Director with 720 million salary and World Cup tickets still gets 'denied' by the U.S.

Even with tickets for the 2026 World Cup and a steady income, an Indian entrepreneur attracted notice after being refused a U.S. visa within minutes of the interview, igniting a fierce wave of discussion online.

A wave of debate emerged on social media after an Indian businessman shared his story of being denied a U.S. visa despite having purchased tickets for the FIFA World Cup 2026. The post quickly went viral, attracting diverse opinions about the visa approval process and the increasingly stringent requirements for international travelers.

According to Hindustan Times, the 26-year-old man stated he is an executive director with an annual salary of ₹25 lakh (approximately 720 million VND) and applied for a B1/B2 visa with his wife. He recounted his experience: “I (26 years old) and my wife (25 years old) are from India. I am the executive director of my own company. We planned to travel to watch the FIFA World Cup and already have two tickets, so we applied for a B1/B2 visa under the FIFA PASS category. I will describe how the conversation went.”

During the interview, the consular officer asked about the purpose of the trip and received this reply: “Our purpose is to watch the FIFA World Cup as we have been issued a FIFA Pass by the U.S. authorities, and we might also visit New York.” The FIFA Pass is considered a program that assists World Cup ticket holders in scheduling visa interviews more quickly.

Subsequently, the exchange shifted to personal information and travel history. The man stated his income is ₹25 lakh per year and that he had only traveled abroad once, to Oman. According to his account, the interview ended very quickly when the officer issued a refusal under Section 214(b), simultaneously notifying him that he did not meet the requirements for U.S. entry.

He recounted the surprising experience: “The officer didn't even ask my wife anything.” This detail led many netizens to debate whether the brief interview time adequately reflected the application, while also questioning the impact of international travel history on the visa decision.

Reactions on social media were quite varied. One person commented: “The couple is young, with almost no international travel history. Ten years ago you might have gotten the visa, but recently many people with similar profiles have abused the U.S. immigration system. Therefore, cases like yours are very likely to be rejected. Visit a few more countries first (Australia, Europe, Japan/South Korea) and try again later. Don't rush to reapply before 2028.”

Some other opinions questioned the purpose of the trip, while the original poster explained: “France vs Norway (Boston). We are newlyweds and thought this was a great opportunity to visit the U.S.” In response to advice to sell the tickets, he shared: “I'm thinking of trying again because there's nothing to lose.”

Nevertheless, there were also words of positive encouragement from the online community: “You did well, this is just a temporary refusal under Section 214(b) – don't be discouraged. 50% of it is luck. One point to fix: don't say ‘might visit New York,’ state a specific itinerary. Your strongest card is the FIFA Pass issued by the U.S. side, be confident about that. Reapply, your profile is quite good.” The story continues to attract attention as the man considers submitting a second application ahead of the planet's biggest football event.