'US visa denied in a minute': Indian techie with 11-year experience, Rs 1 crore salary, shares 'shock' on Reddit

A senior Indian tech professional’s plan to travel to the United States for a major industry conference came to an abrupt halt after his B1/B2 visa request was rejected at the US Embassy in New Delhi. The applicant shared his experience on Reddit, noting that the denial came in less than a minute and after only a few questions.

US visa interview and quick rejection

The tech lead wrote, “I had my B1/B2 visa interview at the US Embassy today in Delhi, and I was rejected in less than a minute after just three questions. I’m trying to understand what went wrong and how I can improve for next time.”

He said the officer asked him about the purpose of his trip, his previous foreign travel, and whether he knew anyone in the US. He planned to attend the Kubecon + CloudNative Con 2025 conference in Atlanta, Georgia. “I am a senior tech lead at a company and my day-to-day work is on Cloud Native technologies. It is important that I attend this conference to stay up to date on the latest events or movements in this field,” he wrote.


The applicant stated that he shared details of previous travel to Lithuania, the Maldives, and Indonesia. He replied “No,” when asked if he had family or friends in the US. He was given a 214(b) refusal slip, a common denial category linked to failure to prove strong ties to the home country.

According to his post, he believed his profile demonstrated strong home ties. “I’m employed in India with a stable job for the last 11 years. I make close to a crore annually and have an eight-month-old daughter, so I had very strong motivations to come back to India,” he wrote.

Techie already booked tickets and accommodation

The tech professional said he had already booked his travel and accommodation for the Atlanta event. “The conference wasn’t available for live streaming, so I had planned everything to attend it in person,” he stated. He asked community members for advice on how to improve his chances before reapplying.

The US Department of State notes that a visa is a privilege and not a right, and approval depends on the officer’s assessment. A visa may be denied under Section 214(b) if the officer believes the applicant has not shown adequate ties to their home country or finds discrepancies in information.