Consular officers of the United States are authorized to grant non-immigrant Visas exclusively to those who qualify under the Law. This Visa may not be granted for several reasons. For example, if you have a criminal record, have lied in your interview or have lived illegally in the United States.

Other reasons why your Visa is denied:

Many visits over several months or Visa extension petitions

Staying for a long time in the United States is allowed as long as the date of departure is complied with. You may also request that your Visa be extended or that its category be changed.

This is perfectly legal, except when:

• The foreign citizen is working in the United States without a work permit.
• When they do not comply with their type of Visa. For example, the foreign citizen has a Tourist Visa, but they are studying or living in the country.
• The applicant of the Visa does not have strong economic or family ties with their country of origin (which is a requirement to have their Visa approved), and they are living in the country.

Applying for a Tourist Visa for a long stay

The correct type of Visa must be applied for. For example, if you aim to travel to the United States to study, you must not apply for a Tourist Visa, but for a Student one.

It is also important to take into account that stating during your Visa interview that you will stay for a few weeks – only to petition for a Visa extension once you are in the U.S. -, may bring undesired consequences. In such cases, it may be understood that you lied to a Consular officer and the petition of a Visa extension will be immediately denied.

Having a relative in the United States

If you have a family member living in the United States, you must know that this may be taken as a negative factor when applying for a Visa. This is because of the suspicion that you may be planning to stay in the country for an indefinite time.

How your family member obtained their papers to stay in the U.S. is also an important matter. For example, if they entered the country as a tourist and married an American citizen after a short while, obtaining their Green Card in this way, the relatives of such persons (including their parents, siblings and children), may be denied a Visa.

Having a prior pending or denied Immigrant Visa petition

If you have previously applied for an Immigrant Visa and this was denied, it is likely that the Consular officer will deny the petition for a Non-Immigrant Visa once again. This may be because of the belief that you may not meet the requirement of not having the intention of immigrating into the United States.