Will I ever get a visa again?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

In 2009, I went on the J1 work-and-travel programme and returned home after my time was up.

In 2012, I applied for a visitor’s visa and I told the consular officer that I was working, but I wasn’t at the time. They found out that I was lying and did not grant me the visa.

I went there again in 2018, this time with my family – my husband, son and daughter – and we were all denied visas.

Will I ever get a US visa again?

– SG

Dear SG,

Your situation is one of the most frequent inquiries I receive in my office on a weekly basis. It is a problem that can be avoided simply by always being truthful with the US Embassy and dealing with the consequences.

What you did by telling the US Embassy that you were employed in Jamaica when you were not is immigration fraud. This fraud never goes away and makes you permanently ineligible for any type of visa to America. The only way to overcome this ineligibility is if you were to be granted a waiver.

A lot of persons, over the years, apply for non-immigrant US visas and answer the questions on the application in a way most favourable to them, in the hope that giving answers that are not truthful will make them get a visa. Unfortunately, sometimes it is the person completing the application for the applicant who purposely places incorrect information on the form, with the intention of getting the applicant a visa. It is important that you engage someone who is reputable to make the visa application on your behalf; and do not be afraid to ask to review the finished product before it is submitted to the US Embassy.

Some persons go so far as to produce false documents to substantiate their claims that they are working, married, etc. Please do not engage in this behaviour. It may come with the promise of a visa now and have lifelong negative impact on your life. We have seen persons who cannot migrate or visit a sick loved one, cannot participate in the lives of the family members in America because of immigration fraud.

While both a non-immigrant and immigrant waivers are available for persons ineligible for a visa due to fraud, it takes time to prepare and process. It is an expensive undertaking, and it is a discretionary form of relief – which means that it is not guaranteed that even if you are eligible to apply for the waiver, the US government will grant you the waiver.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq, is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator, and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com