Visa Refusals Under Section 221(g)

Our office receives a fair number of Section 221(g) inquiries from visa applicants at a U.S. Consulate abroad.   This article aims to explain Section 221(g) and to provide some tips for dealing with a 221(g) visa refusal.

About Section 221(g)

Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)  provides for temporary refusal of visa when an otherwise qualified visa applicant is found to be lacking a specific document, or when a consular officer determines that additional “security clearance” is appropriate and needed.  Consular officers mainly use 221(g) as a way of giving the visa applicant another opportunity to supplement their applications in order to address concerns or deficiencies in the initial application.   Once the deficiency is addressed, the 221(g) refusal is “overcome” and the visa may be issued.

Reasons for 221(g) Refusals

There are several reasons for issuing a 221(g) refusal.  Among the most common are:

• The applicant is asked to provide additional supporting documents, such as proof of employment.
• The applicant is employed in a field listed on the Technology Alert List (TAL) and the consular officer requests a Visas Mantis Security Advisory Opinion.   This is one of the most common reasons for issuing 221(g) to applicants in India, China and elsewhere where the applicants are told that their application requires “administrative processing.”
• The consular officer requests an Advisory Opinion from the Visa Office on the applicability of one of the grounds of inadmissibility.
• There are no empty visa pages in the applicant’s passport, or the application photo does not meet the requirements.
• The applicant’s petition approval is not yet listed in PIMS.

Section 221(g) Refusals Are Very Common

The Department of State has acknowledged that 221(g) refusals happen too often and may be subject to overuse.  According to the Visa Office, in fiscal year 2008,  there were 589,418 nonimmigrant visa refusals under 221(g).  Of those, 510,549 were successfully overcome and visas issued – a success rate of 87%.

Section 221(g) Impact on Future Applications

Since Section 221(g) is technically a refusal, our office often is asked whether a 221(g) should be disclosed on future visa applications, or, in the case of Visa Waiver Program travelers, on their electronic registration forms.

The answer is that 221(g) is a refusal and the applicant, in a subsequent visa application, must answer “YES” to the question “Have you ever been refused a U.S. visa?” on Form DS-156 or DS-160.   This applies even if the 221(g) refusal is based on something as innocent as lack of information in the PIMS database.   Of course, after disclosing YES, on this question in a subsequent visa application, the applicant should be prepared to explain the circumstances of the 221(g) refusal.

Similarly, Visa Waiver Program travelers,  must disclose any 221(g) refusals in their ESTA forms.  We wrote about this topic earlier in November 2009.

Help With 221(g) Refusals

Despite the reason of the 221(g) refusal, we urge applicants who are issued a 221(g) to contact an immigration attorney to better understand the reasons for the 221(g) refusal and to evaluate their case for options and alternatives.  Often, we are in a position to explain the deficiency and help an applicant take steps to address it, either by preparing additional documents or by explaining the circumstances directly to the consular officer who issued the 221(g).  Please contact us if you received a 221(g) and need assistance with your application.