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About this tool
Decode the INA section on a US visa refusal slip - 214(b), 221(g) and the rest - and get a checklist of what to fix.
This explainer turns the statute number on a US visa refusal slip into plain English and a checklist of what to fix. Every consular refusal is made under a named section of the Immigration and Nationality Act - most often INA 214(b) for nonimmigrant intent or INA 221(g) for a document or administrative hold - and the section decides whether you are looking at a one-week fix, a discretionary judgement or a lifetime inadmissibility. Select the section printed on your slip to see what the officer decided, whether a waiver exists, and what evidence changes the answer.
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Each ground carries its INA citation, so you can look up the primary source rather than trusting a forum post.
214(b) is a judgement that can be reversed at the next interview; 212(a)(6)(C)(i) is permanent. The difference decides your whole strategy.
Tick off each fix and see how much of the refusal reason you have really closed before you pay the fee again.
It means you did not overcome the statutory presumption in INA 214(b) that every nonimmigrant applicant intends to immigrate. It is a discretionary judgement about the strength of your ties abroad and the coherence of your trip, not a ban - there is no waiting period and no waiver, and a later officer can decide differently once a concrete fact has changed. H-1B and L-1 applicants are exempt from the presumption because those categories allow dual intent.
No. Consular non-reviewability means neither a US court nor the Department of State overturns a consular officer's visa decision. What does exist: 22 CFR 41.121(c) requires a supervisory officer to review nonimmigrant refusals, so a factual error can be raised with the post in writing; INA 212(d)(3)(A) allows a nonimmigrant waiver recommended by the post and decided by CBP's Admissibility Review Office; and you may always reapply.
There is no fixed period - some cases clear in days, others run for months while checks complete. The case stays open in the meantime, so filing a new application does not help. What does have a deadline is your side of it: an applicant who never supplies the documents listed on the 221(g) slip will generally see the case closed after a year and have to start again with a new fee, so respond promptly and in one complete batch.
Under INA 212(a)(9)(B), more than 180 days but less than one year of unlawful presence followed by departure triggers a three-year bar, and one year or more triggers a ten-year bar. Unlawful presence is measured from the date on your I-94, not the expiry date printed on the visa foil, and the bar is triggered by leaving - so departing voluntarily does not avoid it. Waivers exist but need legal advice.