Why was my US visa revoked?
Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,
IBOOKED a flight since October to travel to New York along with my son for the Christmas holiday. When I got to the airport, I was told that they got a call from immigration in the States that I am not supposed to travel and that I should visit the US Embassy as soon as possible.
I went to the US Embassy and was told that they no longer allow persons to come in, but instead, I would have to send an email to them. I sent an email, I got a message back from the Fraud Prevention Unit (FPU) that states that my visa has been revoked and I am not allowed entry into the US; there were no reasons given.
I am 100 per cent sure that I did not present any fraudulent documents when I applied for the visa. Could you tell me what could have caused this? My son is so locked off from the world because he really wanted to be with his family last Christmas. Please give me some answers if you can.
TW
Dear TW,
There are numerous reasons why a person may be denied boarding of an aircraft on the way to the United States. In your case, the FPU at the US Embassy appears to be involved. A US visa is a privilege and not a right, and is given and revoked by the US Embassy at their pleasure.
However, after a person has been issued a visa, it is usually only revoked if the United States authorities have a reason for so doing. The United States of America does not have to inform you of the reason for the revocation of the US visa. You indicated that you are 100 per cent sure that you did not submit any fraudulent documents with your visa application; but questions may have been answered incorrectly – either purposely or in error. You didn’t indicate if you completed the application yourself, or if you had someone do so on your behalf.
It could be a situation where you did not review the application thoroughly and a mistake was made and you didn’t notice; or it could be that a visa preparer consciously put misleading information on the application in the mistaken belief that they were ‘helping’ you to obtain a visa. If the preparer made a genuine mistake or was misleading, you are ultimately responsible for the information that is submitted in the application. Unfortunately, we have also learnt of instances where someone you know may have called the embassy and given them information that lead to the revocation of your visa. It appears that your son’s visa was also cancelled.
REVIEW AND REAPPLY
It would be best for you to review your visa application (if possible) and reapply. At the interview, you may be given the opportunity to have a conversation with the consular officer that would shed some light on your particular situation. If the visa is not reissued, you could consider hiring a lawyer to prepare a non-immigrant waiver on your behalf that would give you a more detailed opportunity to plead your case to the US government based on the facts of your particular case.