Why were we rejected under 214b? USA

8/13/2016 8:56:22 AM

It is hard to make something out of what you said, but at least I can answer the question:

Could it have been that I’ve never been anywhere else other than
India?

Yes, it definitely could. The US Consulates are suspicious of people who claim to go to USA for sightseeing, while they haven’t done any even in their neighbor countries. You said you were going to Orlando – probably for Disneyland – but there are Disneylands much closer to you; did you explain why are you going to Orlando, when there is DisneyLand in Hong Kong (if you’re in India) or in Paris (if you’re in UK) are much closer?

Edit: Do not assume the Consular Officer would think himself/herself of possible reasons why you could prefer Orlando to Paris. They might ask you, but please do not expect that to deliver your story. When applying for a visa, you need to be proactive and address anything which might be interpreted as red flag proactively. The easiest way to do this is to print some kind of informal statement, and just give it to the Consular Officer. This statement should address anything you think is a red flag in your case, such as:

  • Why aren’t you a British citizen yet;
  • Why haven’t you traveled around Europe, which is very close;
  • Why you want to go to Orlando and not to other, closer destination with the same attractions;

Those are obvious questions the Officer would be concerned about. And if you do not address those proactively, they’d have to guess the reasons. And not only their guess might not be in your favor – they are required by law to be skeptical; the immigration law requires them to assume everyone trying to get the US visa intends to remain illegally unless proven otherwise. The burden on this proof is on you. This might look unfair, but those are the rules.

Also it is very strange that you got rejected by not having the airline tickets. The Department of State says it straight and clear:

Do not make final travel plans or buy tickets until you have a visa.

Now, you said “I mean if you compare it to the UK, they focus the entire interview on your documents“. In some countries (like Russia, for example) – it is very easy to get the forged documents, and almost impossible to quickly verify their authenticity. There are even “visa helping offices” which specialize on providing their clients with fake documents “proving” employment, property ownership, bank statements and so on. This is why during the interview the interviewer has first to assess whether to trust your documents/story, and doesn’t focus on your documents – the rules must be the same for all countries.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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