Hey everyone, I can’t believe this happened! I went for my B1/B2 US visa interview at the Mumbai consulate today after being in the US for 9 years straight on various work visas. I was super nervous because my ties back home aren’t that strong anymore, and I thought they might deny me for tourism. But get this - the visa officer turned out to be someone I knew from back in college! We hadn’t seen each other in over a decade, but we recognized each other instantly. We chatted about old times, and boom, instant approval! No 221g or anything. Has anyone else had a crazy coincidence like this in their visa interview? Share your stories!
Hi, I’m Meliza, a Visa Expert at Outbound.
That’s a wild coincidence and definitely not something most applicants experience! It’s great that it worked out in your favor, but for anyone reading this thread, it’s important to remember that outcomes like this are the exception, not the norm.
From a visa-processing perspective, officers are trained to remain impartial even if they recognize an applicant, and they can actually recuse themselves if they feel there’s a conflict of interest. In your case, it sounds like your officer felt comfortable proceeding because your travel intent was straightforward and your history in the U.S. was clean.
Your long stay on work visas + a clear purpose of travel + no immigration violations probably played a much bigger role in the approval than the coincidence itself.
Still.. what a memorable interview!
These “small-world” moments at consulates really do happen from time to time, but they’re rare.
Curious to hear if anyone else has had something similar happen at a visa window!