Is your US visa approved? Those contemplating a visit to the US are likely to face this question more often. With the country tightening visa rules, nothing can be taken for granted.Even a routine US visa renewal can turn into a hassle that didn’t exist earlier. A small lapse or moment of carelessness can undo months of hard work. Here’s what happened when a single dropdown menu turned a straightforward travel plan into an unexpected hurdle for one applicant.As per a reddit post by darkened_matter, “My B1/B2 visa was to expire in January 2026 and I decided to renew early, well within the window that allows travellers to use the interview waiver programme. The process is meant to be simple- submit documents by mail, skip the embassy visit, and wait for your passport to return with a shiny new visa. With a solid travel history and no prior visa denials, there was little reason to expect trouble.“

“So when my application status came back as ‘REFUSED,’ it landed like a small shock.”In US visa terminology, ‘refused’ does not necessarily mean rejected. Often, it indicates that a consular officer has chosen not to make a decision yet and needs either additional documents or an in-person interview. Still, it was enough to trigger anxiety, especially after reading about other renewal applicants who had been denied despite clean records and years of compliant travel.The instructions arrived nearly two weeks later along with the returned passport. “I was required to appear at the US Embassy for an interview. There was no fixed appointment date, just a range of days for a walk-in appearance. It meant rearranging schedules and making a long trip across the city, all for a renewal that was supposed to happen through the mail.”“So mentally prepared myself that maybe I am going to be denied this time, given the kind of environment now with the US government being very strict with visa applications. It didn’t help that a lot of applicants before me during the queue were getting denied after so many questions being asked. I was already expecting for the worst.”

The interview itself began normally enough. Purpose of travel? Tourism. Any concrete plans? Not yet, just the intention to take a vacation in the future.Then the unexpected question. Based on the declared travel history, the consul asked, had the applicant ever been to North Korea?There was a pause, and then laughter. “I clarified that I have never been to North Korea and didn’t believe I was even allowed to. It was then clarified that I did travel to South Korea earlier that year, which had been declared in the application.”

That was the moment everything clicked.The consul checked the passport, confirmed the South Korea entry stamp, and typed for a few moments before explaining that this mix-up happens more often than people realise. The issue wasn’t the travel itself, but how it appeared in the system.South Korea and North Korea are listed separately in visa application dropdown menus as “Republic of Korea” and “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” Applicants don’t type the country name manually, they select it. And in that small but critical moment, many people click the wrong Korea.Once the mistake was cleared up, the interview ended almost as quickly as it began. “The visa was approved with the only formality being the cancellation of the still-active visa in the passport. When I asked whether this was the sole reason for being called in, the consul confirmed that it was.”“I left the embassy relieved, amused, and continued to laugh as I left the area.”When the experience was later shared online, it struck a chord. One commenter asked how long it took to receive instructions after seeing the dreaded “refused” status. The response: nearly two weeks, with the letter arriving alongside the returned passport.Others chimed in with their own experiences.One traveller recalled being summoned for an interview in 2020 after actually visiting North Korea the year before. He answered honestly, explained it was for tourism, and was ultimately granted a US visa. The takeaway was that visiting North Korea does not automatically make someone ineligible for a US visa, but it does almost guarantee closer scrutiny.Another commenter admitted to making the same dropdown mistake during their own renewal. In their case, the interview was issued under a 221(g) request. They were surprised at the time but later realised the interview was simply meant to confirm details and assess intent. Once the confusion between North and South Korea was resolved, the visa was approved without issue.Some readers questioned why anyone would select ‘Korea’ instead of ‘South Korea’ in the first place, until others pointed out that the form doesn’t make it that simple. With two nearly identical official names listed side by side, mistakes are almost inevitable.The post shared a cautionary tale that the system, while rigid, still allows room for clarification. Sometimes, an in-person interview isn’t a rejection at all, just a human checkpoint to confirm that a traveller’s holiday in Seoul was, in fact, not a covert trip to Pyongyang.And if nothing else, the episode left behind a piece of hard-earned advice: when filling out your travel history, double-check your Koreas.Disclaimer: The above article is based on a Reddit post and Times of India has not verified the veracity of the claim