Kamal Ghorui
Dhananjay Yadav, an Indian CEO, shared his experience of being at the receiving end of random visa refusals and said his US visa was rejected in Delhi, though he had an invite for an investor meeting from a close friend who is also an investor. Yadav said he had studied in the US and worked in Berlin and had no intention to stay back in the US. “I had an invite from a close friend and investor in NeoSapien, Hari Valiyath (Co-founder, Pyxis), to meet him and potential partners. Pyxis has raised over $200M, and is US-based. I have studied in the US before and worked in Berlin. So, had no intent to stay back.When asked about the purpose, I said “investor meetings and B2B partnerships.”“Then came a question on salary, and despite the trip being company-sponsored. As a founder, my salary is minimal. Shortly after, the visa was rejected,” Yadav said, adding that there was no reason for his visa refusal. Dhananjay is the CEO of startup NeoSapien, which is an India-based company of wearable technology innovation. Before co-founding NeoSapien, Yadav worked at Zalando in Berlin for seven months. Before that, he worked in Bengaluru.
Why Dhananjay’s US visa was canceled
As Yadav explained, he was asked about his salary, and his salary as the founder is minimal, he said. The US State Department has tightened visa scrutiny even for business travel purposes, as many travel to the US on B1/B2 visas but then overstay. Visa officers question applicants about their salary to check whether there is any possibility of the applicant leaving the job in India and trying to settle in the US illegally. Strong ties to the country are what the visa officials are checking amid increased check.“Visa officers don’t judge potential. They judge risk of overstay. It’s not personal, it’s procedural. Next time: structure documents + narrative around ties to India, revenue and return certainty,” one wrote in reply to Yadav’s post.
