visa.pdf 24 pages

A founder's case file

Rejected.
Then Approved.

One founder, two US visa interviews, and the six months in between.

Priyam Raj

Free

PDF · 24 pages

Opens right away. I keep a list of who reads it; no spam, never shared.

Priyam walking through Times Square at night Priyam ringside at John Cena's last match, December 2025 Priyam dancing on a Manhattan sidewalk, four hours after landing at JFK Priyam on Ocean Drive in front of the Colony Hotel neon at night Priyam at the White House fence, December 2025 Priyam on the phone at the Resolute desk in an Oval Office replica Priyam in front of the Golden Gate Bridge from the Marin Headlands
Times Square, last Christmas. A few trips in by now. Ringside for John Cena's last match. Washington DC, December 2025. My first time in the USA, four hours after landing at JFK. Not Times Square. The street where Tobey Maguire dances in Spider-Man 3, because I promised myself as a kid. Ocean Drive, Miami. The Colony Hotel neon that Vice City was drawn from. Another promise to a younger me, kept. The White House, December 2025. Outside. The Oval Office. A replica in New York, but the call was important. Golden Gate, from the Marin side. The reason on my first DS-160 was a meeting an hour south of here. This photo is from a later trip.

August 2024. Refused. I walked in underprepared: a reason I couldn't say in one clean sentence, and a stack of documents nobody opened. One question, and it was over. It was early morning, and I'm not a morning person. I'd flown in from Bangalore, so I couldn't even be sad in peace: there was a hotel to check out of and a flight home to catch. Somewhere over Andhra Pradesh, with a passport that had nothing new in it, the only thought was why?

February 2025. Approved. Same consulate, same window.

One interview means two visits to the consulate city: biometrics first, then the actual interview. Two attempts meant four trips to Hyderabad for me. This is what I changed in between.

What a former US visa officer told me

After the refusal I paid a former visa officer to go through my case, specifically: what the refusal meant for a founder like me, what to change, how to answer, and how to present my situation on the DS-160. His guidance, and why it worked, is in here. Want him on your case?

If any of this sounds like you

  • You run something of your own, with or without a company registered yet.
  • You freelance or contract, and there's no salary slip or HR letter to show.
  • Your work doesn't fit the form: creator, consultant, a side project that became the main thing.
  • You've already been handed a 214(b) and you're wondering what to change.
  • You're applying for the first time and would rather not learn this the hard way.

I'm not a consultant and this isn't a system. It's what I wish someone had written down before my first attempt. It's free because one refusal already costs enough: the fee alone is around ₹16,000, non-refundable, before flights and a hotel, and doing all of it twice.

This happens to a lot of us

A Series A founder with a hundred employees. A founder with an investor invite. All posted on X, none of it paid for.

Got denied a US visa today. Reason: "Not enough ties to home country." I built a Series A company from scratch, employ 100+ people, have backing from top VCs and investors, and serve millions of Indian families through our brand. Apparently, that's not enough ties.

My US visa got rejected this morning, and still trying to understand why. I had an invite from a close friend and investor to meet him and potential partners. When asked about the purpose, I said "investor meetings and B2B partnerships." Then came a question on salary. As a founder, my salary is minimal. Shortly after, the visa was rejected.

US visa got rejected. Won't be going to the international drone competition now. Sighh.

And countless more cases.

Inside

  1. 01The rejection, minute by minute
  2. 02My DS-160 before and after, with the ex-officer's guidance
  3. 03The interview that worked: every question, every answer
  4. 04What two attempts cost
  5. 05What you can't do on a B1/B2
  6. 06The founder checklist and what to carry

Free

PDF · 24 pages

Opens right away. I keep a list of who reads it; no spam, never shared.

Want the former officer on your case?

Nine years in the US Foreign Service as a visa interviewer and consular section manager. He's the one who worked through my case with me, step by step, and it's why the second interview went the way it did. He does private coaching sessions now.

Your email goes to me and to him, so he knows you came from here. Nothing else.

Full disclosure: if you book him through here, I get a referral fee. I paid him full price, before that was true, and I'd send you to him regardless.

What this isn't

Not legal advice, and not a guarantee. I'm not a lawyer or a consultant; this is one founder's account of two attempts. The decision is always the officer's.