Summer 2004 issue

VISA REFUSALS AND AMERICAN CITIZEN SERVICES

So your relative has been refused a tourist visa. You have invited him or her, and you’re an American citizen. You decide to go to the Embassy. What can ACS do for you?

ACS provides services to American citizens. Obtaining a visa is not a service for an American citizen. (Americans can’t get American visas). Obtaining a visa is a benefit for a Polish citizen.

The American Citizen Services Unit can tell you why your relative was denied a visa, but it cannot change that decision. American law entrusts the decision about issuing a visa exclusively to the officer who interviewed your relative. That decision cannot be appealed. It is fair, however, to ask for an explanation of a decision.

Most applicants for tourist visas are refused under section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which states that every applicant who seeks a tourist visa to the United States must be deemed ineligible—and therefore unqualified for a visa—until that applicant proves to the satisfaction of the consular officer that he or she is qualified. The whole burden of proof under the law (section 291) rests exclusively on the applicant: the applicant has to prove he or she is qualified, the consular officer does not have to prove he or she is unqualified.

What is a consular officer looking for under section 214(b)? He or she is looking, above all, for “the ties that bind,” for evidence that the person’s socio-economic situation in Poland is sufficiently stable that the person has a stake in Polish society to return to Poland without working illegally in the United States and without overstaying the length of stay authorized at the port of entry. “Ties,” of course, mean different things at different times of life, but one of the strongest ties is a good job that one has had for some time. A “good” job pays more than subsistence wages, because if one is just getting by, the incentive to supplement one’s income in America would be strong. Another good “tie” is a track record of tourist travel. A person who has visited other countries (Poles can visit virtually every country in Europe without a visa) is a more credible tourist than someone who has never left home. A “house” or “apartment” is a two-edged sword: they can indicate a good socio-economic situation, but unaccompanied by a good job or significant assets, they also become costs that make work abroad look that much more attractive. Whether the whole trip makes sense is another factor: somebody who has never been abroad, who has a marginal job, and is going to look at “Niagara” for half a year just is not credible.

Finally, it is the situation of the visa applicant—not the situation of the American inviting that person—that matters. Whether the visa applicant has a strong stake in returning to his home society is what counts.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Welcome to our Readers || All Visa Applicants To Be Fingerscanned || A Note to Tourists || 2004 Elections Swiftly Approaching || Windfall Elimination Provision || ASSISTING VICTIMS OF CRIME IN POLAND || ASSISTING THOSE ACCUSED OF CRIMES || VISA REFUSALS AND AMERICAN CITIZEN SERVICES || The Diversity Visa Program || Work And Travel Program Brings Polish Students To the United States || How Can I Get Answers To My Consular Questions?