12 days and returned back to India.

Now another project have come up and my company wants me to travel to USA for that in the 1st week of January 2014.

I am not too sure about it and have the following questions regarding this.

1. Minimum period of travel between two B1 visa visits ?
2. Minimum period of travel between two B1 visa visits for my case ?
3. Risks involved in traveling so soon ?
4. Does the AOS, EOS, COS remark affect my further visits to USA ?
5. With a better preparation, should i risk this once more ?
6. Ideal duration of the visit ?

I do not want to spoil my visa and also don't want any impact on any of my future visa prospects, in case i plan for it.

Please suggest. Let me know in case more information is required for answer specific to my query.

Regards,
GSG

[peace999]

there is no set rule about an interval between 2 visits. It is judged differently with every person's situation.
For a B1 visit and the last stay of 15 days , I do not think you should have any problems visiting in Jan.
Just be clear about the details of your visit in your head and carry appropriate documents.
With B1 visits their main concern is that you should not be working while in US.

Is there a 'NO" written before AOS( adjustment of status), EOS( ext. of status), COS( change of status)?
Because it makes sense only when they are forbidding all 3 during your stay.

Secondly, can you describe in detail what happened at the airport when you entered.
What did the first inspector ask you when you were in line? and were you sent to another room
for a detailed interview?

[GSG]

Yes! you are right. There is NO written for AOS, EOS, COS.

First question when i went to the immigration counter was some about my duration of stay.

I said 6 weeks, against which they countered by asking why did i say 3 weeks during the visa interview.

After that they asked the nature and my purpose of the visit, i explained. There were loads of people/companies involved. My company(in India), my company's parent company(In USA), my client, a vendor, the final client. I kept it to a bare minimum, but explaining all this got me into a mess. Then they asked me to go to the other room for 2nd round of questioning.

I explained my whole scenario calmly this time. But they got stuck to the point of long duration of stay and so many companies involved.

Then they started pointing out mistakes in my port of entry letter. It mentioned location of my meetings as my actual client's location instead of my final client's location, which messed up the situation. Also it only mentioned date of my arrival and no mention about my return.

They asked me to get contact of a US citizen who can explain my purpose of visit, but call to every person in my contact list went to voice mail, as contact being a work phone and day being Sunday. All this and more questioning led to more confusion.

So after consultation with a senior officer, they decided to give me a 15 days stay with NO AOS, COS, EOS.

That's how it went down.

If that makes any difference to your previous answers.

I really need to make sure i'm not jumping off a cliff by attempting it again.

Please suggest.

[peace999]

Yes! you are right. There is NO written for AOS, EOS, COS.

First question when i went to the immigration counter was some about my duration of stay.

I said 6 weeks, against which they countered by asking why did i say 3 weeks during the visa interview.

After that they asked the nature and my purpose of the visit, i explained. There were loads of people/companies involved. My company(in India), my company's parent company(In USA), my client, a vendor, the final client. I kept it to a bare minimum, but explaining all this got me into a mess. Then they asked me to go to the other room for 2nd round of questioning.

I explained my whole scenario calmly this time. But they got stuck to the point of long duration of stay and so many companies involved.

Then they started pointing out mistakes in my port of entry letter. It mentioned location of my meetings as my actual client's location instead of my final client's location, which messed up the situation. Also it only mentioned date of my arrival and no mention about my return.

They asked me to get contact of a US citizen who can explain my purpose of visit, but call to every person in my contact list went to voice mail, as contact being a work phone and day being Sunday. All this and more questioning led to more confusion.

So after consultation with a senior officer, they decided to give me a 15 days stay with NO AOS, COS, EOS.

That's how it went down.

If that makes any difference to your previous answers.

I really need to make sure i'm not jumping off a cliff by attempting it again.

Please suggest.

Just keep your next visit brief with clear cut agenda. Not like last time.For B1 visits, they are very sensitive to long
durations of stay because of concerns visitors may want to work.
That is why you got into trouble last time. With your previous visit well complied with their allowed stay, I do not think you should have problems.
Still if you are overly concerned, ask your employer to delay your visit by another couple of months if possible.
By the way, do you have a 10 yr multiple entry visa?

[GSG]

Yes! I have a multiple visit B1 visa valid for 10 years.

I will try to delay it as much as i can.

But if i keep my next visit short say to 2-3 weeks, it should not be a problem, right ?

[peace999]

Yes, and your assignments , hosts should be clearly defined for the period you request.
Your experience highlights an important issue that what you say at the interview also shows on
the US immigtation computers.

[GSG]

It sure does. They know everything i said in the interview.
If they get suspicious or don't like your answers, they will verify everything from what you said in interview or in DS-160 visa form.