pravin712 03/21/2013 09:35:13 AM
This was my first time for any visa interview and had seen many rejections in last couple of weeks for my colleagues, so was not exactly hoping that I will get through. But as luck would have it…
Day 1: I had 830 appointment for biometrics which happens in Trade Center building in BKC. Reached there at around 730. They started the process at 8 and I was out with my photo and fingerprints taken by 815. Whoa!
Day 2: Judgment Day! I had 745 appointment in US embassy in BKC. Reached there at 7 and was greeted with an already long queue. But it started moving by 715. Within half an hour I was through the security check and had received the token number. After fingerprinting (again!), I had to wait till 845 for my number to be called for interview. I saw 3 B1 getting rejected in front of me with the lady VO being very stern. This is how mine went:
Q: Why are you going to the US?
A: I am going there for requirement gathering and technical discussions for the next version of my project.
Q: What do you do?
A: I am a J2EE developer and work on building blah blah…
Q: So basically software.. what’s your company name?
A: XXX
Q: How long are you with them?
A: more than a year
Q: What is your salary?
A: XXX per annum
Q: Have you ever been abroad?
A: No. This will be the first time.
Q: Is this a new project?
A: No. I am working on this project for a year now and we are planning to start the next version next month.
Q: But why were you chosen?
A: I have around 5 years of experience of which more than a year is in this domain. And I have greatly contributed to this project for a year…
Q: Does anyone report to you?
A: No
Q: I don’t understand. You are not a team lead, no one reports to you but still your company is sending you there for this important discussions.. why?
A: In my team, there is no one else who has such knowledge of both domain and technology. I have certification in the domain too. Also, over the year I have had lot of good communications with the client and have got good rapport with them. Even when they visited our India office last year, I have had good interaction with them.
Q: Who is this client?
A: XXX
Q: How long will you be there in US?
A: One week.
Q: One week is enough for such important discussions?
A: It will basically be a high level discussion wherein we will agree on the requirements at a broader level. As we work in Agile methodology, we have daily meetings with the client to fine tune these requirements later once I am back in India.
Q: But why you need to be physically there?
A: I understand there are ways like video conferencing, but for this particular discussions the client preferred a face-to-face meeting so that there will not be any gaps in core understandings.
Then she congratulated me for visa approval and wished me a nice stay in the US.
I had good preparatory sessions with my company’s travel team, but during the actual interview, I answered what came to my mind at that time and confidently. Stuck to the facts and maintained good tone and eye-contact. Also I was wearing a suit, maybe that helped a bit.
Hope this experience helps you guys in clearing your interview.
Cheers
