A 221(g) is a visa refusal under 221(g) of the Immigration Nationality Act which means that the applicant didn’t establish that they were eligible for the visa.
The Immigration and Nationality Act is the list of immigration laws and 221(g) is part of the immigration laws and says that a consular officer cannot give a person a visa. They cannot approve their case if the person isn’t eligible to receive the visa.
If you receive a 221(g), it means that your visa was refused and typically, this happens in extreme circumstances. The person might not be eligible because they lied on a prior tourist visa application and the consular officer discovered that. That would be considered fraud and misrepresentation. Perhaps the person had overstayed a visa previously or the US consular officer at the embassy decided that they don’t believe you have a real relationship and they want more evidence of your relationship.
In general, the consular officer doesn’t really have to make a decision on your relationship. That already happens in the first part of your case with the fiancé visa. USCIS decides you have a real relationship but if the consular officer suspects fraud and that the relationship isn’t real, they would give you a 221(g) notice.
What are your options if you receive one of these?
Sometimes, there are certain problems that a person can have in their immigration history that have no solution. There isn’t a way to overcome the problem. There are some types of issues like fraud and misrepresentation and time in the United States without documents that have a special waiver.
A person could apply for a waiver if they meet certain requirements to ask for forgiveness. If it was your relationship, they would give you an opportunity to provide more evidence.
With that being said, if you’re given an opportunity to provide more evidence and you’re given this opportunity to prove you’re eligible, it’s really important that you respond properly because if you don’t, then they can just flat out deny your case and then that is the end of the road.
For some people, there might be an option to refile and for others, there wouldn’t be an option so it’s very important if you receive one of these that you take it very seriously. If you don’t have an immigration attorney, it is highly recommended that you find an immigration attorney to help you properly respond to give you the highest chances of success.
With the 221(g), there are some times that it’s not quite as serious as not proving that you have a real relationship but there might be some documents missing. If you go to your interview and you didn’t bring all of the required documents, they could give you this as well. You’ll have an opportunity to provide those additional documents to be able to approve your visa.
In general, a 221(g) refusal is a very serious thing and you need to make sure you take that situation seriously and that you’re very meticulous in your response.