B1 visa for Technical conference doubts

[adobeguy]

Hi Folks,


I work for Adobe Systems from 2+ Years. I have an invite to attend a technical conference in SF in Feb 2019.It is a popular tech conference which can be easily googled and attended by 3000+ Folks. The conference is for 4-5 days, I am planning to stay for 2 weeks and do some sight seeing. I know the exact date of arrival and departure and mostly will have flight tickets also ready before interview. I have few doubts regarding the visa application?
My Pay is around 15Lpa+.

1) Should I apply for B1 or B1/B2 visa? As i will be travelling for 4-5 days so the confusion.
2) What should I answer when interviewer asks the reason for 2 weeks stay when the conference is for 4-5 days ?
3) I will have hotel stays booked for first week, Should i book hotel stays for the 2nd week as well before interview?
4) Will the system already decides my VISA approval based on my 160 form filling and other details? Or the interviewer decides based on what i answer. From some of the posts I read, the system already decides whether you might get a visa or not, and the interviewer just confirms whatever facts you wrote are true or not.
5) Lets say If i apply in Novemeber for B1 and got rejected, How soon can i apply?
6) The current address which i am living is not mentioned in my Proofs like Aadhar,Pan etc, will that be any problem?
7) How much of an affect will the company name, CTC etc matter on the approval?
8) How much funds should i have in my bank before the interview, Would passbook statements be checked ?

Any other tips would be appreciated.


Thanks a lot

[Libra_14]

I know the exact date of arrival and departure and mostly will have flight tickets also ready before interview.

USCIS clearly mentioned that do not book your tickets until you get your visa. Neither they check your tickets at the time of interview.

1) Should I apply for B1 or B1/B2 visa? As i will be travelling for 4-5 days so the confusion.

You'll be applying for B1 - they will give you B1/B2 by default

2) What should I answer when interviewer asks the reason for 2 weeks stay when the conference is for 4-5 days ?

Meeting few friends, or roaming around (keep name of few places you really wanna visit) - do not lie.

3) I will have hotel stays booked for first week, Should i book hotel stays for the 2nd week as well before interview?

No, as I said before do not book anything until you get your visa - its useless.

4) Will the system already decides my VISA approval based on my 160 form filling and other details? Or the interviewer decides based on what i answer. From some of the posts I read, the system already decides whether you might get a visa or not, and the interviewer just confirms whatever facts you wrote are true or not.

No one really knows how do they do this. Ofcourse they do have their own system to do background verification for your profile, when you submit your DS160. If that verification is negative then yes, the interview is just a formality to let you know that your visa cannot be approved.

During the interview they check your confidence, your physical health & body language to ensure you are the "real" person. Ensure that the person in passport & the person getting visa is same.

Usually, the questions asked during interview are already part of the DS160 - so it doesn't make sense to ask the same thing again & neither are they confirming the same thing.

5) Lets say If i apply in Novemeber for B1 and got rejected, How soon can i apply?

You can re-apply the very next day, but the result won't change if your situation is not changed before you re-apply. So it will be useless.

6) The current address which i am living is not mentioned in my Proofs like Aadhar,Pan etc, will that be any problem?

No problem.

7) How much of an affect will the company name, CTC etc matter on the approval?

Company name doesn't not matter much. Your CTC shows how valuable you are for your company - the more the pay, the better & important person you are.

8) How much funds should i have in my bank before the interview, Would passbook statements be checked ?

For B1 you do not need to show funds, funds are required to show for B2 only. You will need your bank passbook to show that you are employed & getting paid.

[adobeguy]

Reply

Thanks for the reply Libra.

Will it be any problem if the technical conference is only for 4 days and I say my intended stay is for 2 weeks and say other 1 week I am planning to roam SFO, LA, LV etc ? Will that be okay.

[Libra_14]

Thanks for the reply Libra.

Will it be any problem if the technical conference is only for 4 days and I say my intended stay is for 2 weeks and say other 1 week I am planning to roam SFO, LA, LV etc ? Will that be okay.

Not a problem at all - as long as you are not hiding the truth.

[adobeguy]

Reply

So even if the travel is for 2 weeks out of which 1 week is for Business and other week is for travel, I can just apply for B1 visa instead of B1/B2.
Yes i have read that B1/B2 visa will be given by default in most cases when applied for B1 (But this is after getting visa). But I am thinking Would the consular ask why you applied for only B1 instead of B1/B2 as your agenda contains both. So for safe side should i go with B1/B2 while applying or B1 should suffice.

And in the DS_160 form, There is a monthly income component. Should I include the also the salary I get when RSU's get vested once a year? Lets say If i get 120K Rs. as RSU every year. So extra 10K will be added per month.

[Libra_14]

Yes i have read that B1/B2 visa will be given by default in most cases when applied for B1 (But this is after getting visa). But I am thinking Would the consular ask why you applied for only B1 instead of B1/B2 as your agenda contains both. So for safe side should i go with B1/B2 while applying or B1 should suffice.

Your primary (and only) purpose for applying for visa is business only - hence you'll apply for B1 only.

However since you are visiting USA & that's why thinking to spent next week for tourism, doesn't change your primary purpose.

Applying for B1/B2 will lead to a different type of questions.

And in the DS_160 form, There is a monthly income component. Should I include the also the salary I get when RSU's get vested once a year? Lets say If i get 120K Rs. as RSU every year. So extra 10K will be added per month.

If that component is "confirmed" & is part of your salary (as mentioned in your offer/appraisal letter), then you should mention it. If it is dependent on your/company's performance, then no need to include it.