B1 Visa got rejected last week, need professional advice before I re-apply again.

[neo1691]

Hi,

I was supposed to travel to US on a company sponsored trip for a month. The intention of the trip was to meet our team in the US and discuss on project that we will be collaborating for a month. The parent office of the company that I work for in India is in US and I was schedule to visit our offices in US.

Since this was my first travel to US, I was planning to visit San Fransico and stay there for a couple of weeks before I come back to India.

I had all my documents and my financial situation was also very good. I had been to 4 countries before this, so I was not completely new to foreign travel. The company's third party Visa consultants filled up the DS160 form for me and sent me the visa appointment letter, asking me to be at the Consulate in Chennai on 2nd May.

I went for the visa interview at the Chennai consulate last week, and it was on of the most horrible experiences of my life. I wore casual formals (which may be one of the reasons of the rejection). The interview lasted for a mere 30-40 seconds before the officer rejected me. Here is how it went:

Q: Why do you want to visit the US?
A: I work for a company XYZ, whose main offices are in US. I am traveling there to discuss with our team in US about future collaboration and contribution with our team in India.

Q: Sounds like a couple of days of work? Why do you want to stay in the US for a month?
A: I have other agenda apart from the primary agenda that I mentioned. After 1 week, I plan to stay in our US offices and finish a customer integration with my Product Owner in US, and then decide on what integrations are we going to be working on for the next 3 quarters.

Q: Are you traveling with someone?
A: Yes, I am traveling with my manager.

Q: Can you please tell me your Salary in Lakhs per annum?
A: 13.5 LPA

Q: You were in Germany for a month. What was this about?
A: I had attended a conference in Portugal, and then traveled to Frankfurt and Berlin for a vacation with my friends.

VC: Thank you for applying. Your visa is rejected. (Hands me a 214(b) generic form).

He didn't ask for any documents no did he gave me a reason for rejection.

After doing some research, I found out that I was not able to prove strong ties to my home country, and the VC thought that I am a potential immigrant. The experience was much much different than the Visa interviews I had with other consulates, where all the questions were asked on my documents.

My company has asked me to re-apply, however I know that my chances of getting a Visa are very very less. This time I want to prepare 200% for my interview, make sure that I confidently answer all questions asked by the VC and show all relevant documents to him without him asking in a way that's polite and humble.

Here are some additional facts:

1. I am visiting my organization's main offices in Denver, CO.
2. I am working in this organisation for the last 9 months.
3. I have a work experience of 4 years.
4. My designation is Senior Software Engineer.
6. I am not married and I don?t own a house in India. I am 26 years old. My parents own a house and I take care of it.
7. The engineering team that I work for is very small ( 7 employees ) and I am the only one qualified to travel with my manager.
8. I have travelled to 3 countries before.

I will be getting a visa appointment date between June 22-25 and my travel dates (rescheduled) are July 12th. This time I plan to only show travel for 2 weeks.

I am already taking to a lot of visa consultants in India, but none of them have a good experience of dealing with candidates whose 1st Visa got rejected. Looking for some help here.

[krypton9591]

Hi,

I was supposed to travel to US on a company sponsored trip for a month. The intention of the trip was to meet our team in the US and discuss on project that we will be collaborating for a month. The parent office of the company that I work for in India is in US and I was schedule to visit our offices in US.

Since this was my first travel to US, I was planning to visit San Fransico and stay there for a couple of weeks before I come back to India.

I had all my documents and my financial situation was also very good. I had been to 4 countries before this, so I was not completely new to foreign travel. The company's third party Visa consultants filled up the DS160 form for me and sent me the visa appointment letter, asking me to be at the Consulate in Chennai on 2nd May.

I went for the visa interview at the Chennai consulate last week, and it was on of the most horrible experiences of my life. I wore casual formals (which may be one of the reasons of the rejection). The interview lasted for a mere 30-40 seconds before the officer rejected me. Here is how it went:

Q: Why do you want to visit the US?
A: I work for a company XYZ, whose main offices are in US. I am traveling there to discuss with our team in US about future collaboration and contribution with our team in India.

Q: Sounds like a couple of days of work? Why do you want to stay in the US for a month?
A: I have other agenda apart from the primary agenda that I mentioned. After 1 week, I plan to stay in our US offices and finish a customer integration with my Product Owner in US, and then decide on what integrations are we going to be working on for the next 3 quarters.

Q: Are you traveling with someone?
A: Yes, I am traveling with my manager.

Q: Can you please tell me your Salary in Lakhs per annum?
A: 13.5 LPA

Q: You were in Germany for a month. What was this about?
A: I had attended a conference in Portugal, and then traveled to Frankfurt and Berlin for a vacation with my friends.

VC: Thank you for applying. Your visa is rejected. (Hands me a 214(b) generic form).

He didn't ask for any documents no did he gave me a reason for rejection.

After doing some research, I found out that I was not able to prove strong ties to my home country, and the VC thought that I am a potential immigrant. The experience was much much different than the Visa interviews I had with other consulates, where all the questions were asked on my documents.

My company has asked me to re-apply, however I know that my chances of getting a Visa are very very less. This time I want to prepare 200% for my interview, make sure that I confidently answer all questions asked by the VC and show all relevant documents to him without him asking in a way that's polite and humble.

Here are some additional facts:

1. I am visiting my organization's main offices in Denver, CO.
2. I am working in this organisation for the last 9 months.
3. I have a work experience of 4 years.
4. My designation is Senior Software Engineer.
6. I am not married and I don?t own a house in India. I am 26 years old. My parents own a house and I take care of it.
7. The engineering team that I work for is very small ( 7 employees ) and I am the only one qualified to travel with my manager.
8. I have travelled to 3 countries before.

I will be getting a visa appointment date between June 22-25 and my travel dates (rescheduled) are July 12th. This time I plan to only show travel for 2 weeks.

I am already taking to a lot of visa consultants in India, but none of them have a good experience of dealing with candidates whose 1st Visa got rejected. Looking for some help here.

6. will generally be your reason for denial until it changes. except for your parents you have absolutely no strong ties to your home country and there is absolutely nothing stopping you from trying to stay in the United States ESPECIALLY if the company you work for is Based in the US. you can go ahead and reapply, but the chances of the outcome being different are incredibly slim.

[neo1691]

6. will generally be your reason for denial until it changes. except for your parents you have absolutely no strong ties to your home country and there is absolutely nothing stopping you from trying to stay in the United States ESPECIALLY if the company you work for is Based in the US. you can go ahead and reapply, but the chances of the outcome being different are incredibly slim.

Thank you for your reply. I still have to try and prove otherwise.

What are the ways that I can try and prove strong ties to my home country? I have a long time girlfriend and I am planning to marry her this year, does this count as a valid reason to come back. If I do somehow manage to put this information in front of the interviewing officer, what proof would they require?

[neo1691]

6. will generally be your reason for denial until it changes. except for your parents you have absolutely no strong ties to your home country and there is absolutely nothing stopping you from trying to stay in the United States ESPECIALLY if the company you work for is Based in the US. you can go ahead and reapply, but the chances of the outcome being different are incredibly slim.

I tried to reply but my reply is not visible, is there reply moderation on this forum also?

I will try replying again. Yes I still will have to try. How do I prove that I have strong ties to my home country? I do have a house which is owned by my parents, can I somehow show that I am the person who takes care of it? Also I do have a long time girlfriend and I am planning to get married this November. Is that a valid proof of strong ties? How do I give them proof of my relationship?

[krypton9591]

I tried to reply but my reply is not visible, is there reply moderation on this forum also?

I will try replying again. Yes I still will have to try. How do I prove that I have strong ties to my home country? I do have a house which is owned by my parents, can I somehow show that I am the person who takes care of it? Also I do have a long time girlfriend and I am planning to get married this November. Is that a valid proof of strong ties? How do I give them proof of my relationship?

a brief list of ways to prove ties to home country include but are not limited to, proof of marriage, income(which you already provided) ownership of land or a home, etc. unfortunately having a girlfriend back home won't help because 1 you are not actually married, and two she could easily follow you if she chose. again you can always try and reapply but the chances of getting a different outcome are not only slim, completely based on the VO that you interview with.

[neo1691]

a brief list of ways to prove ties to home country include but are not limited to, proof of marriage, income(which you already provided) ownership of land or a home, etc. unfortunately having a girlfriend back home won't help because 1 you are not actually married, and two she could easily follow you if she chose. again you can always try and reapply but the chances of getting a different outcome are not only slim, completely based on the VO that you interview with.

Thank you for answering.

Here are a few points for more discussion:

1. Can I create Net-Worth affidavit listing all my assets? I can have family assets on my name. I can show that as a proof of strong ties to my home country. My family is in India and they will be dependent on me in a couple of years (after their retirement).

2. I have booked my appointment at the Delhi Consulate office on 25th June. Hopefully I have time to prepare. This time I have shortened my trip from 4 weeks to 2 weeks.
My management from US are typing a very specific invitation letter where they are willing to give information as why it is important that I come to the US (even though it's just 9 months into the job). They are also willing to create an agenda and put it up on my calendar so that I can take a print out and show it to the VO.

3. I am an engineer and I have seen patterns where B1 visas are rejected for engineers as they are somehow not eligible to hold business discussion. Only a manager or a tech lead should apply for business visas. Is there a way to improve this? I do work as a tech lead for my team!

Any thoughts?

[Sangeeth3]

Need help

Hi,
I am a pre-final year student studying at xyz University.
I have got selected to be a part of a conference ( reputed), and my flight travel, accommodation registration fee is take care by the conference people.
After the conference I want to visit some places for a couple days, can visit places using a B1 Visa?
What documents should I produce because I am a student?