undergrad student to do an internship in US with a b1/b2 VISA. what are the chances?

[artha]

Hi

I am an Indian undergraduate student currently in my 3rd year of B.Tech (total 4 years) at an IIT. I have applied for an internship under a professor in a US university for this summer (may - july i.e. for 2/2.5 months). He agreed to take me but he advised me to get a visitor (B1/B2) visa instead of J1 exchange visa as it takes so much of time to process and im ny case, time is very short as this is mid-march. I have a relative of mine, staying in the same city as the university and he will be supporting me in all the ways.
So if I apply for a visitor visa, I have these two reasons to convince the officer as to why I would return to India-
1. I haven't completed my B.Tech study, so I must return to India after summer to resume my studies
2. I have my relative there who will look after my accommodation and travel during my stay in US

I would like to know my chances of visitor visa being approved in my case. I would also like to know how should I prepare for the interview and what documents I must submit to support my intentions of returning to India. I would be very thankful for any type of assistance from anyone.

Thanks in advance.

[ExperienceIA]

Interesting case. The devil is in the details, but I would suggest framing this trip as an academic visit for purposes of obtaining advice (about past or future studies) from a Professor. This is not quite the same as an internship. Get a letter from your Professor(s) to that effect (for which you could either find samples online or seek direct professional assistance). Then, get evidence that you are pre-registered for classes in India for the next semester, and other evidence of your attachments in India... etc. etc.

[pb2au]

Are you being paid for the internship? If yes, that will be an issue at the visa interview. You cannot do paid work on a B1/B2 visa. You will have to convince the officer that your main purpose in going is to acquire knowledge and skills from meeting and interacting with the professor.

[artha]

Interesting case. The devil is in the details, but I would suggest framing this trip as an academic visit for purposes of obtaining advice (about past or future studies) from a Professor. This is not quite the same as an internship. Get a letter from your Professor(s) to that effect (for which you could either find samples online or seek direct professional assistance). Then, get evidence that you are pre-registered for classes in India for the next semester, and other evidence of your attachments in India... etc. etc.

Thank you so much for your advice. So you are suggesting that I should tell the visa officer that I am visiting US to meet a professor. But some people advised me to not to tell anything about university /professor/internship and just tell him that I am going to visit my uncle there, and produce documents like 1. bank statement to prove that I can fund the trip, 2. letter from my uncle that he will look after my accommodation there, 3. proof from my present university that I have to return to India to complete my studies, and 4. other documents like my uncles' financial details, address, passport etc.

So I am a bit confused whether to be honest to them and say that I am going to visit a university/professor there OR should I just say that I am going to visit my uncle to spend the summer holidays? Please suggest me which one has got more chances of approval.
P.S. the internship is not a paid one. I am self funding the entire trip.

[Ideal sol]

It's better to avoid the terminology like... internship, apprentice etc., which are eligible for getting paid/scholarship. Because sometimes VO may not question you, that you are getting paid or not and simply ask you to reapply with appropriate category of visa.

So do proper home work and answer the questions carefully at the interview as well as in DS160.

Good luck.

This is my opinion, not a legal advice.

[artha]

It's better to avoid the terminology like... internship, apprentice etc., which are eligible for getting paid/scholarship. Because sometimes VO may not question you, that you are getting paid or not and simply ask you to reapply with appropriate category of visa.

So do proper home work and answer the questions carefully at the interview as well as in DS160.

Good luck.

This is my opinion, not a legal advice.

Thank you very much for your suggestion. So you suggest that I should not at all bring up university matter and should only be like "Visiting Uncles' for summer holidays" right?

[Ideal sol]

I'm not telling you to lie with VO. But, suggesting you to find a proper way, to convey the message
(your actual intention) to VO and convince him.

You may take advice/inputs from the professor, who agreed to train you.

I'm not sure if 'VISITING UNCLE' will give you the positive results or not, in your present scenario.

So, take a wise decision carefully.

This is my opinion, not a legal advice.

[vittini07]

help

Can somebody please help me with some information?

This is my timeline
January 5th : Sent the package (i-485, i765, i131, and all the other forms.)
Jan12th: They received the packages and started working
Jan17; Biometric Appoinment set for Feb 3th
Feb 3rd: Went for biometrics (quick and easy)
Feb 5th: They resquest initial evidence and a letter was sent to my
mail (which i never received)
Feb 9th: Case ready for interview (But they dont say when it will be)
March 9: We request your card to be produced
March 16: Your card has been mailed.

Here are my concerns;
-I never received the Inicial Evidence Letter or (RFE), so i called andopen a case for the letter to be resend to me.
-In the webpage still says that they have sent me one in feb 5th, but in the little updates it says that the case was reviewed for the letter and they have resent it to me in march 11. (I HAVENT RECEIVED ANYTHING YET)

*When Am i going to get the tracking number for my EAD?

My case number starts with MSC and i would like to know what does
"MSC" stands for.
I live in union city, new jersey.

I ve been reading in this blog about MSC cases that they take long to be processed and stuff. I dont know where my office would be, I think
it would be in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

ps: Im doing everything by myself. No attorney