221G Visa Refusal
Many international students plan to travel to the US for a Masters's degree or a PhD in their subject of choice, and if you have all your documents and finances in order, getting a US visa has been known to be a cakewalk for the most part. Sure, COVID-19 changed all of that and made getting a visa slot a challenge because of consulates shutting down and appointments getting cancelled. Most of us had to travel to consulates far away with the hope of getting our visa approved in good time before the start of our academic program in the US.
I am from Pune, a city in Maharashtra, India, and we have a US Consulate in Mumbai, which is just 3 hours away by road. Naturally, this would have been the consulate of choice for me, but as luck would have it, I could only manage to book a visa appointment at the Kolkata Consulate. Despite the challenges involved in getting a slot for both biometrics and the F1 visa interview, every other person I followed on social media was posting stories about their successful consulate interviews and approvals.
There seem to be plenty of presumptions floating around visa approvals like, “Those who have been issued US visas in the past, those who have their finances in order, those who have been admitted to a renowned university should get a VISA without even the slightest trouble.” Since I had travelled to the US a few times before, I had been issued two US tourist visas in the past, my funding was in order, and I was all set to study at UC San Diego, a top-ranked university in the US. These facts made me confident that I would easily be granted an F1 visa, but I was wrong.
On the morning of my appointment, at 8 AM, I was ready and awaiting my turn to attend my interview. The previous candidates before me were very excited since they had their visas approved. 3/5 of them were going to the US to study Computer Science, and all of them gave me a thumbs-up with a wide smile since they were relieved to have their visa approved. This perhaps signified that the visa officer was in a good mood and he sure seemed to be. Everything seemed to be going smoothly during my interview, until we started speaking about my Major, Masters in NanoEngineering. I was even asked the ultimate signature Kolkata consulate question, “are you married?” and I chuckled and said no. But to my disbelief, I was handed a green 221G Slip and asked to walk out with it.
What is this 221G Green Slip?
So I got a slip which roughly read, “Your US visa has been REFUSED under section 221G of the US Immigration and Nationality Act. The application will be reconsidered when Administrative Processing is complete." It was indeed very heartbreaking to be handed a letter which says visa REFUSED.
Why 221G?
The work experience and domain of certain applicants can pertain to topics of national importance like Aerospace, Defence, Energy, Materials Science, Engineering Design etc which feature on a classified list called the Technology Alert List (TAL) released by the US to the Immigration authorities. If you read online about the TAL, you will soon realise that almost all hot topics in today’s engineering world right from Aerospace, Artificial Intelligence, Batteries, Drones, Energy or even Robotics could be potentially linked to a topic on the TAL. In light of this connection, the US consulate wants to perform additional scrutiny on our profile before handing us a visa.
What To Do Next?
Every consulate has a unique 221G Slip, which is unique in both colour and content. Typically, most consulates request the following information:-
- A resume with a detailed academic and professional background, complete with a list of publications.
- Details of international travel within the last 5-10 years.
- Past research experiences and research intentions in the US
- Letters of financial support, an invitation to the program, supporting documents from any US source etc.
The only thing to be done is to gather all of these as requested and mail them to the consulate immediately, and wait patiently. Sadly, there is no fixed time for this Administrative Processing, and consulates go on record and estimate a minimum of 60 days to give us their decision. The long wait is perhaps the worst part of a 221G processing.
It is very easy to feel stressed in a situation like this since all of our grand plans of studying abroad depend on our visas. It does not help that most of our friends who are also travelling to the US cannot relate to our problems. They are naturally excited about booking tickets, packing bags, making living arrangements and making new connections since life is all set to change. I feel going for a higher education program is an experience, and it’s certainly not a race.
Did I Know About 221G?
I got to know about a potential temporary refusal under 221G since a close friend of mine with a similar background, had been handed over a White slip during his interview in the New Delhi Embassy after he told the visa officer about his interests in battery technologies. On the other hand, I knew quite a lot of folks going for courses in NanoEngineering, Chemical Engineering, Nuclear Physics etc. who had their VISA promptly approved and so I was hoping that I would be in the second category.
Some myths which I wanted to debunk that I heard from my peers who did not receive 221Gs:-
- “Do not talk a lot about your background if it pertains to topics which are enlisted in the Technology Alert List. Rehearse an alternative research interest which does not include topics in the TAL”
- e.g. Do not say that you wish to study Materials Science with a focus on energy materials, but say that you will focus on Environmental Materials. This shall help you avoid a 221G slip.
- I was advised to say that I was keen on studying NanoEngineering and its applications in Environmental Sustainability, and I said it and was still handed the 221G slip.
- “Some consulates are better with 221G than others.”
- The Kolkata Consulate was not handing over 221Gs slips and it had not handed a 221G slip a day before to an MS NanoEngineering candidate, but since I was handed a green slip here, it’s safe to say that I debunked this myth.
So if a consulate wants to further examine your profile because of your Engineering Major, previous experiences, or anything that could trigger an alert, then they might stop you, regardless of how well prepared or perfect your documents are. After connecting with many students who had received a 221G Slip, I realised that there were freshers and professionals from all sorts of majors, including Computer Science and Electronics, who had no direct connection to a TAL domain whatsoever. There was very little in common between all of the aspirants I interacted with. The only thing that was common though, was a deep sense of concern for what was to happen to our visa and when we’d hear about it.
So, from my experience, I feel there is no secret way to avoid a 221G Slip. It can happen to anyone and it could even happen to the best prepared of us. The only way ahead is to be truthful about your ambitions and deal with things as they come.
Things Which Can Be Done In This Situation:
- Book your visa appointments for as early as you can so that there is enough buffer between your interview and scheduled travel, in the event that you require a 221G administrative processing.
- A friend of mine received his 221G slip on July 10th while his classes were starting in the second week of August. It was definitely a lot stressful for him.
- I received my 221G slip on 20th of July and my classes were starting on the 23rd of September. My consulate took more time to complete the administrative processing, but it was helpful to have more time at hand.
- Be optimistic, stay patient, and stay very positive.
- Carefully assess what has been asked on your 221G Slip and promptly review and submit all your documents within 1-2 days of your appointment.
- Keep preparing for your travel to the USA
- Don’t waste your precious time worrying about the uncertainty. This time is best spent with family and friends.
- Find 221G groups on WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook etc, since these help us connect with a similar pool of aspirants. This helps stay alert about 221G updates on consulate groups to make educated guesses of when your case could be reviewed. However, too much dependence on such groups might also be detrimental to your peace. So I’d suggest giving it a tiny fraction of your day to check for case updates on the CEAC Website.
- Give a slight nudge to consulates by emailing in a few weeks after your appointment.
- Some consulates might respond, and things might just tip in your favour, while sometimes nothing will happen at all.
End Implications
If everything is in order (which in most cases, it is), then you will get an email requesting your passport for stamping at a VFS centre and shortly after, you will get your visa. Sure, there could be delays and maybe you’d have to push your travel ahead by a few days or weeks, but this too shall pass. Staying patient and positive is the only thing in our hands.
Side-Effects of 221G
- You may be issued a VISA of 3-4 years, compared to the typically issued duration of say 5 years for an F-1 student. This implies that you might have to renew it a little sooner before your re-entry into the US.
- You may have an additional line on your VISA, “Clearance received on XX/YY/ZZ date”
Other than the fear and a prolonged wait time to get your visa, there is no difference between you and someone else who had their visa instantly approved. There’s no point fretting and questioning why things happen a certain way and why they might only be happening a particular way for you, but with positivity and patience, there always is a light shining at the end of the tunnel.
