Prior Visa Refusals or Denials Must be Revealed
Posted Jun 27, 2008
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Murthy Immigration Services Private Limited, affiliate office of the Murthy Law Firm based in Chennai, India, has received increasing inquiries from visa applicants regarding how to answer questions about prior visa applications when applying for new visas. This question had come to light because the consulates no longer place "Application Received" stamps in the passports to indicate visa refusal. However, it remains necessary to accurately and truthfully answer all questions on the visa application, including whether one has ever been refused a U.S. visa.
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Background : Stamp Eliminated in January 2007
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The U.S. Department of State (DOS) released a cable in January 2007, instructing U.S. consular posts worldwide to discontinue use of the stamp indicating Application Received in the applicant's passport when refusing or denying a visa. For over twenty-five years, a refused visa application was indicated by this stamp, as well as the date of the denial on the last page of an applicant's passport. Although the cable was issued in January 2007, the practice was not implemented universally until more recently.
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Reason for Change : Computerized Tracking
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The January 2007 cable, issued by the DOS, observes that records of visa issuance and refusal are available to all consular posts, including the secondary inspection at a U.S. Port of Entry (POE) and at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the Consolidated Consular Database (CCD). Hence, it is no longer required to alert the visa officers about prior visa refusals by stamping the back of the applicant’s passport. Accordingly, the refusals are being tracked by the DOS, DHS and other federal agencies, just in a more modern manner than the ink stamp in a passport.
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Track Prior Visa Refusal/s
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With the elimination of the Application Received stamp, the visa applicant becomes responsible for maintaining accurate records of the dates of any previous visa refusals. When filing for a nonimmigrant visa application, Form DS-156 of the DOS asks in question 31 whether the visa applicant has ever been refused a visa. If the answer is yes, it is necessary to provide information as to when, where, and the type of visa that was denied or refused. Not providing accurate or truthful information could result in further refusal based on fraud or material misrepresentation. Potentially, such findings could permanently prevent an individual from obtaining a visa and entering the United States. Even though certain waivers are allowed, obtaining an approval of a waiver for a nonimmigrant or immigrant visa is discretionary and not routine.
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Conclusion
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Our goal both at the Murthy Law Firm and Murthy Immigration Services Private Limited is that each qualifying visa applicant obtain the appropriate visa to enter the U.S. The need to provide accurate information on the visa application cannot be overemphasized. As part of this process, it is necessary to keep a record of the dates of any prior visa refusal/s, so that it can be properly reported on future visa applications. While the fact of a prior refusal does not necessarily mean that future cases also will be refused, failure to be honest on an application is, in most situations, a proper basis for a visa refusal or denial.