The Travel Thread

[KunjanPSD]

52 minutes ago, Ne0 said:

Why do you want to go to US so desperately? I could understand this fascination with on-site/US some 10-15 years before.   But now India itself offers so many opportunities.  At least in the tech field the salary you get in the Bigtech/MNC companies are really good relative to the cost of living in India.  I feel these days in US, the salary relative to the cost of living in cities like SF/Seattle/NY is just not worth all the hassle !

He was going on a temporary work trip, not permanently. It's always exciting to go to a new country especially when it is not going out of your pocket.

And if it's for a major project then it can have lasting effects on the career.

 

Also, it's not always about cost of living, a person can go abroad just to have personal growth and explore. There is nothing wrong in it.

Plus, plenty of opportunities everywhere, just depends person to person.

[dante77]

3 hours ago, KunjanPSD said:

Wrong.

I have seen plenty of cases to know that answers matter.

Luck is a factor but not 100%.

Of course answers matter. That's pretty obvious. I was exaggerating but I what I mean is, it is mostly luck. 

 

My brother tried 3 times, it got approved eventually. My last company's manager and my RM tried at the same time for the same company for the same purpose and same client. One was approved and the other was not. They even rehearsed same answers and even pretty confident in getting it, but one got rejected on the ground of "Not convincing enough to go" or something like that. 

 

I have seen plenty of cases where there is no reason to reject yet they got rejected. My brother, although rejected 2 times but got success the third time despite the surname being "Khan"

 

[Ne0]

6 hours ago, KunjanPSD said:

He was going on a temporary work trip, not permanently. It's always exciting to go to a new country especially when it is not going out of your pocket.

And if it's for a major project then it can have lasting effects on the career.

 

Also, it's not always about cost of living, a person can go abroad just to have personal growth and explore. There is nothing wrong in it.

Plus, plenty of opportunities everywhere, just depends person to person.

I didn’t say there’s anything wrong with going abroad, it’s individual choice and of course it’s good to explore different cultures.  But he seemed pretty dejected, hence I was saying India has good opportunities these days too and not getting a US Visa isn’t the end of the world !!

Edited March 10, 2024 by Ne0

[playstationdude]

7 hours ago, KunjanPSD said:

He was going on a temporary work trip, not permanently. It's always exciting to go to a new country especially when it is not going out of your pocket.

And if it's for a major project then it can have lasting effects on the career.

 

Also, it's not always about cost of living, a person can go abroad just to have personal growth and explore. There is nothing wrong in it.

Plus, plenty of opportunities everywhere, just depends person to person.

He said i am screwed, which seems he is extremely dejected. From a career pov i agree its good to have the travel opportunity but its not really the end of the world considering there are so many opportunities within India/countries other than the US.

[KunjanPSD]

29 minutes ago, playstationdude said:

He said i am screwed, which seems he is extremely dejected. From a career pov i agree its good to have the travel opportunity but its not really the end of the world considering there are so many opportunities within India/countries other than the US.

Arre yaar, everyone is a keyboard warrior here but can't comprehend that he didn't say it in a literal tone.

 

He has all the right to feel dejected, he got his first job recently and an opportunity to go to the US which seems difficult now.

It's okay to feel sad, he will bounce back and get an opportunity but this is not about US/India opportunity.

[achilles]

11 hours ago, KunjanPSD said:

Wrong.

I have seen plenty of cases to know that answers matter.

Luck is a factor but not 100%.

What are the right answers?

[dylanjosh]

I have seen cases where people going to study abroad have been rejected. He had already got admission.

 

It can be really frustrating that someone can go through all that effort and then some dude in that visa office can f**k your plans entirely and not really be answerable as to the exact reason 

[CarbonCore]

18 minutes ago, achilles said:

What are the right answers?

 

Sir I have a girlfriend and two wives, and I own two houses with EMIs running. Also I love my country more than all my 8 children.

[KunjanPSD]

11 minutes ago, dylanjosh said:

I have seen cases where people going to study abroad have been rejected. He had already got admission.

 

It can be really frustrating that someone can go through all that effort and then some dude in that visa office can f**k your plans entirely and not really be answerable as to the exact reason 

A friend of mine had the same experience.

And here is what happened:

 

VO: Why did you choose this University? 

Friend: Seemed Nice, good city.

VO: What about the coursework?

Friend: Haven't gone through much but must be good, have read reviews.

 

These were his exact answers.

 

Visa officers are trained psychologists (it's a whole different point whether they are competent or not) but if you give such answers, you are bound to be rejected.

[KunjanPSD]

1 hour ago, achilles said:

What are the right answers?

Right answers = Making sure you don't wait for the VO to ask explicit questions.

 

If VO only asks "Why are you going?", you have to make sure that your answer automatically includes why, where and by when you have to be back for sure.

Edited March 10, 2024 by KunjanPSD

[TheMonark]

17 hours ago, North said:

US Visa rejected. Woman asked me a couple of questions, then said its not approved. Don't think anything was particularly wrong with my answers. the other interviewers def looked a little more friendly, even before hand I was hoping for one of the other windows. Regardless, stuck with this now.

 

They don't really offer explanations, just handed me a letter saying I don't seem to possess signficant ties to my home country, and I need to intent to return. 

 

Cannot go on office trip. May have a chance again next month to go, but wondering if its too soon to re-apply. They can see data and may just reject again seeing its only been 1 month or so since last interview. 

 

I will have a strong possibility of travelling in November or something. Office may bear cost of visa fee again, will have to pay the agent for a date myself though (about 20K). I can try hunting for a date myself but idk if I'll have the same luck, things normally don't fall my way.

 

 

Note - Was denied under 214B. Common articles on the internet/quora advise to not apply in rapid sucession, sit on my a*s for a couple years. Develop relationship and buy a house and stuff. I'm totally screwed man. 

 

Just out of curiosity, was that lady between 25-35 years old, with coiled hair texture? probably on the window at the right end (not sure if they use the same seat everyday).

 

Usually young applicants (<35 yrs), unmarried and in a new job or any of the previous combinations go through a lot more scrutiny. I assume you hit the trifecta. This could have been the reason.

 

Fastest way to get a US visa is to get married and have kids. LOL

 

Edited March 10, 2024 by TheMonark

[KunjanPSD]

16 minutes ago, TheMonark said:

 

Just out of curiosity, was that lady between 25-35 years old, with coiled hair texture? probably on the window at the right end (not sure if they use the same seat everyday).

 

Usually young applicants (<35 yrs), unmarried and in a new job or any of the previous combinations go through a lot more scrutiny. I assume you hit the trifecta. This could have been the reason.

 

Fastest way to get a US visa is to get married and have kids. LOL

 

It's true that such people will go through more scrutiny but it's just a myth if you think buying a house and getting married makes it easier.

 

As I said before, I got US visa for my 1st international trip while being a college student, so did many of friends.

A few got it like a month ago as well.

 

Also, they don't use the same seats and VOs change almost every other week. They can be assigned to any nation.

[North]

15 hours ago, KunjanPSD said:

Absolutely not.

My visa was rejected once because of XYZ reason, I wrote to consulate and applied the next day. Got the visa on the 2nd appointment in the same week.

Mind you, this was when I was in college with no job and B2 application. Was my first international trip. Hence, I had even weaker ties than you did.

It is true that the officer can make a difference but it is also true that one will always blame and regret about the officer they got.

I am really curious about the exact answers you gave and the exact timeline.

Also does your employer have a history of employees not returning back on time? Unlikely but just curious.

this gives me hope, you didn't mention it had been rejected once before and then got it. 

i'm not sure if I should try, I do have a shot for a different project at the end of april.

 

I think I give fairly decent interviews, talking is my strong point. She didn't ask for any documents or anything, so I'm thinking I should fold my supporting letter from work into the passport when I hand it over, so she sees that this is work only.

13 hours ago, Ne0 said:

Why do you want to go to US so desperately? I could understand this fascination with on-site/US some 10-15 years before.   But now India itself offers so many opportunities.  At least in the tech field the salary you get in the Bigtech/MNC companies are really good relative to the cost of living in India.  I feel these days in US, the salary relative to the cost of living in cities like SF/Seattle/NY is just not worth all the hassle !

I am not trying to immigrate or settle there. I just would like to travel on company money, have some experiences. Been working 6-8 hours a day solely on this project, then I do the rest. Been working like a madman. Required to work entirely in US hours, 10AM - 5PM Eastern from Tuesday - Friday, which is why my company was sending me. Now i have to stay up the whole night and work too, because it did get rejected - but my team mates will still go. 

4 hours ago, playstationdude said:

He said i am screwed, which seems he is extremely dejected. From a career pov i agree its good to have the travel opportunity but its not really the end of the world considering there are so many opportunities within India/countries other than the US.

Yeah not end of the world, but I this kind of thing tracks. US visa is avenue to lots of other things also. I'm 10% sad that I can't go on this trip, and 90% worried about future implications of this. 

1 hour ago, TheMonark said:

Just out of curiosity, was that lady between 25-35 years old, with coiled hair texture? probably on the window at the right end (not sure if they use the same seat everyday).

Usually young applicants (<35 yrs), unmarried and in a new job or any of the previous combinations go through a lot more scrutiny. I assume you hit the trifecta. This could have been the reason.

Fastest way to get a US visa is to get married and have kids. LOL

She was african-american, and yeah between 25-30 years old. Middle window, but they probably switch around. 

Yes I'm 22, unmarried, 4-5 months into this job. Not ideal, but I genuinely don't have any interest in living in the States. 

 

She did ask me those auestions at the end btw @KunjanPSD

 

Her last  questions were

1. Since when have you been working here? - I have been working at Sprinklr since September 2023.

2. What were you doing before this? - I was a student, was enrolled in an engineering program for my B. Tech degree. 

3. Why are you going now? - I have been involved in this project from the very beginning, I understand the complexitities end-to-end, and the project is at a very critical juncture, for which my office is sending me to discuss these things during the client meetings (previously mentioned in purpose of visit)

4.  Have you travelled for work before? - No, but have travelled to Vietnam, Singapore, HK, Macau recently as a tourist. 

 

My employer doesn't have a bad history, my friend from work got it approved earlier in the week. similar circumstances, but she's a girl and she's a year and half into this job. 

timeline was tight yes. interview was on friday, had written intended travel date as tuesday. 

 

But yes, feeling quite terrible. Its rare for a kid to get multiple chances. Had the visa gone through, could've been flying on a monthly basis. My dad offered to get a family property registered to my name if that helps, but they don't really bother with documents - and this might be taking it too far. 

 

I had rehearsed my answers for all the popular questions. Maybe its just dumb luck. my mother says I'm too fine a specimen and exactly the kind of people who stay and yoink jobs from the americans, so I should dumb it down.

[KunjanPSD]

1 hour ago, North said:

thinking I should fold my supporting letter from work into the passport when I hand it over, so she sees that this is work only.

VO will most likely ask you to only pass the passport and return any documents.

Chalk it upto a bad day.

 

No issues in applying again, you can always send an email to consulate about how a genuine case was rejected. Doesn’t help a lot but I have been told that these emails do go through human eyes.

 

Also, rehearsed answers don’t always work well, they can easily see through it and they assume that someone has coached you instead.

[Pacifier]

Hey guys, I have someone coming via Dubai. What's somethings we can consider to get due to cost difference?

 

Apart from mobiles.

 

Any unique item gaming related or tech in general 

[KunjanPSD]

Got Japan 5yr visa.

Let's gooo.

 

@Bird Bird Bird @achilles Period of stay(s) is 90 days.

Is that cumulative of all visits over 5 years of per visit?

Edited March 14, 2024 by KunjanPSD

[Turd Turd Turd]

46 minutes ago, KunjanPSD said:

Got Japan 5yr visa.

Let's gooo.

 

@Bird Bird Bird @achilles Period of stay(s) is 90 days.

Is that cumulative of all visits over 5 years of per visit?

 

Tricky question to answer since different people have different understanding. I checked with my company's agent (BCD Travel) last year, and they said it is cumulative of 90 days in 5 years (not consecutive). Above 90 days needs long term visa. 

Edited March 14, 2024 by Bird Bird Bird

[KunjanPSD]

9 minutes ago, Bird Bird Bird said:

 

Tricky question to answer since different people have different understanding. I checked with my company's agent (BCD Travel) last year, and they said it is cumulative of 90 days in 5 years (not consecutive). Above 90 days needs long term visa. 

Will ask the immigration officer then.

[KunjanPSD]

https://www.mea.gov.in/Images/CPV/vfa/Japan_VFA.pdf

 

Not sure if this is valid but it says 90Ds for each visit.

 

 

[fatpigeon]

2 hours ago, KunjanPSD said:

Got Japan 5yr visa.

Let's gooo.

 

@Bird Bird Bird @achilles Period of stay(s) is 90 days.

Is that cumulative of all visits over 5 years of per visit?

any cliff notes on the process?