Posts tagged “visa inadmissibility”

The Trump Administration has revoked more than 175,000 U.S. visas, according to the State Department, with most revocations reportedly involving criminal conduct, immigration violations, fraud, or national-security concerns. But an increasingly important category involves people whose visas have been revoked because of political statements, political views, social-media activity, or associations with individuals considered problematic by US government officials. This visa revocation net has been cast far and wide, even encompassing political figures in Mexico and Brazil.  

A visa revocation, however, is not the same thing as a finding of inadmissibility. Under Section  221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of State or a consular officer has broad authority to revoke a visa after it has been issued. But when the individual later applies for a new visa, the government still must apply the relevant provisions of the law. For example, if the person has not committed a crime covered by Section 212(a)(2); has no applicable security or terrorism ground under Section 212(a)(3); has not committed fraud or a material misrepresentation under Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i); and has no other applicable ground of inadmissibility, there may be no substantive basis to find the person inadmissible simply because of political views or an association with another person. Political activity can implicate particular provisions of Section 212(a)(3) in some circumstances, but there is no general rule making someone inadmissible merely because that person criticized President Trump or knew someone the administration considers undesirable.