General

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 letter. If you have been refused a visa, it is not advisable to travel on the Visa Waiver Program as you may be refused admission to the United States at the port of entry.

Refusal under section 221(g)

If your application for a nonimmigrant visa has been refused 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, which are specific to your case.

When refused under section 221(g), you should provide us the information and/or documents requested, together with the refusal letter that was provided at the time of interview. 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, the consular officer will review your application and adjudicate your case/p>

Note: Section 223(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires that your application be cancelled if you fail to provide the required documentation within one year of being refused under section 221(g).

Additional administrative processing

If your application for a nonimmigrant visa has been refused under section 221(g), for further administrative processing, the U.S. Consulate in Sydney cannot provide additional details or status updates. The further administrative processing is mandatory, must be completed, and cannot be expedited.

Administrative processing can take up to 5 or 6 weeks. Most processing is finished sooner, but in some cases it can take longer.

We endeavor to contact all applicants when an outcome has been reached in response to the further administrative processing that your application will have undergone. However, if we are in possession of your passport, and have received a favorable response, we will not necessarily be in contact with you, as we aim to process your application to conclusion at the earliest. Once the visa has been issued, your passport will be returned to you in the envelope provided.

Refusal under section 214(b)

Under U.S. immigration law, all applicants for nonimmigrant visas are presumed to be intending immigrants unless they demonstrate otherwise to the interviewing consular officer. In order to be approved for a visa, applicants must satisfy the interviewing officer that they are entitled to the type of visa for which they are applying and that they will depart the United States at the end of their authorized temporary stay. This means that before a visa can be issued, applicants must demonstrate strong social, economic and/or familial ties outside 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 abroad. 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 United States 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 United States 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 do decided to reapply after being refused under section 214(b), you must submit a new application form and pay the visa application fee again. There can be no guarantee that you will receive a different decision. Only a new interview can determine that.