B1/B2 US tourist visa refusal

A friend with whom I was planning to travel to the United States was rejected under Section 214(b), failure to show strong home ties. In my opinion, her visa interview was handled unprofessionally and unfairly. How often does this happen and can anything be done?

She is Romanian and is about to graduate with an information engineering (Machine Learning) Master's degree from one of the top colleges in the UK. Her family is financially well off, and fully supports her. She does not yet have a job lined up, but she is in a position to start a prestigious career either in the UK or in Romania.

We had booked a full itinerary. We have both traveled all over Europe, and been to the US before. She had all the relevant documents to prove these things.

Her interview proceeded as follows (slightly simplified):

Q: What do you study? A: Information Engineering.
Q: What is information engineering? A: bla bla bla
Q: When do you graduate? A: -In a week
Q: Who are you travelling with? A: My boyfriend
Q: What does he study? A: Maths
Q: When does he graduate? A: Same time

Unfortunately, I have to reject you because you are at a particularly flexible stage in your life.

At this point, the interviewer refused to allow her to show any documents including her bank statemeet or travel itinerary, stating that she had already been rejected. I'd also like to add that I am from the UK so do not require a visa.

I understand the logic behind the "flexible stage" jsutification; however, it does not make sense for my friend to violate her visa status by working or overstaying because:

1) She does not need the money in the short term (as her bank statement shows).
2) She could get a much better and higher paying job by working legally at home with her qualifications.
3) Given an appropriate interview, she should have been able to demonstrate as well as anyone that she fully intends to return home.

Is this kind of treatment typical? Is there anything that can be done? Is it worth trying to apply again?

Best Answer

Let us look at this from the point of view of the immigration officer. If you had to write a profile of a person who was most likely to try to overstay in the US and look for work illegally, a very good profile would be:

Young
Recently graduated in a discipline for which there is high demand in the US
No job waiting for them at home
No other ties to their home country that would compel them to return
From a country where wages in this discipline are substantially lower than in the US

You unfortunately absolutely fit this profile. The interview you describe absolutely establishes that. US immigration are compelled to presume that you will attempt to overstay your visa, and it is up to you convince them otherwise. It's nothing personal, and nothing is to be gained by taking it personally.

Let's consider your objections:

"refused to allow her to show any documents including her bank statement or travel itinerary". I wouldn't have mattered how rich you were, or what you claimed to be doing. It would not have altered your match to the above profile.
"She does not need the money in the short term". Illegal immigration is about the long term. Over a ten or twenty year period an information engineering graduate could make a huge amount of money in the US compared with any amount her bank statement is likely to show.
"She could get a much better and higher paying job by working legally at home" A rough investigation shows that a software developer in Romania earns a median of about $25000. The same developer in the US would earn about three times that.
"Given an appropriate interview, she should have been able to demonstrate as well as anyone that she fully intends to return home.". It's not clear from the question how she might have done that.
" in a position to start a prestigious career either in the UK or in Romania". This actually shows a willingness to work abroad, which isn't going to be in her favour. And a career in the UK is no longer going to be automatic for Romanians quite soon.

What would have made this problem better? Essentially demonstrating ties to your home. Having all the things that a person settled in her home country might have, like a permanent job, a house or apartment.