Case of R.J.

As Mr. J attempted to board a flight, he was told that his visa had been revoked, but not advised of the reason. He later applied for a visa at a US consulate in his home country of Mexico, but was told that there was a problem due to a flag placed by CBP. He contacted CBP at the border, but it was not helpful, stating that he should reapply for a visa. So he applied for a visa again. Then, he was advised that he was permanently barred from the US under Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i). But no one would tell him why. Upon our inquiry, we were also stonewalled — in the beginning. The post responded that if he would like to discuss his case, he should apply again. But he had already applied twice — paying the applicable visa fees — yet no one at the consulate deigned to advise him of his alleged misrepresentation. When we brought the apparent discrimination to the attention of the Consul General — other consular posts around the world regularly inform applicants for the reason for an accusation of willful, material misrepresentation, but this young Mexican applicant was not — the Consul General finally responded: the decision was an error due to an internal government misunderstanding. Because there had been no willful, material misrepresentation, she rescinded the 212(a)(6)(C)(i) decision and the lifetime bar.