One of the more common visas here in the U.S. are B visas. These visas cover temporary stays in the U.S. by business and tourist visitors. There are a range of different tourist or business goals a foreign national seeking a B visa may have. Sometimes, complicated issues or situations arise in connection to B visas that could impact such an individual’s chances of being able to achieve their goals.
One is if the foreign national has their request for a B visa denied in connection to a finding by immigration officials that the person didn’t meet the eligibility requirements for such a visa. Among these requirements is the “nonimmigrant intent” requirement.
What country’s citizens see the highest rate of B visa refusals? A recent Statista analysis of data from the U.S. Department of State regarding fiscal year 2016 looked into this.
The analysis found citizens of Cuba to have the top refusal rate. Reportedly, around four out of every five B visa requests made by Cuban citizens were denied in fiscal year 2016. Specifically, 81.9 percent of such requests were rejected.
The top three for B visa refusal rate was filled out by citizens of Afghanistan (a 73.8 percent refusal rate) and citizens of Mauritania (a 71.5% percent refusal rate).
Complicated immigration situations could also come up for a foreign national after being granted a B visa and coming into the U.S. on the visa.
When any sort of complication comes up for a foreign citizen in relation to a B visa, how they respond could have significant impacts on their overall goals. So, when such complications arise, a person may want to talk to an experienced immigration lawyer about their visa situation.
Source: MarketWatch, “The country with the most U.S. visa refusals is not named in Trump’s travel ban,” Quentin Fottrell, April 8, 2017