For the past semester I’ve been talking about immigration reform, different aspects on it, so that everyone can learn to look at it from different angles.
It’s known that Immigration has been a continuous problem within the U.S.. The Government’s inability to deal with this issue shines light over how grossly out of date the immigration system is. How unable it is to keep up with the demands of a growing and changing U.S. economy and to reflect the needs and values of our diverse nation.
So for this weeks blog, I’m going to explain how hard it is for anyone to obtain a visa, so they can travel inside the U.S..
What types of Visas
Their are a myriad of different type of visas, the whole alphabet A, B-1, B-2, J, F, each of them represent something else.
If one wishes to enter the U.S. for a short period of time, they must apply for a U.S. visitor visa (type B). Normally when one applies or a visa they have to do so well in advance, otherwise the chances of getting rejected increase (not that they aren’t already high enough).
B-1 visas are intended for individuals traveling for short-term business needs such as meetings, seminars, conferences, trade shows, negotiations, fact-finding trips, and market research for no longer than a few months. Individuals cannot legally work in the United States under a B-1 visa. Working in the United States is a much different process that requires an employment-based visa or green card (which is even harder to obtain)
B-2 visitor visas are issued for the purpose of tourism: amusement, visiting friends and family, or receiving medical treatment.
Given that it has happened before, visitor visas are the hardest to obtain since the U.S. government operates under the assumption that the applicant will attempt to stay permanently in the U.S.
The following are reasons Visas get denied:
- The applicant misrepresented themselves on the B visa application
- The applicant did not effectively establish a case that their visit would be temporary or that they were not going to immigrate permanently to the U.S.
- The applicant has a criminal history with incidents of drug use, serious crimes, or multiple convictions with jail time
- The applicant could not demonstrate ability to support themselves financially during the trip
- The applicant has previous immigration issues or violations on record
With the above reasons in mind, several nationalities have been stereotyped, and are rejected more frequently than others.
the war-torn country of Afghanistan had a B visa rejection rate of 59%, while the relatively stable countries of Argentina and Chile both had rejection rates around 2%. African countries tend to have some of the highest U.S. visitor visa rejection rates with the exception of South Africa (3% rejected.) Djibouti, Ghana, Mauritania, Mali, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and The Gambia all had at least 50% of their U.S. visitor visa requests rejected. Asian countries have some of the most widely varied rejection rates, with countries like Laos (60% refusal), Nepal (49%), the Philippines (24%), India (24%), Indonesia (12%), mainland China (9%), United Arab Emirates (9%), Malaysia (5%), Qatar (2%), and Taiwan (1%.)
American visa rejection is all around the world, people tend to associate Illegal Immigration with Mexico. Most of the immigration has come from Mexico, but it doesn’t mean that it has just to do with them.
procuring a visa, green card, etc. is generally limited to four different routes:
- Employment
- Certain family ties
- Refugee or asylee processing
- The diversity lottery
Each of these groups includes specific paths, which in turn are subject to specific limitations (e.g., number of visas available and eligibility requirements) and obstacles (e.g., limits by country). Some of the supposedly available routes are in fact unfeasible.
People migrate to the states illegally, not for lack of trying to do it through the legal routes, but because it’s the only choice they have left.
There’s a fence, two sides, you’re on the wrong side and wish to got to the other. You can hear the dogs barking, people running, they’re getting close. No way to get home, if you look back you’re dead, if you go back, you’re dead. There is a fence in front of you, my question is, what would you do?