J1 Work and Travel Visa Refusal

DualtaJones

Hi myself and my girlfriend applied for our j1 work and travel visa there yesterday morning at the US Embassy (all the hard ground work had been done with IIIC etc, this was the final interview and clearance) I have finished college and am just coming up to a year out. She is just finished 1st year in NCAD and has managed to get a deferral of her place in fashion. I was given my visa but she was denied. Now the woman at the desk was not very nice at all and barely asked anything. She had her deferral letter and the IIIC had foreseen no problems. Has anyone else been refused? Have you reapplied? If so with any success?

Refusal code is Section 214(b) Not demonstrated sufficiently strong family, social and/or economic ties to our place of residence.

JohnMearsheimer

You need to be a graduate to get the 1 year J visa. You are a graduate and got your visa. She isn't a graduate so did not qualify for a 1 year J visa. I think all she would qualify for at the moment is the summer J1 visa if she goes back to college.

silja

**** Moving from US Travel to USA forum, where US Living/ Visa questions go ****

emeraldstar

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

You need to be a graduate to get the 1 year J visa. You are a graduate and got your visa. She isn't a graduate so did not qualify for a 1 year J visa.

No, you don't. It is open to current students and recent graduates. The reason she was refused was stated in the opening post:

Refusal code is Section 214(b) Not demonstrated sufficiently strong family, social and/or economic ties to our place of residence.

DualtaJones

Thanks for the move, yeah its open to graduates of under 1 year and current students.

Does anyone know someone who has reapplied and been successful?

JohnMearsheimer

emeraldstar wrote: »

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

You need to be a graduate to get the 1 year J visa. You are a graduate and got your visa. She isn't a graduate so did not qualify for a 1 year J visa.

No, you don't. It is open to current students and recent graduates. The reason she was refused was stated in the opening post:

Refusal code is Section 214(b) Not demonstrated sufficiently strong family, social and/or economic ties to our place of residence.

Fair enough, when I looked into going on the year long J1 in 2009 you had to be a graduate to get the visa, not 1 or 2 years through a course.

silja

To be honest, I know very few people who have been refused, unless they had lengthy overstays or drug charges in their background.

I wonder if the girlfriend has ties to the USA that may invalidate her ties to Ireland? Ie family over there that makes the embassy think she will stay? How many years is the defered fashion course? Has she ever had a J1 before?

DualtaJones

She has family in Chicago, but we were travelling to NYC. She can only defer for one year, and was told that the only reason she could defer was because of the prospect of getting a job in fashion in NYC, she handed in a letter stating as much. She has no over stays, or criminal charges. She went around the world with me, but in that respect our collection of stamps in passport are identical.

jessymoore86

I don't think you are allowed to work in fashion either on that visa?

DualtaJones

IIC didnt mention anything about a restriction on fashion as a course. The US visa people basically said they didnt believe she would return.

jessymoore86

did she have a job offer form with her to show she would return and how many times had she been to the states before?

DualtaJones

yup. Sure she had 3 years left in college in Dublin to do.

jessymoore86

that is nuts! did she have proof from the college that she was returning ? .. Poor girl, and she has never been to the states before?

DualtaJones

We'd been twice. Yeah a letter from college stating how it wasnt a normal thing to be allowed a year off from NCAD. But because of the experience she could get in fashion in NYC theyd let her go.

jessymoore86

oh, seems the college shot her in the foot - sorry for you guys! Really depends who you get at the window

DualtaJones

Yep, almost everything lands on those 30seconds you get to speak to someone.