Ask the consul
I was approved for a tourist visa, but one of my family members was denied a tourist visa. Why?
Sometimes, a visa applicant may walk away from his or her interview for a B-1/B-2 (tourist) visa wondering why some of the family or group qualified for a visa, while others did not. There can be many reasons for this, but we would like to explain how U.S. visa law works and some of the most common reasons for a visa to be refused.
According to Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, most applicants for a nonimmigrant (temporary) visa are considered to be possible immigrants. In order to receive a visa, an applicant must convince the consular officer that he/she qualifies for the type of visa for which he is applying and that he will leave the United States once the authorized period for visiting the United States has ended. To do this, applicants must demonstrate that they have strong economic, social, and/or family ties to their country of origin. The burden is on the applicant to prove this during the short visa interview, and if unable to do so to the consular officer’s satisfaction, the consular officer must deny the visa.
Sometimes, one family member can more easily demonstrate those ties than another. In some instances, parents may be well established in Colombia, running a business, managing investments, or engaging in other activities that demonstrate their strong ties, but their grown child who lives in the same house may not have developed ties that are as strong as his parents’. In these situations, U.S. immigration law requires the consular officer to consider each applicant’s ties separately, and permits him to approve some family members, while denying the visa for some other family members.
The consular officer’s decision cannot be appealed, but family members who are denied are welcome to apply again and may do so at any time. If the family member who was denied a visa has additional evidence and documentation he/she believes would be helpful to demonstrate strong ties, he/she may include those in the new application. Otherwise, we advise applicants to wait until such time as they feel that their situation has changed sufficiently to convince a consular officer of their qualifications for a visa and that they will return to Colombia at the end of their authorized stay. At that time, applicants must go through the process of buying a PIN, making another appointment, filling out the forms, and applying again for a visa Remember to bring all proper documentation and to be prepared to answer the consular officer’s questions.