Whether your visa is a fully funded MSc or PhD scholarship in the U.S., a consular officer at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate may still find you inadmissible into the United States.
According to the U.S. government, your visa application may be approved or denied regardless of the visa you’re holding.
Why Your Visa May Be Rejected By U.S. Consular Officer
According to the standards established in U.S. law, some of the rejection reasons include (but are not limited to) the following:
Disjointed information
If the consular officer does not have all of the information required to determine if you are eligible.
Intention to violate U.S. laws
Anyone seeking entry into the United States can be deemed inadmissible if there are reasonable grounds to believe they intend to engage in activities such as violating U.S. laws related to:
- espionage,
- sabotage, or
- export restrictions;
- participating in unlawful activities;
- opposing the U.S. government through force or violence such as constantly attacking the U.S. government on social media.
Foreign Policy Consequences
You may be deemed inadmissible if your entry or proposed activities are believed to have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.
Category of qualification
If you do not qualify for the visa category for which you applied.
Terrorist Activities
If you ever engaged in terrorist activities. This includes engaging in, planning, or supporting terrorist activities, being a representative of a terrorist organization, or receiving training from a terrorist organization.
Inadmissibility
If the consular officer feels that you are inadmissible in the face of U.S. law, your visa will be rejected.
Participation in Nazi Persecution, Genocide, or Torture
If participated in Nazi persecution, genocide, or acts of torture or extrajudicial killings, you will be considered inadmissible.
Disqualification on health grounds
If you are living with a communicable disease of public health significance, as determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, is considered inadmissible.
Failure to provide vaccination documentation
If you are seeking immigration or adjustment of status, but you failed to provide documentation of vaccination against specified vaccine-preventable diseases, and failure to do so makes them inadmissible.
Immigrant Membership in Totalitarian Party
Immigrants who are or have been members of or affiliated with the Communist or any other totalitarian party may be considered inadmissible. Exceptions exist for involuntary membership, past membership, and close family members.
Association with Terrorist Organizations
If you are associated with a terrorist organization such as Boko Haram, Al-Shabab etc or intending to engage in activities that could endanger the U.S., may be deemed inadmissible.
Recruitment or Use of Child Soldiers
Any alien engaged in the recruitment or use of child soldiers in violation of U.S. law (section 2442 of title 18, United States Code) is considered inadmissible.
If you are an immigration violator
Claiming U.S. citizenship will lead to rejection under any guise, if you find your way into the U.S. you will be deported if authorities detect the falsehood later.
On Labor Grounds
Regardless of how skilled you are in your field, your U.S. visa may be rejected if you seek to enter the United States to perform skilled or unskilled labor, unless
the Secretary of Labor has determined and certified to the Secretary of State and the Attorney General that there are not sufficient workers within the U.S. available at the time of application.
And that your employment will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed in the same field.
Violation of INA
If the consular officer is convinced that you’ve violated any section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), your visa will be denied.
NOTE: INA establishes the types of visas available for travel to the U.S. and the conditions that must be met before an applicant can be issued a particular type of visa.