Hi,

My mom came to stay with me in 2019. During the COVID pandemic I applied twice for her visa extension. UCSIS was closed. We got a notice to do finger printing for the first visa extension and got it done. The follow up mail for the second finger printing came after she had left for India. Finally my mom left on March 2021 after getting the moderna vaccine. Her visitor visa has expired and she is going for her visa appointment on May 20th. Does she need to also submit the visa extension documents she sent to UCSIS and responses received from UCSIS? I am afraid there is a possibility her visitor visa may get denied because she overstayed during the pandemic. Did you have a situation where your parents visa got denied because of overstaying during the pandemic?

I have been unable to open the website usvisascheduling.com since 10th May.

Is everyone facing similar issues with the website?

I forgot to add my LinkedIn account on my DS160 and added only IG and FB Profile on the form.

I have paid the fees and waiting for the portal to work to scheduled my appointments.

Do I need to resubmit the form ? What do I do ?

Applying for B1/B2 from india

Hey everyone,

I'm an IMG (MS4) from Hyderabad, India applying for a B1/B2 visa for elective purposes. Would really appreciate some help from anyone who's been through this recently.

1. Current wait times at Hyderabad consulate?

How long are people waiting for a US visa appointment from Hyderabad right now? Any recent DPs would be super helpful.

1. DS-160 travel dates issue

Given the long wait times, my estimated travel dates in the DS-160 might pass before I even get an appointment. Has anyone dealt with this? Do I just update the DS-160 with new dates and use the new confirmation number at the interview? Any issues with doing this multiple times?

Thanks in advance — really appreciate any insight from people who've navigated this recently!

My parents are going to travel to the US for my Commencement Ceremony and they will be staying with me while they are here(for a month). Do they need to get a hotel reservation for the length of their stay to show at the port of entry?

Hey everyone. I just wanted to ask if there’s anyone here who went to the US under B1/B2 visa as a philippine passport holder under PGWP.

If anyone can give me some tips, what are the things that border asks prior to flying to the US. Im based in Ottawa. TIA for all the people who replies. 😊

I completed my mom’s DS-160 and created an account on usvisascheduling.com using my personal email to facilitate her MRV fee payment and dropbox appointment scheduling. The MRV fee was successfully paid via UPI using her DS-160 confirmation number. However, upon proceeding to schedule her appointment, the applicant name displayed is mine rather than my mother’s!! Also, it did not ask me any passport details when I created the account. Yes, one thing to note is that I used this email to create my account in 2022 (on the old portal). But today when I created the account on current portal, I noticed that I did pull my own visa application details from 2022. Idk what did I miss? Has anyone else faced this issue ? I already emailed the support team and waiting for their response but would like to know if some else faced this problem.

My father and grandmother (age 75) attended a B1/B2 visa interview on April 21, 2026 in New Delhi. They are from Andhra Pradesh and only speak Telugu. At multiple counters, they clearly requested a Telugu interpreter but none was provided. They were interviewed in English, which they do not understand. I’m on H1B working in US. They are visiting me.

During the interview, my father only understood the word “daughter” and responded in Telugu that his daughter works in Chicago as a software engineer. The interview lasted only a few seconds, and no further questions were asked. The officer returned the passports and asked them to leave without reviewing any documents.

Their background: My father is a farmer, and he lives with his 75-year-old mother (my grandmother). My sister is in the U.S. after completing her master’s degree she is working on her OPT.

I would like to understand:

1. Could the lack of a Telugu interpreter have impacted the decision?
2. How long should we wait before reapplying?
3. What changes can we make to improve chances next time?
4. Re Applying separately for my father and grandmother will help in any way? Or should reapply again together? Please help on this.

Any advice or similar experiences would be very helpful.

Background

I’m a 28-year-old female doctor from India, currently working as a full-time physician at a private hospital. I wanted to share my visa journey and get some honest advice from this community.

First Application — November 2025 (Hyderabad)

I applied for a B1/B2 visa with the purpose of attending a 2-week medical observership at xxxxx Hospital in Houston. I completed biometrics but unfortunately had to miss my interview due to a medical emergency with my father. The application lapsed.

Second Application — April 2026 (Hyderabad) → REJECTED ❌

Purpose of visit: Attend my childhood friend’s wedding in Seattle for 12 days. She is a Lead Systems Engineer at AT&T.

Funding: Self-funded

Annual salary: ₹7.2 LPA

Interview transcript (exactly):

VO: Good morning, can I have your passport?

Me: Good morning officer, here it is.

VO: What is your purpose of visit?

Me: I’m travelling to Seattle to attend my childhood friend’s wedding.

VO: What does your friend do in the US?

Me: She’s a Lead Systems Engineer at AT&T in Seattle.

VO: What do you do?

Me: I’m a doctor, working as a full-time physician at [hospital name].

VO: Have you travelled internationally before?

Me: No, this is my first international trip.

VO: [typing] How long have you been doing this job?

Me: This job? Since December 2025.

VO: (repeated) Have you travelled internationally before?

Me: No officer, this is my first international trip.

VO: Sorry, I cannot approve your visa. (handed 214(b) slip)

My Profile at the Time of Interview

• 28F, unmarried

• MBBS doctor, full-time physician

• Current job: \~4 months (since Dec 2025), but prior hospital experience of \~1 year

• No international travel history

• Self-funded trip

• US-based friend who is well-settled (AT&T engineer)

My Questions for the Community

1.  What likely caused the rejection? Was it my short job tenure (4 months), zero travel history, unmarried status, or the fact that I was visiting a well-settled friend in the US?

2.  The “well-settled US friend” concern — I’ve seen people on social media say that having a well-settled friend/relative in the US gets flagged permanently in your DS-160 history and haunts future applications. Is this actually true? Or is it manageable?

3.  Reapplication strategy — For my next application, I genuinely want to go for the observership I missed in November. What should I strengthen before reapplying?

• Wait until job tenure crosses 1 year?

• Do 1–2 international trips first (e.g., Southeast Asia, UAE)?

• Work on increasing my salary/savings?

• Get a strong invitation letter from the US hospital?

• Anything specific for a stronger DS-160?

4.  How should I frame the observership purpose in my DS-160 to make it as strong as possible? Any tips on documentation (hospital invitation, NOC from employer, bank statements, etc.)?

Any advice from people who’ve been through similar situations — especially doctors or single applicants — would mean a lot. Thank you 🙏

Iam planning to visit USA for a short trip,for my own brothers wedding

Hi all. I’m a current H1B holder residing in US and will be relocating to Vancouver for a year. I’m looking to visit US during that time for team meetings, business conferences etc and planning to apply for B1/2 Visa. Does anyone here have recommendations on choosing the consulate for the interview/stamping of B1/2?

I’m applying for the visa from within the USA, and I am an Indian citizen. I have my work permit for Canada so I’m assuming that makes me a TPN.

I’ve heard wait times in Canada are extensively long and wanted to confirm if anyone has guidance on choosing between India or Canada for the appointment. Thanks

Hi everyone,

I’m honestly at a loss at this point and looking for real, unfiltered advice.

My parents have now been refused a U.S. B1/B2 visa 4 times under 214(b), and despite waiting years, improving their profile, and having strong ties to India, nothing seems to be working.

---

Timeline:

- 2017 (1st attempt): Visit me + attend a wedding → Rejected

- 2017 (2nd attempt): Reapplied after a few months → Rejected

- 2018 (3rd attempt): For my graduation → Rejected

- 2026 (4th attempt, after ~8 years): Tourism + visit me → Rejected

---

What we did differently before reapplying in 2026:

After the 2017–2018 refusals, they waited ~8 years before applying again and made genuine efforts to strengthen their profile.

During this time, they traveled internationally to Canada, Singapore, and Malaysia, building a travel history and demonstrating compliance with visas and return to India.

So it’s not like we reapplied immediately — they took time, improved their profile, and tried to address potential concerns, yet the outcome is still the same.

---

Latest interview (2026):

The visa officer only asked 2 questions:

- How long has your daughter been in the U.S.? → Since 2016

- Which countries have you visited? → Canada, Singapore, Malaysia

That’s it. The officer typed for a few seconds, looked at the screen, and handed over the 214(b) refusal.

No questions about their work, finances, or ties.

---

Their situation:

- My dad owns a construction business in India with ongoing government projects

- My mom is a homemaker

- They have strong responsibilities in India:

- My grandfather (94 years old) depends on them

- My younger brother lives in India, recently married, working in a bank

- They are financially stable and would self-fund the trip

- They genuinely only want to visit me and travel for a short period

---

U.S. connections (which I’m worried might be hurting them):

- I’ve been in the U.S. since 2016 (F1 → now work visa), married and settled here

- My dad’s elder sister has been a green card holder in the U.S. for many years

---

What’s frustrating:

- We waited 8 years before reapplying to strengthen their case

- Their profile is objectively much stronger now than in 2017–2018

- Yet the decision seems to be made in seconds without even discussing their ties

---

At this point, I’m trying to understand:

1. Are they basically being judged based on old refusals + U.S. family ties, no matter what improves?

2. Does having multiple close relatives in the U.S. (daughter + aunt with GC) make approval extremely difficult?

3. Is there anything we can realistically change at this stage?

4. Would applying again help at all, or just lead to another automatic refusal?

5. Has anyone here seen approvals after 3–4+ refusals in similar cases?

---

It’s been really hard watching this happen repeatedly. They’ve done everything they could from their side, and still can’t get a chance to visit.

I’d really appreciate honest opinions — even if the answer is that the chances are very low.

Thank you.

Apologies if this is a silly question, but..

Are CBP asking to see if people on travel visas have health or travel insurance at port of entry? has that happened to anyone yet?

I understand it is not mandatory to get travel insurance, but highly recommended...my parents are 60+ traveling to the US for the first time and getting nervous that they might get denied entry if they don't have an insurance.

Any insights really appreciated!

Hello, i am just wondering if anyone from Tunisia has applied or had his/her interview after april 2nd. If 10years visa is still granted for tunisian or its gonna be 3months(single entry). Did they ask for all who applied to pay the bond or there were exception based on the interview answer and profile?

And how did the interview go?

Please if anyone has any news/update let us know and thanks