DON’T PULL A FAST ONE
-Sudhir Shah, Advocate, Mumbai

Large number of Applicants of Visitor’s or Business visa of USA think that the Consular officers at the American Consulates in India are dumb. They therefore try to pull a fast one on them and then repent. Till date, the consular officers at the American Consulate in Mumbai used to put a rubber stamp on the last page of the Applicant’s passport stating “Application Received”. This would mean that the consulate had received an application for a visa on a particular date from that passport holder which was denied. Now no such a rubber stamp is put on the Applicant’s passport because the Consular officers feed into their computers particulars about all the Applicants whose visas are denied. The applicants however feel that as there is no indication on their passport concerning denial of their visa application, the consular officer would not know about such a denial. They therefore whilst filling up the non-immigrant visa application Form DS-156 hide the fact that their application for a visa was denied in the past. When the Consular officer finds that the Applicant has tried to conceal the truth they refuse to grant the visa on the ground of fraud and misrepresentation.

At times near relatives of the visa seekers are in USA but the applicants do not disclose that in their application form. As soon as the consular officer submits the applicant’s name in his computer, he receives all information concerning that applicant including the fact that, that applicants near relatives are in USA and thus the concealment of the applicant is detected and his visas are denied once again for fraud and misrepresentation.

On many occasions family members desiring to travel together apply for visa separately and do not disclose in their application forms that they are traveling with their other family members. They too are denied visas for the same reasons of fraud and misrepresentation.

In the matter of applying for a visa honesty is the best policy particularly in view of the fact that now a computer registers all past applications and reveals the history of the applicants. You cannot now pull a fast one on a Consular officer.

Applicants of non immigrant category of visa, who are obliged to display strong family ties in their home country, do not disclose in their application form that they have their close relatives residing in USA. But in the very same form, in answer to the question as to where they would be residing in USA, they write the address of their relative residing in USA. The Consular officer thereupon catches them and their visas are denied.

Many applicants of USA visa have intentions other than what they have stated as their purpose in traveling to USA. A mother who is traveling to USA to attend to her daughter’s delivery writes the purpose of her visit as tourism. Doctors intending to give clinical skill assessments exam in USA or to give interviews for being sponsored for H-1B visa, also write in their application forms that their purpose in traveling to USA is tourism. Some desire to marry a US citizen, some want to study in USA, some have preconceived intention of changing their status in USA from a visitor to an Intra-company Transferee L-1. All these applicants state their purpose of visiting USA as tourism. The consular officer by looking at the applicant and their present qualifications are able to guess as to what would be their real purpose in traveling to USA. If a Chartered Accountant makes an application by stating that his purpose is tourism, the officer knows that the real purpose is for which he wants to travel to USA is to take CPA exam there. If such applicants do not state the facts and give false information the Consular officer is likely to deny their visas. Tourist season is fast approaching. Now the number of visa seekers would increase manifold. Many would try to take advantage of the rush. It would be in the interest of all genuine non immigrant visa seekers to state true and correct facts. If a visa seeker will try to pull a fast one upon the Consular officer, his application certainly will be denied.