A Redditor on Monday shared his experience of a visa interview at the US consulate in Chennai—the day on which social media vetting for H-1B and H-4 visas was scheduled to begin.
The user, who had applied to renew his H-1B visa, stated that he was one of the lucky few whose visa application was not deferred to the next year.
He reached the consulate at 8:30 AM for the interview that got over at around 9 AM.
"After security and identity verification (fingerprints), they separated the H1B/H4 folks into a specific line. While standing there, it hit me ... We are probably the select few (read: guinea pigs) who will pilot the new vetting process. Unfortunately, that theory held up," he said.
He goes on to describe the experience of the lady in front of him in the H1B/H4 line, before describing his own.
After asking her standard questions about her job, the Redditor explained that the lady was asked twice whether all her social media accounts were set to 'public'.
She was then handed a 221(g) visa slip, which took her by surprise. The visa officer then said that the consulate would need more time to process her visa application.
"I was mentally prepared for the slip at this point," the Redditor said.
His interview went in the same manner—he was first asked about his job, after which he was asked to declare his social media accounts and if they were 'public'.
"Have you been following the news?" the officer asked him. He responded positively, after which he was given a white 221(g) slip, and told to wait for "administrative processing".
221(g) slips come in white, blue, pink, and yellow—each colour carrying a meaning of its own. A white slip does not mean immediate refusal—just that more time is required to process the application.
The officer also took away his passport. He also said that his CEAC portal showed the status as 'REFUSED' for the time-being.
He also said that things were different for his wife, who had her US visa application on the same day.
"My wife’s status changed from REFUSED to APPROVED. Hyderabad Consulate. Another Reddit user also confirmed the same on DM for Hyderabad Consulate," he said in an update to his post, later that day.
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