Its been a long i have scribbled something. Blame the personal and professional responsibililies as we grow old. I have been thinking of documenting this right since it happened.
Clearing a B1 visa is not that difficult as per the ones who already possess it whereas the ones who have got rejections do not believe the same. Before i appeared for the interview i met most of them who had cleared it.
As per them, it won't be a big deal. However things didn't go the way i thought. It's a morning 8.45 appointment on a bright Feb mid month day.
There is a long queue outside the consulate and the entire area is filled with nervousness. After your basic appointment check is done outside the gate they make you sit inside the consulate premise in a waiting area for around 30/45 mins. Later when the interview hall is cleared for the previous batch, you will be asked to enter the hall and first your biometrics verification would be done and then you will be asked to wait for your turn. There will be representatives and ground staff at every level who would guide you with the next step. Once the buffer position on a window is vacant you would be asked to wait behind the yellow line for your turn in front of the window you will be interviewed. The windows are typically railway counter style booths which will be separated with a transparent glass and a speaker and microfone on both sides.
My first ever B1 VISA interview was not that grilling but i made it so because of my nervousness may be. There were many windows which were approving VISAs whereas there were a few from which the candidates left out with a disappointed face. I was unfortunately on one such window. When you wait behind the yellow line you get a chance to hear what the person ahead of you is answering and you could read the expressions of the officer on the other side. Finally my turn:
Officer: Passport please
Me: Slipped it through the small gap below the glass
Officer: What is the purpose of your visit?
Me: Explained
Officer: What kind of meetings?
Me: Explained
Officer: How much is your salary?
Me: Told
Officer: Have you been to any other country before?
Me; Yes, told the country name
Officer: Was it for similar reason
Me: No, ... told the reason
Officer: What is the duration of your visit?
Me: 2 weeks
Officer: Why can't the meetings be done on a phone call
Me: Gave relevant reason
Officer: (Not convinced), Why are "you" going and why can't they come over here?
Me: Gave relevant reason, (Officer, not convinced)
Officer: Why do you need 2 weeks?
Me: Explained her about the software product and company.
Officer: What is this product about?
Me: Explained
Officer: Are you going to do any productive work over there? (With hand gestures..) Coding, development
Me: No coding involved
Officer: Sorry, i don't see a reason as of now for you to visit. (Handed over the 214(b) form to me
With this disappointment i went back to work, however i was asked to re-apply and i did so. The appointment was a month later so i had enough time to work on the things which went wrong in my previous interview.
This time it was another window.
Officer: Hello
Me: Good morning, Slipped my passport through the small gap below the glass
Officer: What is the purpose of your visit?
Me: Explained
Officer: Why can't the meetings be done on a phone call
Me: Gave relevant reason and explained the importance of this visit
Officer: (Looked convinced), Why are "you" going and why can't they come over here?
Me: Gave relevant reason, (Officer, looked convinced)
Officer: Are you applying for the same reason you had applied before?
Me: Yes, but i was unsure about the duration last time, i have a proper plan this time and fixed days
Officer: Demanded the documents which i handed over
Officer: (Some notes on screen), your Visa is approved!
Me: Thankyou
The main difference between my two interviews was, the second time i was more confident and was able to explain the reason of my visit clearly. However during my first interview i was very nervous
Although you would find many references on the immihelp website, but wanted to document this as a personal hence noted!
Happy flying :)
Clearing a B1 visa is not that difficult as per the ones who already possess it whereas the ones who have got rejections do not believe the same. Before i appeared for the interview i met most of them who had cleared it.
As per them, it won't be a big deal. However things didn't go the way i thought. It's a morning 8.45 appointment on a bright Feb mid month day.
There is a long queue outside the consulate and the entire area is filled with nervousness. After your basic appointment check is done outside the gate they make you sit inside the consulate premise in a waiting area for around 30/45 mins. Later when the interview hall is cleared for the previous batch, you will be asked to enter the hall and first your biometrics verification would be done and then you will be asked to wait for your turn. There will be representatives and ground staff at every level who would guide you with the next step. Once the buffer position on a window is vacant you would be asked to wait behind the yellow line for your turn in front of the window you will be interviewed. The windows are typically railway counter style booths which will be separated with a transparent glass and a speaker and microfone on both sides.
My first ever B1 VISA interview was not that grilling but i made it so because of my nervousness may be. There were many windows which were approving VISAs whereas there were a few from which the candidates left out with a disappointed face. I was unfortunately on one such window. When you wait behind the yellow line you get a chance to hear what the person ahead of you is answering and you could read the expressions of the officer on the other side. Finally my turn:
Officer: Passport please
Me: Slipped it through the small gap below the glass
Officer: What is the purpose of your visit?
Me: Explained
Officer: What kind of meetings?
Me: Explained
Officer: How much is your salary?
Me: Told
Officer: Have you been to any other country before?
Me; Yes, told the country name
Officer: Was it for similar reason
Me: No, ... told the reason
Officer: What is the duration of your visit?
Me: 2 weeks
Officer: Why can't the meetings be done on a phone call
Me: Gave relevant reason
Officer: (Not convinced), Why are "you" going and why can't they come over here?
Me: Gave relevant reason, (Officer, not convinced)
Officer: Why do you need 2 weeks?
Me: Explained her about the software product and company.
Officer: What is this product about?
Me: Explained
Officer: Are you going to do any productive work over there? (With hand gestures..) Coding, development
Me: No coding involved
Officer: Sorry, i don't see a reason as of now for you to visit. (Handed over the 214(b) form to me
With this disappointment i went back to work, however i was asked to re-apply and i did so. The appointment was a month later so i had enough time to work on the things which went wrong in my previous interview.
This time it was another window.
Officer: Hello
Me: Good morning, Slipped my passport through the small gap below the glass
Officer: What is the purpose of your visit?
Me: Explained
Officer: Why can't the meetings be done on a phone call
Me: Gave relevant reason and explained the importance of this visit
Officer: (Looked convinced), Why are "you" going and why can't they come over here?
Me: Gave relevant reason, (Officer, looked convinced)
Officer: Are you applying for the same reason you had applied before?
Me: Yes, but i was unsure about the duration last time, i have a proper plan this time and fixed days
Officer: Demanded the documents which i handed over
Officer: (Some notes on screen), your Visa is approved!
Me: Thankyou
The main difference between my two interviews was, the second time i was more confident and was able to explain the reason of my visit clearly. However during my first interview i was very nervous
Although you would find many references on the immihelp website, but wanted to document this as a personal hence noted!
Happy flying :)
