Indian tech lead earning nearly ₹1 crore says US visa was denied in under a minute at Delhi embassy

An Indian senior IT professional says his B1/B2 visa was denied at the US Embassy in New Delhi in less than 60 seconds US despite earning close to ₹1 crore a year and being a new father to an eight-month-old daughter. 

The incident, which he shared on a Reddit visa community, has sparked discussion on whether strong income and family ties are enough to convince US consular officers.

In his post, the senior tech lead said the consular officer asked only three questions: the purpose of his travel, his previous foreign trips, and whether he had any relatives or contacts in America.

He explained that he wanted to visit the United States to attend KubeCon + CloudNativeCon 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia US a major industry event for cloud native technologies. “This conference directly relates to my day-to-day work,” he wrote, saying attendance would help him stay current within the field.

To demonstrate travel history, he mentioned trips to Lithuania, Indonesia and the Maldives. When asked if he had family or friends in the US, he replied no. Moments later, he said, he was handed a 214(b) refusal letter.

The applicant said he was stunned by the outcome. He pointed out that he has worked at the same company in India for more than a decade, earns nearly ₹1 crore annually, and is a new parent to an eight-month-old daughter US factors he believed clearly demonstrated strong ties to India.

He added that he had already booked hotels in Atlanta for the conference and laid out a detailed itinerary. As the event will not be livestreamed, he said attending in person was necessary.

After the rejection, he turned to the Reddit community to ask what may have triggered the refusal and what he should do before applying again.

According to the US Department of State, a visa is a discretionary benefit to the US , not a guaranteed entitlement. Consular officers can deny applications under Section 214(b) if they are not persuaded that the applicant meets the criteria or intends to return to their home country, even if the concerns are minor or based on subjective judgement.