What to do if refused a visa
If your application for a nonimmigrant visa has been refused, you will be informed why. The most common refusals are under Section 221(g) and Section 214(b) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. Other refusal sections are specific, and such refusals will be accompanied by a detailed note. If you have been refused a visa, do not attempt to travel on the Visa Waiver Program as it is likely you will be refused admission at the port of entry.
Under Section 221(g), we are asking for additional information before making a final decision. Often the application is incomplete, or there are additional requirements such as fees, which are specific to your case, or we need a fuller explanation of your purpose or more explanation of your answers to certain questions. Frequently, part of question 34 was unanswered or unexplained or the application was unsigned. Often, we want to know more about your employment and legal residence in Australia or elsewhere and we could like to see additional evidence about your work and social commitments. Sometimes, certain petitions supporting the visa are missing or incomplete.
When refused under section 221(g), you should provide us the information and/or documents requested, together with the refusal letter and your passport. If you submit the information and/or documents within a year of the application, you will not have to pay another application fee. Once we receive the new information, we will review your application and make a final decision.
Refusals under Section 214(b), mean we understand your situation but have decided against issuing you a visa because you have not overcome a legal presumption that you are using the visitor visa to immigrate or work illegally in the United States.
Applicants can overcome this legal presumption by proving to the consular officer’s satisfaction that they will use the visa appropriately and that they have a residence abroad to which they will return after a temporary visit to the United States. In our evaluation of the applicant’s claim of residence abroad, we will consider the person’s career, financial, property, social, family and other commitments overseas. As a consequence, an applicant who does not have a permanent career or other relationship to Australia or elsewhere is more likely to be refused than a person who has obvious ties and obligations. The applicant who has only an uncertain future, indefinite plans in the U.S. and unclear finances is likely to be refused under section 214(b). Applicants who are not legal permanent or long-term residents in Australia also are more likely to be refused because they are either unsettled, between careers and residences, or because we cannot evaluate their claims to ties outside our consular district.
Each applicant is evaluated individually to obtain a total picture or their situation when they apply. Comparison with other successful applicants is of little value in making appeals, which is done by submitting a new application and explaining why your circumstances merit re-consideration. Your new application should include additional information or documents that emphasize or clarify aspects of your work, social and family ties and plans that, when taken together, support a conclusion that you will leave the U.S. after a temporary visit and that you will not misuse the visa during your stay in the United States.
If you are refused after having submitted additional information, you should reconsider your travel plans. It may be that you should build up your ties in Australia or elsewhere outside the U.S. to establish concretely that you indeed are settled, so that future applications for visas can be viewed more favorably. The fact that you were refused once under section 214(b) does not mean you will be refused again in future. A refusal under section 214(b) means that, at this time, under your present employment, social or other circumstances, the consular officer was not satisfied that you had met U.S. visa requirements.
If you reapply after being refused under Section 214(b) INA, you must complete a new application and pay another application fee.
Last update Tuesday, 13 May 2008
