Re: H1B visa -Your Experience I didnt find a different thread for this so am putting it here.
Trying for US visitors visa after getting Canadian confirmation of PR (COPR)
My background: I was born in Qatar. 37 years old. Ive been to US as a kid and had two visitor visa’s stamped in my old passports earlier (when i was much younger). All my brothers, sisters and parents have valid US visiting visa’s . I have been to Europe twice in the past two years and to China in 2014 (travel history is good). I currently work for a respected MNC in Bangalore. My wife,kids and I, We got COPR and single entry canadian visa in december 2019
I have close relatives in USA and thought since we are moving to canada it would be nice to pop across the border to visit them sometimes. So applied for a US visit for me and the kids. Interview date of 28 feb. (My wife already has a US visit visa from an earlier trip)
At the visa office in Chennai getting to the interview counter was a breeze, since i had kids with me (7,4 yrs old) My prep was based on confidence built from the fact that i had a COPR already, so getting a US visit visa should not be a problem
That was where i was wrong
The lady at the counter was polite enough and started with the questions
Q. Who are you visiting?
A. (I was startled with the question since i expected ‘ why are you going?’) I will be visiting my uncle.
Q.is he a green card or a citizen?
A. He is a citizen, he’s been there for a long time
Q. So you have been to the US before..
A. Yes, as a kid
Q. How long will be your stay
A. Two weeks. But i will be coming in between also
Q. (Turns to look at me) Why is that?
A. See we got this PR for Canada so we will be moving soon, so thought it would good to visit the family in between.
Q. (Looking at me over her glasses) I see, so you are emigrating from India, to canada and you want a US visit visa
A. (Im puzzled) Yes..?
Q. Hmm what about your job there? (In canada) How does it work?
A. I havent got a job there, so my wife and I will go to canada this April and search for jobs. I dont have much options there, but she has a better chance.
Q. What about your kids? Will you take them to canada with you?
A. First me and my wife will go, then Ill follow with the kids
She gets up twice to talk to a serious guy behind her and then comes back and types into the computer. Realisation dawns on me that I have throughly screwed it up. I look at my kids and smile at them. They smile back at me. Some solace.
She speaks: So I wont be able to give you a visa at this time, please try again after two years from Canada. Have a nice stay there!
I thank her and walk quickly out to my waiting wife outside. She cant believe that we didnt get it. On the long drive back to Bangalore, we go over the answers and arrive at this conclusion
1. If i see my answers, I could have stopped at the first line and need not have gone to the next sentence
2. An US interviewer is instructed to find out if you intend to illegally stay with a US visit visa. This is explicitly mentioned in their site itself. So a jobless guy (even if from Canada) is a potential overstayer.
What i could have done
1. Stick to one sentence answers where possible.
2. Answer to the point
3. Prepare while thinking from the interviewers angle: what she saw is a guy who has no prospects of a job or anyone to come back to in India or Canada.
4. I could have kept the Camada PR part out unless she specifically asked about it. I had a good job in India and had no reason to overstay in US.
She tried to redeem me several times but my big ‘sathya -harishchandra-meets-motor-mouth’ mouth just dug the hole deeper.
So now me and our kids cannot visit US for atleast another two years. |