Visa rejections are never easy, especially when you have planned everything carefully and genuinely believed you were the perfect candidate.
A post on Reddit captures this feeling through the story of a Mumbai applicant who was left shocked after his B1 visa was denied regardless of having every document in place.
The applicant, a 33-year-old engineering project manager, wrote that he had more than 12 years of experience and was invited by his US company for a one-week visit in February.
The trip was fully sponsored. He had an official invitation letter, hotel bookings arranged by the company, and a clear purpose that is to train his American counterparts on AWS, GCP and other technical processes, and to join a few client meetings.
What happened during the interview?
His interview was scheduled for 7.40 AM. When his turn came, the officer first asked why he was travelling to the US. He explained that he was going to provide knowledge transfer as part of his company’s ongoing projects.
The next question was about what exactly he would be training the US team on. He gave the details of the technologies and the work he would be handling. He also added that he would be attending a few client visits.
But the interview ended abruptly. The officer responded with a short line, “Sorry, not acceptable now” and rejected the visa.
‘Client work is not allowed’
Redditors wrote the possible reasons for rejection in the comment section. A user noted,”You said client visits – client work is not allowed on B1. Only internal meetings and conferences.”
Another 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.”
“Is your company a well established one ? I thought they mostly approve those whose expenses would be taken care by company,” questioned a netizen.
“client visit ” was the red flag,” noted a user.
“B-1 Temporary Business Visitor. You may be eligible for a B-1 visa if you will be participating in business activities of a commercial or professional nature in the United States, including, but not limited to: Consulting with business associates.If you were getting the knowledge transfer, it would work. Not the other way around lol.You get knowledge, you’re learning. You give knowledge, you’re earning lolAnd nopes you were not even close to being a candidate on thin ice. You were a straight no,” explained a Redditor.
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