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 Nandini
Nair informs that soon B-2 visa holders will not be able to
stay in the US for more than 30 days
I am
planning to come to the US in September 2002 to visit my brother
who is on H1-B status. He just came across information which said
that there are some proposals to reduce the time of stay in the
US for persons coming on a B-2 visa, as against the earlier six
months stay. Is this true?
Roshni
Pereira
Your
brother is right. There are some proposals to reduce the period
of stay in the US for those entering on B-2 visa. On Tuesday, March
19, 2002, the INS Commissioner, James Ziglar, appeared before the
US Congress to respond to questions about the recent approval notices
issued in the cases of the two men who flew the planes into the
World Trade Centre on Septe-mber 11, last year. In his testimony,
Ziglar stated that INS is considering changes that would result
in most holders of visitors’ visas being admitted for a period
of only 30 days, rather than the current practice of admitting visitors
for 180 days. According to the Commissioner, INS is also considering
changes to bring about regulations that would prevent a person who
has entered under some other status, e.g. a visitor visa, from beginning
a course of study before their request for a change of status to
student is approved. Thus, an applicant would have to wait till
they have been approved for the change of status before starting
school. Thus, applicants will have to plan well in advance of joining
a school, they will have to take care to apply well in advance to
get the F-1 approval notice before the term begins, last minute
applications will not be entertained.
I
went to the Chennai Consulate on the February 27, 2002 for my H1-B
visa stamping. The personal interview lasted for two minutes where
the officer did not even review my documents but just handed me
a letter stating the following: “In accordance with the United
States Law and Department of State Guidelines action of your case
has been suspended and the I-129 petition for a non-immigrant worker
filed on your behalf will be returned to the INS with a memorandum
explaining the fact of your case as presented to us at the time
of interview. The US consulate in Chennai is no longer handling
your case and will be unable to give you any information on the
status of your petition. For your information, your visa was refused
today under section 221(g) of the INA essentially this section states
that a visa cannot be issued to anyone whose application appear
to the Consular officer to meet the requirement of the INA or of
the regulation there under.” How can they just reject me without
even reviewing my case? Am I just unlucky or is this a part of the
procedure, please let me know.
Amar
Bhat
There
is a general feeling among many visa applicants that consular officers
do not review the documents submitted by the visa applicants. But
it is not the case; officers generally do in fact review documents
presented by visa applicants. In many instances, applicants submit
their documents along with their passports and visa applications
well in advance. In such cases, consular officers often review the
documents prior to the visa interview itself, and the applicants
do not actually witness this document review. In other cases, even
though applicants may have handed their documents directly to the
consular officer, that officer might come to a conclusion on the
basis of the content of the interview. In such cases the officer
may decline to review offered documents, for reasons ranging from
doubts regarding the validity of local documents, the officer’s
belief that the information contained in the documents will be insufficient
to overcome a finding of visa ineligibility. In most cases, the
information contained in the typical document package - job letters,
bank statements, invitations, etc. - is established during the interview;
reviewing the documents does not provide new information to the
consular officer. Since they are all experienced officers, they
have either reviewed your file before the interview or they know
where exactly to look for and thus do not need more than a couple
of minutes to review the file.
My
H1-B visa was approved on February 2001. I have received my papers
from my consultant on January 2002. I dropped my papers at the Hyderabad
drop box on February 21st 2002. The Chennai Consulate has sent me
a letter stating that my visa is temporarily suspended under SECTION
221 G. What is this section all about?
Kedar
Shinde
This
is what 221(g) means: Section 221(g), Potential Immigrant Ineligibility:
Section 221 (g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act reads as
follows:
No
visa or other documentation shall be issued to an alien if
(1)
It appears to the consular officer, from statements in the application,
or in the papers submitted therewith, that such alien is ineligible
to receive a visa or such other documentation under section 212,
or any other provision of the law,
(2)
The application fails to comply with the provisions of this Act,
or the regulations issued thereunder, or
(3)
The consular officer knows or has reason to believe that such alien
is ineligible to receive a visa or such other documentation under
section 212, or any other provision of law: Provided a visa or other
documentation may be issued to an alien who is within the purview
of section 212 (a)(4), if such alien is otherwise entitled to receive
a visa or other documentation under 212, or any other provision
of law: Provided, that a visa or other documentation upon receipt
of notice by the consular officer from the Attorney General of the
giving of a bond or undertaking providing indemnity as in the case
of aliens admitted under section 213: Provided further, That a visa
may be issued to an alien defined in section 101(a)(15)(B) or (F),
if such alien is other wise entitled to receive a visa, upon receipt
of a notice by the consular officer from the Attorney General of
giving of a bond with sufficient surety in such sum and containing
such conditions as the consular officer shall prescribe, to insure
that at the expiration of the time for which such alien has been
admitted by the Attorney General, as provided in section 214(a),
or upon failure to maintain the status under which he was admitted,
or to maintain any status subsequently acquired under section 248
of the Act, such alien will depart from the United States. What
this means is that the officer did not feel that you were qualified
for the H1-B visa, based on either your education and/or work experience.
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