India B1/B2 approved New Delhi
I had filled DS - 160 last year in september. Got appointment for this year August. VAC was on 12th August and interview this morning. Both the processes were smooth. I updated my DS 160 in last week of June as my details had changed and I needed to update it.
VAC experience
Passport checked at security. Then moved inside. Told the guy at the reception that I had updated DS 160 and that needed to be updated in the system as well. Handed over confirmation page of both new and old DS 160. He stuck the barcode of the new one and asked me to move for biometric. Went to counter was asked date and place of birth. Photograph and finger print taken. New DS 160 confirmation page stamped and I was done. The whole process lasted less than 10minutes.
Interview experience
Reached embassy at 8 for 8:20 appointment. Frisked at the gate and then got in line. Passport checked and moved inside and frisked again airport style. Got in after that , Passport checked again and then was asked to sit and wait. I sat for about an hour. Once you are in queue your appointment time doesn't matter. They send row wise. After about an hour was asked to move in to the consulate building. Passport was checked again. Then left hand finger prints were verified. And then was asked to move in to the interview line. The line was moving pretty quick . From joining the line to my then I think it took about 30mins. From what I could hear while standing in line the officers were giving a mixed response of approvals and denials. The questions asked were pretty straightforward. There wasn't any officer who was giving all approvals or all denials. My interview lasted about a minute. Listing down the questions below.
First two questions were the generic threat and harm questions.
Q) Why are you travelling to the US?
A) A personal holiday of 10 days to New York and Orlando
Q) Who is travelling with you?
A) My husband
Q) Does he have a US visa?
A) Yes he has a valid Visa
Q) Can I see his Visa?
Handed over his Visa and Passport photocopy
Q) What do you do here?
A) I am a Customer PM at XYZ company and have been with them for 4yrs.
Q) What is your annual salary?
A) XYZ lakhs approx
Q) Have you travelled internationally before?
A) Yes. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and France all for tourism and returned after my holiday.
Officer - Ofcourse. Thats why you are standing here
Me - Yes :P
Officer- You're Visa is approved. You'll receive it in a week.
I had carried all my documents. And my husbands as well. The only thing the Officer asked for was husbands Visa and once I handed over I think he checked his travel history.
The key to the interview is to stay confident and honest. When I was waiting I was a bit nervous for the first 5 minutes but then I realised I had nothing to lose even if they denied me the Visa and that I wasn't hiding anything whatsoever. While in the queue inside after hearing the questions which were very basic and standard I relaxed further and was very calm by the time I walked up to the window.