Report of the Visa Office 2007

FROM Immigration daily (www.ilw.com):

The Visa Office of the DOS recently issued “Report of the Visa Office 2007” which “is an annual report providing statistical information” about the Visa Office’s doings. We highlight some of the fascinating information contained therein below (see full Table of Contents here), all years below are fiscal. http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/statistics/statistics_4179.html

For the Immigrant Visa applications in 2007 288,878 grounds of ineligibility were found, of which 174,438 (60%) were overcome, a misleading statistic, as we shall soon see. The most common ineligibility finding, amounting to 5/6ths of the total, was 221(g) “Application does not comply with provisions of INA or regulations issued pursuant thereto”, and overcoming this finding was 91% of the total findings overcome. In other words, of all the other ineligibility findings, only 30% were overcome. For the Non-Immigrant Visa applications in 2007, 2,117,250 grounds of ineligibility were found, of which 470,052 (22%) were overcome, a most misleading statistic, as we see below. The most common ineligibility finding, about 3/4ths of the total, was 214(b) “Failure to establish entitlement to nonimmigrant status”, and this finding was overcome only about 1% of the time. In other words, about 99% of the time, a 214(b) finding was not overcome. (From Table XX Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visa Ineligibilities (by Grounds for Refusal Under the Immigration and Nationality Act) Fiscal Year 2007) http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY07AnnualReportTableXX.pdf

It is not hard to guess what visas were the ones selected for special 214(b) treatment. Of the 6,444,263 Non-Immigrant Visas issued in 2006, almost 60% were B1s and/or B2s. Based on the numbers in this table, it’s a safe bet that no other type of visa could approach the magnitude necessary for the huge quantity of 214(b) findings above. (From Table XVII Nonimmigrant Visas Issued Fiscal Year 2006) http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY07AnnualReportTableXVII.pdf

Nor is it difficult to guess where 214(b) was used to liberally deny vast quantities of applicants. The numbers of 214(b) denials are so staggering that only four countries can possibly supply the bulk of the applications involved: India, China, South Korea and Mexico. (From Table XIX Nonimmigrant Visas Issued by Issuing Office (Including Border Crossing Cards Fiscal Years 1998-2007) http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY07AnnualReportTableXIX.pdf

The conclusion from the three documents above is that B1/B2 applicants from India, China, South Korea and Mexico face an approximately 1/3rd chance of denial based on 214(b) “finding” (a “finding” typically made in an “interview” lasting approximately 100 seconds), the chance of overcoming which “finding” are only about 1%. While the Chinese Exclusion Act and the Race Quotas of the 1921 and 1924 Acts are no longer in force, some of the same outcomes of those bygone days can be found in current Visa Office reports.

KJ