E-Paper
Hyderabad homemaker says she was denied US visa despite husband working there; Reddit users think they know why
The woman claimed on Reddit that she was a homemaker and took care of her daughter and family business in Hyderabad.
Amid the crackdown on immigration by the Donald Trump government, comes another account where an Indian woman claimed she was refused a US visa despite her husband working there.
The woman shared on Reddit that she was 28 years old, and was a homemaker who took care of their daughter and family business in Hyderabad. When she went for her visa interview, she was apparently asked a series of questions, but ultimately her request was turned down. Her post received reactions from different people who opined where she may have gone wrong with the interview, which resulted in the rejection.
Here's what went down.
How the US visa interview went
The woman in the Reddit post claimed that her F2 visa was previously refused. “Previously refused under 214B on F2 visa Dec 2024,” she said.
She then shared her schedule, saying that the plan was to stay for five weeks, and the trip would be sponsored by her husband, who was working there on an OPT. Her interview to get the visa apparently only lasted for two minutes, the woman shared.
“I am going to visit USA to meet my Husband and spend some quality time together and explore downtown Chicago and see few places like Millennium park Sky deck and Lake Michigan," she had told the official, she claimed. The Reddit user added that the trip was only for five weeks due to her daughter's medical condition.
Also Read | Trump announces major H1B visa, Green Card changes, impacting Indians the most; 'It's time for…'
At this time, she was asked if her daughter would be accompanying her. When she replied in the affirmative, the woman was apparently asked if she was going to get her daughter treated there. She claimed to have replied that this wasn't the plan since the young girl was under treatment in Hyderabad.
She was also asked what her husband did for a living, and said he was a Customer Service Supervisor for proximate technologies in Elgin, IL and was on F1-OPT Visa. The officer then allegedly asked her for the husband's visa copy and told her to take a seat.
The woman recounted that the officer then checked something on his system and came over to give the bad news that her visa proposal had been rejected. Sharing the ordeal the woman wanted the Reddit users to share their thoughts on what went wrong.
Reddit users share what went wrong
Reacting to the post, several Reddit users pitched in with their thoughts on what might have gone wrong. One person, self-identifying as a former Consular Officer, said the prior F2 refusal might have made the Visa officer feel like the woman and her daughter were not likely to return.
“To be honest, your speech about seeing the sights of Chicago sounded fake because you don't need 5 weeks to do that,” the individual added. They also said that five weeks of vacation during school year is suspect, but expressed surprise that the F2 was not granted since this is ‘generally automatic’ if the F1 is in status, the person claimed.
The woman replied to this saying they planned to visit different spots on the weekends, since her husband was working there now. Another person pointed to a slew of reasons for a possible rejection including the woman being unemployed, the daughter being sick, and the husband working there, all of which apparently raises the possibility of one abusing the visa and overstaying.
“They simply think you and your daughter are too much of a risk of not returning,” said another.
Notably, these claims were made on Reddit are not verified by Hindustan Times.
