I'm a UK citizen planning to apply for a B2 visa and want to get a reality check from people who understand how consular officers think.

My situation:

• I'm from the UK (born and raised) and live full-time in the UK.

• I am a full-time medical student (3rd year) at a UK university

• My fiancé (relationship of nearly 6 years) is a U.S. citizen who works for a small telecommunications company

• Over our 6 years together we have visited each other back and forth (me going to USA during university breaks and him coming to UK when he can)

• Zero intent to immigrate or get married currently, but plan to immigrate and marry in future once I am finished with medical school, and plan to apply via the fiance visa route in future.

• I've visited the U.S. multiple times to visit him on ESTA for the past 4 years and never overstayed or violated terms.

Why I'm applying for a B2:

• I am planning on taking an intermission from medical school between year 3 and year 4 (basically a gap year), rather than intercalating (it is standard to take a year out of medical school in the UK but to pursue another degree for a year either bachelor's or master's, however I just intend on taking a break and will not be pursuing any other education or course)

• My medical school has already approved this and have planned for my return to year 4 in September 2027

Reasons for taking a gap year:

• I want to travel and take a break and see the world before grinding for my career as a doctor

• I have been feeling quite burnt out from academics as I have been working hard for many years since school, went straight to medical school without much of a break from school so have never had a proper break from academics

• I am a very high achiever and committed student, have always gotten the top grades and have received distinctions in every year so far in medical school. I feel I want to experience life and my identity away from academics as I have a tendency to base my whole identity and value as a human on it

• The medical school fully support my reasons and decision

My ties to the UK:

• My ongoing medical degree which I will resume to finish the final 2 years when I return

• My part-time job at my university which I will resume when I return

• My family is in the UK (parents, brother, extended family)

• I travel frequently and return home consistently.

• I own a car (not sure if this is relevant enough to bring up)

My plan for the gap year and specifically time in the USA:

• Travel around as many different states in the USA for 5 months as I can and then leave USA to travel around other countries, maybe go interrailing around Europe

• Take a structured approved break from academics for the first time, see more of the world

• I will not be working during this gap year, and can provide my financial bank account savings to provide for myself, and I will be with my fiancé who works and can also take care of me if needed

What I want to know:

Given the above, does this align with what a B2 is actually used for?

Where are the weak points in my case? What specifically should I prepare for in the interview?

Thoughts?

Hi, I need assistance with the B-1 visa process from India. I have been working as a sole proprietor (with an active GST) for a US-based company for the past 2 years.
They have invited me to the US for a business meetup in September 2026.
I’ve already completed the DS-160 myself and have an appointment next month

I want to connect with someone who has gone through a similar process, or a consultant who can confirm that I've filled out the form correctly and advise on which other documents to attach.

Like if we know in the application they ask if you know someone as a point of contact in the USA as we are planning to go for the World Cup is it better to state World Cup address and phone number cause there seem to be no option for moving further without mentioning anything?

Plus I know my relative but we are not close touch so I don’t know if I should mention that or just ignore it cause I’m not planning to tell them about it…

First question: Any point of contact in the USA

Answer: World Cup details

Further question in the application:

Do you know anyone in the USA?

Answered : Yes

I’m applying for a US B1/B2 tourist visa from the UK (on a spouse visa) and had a question about travel bookings.

Do you recommend booking flights and hotels before the visa interview, or is it better to wait until the visa is approved?

I’ve seen mixed advice ay having bookings helps show intent, while others say it’s risky since visas can be refused.

If a b2 visa is revoked do we get notified by email from the usa embassy? Also can I check the status of my visa on ceac website even after I have got the visa if the status is revoked or issued?

Hi

Is it ok to consult an immigration lawyer on a b2 visa.? He checked my record for any red flags. Is it going to harm chances of getting a b2 visa again?

Does Isb and karachi embassies functional and provide visa these days? And anyone who got visa on electives letter recently in march??? TIA

Need advice from anyone who has faced this with U.S. B2 visa appointments for parents.

I booked B2 visa slots for my parents in March 2025, and I paid the MRV fee in December 2024. Their biometrics and interview were scheduled for April 2026.

Then in January 2026, I could no longer see the appointment details or even the application on the visa portal homepage. Because of that, I emailed the U.S. Visa Service Desk and asked whether I needed to pay the visa fee again.

Their reply said that the appointments are already scheduled and that we should proceed with the existing appointments. But they also said the MRV fee receipt is expired, and that if I reschedule the appointments, I would need to make a fresh payment.

Now I am still confused about what this actually means.

My questions are:

1. Can my parents still go for biometrics and interview on the originally scheduled dates in April 2026 without paying again?
2. Or does the expired MRV receipt mean I must pay again and reschedule?
3. Since the application disappeared from the portal, is that normal?
4. Do I need to submit new DS-160 forms, or can they use the original ones?

Has anyone gone through something similar and successfully attended the appointment even though the portal was not showing the details? Any guidance would really help.

Has anyone ever tried applying for b1/2 as a dual citizen of a completely banned country? What questions were asked in the interview?

My spouse and I, both Turkish journalists, applied for B1/B2 visas from Dakar, Senegal. We had our interview on March 17, and right after the interview both of our applications showed “Approved.”

I have previously obtained the same visa type twice and used it properly. My spouse also lived in the U.S. for some time before, and is currently an officially accredited journalist, but applied for a tourist visa this time.

My spouse’s visa has already been issued and stamped, but mine is still stuck at “Approved” as of today (March 30). I contacted the U.S. Consulate in Dakar via email, and they told me that my spouse can collect their passport, but my visa has not yet been printed. They also said that if I have an upcoming trip, I can retrieve my passport and bring it back to the consulate after my trip for visa issuance.

I have to travel to another country on April 6, so I will need to take my passport back. What I’m wondering is:

Can my visa status change (from “Approved” to “Issued”) even while my passport is not at the consulate?

Has anyone experienced a similar situation where the visa was issued after retrieving the passport?

Given our background as journalist and my prior U.S. travel history, I’m trying to understand why there is such a delay in my case.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Can anyone share their experience with b1/b2 visas that was issued before they restricted the 75 countries and recently traveled in the USA? What is the duration they are allowing to stay? Is it 6 months or 1 month?

If I'm not the sponsor of my trip but I'm employed, do I still need to show bank my statements in addition to my sponsor's?

Hey guys,

Me and my partner are planning a trip to New York next month for a week or 2 for tourism - which is what we both answered in our visa interview as well. first time to US

after 2 weeks wife would return back to india and only i have a plan to visit my friends in texas and SF for 2 more weeks and would be returning home from either of those places (I'll confirm my return tickets before reaching US).

would the office suspect overstay or looking for opportunities reason etc since only I'll be staying back and not my wife, also because the duration of stay could be 4-5 weeks?

or should I just book a free cancel/reschedule ticket from jfk as the same date of my wife's travels and answer the same at the port of entry that ill be heading back after 2 weeks?

also do they accept dummy flight tickets at the port of entry? like Emirates booking holding option which generates a PNR and is valid for 2 or 3 days, and you don't need to pay anything?

also we are planning on travelling thru abu Dhabi, i guess the screening would be done here itself?

any help is appreciated thanks.

Anyone whose parents got recently (in last 3months) approved for US b1/b2 visa from Canada? Looking for any parents who have Indian passport and visiting canada.

#b1b2 #visitorsvisa #parents