B1 B2 Visa Questions and Answers from Former Visa Officer

everyone and welcome first of all I'm Janet kite the social media manager here at odetti so this is a live interview with our former Visa officer Yvette bunsel who will be answering questions regarding B1 and B2 visas if that bansal is a former US Visa officer she has served at Embassy New Delhi and Consulate General Mumbai she adjudicated over 40 000 non-immigrant and immigrant visas and has worked with applicants from every major Visa category thank you ever for taking this time to join me on this interview thanks Janet I'm excited to tell viewers a little bit more about B1 B2 visas and how to approach their US Visa interviews this category of non-immigrant visas has a fairly High denial rate in some countries for example it's about one in four applicants get denied for their B1 B2 Visa not trying to scare you but just giving the statistics so that you can be as prepared as possible and that's the purpose of this webinar is to prepare you and answer some of the most common questions when I was a consular officer I saw a lot of applicants may make mistakes the same mistakes and having a lot of Road speeches or rehearse speeches at the Visa window and I'd like to cover how to avoid those mistakes great so firstly before we begin with the questions of it like we will all like to know like since this is a q a regarding B1 B2 visas right so what is a B1 and B2 Visa so a B1 B2 Visa is a non-immigrant Visa that allows you to travel to the United States for business or tourism purposes technically a B1 Visa is used for business purposes while a B2 Visa is used for tourism but in almost all situations a B1 B2 is given together so when you have that Visa foil you'll see B1 B2 that means you can participate in some business activities such as conferences trainings or tourism activities so if you're seeking to go to Miami or if you'd like to attend a conference you'll apply for a b1b2 Visa it has a maximum stay of six months in the United States although unless you're an elderly parent of a U.S citizen H-1B or maybe a student long stays can really raise red flags when you go to renew that Visa so be cautious especially if you tell an officer if you're going for short-term business travel that you're only going for one to two weeks and then the next time you end up going for four to four to six months that's going to raise some red flags when you renew your Visa so be aware of that the B1 B2 Visa usually has a 10-year validity period And I say usually because it can be limited by the officer but it's generally not whether or not you get the visa will depend on how you explain their purpose of travel if what you want to do is in line with the purpose of the B1 B2 visa and how well you explain your financial situation and ties to the Home Country uh to the officer whoa thanks for the heads up of it so let us know proceed with the questions like the first question that mostly everyone would like to know is like how do we apply for this B1 B2 Visa or maybe like what are the steps involved in applying for this Visa sure so how to apply and the requirements are going to vary by country generally speaking all first time B1 B2 applicants must fill out the ds-160 and attend their visa interview the Department of State also has an interview waiver program where you do not need to attend the visa interview or if you're renewing your B1 B2 Visa so you go online to the state Department's website you follow the simple process of filling out that ds-160 and um it it's pretty straightforward but definitely always fill out your own ds160 or have very good visibility on what is in there because it's going to be something that the officer looks really closely at okay thank you so my next question is what are the common mistakes that you know we should apply when applying for B1 B2 Visa so there are a few common mistakes first for the B1 V2 Travelers their inability to describe the purpose of travel so a lot of applicants struggle with clearly articulating their purpose purpose of their business related trip such as conferences um training meetings it can lead to a lot of confusion when the description of what you're going to do doesn't come with an agenda or it's not very clear to the officer so that's the number one thing is lack of clarity on what you're actually going to be doing a general timeline instead of a specific timeline you can't say one to three weeks for a business meeting like you should know that so the more specific an articulate you are the better chance you're going to have so again have a specific time frame applicants may not have a definite time frame for their say in the U.S or their proposed time frame might not align logically to their stated purpose of travel so that's a common mistake meaning you say you want to go for a conference but then you tell the officer you're staying for one month you don't need to stay in the US for one month if you're just going for a conference so make sure that you are making sense so the second mistake is that they're not really connecting the dots for the officer or the time frame and their purpose of travel are not making sense so that's a common mistake so providing generic answers that's a third mistake offering vague or generic responses during the visa interview can raise doubts about the authenticity of your application and your honesty so if there's a mismatch between the purpose of travel and the work and the work profile that you do the purpose of travel and business reasons should Ally align so when I worked in New Delhi and I had a coder that maybe only had one to two years of work experience when they're telling me they're attending a specific conference for me as an officer that may not make sense if the the conference is a very high level conference so this could be that there is an authentic reason for them wanting to go but they need to be aware that the officer is going to look at their profile and what they're going to do and that should match up a coder with one or two years of work experience doing high level meetings may not make sense now it could be truthful but you need to be aware that this is going to raise a red flag to the officer so you need to be prepared you need to have an agenda and you need to explain why it's you giving that presentation maybe you have a technical skill or you're an SME or you went to an IIT the officer may not know what an IIT is if we're talking about India specifically I mean that's a top school so you need to really spell it out for officers they may not be as culturally aware as you think they are so that's the fourth thing a mismatch between your profile and what you intend to do there so this is we're talking about using the B1 B2 for short-term business travel so the fifth thing is insufficient ties to Home Country so this can happen for travel as well for leisure travel as well as the business travel you have to be able to put forth what ties you to your home country this could be owning cars owning immovable assets um having a large family so make sure that you're expressing your level of ties whenever possible and be aware that they do look at that so common mistakes for leisure Travelers specifically is a lack of a specific itinerary so I would ask them okay so why are you going to the US and they would say oh we might go to Niagara Falls and then Orlando and then Las Vegas we'll be back in two weeks and it's like doesn't make sense give a good time frame have specific places that you want to go why because this is a really big investment also there are cultural differences that you need to be aware of in Latin American countries or Asian countries maybe you're waiting until you get the visa to make your plans but American culture individuals they plan out everything to the detail so you're dealing with an American officer they want to see that level of attention to detail because they expect that and they've grown up with that in their own culture so make sure that you're aware of that you may really just not know whether you want to go to Niagara Falls or Orlando but just make sure you're as specific as possible try to make it as easy as possible for the officer to follow along so the second thing is lack of truthfulness or vagueness don't be evasive in your questions if an officer asks you a direct question who do you know in the United States so you should say I know this person or I have a distant relative that I don't know well don't be too vague applicants should be honest and transparent about their connections in the United States and anyone they know if it's a distant relative that they don't speak with just say that I have a distant relative that I don't speak with but don't avoid any questions because again that's going to make you look like you're not telling the truth this may not be the case but that's how it's presenting cultural differences mentioning reasons for travel that are culturally significant in your home country may not be easily understandable for the Consular officer so con this could be you going to the United States for housewarming so the housewarming can include a pundit for example in Indian cultures they like to bless a home and American cultures they don't understand why you would be spending thousands of dollars in order for you to do that so baby showers that could be another reason so there are some cultural differences to be aware of so if you really are going for something that maybe the officer doesn't understand maybe mention the importance of that it doesn't mean you have to pick a different reason but definitely convince them of why this is specifically important um so another another mistake is not giving clear Financial Provisions I have known millionaires that have gotten rejected and the reason is is because they're too humble at the window they don't explain their financial situation very well so if you have really solid finances now is not the time to be humble you need to be able to support your travel expensive and demonstrate the extent of your finances and savings to the officer because Financial stability is a policy that the officer is going to look at in order to approve that B1 B2 Visa that was a lot but then you know those are very like you know those are like some very very important points that we all should keep in mind in order to avoid those common mistakes so thank you for that thank you so my next question is that is how can one prepare for this B1 B2 Visa interview can you give us some tips on how to prepare for such interviews like what we should wear or what we should say so dress neatly limit jewelry you know officers unfortunately have some subconscious bias maybe so certain jewelry may not work in your favor always look as nice and neat as possible but don't go over the top also don't be scared you know don't call the the officer sir or man definitely be on the same playing field as the officer okay you don't want to put yourself beneath the officer in any way so many applicants are so scared at the Visa window I don't know why maybe it's the authority maybe it's a really big decision um and they just get so scared but you're gonna be less scared if you're prepared you know if you take some of these common mistakes and don't make them at your at the interview you're gonna definitely feel more prepared and maybe it's not until you get in there that you realize wow maybe this isn't as easy as I thought so don't don't think that it's easy to get a U.S visa the officer is going to grill you so don't be lackadaisical about preparation it's really important to know that some countries it's 25 to 45 percent rejection rates it's huge and even people who are very well qualified get rejected because they're not able to present their case well at the window so know that practice in front of a mirror you have one to two minutes for the interview max if you have a family member that's in the United States make it easy bring a copy of their visa especially if there's an if they're an H-1B you can do a copy of their passport if they're an amp set make it make it as easy as possible to back up your story officers are generally not going to look at almost any documents but if you have a copy of the Visa of the of the F1 student you're visiting the H1B you're visiting um that is something they will look at and they might check you know okay yeah they really do have a son there they they really do know when each one being there that is that person's sister so that's going to offer you credibility but almost other other documents are not going to be looked at so um always expect the question why are you going to the U.S how long will you stay and how will you pay for your travel so if you get nothing else out of the presentation practice those three questions because they will come at the interview so really great tips so like from what I'm trying to understand is you know we always need to prepare ourselves for the best we need to have confidence on ourselves we need to have a little faith what I'm trying to say and girls remember let's bling so I just that's what I'm trying to say anyway so this next question Yvette is one very important one I guess for most people actually so what should a person do when you know their B1 B2 Visa gets denied so udeti is a service that offers mock interview preparation and I know this sounds like a plug but let me tell you if you've had a prior denial you are in serious need of professional assistance if you expect to get the visa the second time a second officer will review your case they'll consider it but if one officer has already denied you it's a uphill battle I'm not saying that to discourage you you have to be doubly prepared you have to take all the tips on this video maybe book a consultation with me and just be prepared if it means that much to you go to the United States because you need it um it's not a reflection on you your denial may not be a reflection on you at all it could be that you got nervous that you lacked confidence you were giving fake answers many many qualified applicants get rejected and I know you're thinking like then why is the system the way that that it is I don't know it's flawed and that but but know that if you've had a prior refusal it it may not be a reflection on you at all but you need to be doubly prepared the next time wow that's a lot to take in I guess everyone now understands like what they should do thanks to you like you know that getting a Visa tonight gets everyone paranoid and makes them lose hope with your answer man I guess made a lot of people prepare themselves in such a way for their visas not to get denied so thank you for that sure so let's move on to the last but not the least like the last question of this interview so the question is how can a person renew their b1b2 visa vet like what do they need to do what are the procedures that they have to follow generally for renewing a B1 B2 Visa an applicant can opt for Dropbox or interview waiver so when you're filling out that ds160 it's going to tell you if you actually qualify for Dropbox based on a series of questions that the system is going to ask you this is this is really key because if you are eligible for Dropbox for renewing you don't have to attend the in-person interview which is always preferable you still have to go online and fill out the ds-160 the application will guide them through as I said to see if they're qualified to skip the interview or not and each consulate and Embassy has their own website so please take a look at the rules and they change often and they're not the same across the globe so definitely keep on checking thank you so very very much of it for this interview like you know your answer to every single question was so helpful we've learned so much insightful information and tips regarding these this B1 B2 visa and I hope people that are watching this will put all of that into practice so before we wrap things up with that do you have anything else to say to the viewers my last piece of advice is be positive like Janet just always positive which is why we love her and I want to wish everyone the best of luck I know it's a scary process officers don't like to deny people and that's for sure and the more you prepare and you know what the officer wants the better chances you have at getting the B1 B2 visa and that's why I started this company to offer mock interview preparation for those who are looking for an expert to help them you can look to cons you can go online at odettivisa.com to book your consultation with me are all sessions are done over video and I'm going to review your ds160 to make sure it's pristine if it's not something that you're looking for you think it's too much hand-holding that's okay we have some free blogs some some free videos on YouTube Instagram we're a startup so definitely like our pages and we'll continue to give you free content whenever possible so thank you so much thank you so I guess this concludes our interview event and to everyone who's watching this if you have any other queries any questions regarding B1 B2 visas you can visit our websitevisa.com or find us on Instagram Facebook and Linkedin and you can by typing deity Visa so remember everyone always have faith in yourself always be prepared be confident in yourself and remember girls once again let's blink thank you everyone take care

Channel: Udeti Visa

Views: 61,388

Keywords: visa interview, visa secrets, visa interview questions, visa questions, visa interview questions and answers, visa questions and answers, tourist visa, tourism visa, travel visa, visit visa, business visa, work visa, b visa, b1 visa, b2 visa, b1/b2 vias, b1 b2 visa, b1b2 visa, traveler visa, vacation visa, usa visa, us visa, nonimmigrant visa, non-immigrant visa, non immigrant visa, 214b, 221g, visa denied

Id: qUFECIrSiok

Length: 18min 17sec (1097 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 28 2023