When you attend the U.S B1/B2 visa interview at the US Embassy or at a US Consulate, you will get a few minutes to state your case. This interview usually lasts about 2 minutes, within which a visa officer is able to determine whether they will approval your visa or not.
When you get to the visa officer’s window, that will be the first time that the officer will take a look at your DS-160 form, says ex Visa Officer and currently US Immigration Attorney Travis Feuerbacher who is an immigration attorney at ZF Visa & Immigration.
The officer will ask for your passport, which they will scan to produce your DS-160. During the interview, Feuerbacher says that the visa officer may not get a lot of time to look at you face to face as they will be scanning through certain specific areas on your DS-160.
These officers have however been highly trained to throw quick glances at you, to read your body language and to make quick determinations on cases. Remember, each visa officer has hundreds of visa applicants that they on the queue behind you waiting to be served.
How do you improve your chances? One of the most efficient ways is to know what makes a visa interview bad or good. In this first part of a two-part series on a bad and good U.S B1/B2 visa interview, Feuerbacher explains a real-time scenario for an unapproved visa application:
Visa Officer: Why are you going to the United States?
Visa Applicant: Aaah, my son is over there.
Visa Officer: How long are you going to stay in the United States?
Visa Applicant: I am not really sure right now, maybe four to six months?
Visa Officer: Do you have a job?
Visa Applicant: Aaah, yes I am a businesswoman
Visa Officer: What do you do?
Visa Applicant: I go to work every day from 9 to 5 and aah, you know I do a lot of paper work.
Visa Officer: What do you do for work? What is your job?
Visa Applicant: So, I help other business owners with eeh what is going on at their companies…
Visa Officer: What is the name of your company?
Visa Applicant: It’s called XYZ Accounting
Visa Officer: You said your son is in the United States? How did he Immigrate? What is his status now?
Visa Applicant: Aaah, I think he’s studying there; he’s been there for a while…
Visa Officer: Where’s he studying?
Visa Applicant: He’s studying at a community college; it’s a pretty small one in Georgia, I think.
Visa Officer: Okay, I am really sorry I am unable to approve your visa application at this time. Here’s a short letter that will explain my decision.
Visa Applicant: Okay but why didn’t you approve my visa? I don’t understand!
Visa Officer: This letter will explain my decision. Thank you.
