B1 denied because of applying to DV lottery

[i-hope 0]

my friend went for the interview for an B1 visa to attend a conference, after a couple of routine questions the CO tell him that her visa is approved and congrats him and give him a receipt to get the passport back once the visa is putted in,

couple of minuter later when he was out of the embassy, he receive a call from the embassy to return to the embassy immediately

once there, the consular agent inform him that they will have to cancel his visa because he played for DV lottery and give him his passport back

honestly this piss me off, and i suggested him to reapply again, and maybe he can get better chance with an other agent, because in my believe the fact to play this stupid lottery is not a fact

what do you think ?

[i-hope 0]

please people i really need some advise, do you think if he apply again he may get a chance or it will be automatically the same result ?

do you think its a good idea to write a letter to the ambassador ?

[RhettVoe 281]

An ambassador at our embassy has NO authority to overrule a consular decision, nor issue a visa. It sounds like there is more to the story than having merely entered the DV lottery (which by itself, is not usually a basis for a denial). If his situation otherwise has not changed, there is little chance that another VO will see things differently. Finally, your opinion about the basis for the denial is not material, no matter to whom you write any sort of letter stating your disagreement over the decision.

[i-hope 0]

he was denied only because he have applied for a dv lottery and this fact can never be changed, does it mean he ll never get his visa ??

[i-hope 0]

my friend went for the interview for an B1 visa to attend a conference, at the beginning the consular officer tell him that her visa is approved and congrats him and give him a receipt to get the passport back once the visa is putted in,

couple of minuter later when he was out of the consulate , he receive a call from the consulate to return immediately

once there, the consular agent inform him that they will have to cancel his visa because he played for DV lottery and give him his passport back.

his visa was refused under the section 214B, they said he can reapply if his circumstances change, the thing is that his visa was refused only because he played the DV lottery and its a Fact and not a circumstances which mean its not going to change anyway, and his conference is coming soon

i advised him to reapply and maybe another agents will give him a chance, but i want to be sure that it worth the shoot, i dont want him to wast his time, money and energy and give him a fake hope.

please advise me, and let me know if there are people who applied again weeks after denial and get approved

thank you very much

[canadian_wife 1,785]

The problem is the DV lottery. He's showed immigrant intent, which is tough to get around. What ties does your friend have to their home country that can over ride the immigrant intent?

good luck

[JayJayH 546]

First of all, what country is your friend from? Second, how long ago did he enter the DV lottery?

Section 214(b) of the INA states that any applicant for a non-immigrant visa shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for a visa, and the immigration officers, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status. - Your friend was denied a non-immigrant visa because the consular officer was not satisfied that he did not intend to immigrate.

It is the burden of the applicant to satisfy the consular officer that he does not intend to immigrate. The language of INA 214(b) is fairly loose, and leaves everything up to the consular officer's presumption. Thus, 214(b) is not difficult to overcome as compared to many other reasons for inadmissibility, and overcoming it is largely under the applicant's control. This is a good thing.

The bad news is that by entering the DV lottery, he showed clear intent that he wanted to immigrate to the US. This is what he has to overcome.

I cannot help you any further unless I know what country your friend is from, and how long ago he entered the DV lottery.

[RhettVoe 281]

Hard to say....there were likely other things the consular folks discovered, but did tell him....his having entered the dv lottery would not have been state secret....maybe he said or wrote something on his application that the embassy tried to verify and found a disconnect (like having no job, but said he did, for ex...if the embassy randomly checked his application later (common in many countries), they may have discovered something that brought about his recall to the embassy.

[Boiler 43,381]

I agree, there is something missing.

[i-hope 0]

First of all, what country is your friend from? Second, how long ago did he enter the DV lottery?

Section 214(b) of the INA states that any applicant for a non-immigrant visa shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for a visa, and the immigration officers, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status. - Your friend was denied a non-immigrant visa because the consular officer was not satisfied that he did not intend to immigrate.

It is the burden of the applicant to satisfy the consular officer that he does not intend to immigrate. The language of INA 214(b) is fairly loose, and leaves everything up to the consular officer's presumption. Thus, 214(b) is not difficult to overcome as compared to many other reasons for inadmissibility, and overcoming it is largely under the applicant's control. This is a good thing.

The bad news is that by entering the DV lottery, he showed clear intent that he wanted to immigrate to the US. This is what he has to overcome.

I cannot help you any further unless I know what country your friend is from, and how long ago he entered the DV lottery.

[i-hope 0]

He is from Tunisia and the agent said he denied the visa because of participating to lottery ( he did every year )

We can't accuse someone to have intent of robbery because he show interest to big money by playing lottery

People play DV lottery for the same reason this doesn't mean they will try to remain illegally

Anyway do u think another agent may give him a chance or he will automatically Deni him ?

[Pinkrlion 2,607]

Waste of time to pay to reapply.

[JayJayH 546]

He is from Tunisia and the agent said he denied the visa because of participating to lottery ( he did every year )

We can't accuse someone to have intent of robbery because he show interest to big money by playing lottery

People play DV lottery for the same reason this doesn't mean they will try to remain illegally

Anyway do u think another agent may give him a chance or he will automatically Deni him ?

I understand your reasoning here, and in any other area of the law, other than immigration law, participating in the DV lottery would not be proof of anything. Because we are talking about immigration law, and on top of that, consular processing, your friend may have a very difficult time getting a visa. Immigration law is among the only areas of US law where you are not innocent until proven guilty - but rather presumed guilty until proven innocent. Now, IN the US, you can usually appeal any decision made by immigration to court, and immigration would have to prove to the court that you're guilty. When an immigration benefit is applied for at a consulate overseas, there is no US court with jurisdiction in that area, so there is no US court to appeal to.

I'm not arguing whether the current laws are fair or unfair, reasonable or not. They are the current laws, and there is nothing I, anyone on this forum, or any lawyer can do but explain them to you, and advise you on how to proceed. The part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that your friend was denied under was 214(b). This section of the INA states that all applicants for a non-immigrant visa should be presumed to have immigrant intent, until the consular officer is satisfied that he/she does not intend to immigrate.

No one is saying that your friend wants to remain in the US illegally. In the eyes of the consular officer however, he could just as well go to the US, and then find a way to adjust status legally. While legal, the entire point of issuing a B-1 or B-2 visa is that the applicant returns.

The bottom line is that he has showed, by entering the DV lottery every year, that he has strong wishes to live in the United States. I am unsure of overstay rates for Tunisian citizens, but citizens from countries in the Middle East and North Africa tend to have comparably high rates of visa abuse. I am not accusing your friend of anything, and I can very well understand that applying for the DV lottery does not necessarily mean he's going to violate his visa. However, I am not the one he needs to convince.

He needs to look at the type of evidence he has to prove strong ties to Tunisia - If he re-apples, they're going to want to see evidence of why he'll be inclined to return. They don't care so much why he wants to go. If asked about the DV lottery, he should be honest and explain to them that he does at some point want to perhaps settle in the US, and should the opportunity arise, he might very well do so, but add that he has absolutely no intention of doing it by any other means than legally. Coupled with strong evidence of ties to Tunisia, this might work.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Yang-Ja

[Ontarkie 13,898]

~~Similar threads merged, do not make multiple threads for the same or similar topics. ~~

[i-hope 0]

I understand your reasoning here, and in any other area of the law, other than immigration law, participating in the DV lottery would not be proof of anything. Because we are talking about immigration law, and on top of that, consular processing, your friend may have a very difficult time getting a visa. Immigration law is among the only areas of US law where you are not innocent until proven guilty - but rather presumed guilty until proven innocent. Now, IN the US, you can usually appeal any decision made by immigration to court, and immigration would have to prove to the court that you're guilty. When an immigration benefit is applied for at a consulate overseas, there is no US court with jurisdiction in that area, so there is no US court to appeal to.

I'm not arguing whether the current laws are fair or unfair, reasonable or not. They are the current laws, and there is nothing I, anyone on this forum, or any lawyer can do but explain them to you, and advise you on how to proceed. The part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that your friend was denied under was 214(b). This section of the INA states that all applicants for a non-immigrant visa should be presumed to have immigrant intent, until the consular officer is satisfied that he/she does not intend to immigrate.

No one is saying that your friend wants to remain in the US illegally. In the eyes of the consular officer however, he could just as well go to the US, and then find a way to adjust status legally. While legal, the entire point of issuing a B-1 or B-2 visa is that the applicant returns.

The bottom line is that he has showed, by entering the DV lottery every year, that he has strong wishes to live in the United States. I am unsure of overstay rates for Tunisian citizens, but citizens from countries in the Middle East and North Africa tend to have comparably high rates of visa abuse. I am not accusing your friend of anything, and I can very well understand that applying for the DV lottery does not necessarily mean he's going to violate his visa. However, I am not the one he needs to convince.

He needs to look at the type of evidence he has to prove strong ties to Tunisia - If he re-apples, they're going to want to see evidence of why he'll be inclined to return. They don't care so much why he wants to go. If asked about the DV lottery, he should be honest and explain to them that he does at some point want to perhaps settle in the US, and should the opportunity arise, he might very well do so, but add that he has absolutely no intention of doing it by any other means than legally. Coupled with strong evidence of ties to Tunisia, this might work.

Thank you very much, that help me to have a better understanding of the situation

he showed very strong ties like he have business that worth millions dollar and stuff like that

and i dont think something was missing he just get denied for having apply to the DV lottery

i advice him to reapply because i do believe the agent wasn't fair with him, specialty that many people talk about this agent in forum as unprofessional and racist person, he have denied may people and even lottery winner he always send them through administrative processing

i found a lot of complain from people talking about him in some Tunisian forum plus many friend to him did applied to this conference, and the only one that get dined are those whom did the interview with this agent, he did issued some visa but did dined too

i'm not sure, but i advise him to go again for another interview, but im afraid that the first interview report wont play on his favor and got denied again because of the first interview

what do you think ?

do you think in this kind of situation the organisation holding the Conference can contact a congressman to get support ? if yes, how long it can take ?

thank you very much in advance

Edited November 23, 2013 by i-hope