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He said the officer asked him about the purpose of his trip, his previous travels abroad, and whether he knew anyone in the United States.
The applicant said he was surprised by the rejection, especially given his strong professional and personal ties with India. (Photo: Actor)
US visa rejection: An Indian tech professional’s plan to visit the US to attend a major industry conference was dashed in less than a minute after the US Embassy in New Delhi denied him a B1/B2 visa.
The applicant, who specializes in Cloud Native platforms, shared his experience on Reddit, noting that the rejection came in less than a minute and after only a few questions.
“I had an interview for a B1/B2 visa at the US Embassy today in Delhi and was rejected in less than a minute after just three questions. I’m trying to understand what went wrong and how I can improve next time,” he wrote.
He said the officer asked him about the purpose of his trip, his previous travels abroad, and whether he knew anyone in the United States.
He plans to attend Kubecon + CloudNative Con 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
He added: “I am a senior technical lead at a company, and my daily work is done on Cloud Native technologies. It is important for me to attend this conference to stay informed of the latest events or movements in this field.”
When asked about his travel history, he replied: “I said yes, I have traveled to Lithuania, the Maldives and Indonesia.” He said he answered “no” when asked if he had family or friends in the United States. Shortly after, he was handed a 214(b) denial slip.
According to his post, his profile was believed to have shown strong household ties. “I have been working in India with a stable job for 11 years. I earn close to Rs 1 crore a year and have an eight-month-old daughter, so I was very motivated to return to India,” he said.
He also stated that he had prepared a detailed travel plan with confirmed reservations for the Atlanta conference and accommodations. “The conference was not available for live streaming, so I planned everything to attend 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 denied or revoked if an officer has reason to believe the applicant is dishonest or unreliable, according to the US State Department.
Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers Indian and international news. He is interested in India’s day-to-day political affairs and geopolitics. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in journalism (with honors) from the University of Ben… Read more
03 Nov 2025 at 11:47 PM IST
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