Top 15 Trends and Observations in 212(a)(6)(C)(i) Visa Decisions

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Unlawful presence (212(a)(9)(B)), misrepresentations (212(a)(6)(C)(i)), and alien smuggling (212(a)(6)(E)) continue to be the most frequently invoked inadmissibility bars to entry to the United States by consular officers.  And while unlawful presence based on overstays in the United States is a relatively straightforward legal decision, determinations of willful, material misrepresentations and alien smuggling are not.   How does one define “materiality”? Was the misrepresentation actually “willful”? What does it mean to “aid and abet the illegal entry” to the United States? This 3-part blog will focus on the latest trends in consular misrepresentation (“6Ci”) decisions; later, we will address recent trends in smuggling (“6E”) adjudications. Notwithstanding the pandemic and the limited operations of consular posts, the rendering of 6Ci determinations continues unabated.  In the pandemic years of FY2020 and FY2021, consuls entered more than 17,000 misrepresentation findings. During this time, we have observed the following: Politics is Overestimated. Many thought that with…

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Visa Statistics – Moscow Refusal Rate Doubles; India Rate Remains at Over 25%; Ukraine Rate Dips

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The Department of State has published its visa statistics for 2010.  The statistics have confirmed what we have seen in our everyday practice: the US Embassy in Moscow has doubled its nonimmigrant visa refusal rate.   It is no wonder that Vice President Biden politely declined Mr. Putin’s request to abolish visas between the countries! The refusal rate jump corresponds with the arrival of a new chief of the NIV section and Consul General. Notable in the statistics is the fact that the refusal rate slightly fell in India, but the consulates there still refuse more than 1/4 of all applicants.  The refusal rates in such countries as China, Vietnam, Ukraine, and Haiti dropped significantly, while the refusal rates in Saudi Arabia increased, although not at the level of Russia. Below are the official statistics: 2010 stats – http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY10.pdf 2009 stats – http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY09.pdf  

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