US visa: Mumbai engineer denied despite full paperwork, 12 yrs' experience

A Mumbai professional with a fully sponsored trip, company invitation and a clear training agenda says his B-1 visa bid failed within minutes

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A candidate from Mumbai shared his experience of rejection on social media, describing how difficult it can be to secure a B-1 visa even when an applicant believes they are fully prepared and meet every requirement.

 

What is a B-1/B-2 visa?

 

The B-1 and B-2 categories fall under nonimmigrant visas for short stays in the United States. A B-1 visa is issued for business travel, a B-2 visa is for tourism, and a combined B-1/B-2 visa covers both purposes.

 

In a Reddit post, a 33-year-old engineering project manager said he had more than 12 years of experience and had been invited by his US employer for a one-week visit in February. The trip, he said, was fully sponsored. He had an official invitation letter, hotel bookings arranged by his company, and a clear agenda that involved training his American colleagues on AWS, GCP and other technical processes, along with attending several client meetings.

 

B-1 visa rejected: What happened at the interview?

 

His appointment was scheduled for 7:40 am. When he reached the counter, the officer first asked him about the purpose of his trip. He said he explained that he planned to support knowledge transfer as part of his company’s ongoing projects.

 

The officer then asked for details of the training he intended to deliver. He told the officer about the technologies and tasks he would handle and added that he would be taking part in a few client meetings.

 

The interview ended abruptly. The officer said, “Sorry, not acceptable now,” and refused the visa.

 

Comments on his post offered possible explanations for the outcome.

 

“You said client visits – client work is not allowed on B1. Only internal meetings and conferences,” one user wrote.

 

Another commenter added, “A few things… There are no perfect candidates. Anybody can get denied. Invitation letters are a waste of paper. They almost never look at them. You mentioned ‘client’. It may have given suspicion.”

 

A third person wrote, “It’s a B1. You are clearly working. You need a different visa. How did you even think that you are the ‘perfect’ candidate,” while a fourth said, “For onsite work you have to get an H1B or L1. Face to face training is work. No way around it. You can do this on a B1, lots of people have done it, but unfortunately it’s fraud.” 

 

Why do Indians face 214(b) refusals?

 

Many Indian applicants receive refusals under Section 214(b) of the US Immigration and Nationality Act. Officers use this clause when they believe a traveller has not shown strong enough ties to their home country. Common issues include:

 

• Weak links to home country, such as limited family ties, unstable employment or no property

• Short interviews that leave little room to explain circumstances

• Subjective evaluation, as officers have discretion in judging an applicant’s intent

• Increased scrutiny of high-volume categories, including certain work or study fields