B1/B2 Visa Approved – Family Application Experience (Kolkata, India)
I wanted to share my recent B1/B2 visa interview experience as reading posts here helped me a lot during my preparation.
Profile:
- 20-year-old Indian MBBS student (1st year)
- Applying together with both parents
- Parents are doctors and run a hospital in India
- Previously held a US visa from 2010–2015
- Extensive travel history including:
- USA
- UK
- Multiple Schengen visas
- Multiple Middle East visits
- Multiple South East Asia visits
- Africa
- Maldives
- China (business visa) etc
One point that had concerned me was that my previous US visa had expired around 11 years ago and I was applying again only now. I was also slightly worried about being a young applicant applying with parents, as many student applicants around me had reportedly faced refusals.
Interview Experience:
The interview was extremely short, approximately 2-3 minute for all three applicants together.
Questions asked were basic:
- Purpose of travel
- Who we were visiting
- What I study and what my parents do
- Previous travel history
Our purpose was visiting family and attending my cousin’s graduation ceremony in the US.
What surprised me most was that no supporting documents were requested or checked:
- No bank statements
- No college documents
- No bonafide certificate
- No income proof
- No invitation letter
- No travel itinerary
The visas for all three of us were approved directly.
My observation from this experience is that for many B1/B2 cases, especially family applications with established travel history, the officer may already form an assessment primarily from:
- DS-160 consistency
- prior travel compliance
- overall profile credibility
- clarity and confidence of answers
A few suggestions for future applicants:
- Keep answers concise and direct
- Do not over-explain
- Be completely truthful
- Ensure DS-160 details are consistent with your interview answers
- Carry all documents, even if they may not be requested
I hope this helps applicants who may be anxious before their interview, especially younger applicants or family applicants.
Wishing everyone the best for their interviews.