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US Visa denial: An Indian technology professional’s plan to visit the United States for a major industry conference was shattered in less than a minute after the US Embassy in New Delhi denied him the B1/B2 visa. The applicant, a specialist in Cloud Native platforms, shared his experience on Reddit, noting that the denial came in less than a minute and after only a few questions. “I had my B1/B2 visa interview at the US Embassy today in Delhi, and I was rejected in less than a minute after just three questions. I’m trying to understand what went wrong and how I can improve for next time,” he wrote. He said the officer asked him about the purpose of his trip, his previous foreign travel, and whether he knew anyone in the US. He planned to attend the Kubecon + CloudNative Con 2025 conference in Atlanta, Georgia. “I am a senior tech lead at a company, and my day-to-day work is on Cloud Native technologies. It is important that I attend this conference to stay up to date on the latest events or movements in this field,” he added. When asked about his travel record, he replied, “I answered yes, I have travelled to Lithuania, Maldives and Indonesia,” and said he responded “no” when asked if he had family or friends in the US. Soon after, he was handed a 214(b) refusal slip. According to his post, he believed his profile demonstrated strong home ties. “I’m employed in India with a stable job for the last 11 years. I make close to a crore annually and have an eight-month-old daughter, so I had very strong motivations to come back to India,” he said. He also mentioned that he had prepared a detailed travel plan with confirmed bookings for the Atlanta conference and accommodation. “The conference wasn’t available for live streaming, so I had planned everything to attend it in person,” he added. He then asked community members for advice on how to improve his chances before reapplying. A visa is a privilege, not a right, and can be refused or canceled if the officer has reason to believe that the applicant is dishonest or unreliable, according to the US Department of State.
