Embassy of the United States Jakarta, Indonesia

Your visa interview with an American consul is the last step in your appointment. At the end of your interview the consul will give one of four pieces of paper:

• White ticket, stating that you, or your representative with a permission letter from you, can return after 2-4 days to pick your visaed passport or;
• Green, stating that you are invited to return with more information or;
• Yellow, stating that we will do additional processing and tell you when it is complete or;
• Pink, stating that you are currently ineligible for your desired NIV.

“Section 214b” Ineligibility
If you have received a pink document, you are ineligible, under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, (INA), for a nonimmigrant visa (NIV) because you failed to overcome the statutory presumption that you are an intending immigrant to the United States. Reasons for this refusal may include:

• You have been unable to demonstrate sufficiently strong family, social or economic ties to a life outside the United States that would compel you to leave the United States after a temporary stay.
• You have been unable to demonstrate that your qualifications and/or intended plan of study qualify you for the NIV for which you have applied.
• You violated the terms of a prior NIV.

We recommend that you reapply only after your current circumstances have changed significantly or if there are relevant facts that you did not present at your initial interview. If you choose to reapply, you must schedule new appointment for a personal interview. You must also pay the visa application fee at that time. You may make a new appointment at How to Apply for a U.S. Visa.

For further information on 214(b) please visit Visa Denials.

“Section 221(g)” Ineligibility
If you have received a green or yellow document, your NIV is not refused, but we suspended action under section 221g of the INA because more information or time is need for processing.

The green document tells you what information that you must provide so that we can continue processing. We are waiting for your to return with this information. If you do not provide this information we will take no further action on your NIV application. The burden of qualifying for any visa rests solely with you. We will resume action on your application only after we receive information from you that the consul has requested.

If you have received a yellow ineligibility document, your application requires further review to determine if you meet the qualifications for a visa. Often we must transmit your application electronically for review elsewhere by the U.S. government. We have no control over the pace or scope of this review. We are allowed to resume action on your application only AFTER we are told that this review is completed. When the process is complete, we will contact you with further instructions or to advise you that your visa is ready for pick-up.
AFTER you are informed that your visa is ready for pick-up, you may return to the Embassy on any weekday (except U.S. or Indonesian holidays) between 230 to 315pm. You must bring this notice and the white ticket with your pick-up number in order to retrieve your passport.

Visa Refusals

1. What is the legal standard that applicants are required to meet in order to qualify for most non-immigrant visas?
2. Why didn't the consular officer give me time to explain?
3. Why are visa interviews so short? I was refused after only a couple of questions and the interviewer hardly looked at my documents? Is a denial under Section 214(b) permanent?
4. Why didn't the Consular officer look at my documents and why was I refused even when I presented the requested documents?
5. Is a denial under Section 214(b) permanent?
6. Why can't I get my money back?
7. Why didn't the person I spoke with on the phone tell me that I would not get a visa?
8. Why weren't my I-20 and my acceptance at a U.S. school enough for the issuance of a student visa?
9. Why couldn't I obtain any information?

1. What is the legal standard that applicants are required to meet in order to qualify for most non-immigrant visas?
   
   In most cases, NIV applicants must demonstrate to a consular officer and a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officer that they qualify for a visa according to Section 214(b) of the INA.
   
   Section 214(b) states that:
   "Every alien shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for a admission, he is entitled to a Non-Immigrant status." In other words, U.S. law presumes that everyone who applies for a non-immigrant visa is an intending immigrant. Thus, most applicants must overcome Section 214(b) by demonstrating that:
   
   
   1. The purpose of their trip is to enter the United States solely for business, pleasure or medical treatment;
   2. They have made clear their true intentions in traveling to the United States;
   3. They do not intend to work while in the United States, unless they have been granted DHS approval for a temporary work visa;
   4. They plan to stay for a specific, limited period;
   5. They have evidence of funds to cover all expenses while in the United States;
   6. They have evidence of compelling social and economic ties abroad; and
   7. They have a residence outside the United States as well as other binding ties that will ensure their return abroad at the end of the visit.
   When a consular officer determines that an applicant cannot overcome this legal presumption, s/he is usually refused under Section 214(b).
   
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2. Why didn't the consular officer give me time to explain?
   
   The consular officer who refused your visa is highly trained. During a short interview, the consular officer looks at several aspects of your case: your situation in Indonesia, your stated intent in visiting the United States, your previous travel history, your financial situation, and many other factors. Based upon the unique circumstances of your case, the consular officer asked you the questions he/she deemed necessary to elicit relevant information. The consular officer weighed your answers to those questions with the other facts of your case.
   
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3. Why are visa interviews so short? I was refused after only a couple of questions and the interviewer hardly looked at my documents?
   
   Consular officers handle over 35,000 applications every year. Because of this experience, they are able to quickly review the application form and supporting documents in order determine the range of questions to ask. Keep in mind, most of the information we need is already supplied on the application form itself, so there is usually no need for the officer to ask more than a few additional questions. We often need only to verify your identity or clear up one or two points. Also, if the interview were longer, you would end up waiting in line for a considerably longer time. In order to be fair to all applicants and to provide everyone an equal opportunity to establish eligibility, we must work quickly and efficiently.
   
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4. Why didn't the Consular officer look at my documents and why was I refused even when I presented the requested documents?
   
   The problem is not the documents. Rather, your current overall situation (as supported by those documents) was not adequate to overcome the presumption that you are an intending immigrant. Applying for a non-immigrant visa is not a documentary process--consular officers never rely solely upon them as they do not establish an applicant's intentions. Documents that demonstrate that an applicant is well established in his/her own country can, in some circumstances, help to show an individual's intent to return to his/her own country after a temporary stay in the United States. Depending on the specifics of your case, the consular officer may or may not have needed to examine your documents closely to make a decision about your eligibility for a visa. You were correct to bring documents with you, in case the consular officer needed to refer to them. If the consular officer made a decision in your case without a detailed scrutiny of your documents, it was because other circumstances of your case were clear. If your visa was refused, it is highly unlikely that any document you could provide would significantly alter the consular officer's decision about your case.
   
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5. Is a denial under Section 214(b) permanent?
   
   No. An applicant can choose to reapply. There are no special reapplication procedures. However, because of the application fee cost, reapplying is not recommended unless the applicant's situation truly has changed markedly since that refusal. Simply reapplying in the days or weeks following a 214(b) refusal will likely lead to another refusal. If a decision is made to reapply, applicants are advised to submit additional information that may address the reason(s) for the prior refusal.
   
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6. Why can't I get my money back?
   
   The NIV fee that you paid is an application fee. The application instructions state clearly that this fee is non-refundable whether or not you qualify for a U.S. visa. We have no authority to refund an application fee.
   
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7. Why didn't the person I spoke with on the phone tell me that I would not get a visa?
   
   Every application for a visa is evaluated on its own merits. Before an application is presented, it is only possible to give general information regarding the visa application process and suggest the types of documents that might help you to demonstrate your eligibility for a U.S. visa. There is no guarantee that you will receive a U.S. visa if you choose to apply.
   
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8. Why weren't my I-20 and my acceptance at a U.S. school enough for the issuance of a student visa?
   
   The approved I-20 is just one of many factors the consular officer must consider in deciding whether a visa may be issued. Remember, Section 214(b) applies to student applications. Thus, every student must satisfy the consular officer that they will depart the United States after finishing their studies, which may take several years. Consequently, your overall circumstances are taken into account when deciding whether to issue a student visa. Student visas must be denied if it appears that the student cannot or will not complete a full course of study in the United States.
   
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9. Why couldn't I obtain any information?
   
   Under the INA, section 222(f), the records of the Department of State relating to visa decisions are confidential, and therefore information may not be provided to third parties about a particular visa applicant. Certain information may be provided to the petitioner in visa cases, attorneys representing a visa applicant, or to members of Congress, or other persons acting on behalf of and with the permission of the applicant.
   
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