Hello,
I have a girlfriend in Sydney. She tried to get a 6 month tourist visa but the Sydney Consulate denied it and told her they thought she would be coming over to get married. This was not our intention. She gets extended leave from work and we wanted to spend more time together, over the 90 days allowed by the visa waiver program. The Consulate then said she needed more proof of ties, so she went back with alot of documentation, letter from employer, mortgage, bank statements etc. The Consulate would not look at the documents and denied her visa immediately. The problem we face now is that she can not get a tourist visa and can not travel on the visa waiver program either. I-94W asks if you've ever been denied a visa.

Questions are:

Is there a way to remove the visa denial so she can once again use the visa waiver program?

Can her visa denials be appealed?

Would lodging a complaint about the denial do any good/harm and who would I do this with?

Thanks for you help. My girfriend is very distraught because she was a frequent traveller to the US and has now been effectively barred from our country for simply applying for a tourist visa.

Everyone except gmb,

Another good example of why having a consultation with an immigration attorney before taking action is a worthwhile thing to do. Diving into water before finding out what lies below the surface can result in a broken neck.



gmb,

I don't know if the damage is permanent or not. Have that consultation. But even if there is a way, recognize that a CBP officer at the POE can come to the same conclusion the consular officer did and deny entry.



Yodrak

Sorry to hear this has happened to you both... I second what Yodrak said go and have a talk with an immigration lawyer to see what you can do....

Good Luck

Kezzie

Thanks, any advice or other words of wisdom out there?

I agree with the other posters. And here's a link where you'll find information about visa denials: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/denials/denials_1361.html