12

I went for B1 U.S. Visa at the U.S. Embassy in Delhi. 

Interviewer: *Good Morning*.
Me: *Good Morning*
Interviewer: *What is your designation?*
Me: *I am a Software Engineer.*
Interviewer: *What is the name of your company?*
Me: *It is XXX (I replied).*
Interviewer: *What is the name of your client?*
Me: *It is YYY (I replied).*
Interviewer: *Have you ever been to U.S. before?*
Me: *NO*
Interviewer: *Have you ever been abroad before?*
Me: *NO*

At this point he rejected my Visa with letter mentioning 214 (b) as the reason. I don't know why he actually rejected it. But, I have decent 2+ years of experience with my company. And, I was going on a business meeting with the client. I would have come back after 2 weeks.

I don't know if re applying will help.

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    You have XXX for both companies - do you mean they're both the same (not say, XXX and YYY) or are they definitely different companies? If they're the same it's possible it appeared like a transfer?
    – Mark Mayo
    Dec 2, 2014 at 6:53
  • 1
    No, they are different companies i will edit the question to (say, XXX and YYY).
    – Ishmeet
    Dec 2, 2014 at 6:58
  • What do you mean when you say "client"? What was the actual purpose of your planned trip to the US?
    – Doc
    Dec 2, 2014 at 20:38
  • Hi @Doc , We have a new project in discussion with our client YYY, I needed to go there to understand their requirements so that probably we can kick off the project.
    – Ishmeet
    Dec 3, 2014 at 3:54

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
18

That's unfortunate, and I really hope there was more to it than just that. Did you have any other paperwork he'd seen before? Plane tickets etc?

A 214-b refusal is essentially failure to convince the interviewer than you're not an alien immigrant.

They start each interview ASSUMING you're trying to immigrate, and this is frustrating as it means the responsibility is on you to prove you're not.

This is done by showing STRONG ties to your home country, ideally a return ticket, evidence that perhaps you've only booked hotels for a week, emails showing meetings, contact details (business cards?), and a letter from your company indicating your current employment and intention to return after talking to client. Your current living evidence (utility bills and more). This is only a small subset - there are many other documents that MIGHT suit you better, or provide additional evidence - bank accounts, evidence of your family in India that you support, are other possible examples.

Fortunately, there's no harm in reapplying - refusals are NOT permanent. But you'll want to make sure you have more information. And next time IF (hopefully not) they reject you citing 214b, ASK why. It's a huge category, and if you don't ask it's very hard to guess at what they might have failed you on.

Definitely have a read of the official 214b refusal page I linked - it goes into a lot more detail and will hopefully give you further insight.

Improve this answer
6
  • 1
    Hi, Most of my documents I had with me at the time. Emails (showing meetings), business cards, letter from my current company, my bank account statements (for 6 months), my companies ITR, Memorandom, my graduation certificates.
    – Ishmeet
    Dec 2, 2014 at 7:16
  • 1
    Though I did not had the plane ticket and hotel receipt, cause it had to be book after visa confirmation.
    – Ishmeet
    Dec 2, 2014 at 7:17
  • 1
    No worries. You didn't ask what they meant by 214b - like, what criteria he was using? If not, looks like your best bet would be to reapply, take every document possible, and while you don't sound like you need an interpreter, some of the other tips in this answer might be of use. And IF they deny you, do request (calmly) the reasons why, and what they'd want from you next time to prevent a rejection :)
    – Mark Mayo
    Dec 2, 2014 at 11:50
  • 1
    Sounds like you were very well-prepared, document-wise, so maybe there's something we're missing that they can help clarify for you on the next application. It might be something simple which you can then answer by saying 'well actually, I have a document with me that shows why that's not a problem' or something to help.
    – Mark Mayo
    Dec 2, 2014 at 11:51
  • 3
    As to return ticket, that's a bad advice. DoS explicitly recommends visa applicants not to do any final arrangements before the visa is granted. Unless a ticket is dirt cheap or fully refundable, having one may be taken with suspicion.
    – ach
    Jul 4, 2015 at 10:43
6

Interviewer: Have you ever been to U.S. before? Me: NO Interviewer: Have you ever been abroad before? Me: NO

Basically, you do NOT have a record of leaving your country and returning. Your situation is like having "no credit history."

The first step is to take a trip to another country (hopefully Western, e.g. Canada), and return to your home. That will help establish your "travel history."

It seems that the problem may not be you, but your "home" country. That is, while an American consul would not suspect, say, a Canadian of wanting to immigrate to the U.S. and not return, s/he may feel this way about people from YOUR country.

What you need to do is to set yourself apart from others of your country. Going to Canada and returning home would be a good start. But, depending on your home country, you might have to do more than that. Buying a home (as opposed to renting), would help. So would marrying and starting a family. Finally, it helps, if you are over, rather than under age 30, all other things being equal.

One recourse you might have is your client company. If it happens to be Apple, Google or IBM, a letter from them saying that they will see you home should do. If it happens to be Podunk Software, that might not be so good, but then again, it might work.

It's unfair, but that's the way it is, when people are judged by their country, and not personally.

Improve this answer
2
  • 3
    Good to know but it sounds so ridiculous.
    – gkuzmin
    Mar 21, 2016 at 20:34
  • I think its good to say you are a BA even if you are a software engineer
    – user175784
    Feb 9, 2018 at 10:56

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.