Denied under 214(b) or 212(a) after 221(g)? Request another interview.

Posted on October 28, 2026

For those applying for visas, times are bleak.  Visa suspensions, pauses, bans, delays, denials.  Consuls applying new over-the-top visa policies; targeting applicants who had no problems receiving visas in the past; and re-opening issues from 10/20/30 years ago, issues that had previously been reviewed and resolved. And so this is a good time to remember your visa rights.

We have written extensively about the rights of visa applicants in the past.  Perhaps most importantly, the consul cannot “opt-out” of following Department of State rules and regulations. That is why the Department of State has rules and regulations: for the consuls to follow.  For visa applicants, those rules and regulations permit the filing of appeals (called requests for reconsideration) in immigrant visa cases and to have evidence to be considered to overcome any inadmissibility for any type of visa case, including Sections 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) (crime of moral turpitude), 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II) (controlled substance violation), 212(a)(6)(C)(i) (misrepresentation), 212(a)(6)(E) (alien smuggling), 212(a)(2)(C)(i) and (ii) (drug traffickers and relatives), 212(a)(3)(A) (unlawful activity), 212(a)(3)(C) (foreign policy), and 212(a)(4) (public charge).  These rules are not a formality: the consul is to give the applicant a meaningful opportunity to present the evidence – otherwise, a right that exists only on paper is not a right.

Which brings us to one very common situation: you apply for a visa – any type, be it visitor (B), student (F), work (e.g., H-1B, L-1, O-1, E-2), immigrant. And at your interview, you are temporarily denied under Section 221(g).  Later – it does not matter how much later, either 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, or 1 year – you are denied under Section 214(b) or a Section 212(a) inadmissibility, such as any of the ones mentioned above.   In the case of 212(a), you can then submit evidence to overcome that refusal. 

But the Department of State’s own rules go even further: if you dispute either a 214(b) or 212(a) finding, you can offer additional evidence and request another interview – and the consul “should consider that evidence and offer a follow-up in-person interview.”  The logic is simple: the applicant paid the visa application processing fee; attended the interview; was not definitively denied at the interview; but did not have the opportunity to address the reason for the later-rendered 214(b) or 212(a) denial decision. And so by offering a new interview to the applicant, the consul is supposed to give you that opportunity. No new application or payment of a processing is required.

If you have been denied under 214(b) or one of the Section 212(a) inadmissibility provisions after being denied under 221(g), feel free to contact us to discuss your situation.