USA Visa Refusal / 214(b) / USA Visa Appeal / USA Visa Lawyer :
214b is the most common section under which non-immigrant visas of USA are refused. USA visitor visas are filed under B1/B2 categories and can be used for Business (i.e. Meetings, Conferences, Exhibitions, Surveys etc.), Pleasure (i.e. Tourism and Friends & Family) and Medical Treatment. The visitor visa application is decided in a Visa Interview which is conducted on personal appearance of the application after submission of their DS-160 Form and Visa Fee. In this interview, If the visa officer does not find the applicant eligible for grant of B1/B2 visa, they inform the applicant then and there and handover them a refusal letter.
A refusal of USA visitor visa can be for any point of dissatisfaction of the visa officer but in the case of the applicant not proving his non-immigrant status, he is refused under section 214(b). This has to be seen in a broader context under the rules give in US Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The definition of 214(b) under 1184 of U.S.C reads as:
Every alien (other than a nonimmigrant described in subparagraph (L) or (V) of section 1101(a)(15) of this title, and other than a nonimmigrant described in any provision of section 1101(a)(15)(H)(i) of this title except subclause (b1) of such section) shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for a visa that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status.
This means that every applicant, coming to the United States on visit for any purpose is assumed to be doing so for the purpose of immigration and therefore the applicant must prove through his application, his documentation and through the answers of his questions (at the visa interview) that he is not an (intending) immigrant. This becomes a very complex situation to handle and there cannot be a single piece of advice OR a single list of documents or pieces of information that can prepare the applicant to appear qualifying under the above definition. Therefore, each case has to be seen over individually and every applicant has to see their individual circumstances that can present their application to be suitable for a non-immigrant visa having no aspect of it falling near to an immigration intention.
As seen in our experience, there are several factors which cause the applicant's intention to be appearing as an immigrant one letting them end up with a refusal of a B1/B2 visa under section 214(b). These are sometimes related to their personal, occupational, financial or family circumstances in the home country OR sometimes due to the purpose, intended length of stay, history with the US or current available support in the US. However, it is popularly believed that the factors related to home country have a impact on visa decisions therefore they must always be taken the greatest care of. Unfortunately, majority of the applicants fail in correct and qualifying presentation of these very factors and despite having a suitable application otherwise, they fail to get the visa.
We have collected below some points related to description of factors of home country and we have seen them working towards various applications.
FACTORS AFFECTING US VISA APPLICATIONS AND REASONS OF USA VISA REFUSAL :
1. Completeness
The completeness and comprehensiveness of the application is the first and foremost aspect of an application to take care of. This is for both the visa form (D-160) as well as the visa interview therefore the applicants must try to present the complete and suitably detailed information. The applicants should take the visa application as the only opportunity to let the visa officer know of their circumstances in order to satisfy him/her of their intention and only this can lead to a visa officer's decision in granting a visa
2. Correctness
The complete information has to be the most correct as well meaning that the applicant must answer all the questions of the visa form truthfully and to the best of their knowledge and belief and should not leave anything concealed. The applicants should also carry official documentation related to whatever they're disclosing in the visa form/visa interview as this adds a lot of confidence in the applicant.
3. Circumstances
The applicants must realize that the strength of their overall circumstances is more important than their current bank balance, their travel history, their connections in the US or their amount of income if relied upon individually. This means that instead of believing in any of these factors solely, the applicants must present the strength of their overall circumstances together and only then they can appear to be qualifying. The circumstances include establishment of their family, security of their occupation, soundness of their income and how they have lived their life in their home country since the beginning of their practical life till the date of the visa application. Hence, if someone is employed or self-employed in the field of their knowledge, academics, experience or family background with a sound regular income which is not only more than their current expenses but is also proven through official documents (i.e. Bank or Tax Documents), they will be considered as well established in their home country. A well-settled family in the home country adds more strength to the case therefore if someone is divorced or unmarried (despite having a suitable age for marriage), their occupational or income related information becomes a little weaker in consideration if there is no other exceptional situation in their circumstances. This doesn't mean that a single person, a divorcee or a widower cannot get a US visa rather it means that is the applicant has one of these situations, he/she should present the other circumstances (occupational or income related) much more strongly.
4. Purpose of Visit
One wrong assumption about this factor of application is that the greater (bigger, richer, popular, more official) the host is in the US, the more are the chances for visa grant. This is actually not the case and US B1/B2 visas are not granted solely on the greatness of the person or event that the applicant is going to in the US. There has to be a clear, reasonable and perfect relevance of the host person/host event in the US with the applicant (and his circumstances in the home country) otherwise it does not satisfy the visa officer to recognize the purpose of visit. Therefore, rather than relying on the strength of the invitation from the US, the applicant should work on the strength of the connection of their circumstances with the host or host event and this way they can have their purpose of visit recognized to the visa officer.
Family Visit
In this case, the common shortcoming seen on the part of the applicants is the weakness their current purpose of visit to see the family in the US. Therefore, visits to Uncles/Aunt/Cousins/Friends are not recognized as important unless they are for an important occasion on the side of the US host. Visits to parents or siblings in the US likewise are not recognized unless they have a needful current purpose (such as an important religious/family/calendar occasion of the year).
Tourist Visit
A lot of people, in fact majority of people, applying for a US visa for the first time, apply for tourism purpose. Although US is a great destination for tourism and more than 75 million people visited the US for tourism in 2017, yet it takes a great deal of beliefs that an applicant must create to the visa officer while proving themselves a qualifying tourism visitor to the US. This includes past tourism history in the home country and abroad, financial ability to afford to spend on tourism, tour planning and knowledge of proposed trip etc.
5. Ties with the home country
This is nothing extraordinary rather the joint strength of all of the above factors that establishes satisfactory ties of the applicant with the home country. The applicants, being in various circumstances, must work on suitably presenting the above factors in their visa application and only this way they can prove themselves as genuine visitors to the US with clear non-immigrant status
We understand that it may be difficult for varying applicants to decide what information and/or documents of theirs can be best to present their circumstances as advised above and therefore the qualified, experienced and dedicated lawyers of M.I.S-Legal well available for guidance and assistance in this regard. We welcome applicants to reach us on our UAN 0304 111 0786 with their question or cases to seek help with their visa applications.
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