Are you planning to visit the US as a tourist, a student or even as an H-1B employee? Forget the fact that interview slots are hard to get, especially for the H-1B holders, but now non-immigrant visa applicants have to deal with two additional questions.They will be asked: Have you experienced harm or mistreatment in your country of nationality or last habitual residence? The second question is: Do you fear harm or mistreatment in returning to your country of nationality or permanent residence?An affirmative answer to either could result in denial of a visa. The catch, if the situation in their home country changes and they wish to apply for asylum – they may be denied the same.More than 41,000 Indians have applied for asylum in the US in 2023 – a significant portion of these applicants are from Punjab and Gujarat who have largely crossed the borders illegally. Immigration experts point out that steps have been taken to curb illegal influxes of immigrants, but these two questions are aimed at legal immigrants who could end up seeking asylum after entering the US.Ellen Freeman, a Pittsburgh based, immigration attorney, said, “US consular officers will be instructed to rigorously apply section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to applicants subject to that provision.” This section states that every non-immigrant visa applicant (eg: tourists, students) is presumed to be an intending immigrant. If a consular officer is not convinced that such individual has strong ties with the home country and will return, the visa is denied. “For H-1B and L-1 (intra company transfer cases) visa applicants refusals would be under section 221(g) of the INA,” she added.“An applicant who receives a visa based on a negative response to the questions and later applies for asylum in the US could be challenged on the veracity of their asylum claim against their statement at the visa interview. An asylum officer or an immigration judge could rely on these prior statements as the basis for a lack of credibility determination and thereby deny the asylum claim,” said Freeman.
