One of my clients wanted to share her story of her recent B1/B2 visa interview, which had a very surprising turn of events.

The interview went like this:
Visa Officer: Good morning.
Me: Good morning.
Visa Officer: Why do you want to go to the US?
Me: To visit my close friend and for sightseeing.
Visa Officer: What do you do?
Me: I'm an IT support staff with ABCd institution.
Visa Officer: Where do you want to go in the US?
Me: First, I'll go to Los Angeles to see my friend, and then we plan to visit other cities.
Visa Officer: Have you travelled outside India before?
Me: Yes, I've visited Nepal, Pakistan, and Dubai.
After checking my passport, he told me, "I am sorry, you do not qualify at this time," and gave me a blue paper.
As I was leaving, he suddenly stopped me, took my passport back, and said, "Oh wait a minute, something came up on my computer." He started typing intensely on his computer and had some trouble with his system, apologizing for the delay. After a few tense moments, he finally said, "Ok, here you go. Your visa has been approved," and handed me the white approval slip.
I was so relieved—I took the white paper and left the blue one behind. It was an unbelievable end to a stressful experience that gave me one or two grey hairs.

Case Study 2:
My visa interview felt more like a fast-paced conversation than an interrogation, and it actually had a few fun moments. Here’s how it went down.
The officer opened with the standard question: “What are you going to do in the US?”
“I’m going on vacation… in New York,” I replied.
He immediately asked, “Why New York?”
I told him, “It has all the attractions I want to see.”
When he pressed for examples, I listed them off: “Staten Island, the Ground Zero memorial, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street, and so on.”
He seemed to like that, simply responding, “Cool.” Then he asked about my planned stay. “12 days,” I said.
Looking at my passport, he noted, “That seems like your usual duration,” referring to the stamps from my previous trips.
“Yes,” I agreed, “I really prefer short, focused trips.”
He then asked about my travel history: “Where and when was your last trip?”
“Italy, during the Easter holidays,” I answered.
“What other countries have you visited?” he followed up.
“I’ve been to France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK,” I said.
Then came a slightly tricky point. He pointed to a stamp in my passport and asked, “Why do you have the Spanish 'denied visa' stamp?”
I explained it honestly: “It was for an official trip, but my office in Spain failed to notify the embassy here properly.”
He moved on to my work, asking where I was employed and for how long. I told him I’d been at ABCd company for over seven years. He then threw me a slightly unexpected question: “Who is your biggest client?”
I joked, “Me!” which made him smile. But I quickly gave him the real name of one of our major clients, DDDD Company.
“For real?” he asked, sounding impressed. “How long have you had the client?”
“A little over two years,” I confirmed.
The conversation then took a personal turn. “Are you married?” he asked.
“No, but I am engaged,” I said, flashing my ring.
“Oh, congratulations! When is the wedding?” he replied.
“April next year,” I told him.
“What does your fiancé do?” he asked.
“He’s an engineer,” I said, “he works at a top social networking company.”
Finally, he wrapped up with a standard question: “Will you be seeking medical treatment in the US?”
“No,” I answered.
And that was it. He smiled, handed me the white approval paper, and circled the pickup address. “Your visa has been approved. Pick up your passport at this address in 3 days. Enjoy your vacation.”
“Thank you,” I said, and walked out, absolutely thrilled.