A. Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible to receive an immigrant visa through consular processing, you must prove that:
- You satisfy all the admissibility criteria to enter the U.S. as an immigrant
- You have an approved immigration petition
- You plan to engage in the activities that are consistent with your immigrant visa category
- Your immigration petition’s priority date is current
B. Grounds For Inadmissibility
The consular officer may deny immigrant visas to foreign nationals on the following grounds:
1.Health-Related Grounds
You may be denied an immigrant visa if:
a.You have a communicable disease and the disease is of public health significance
b.You have not met the vaccination requirements
c.You have a physical or mental disorder and may pose a threat to the property, safety or welfare of others
d.You are a drug abuser or a drug addict
e.You are an alcohol abuser or an alcohol addict, and may pose a threat to the property, safety, or welfare of others
2.Criminal and Related Grounds
You may be denied an Immigrant Visa if:
a.You have committed crimes involving moral turpitude or crimes involving controlled substances
b.You have had multiple criminal convictions, and the offenses committed are other than purely political, and the aggregate sentences to confinement are five years or more
c.You have been convicted of trafficking controlled substances, or are the spouse, son, or daughter of a foreign national who is or has been an illicit trafficker or knowing assister, abettor, conspirator, or colluder with others in the illicit trafficking of any controlled substance
d.You have been a prostitute, or are entering the U.S. to practice prostitution
e.You directly or indirectly procure or attempt to procure or import prostitutes or persons for the purpose of prostitution
f.You are coming to the U.S. to engage in an unlawful commercialized vice
3.Security and Related Grounds
You may be denied an Immigrant Visa if:
a.You plan to enter the U.S. to engage solely, principally, or incidentally in any activity to violate any law of the U.S. relating to espionage or sabotage
b.You plan to enter the U.S. to engage solely, principally, or incidentally in any activity to violate or evade any law prohibiting the export from the U.S. of goods, technology, or sensitive information
c.You plan to enter the U.S. to engage solely, principally, or incidentally in any activity a purpose of which is the opposition to, or the control or overthrow of, the Government of the U.S.
4.Public Charge
You may be denied an Immigrant visa if you are considered likely to become a public charge if it is the opinion of the consular officer at the time of application.
5.Illegal Entrants and Immigration Violators
You may be denied an Immigrant visa if:
a.You arrived in the U.S. at a time or place other than as designated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
b.You failed or refused to attend or remain in attendance at a removal proceeding
c.You seek to procure (or have procured) immigration benefits by fraud or misrepresentation
d.You falsely claimed U.S. citizenship
e.You are a stowaway
f.You were an alien smuggler
g.You are the subject of a final order for violation related to document fraud
h.You have been a student visa abuser
6.Documentation Requirements
You may be denied an Immigrant visa if:
a. You are a returning permanent resident, who at the time of application for admission are not in possession of any valid unexpired entry document
b.You are a returning permanent resident, who at the time of application for admission are not in possession of any valid unexpired travel document
c.You are an immigrant whose visa has been issued without compliance with the provisions of INA 203 (Allocation of Immigrant visas)
7.Ineligibility for Citizenship
You may be denied an Immigrant visa if:
a.You are permanently ineligible to receive U.S. citizenship
b.You have departed from or have remained outside the U.S. to avoid or evade training or service in the armed forces in time of war or a period declared by the President to be a national emergency
8.Aliens Previously Removed and Aliens Unlawfully Present
You may be denied an Immigrant visa if:
a.You have been ordered removed from the U.S.
b.You were unlawfully present in the U.S. for a period of more than 180 days but less than one year (barred from entering the U.S. for three years)
c.You were unlawfully present in the U.S. for a period of more than one year (barred from entering the U.S. for ten years)
9.Miscellaneous Grounds
You may be denied an Immigrant visa if:
a.You are coming to the U.S. to practice polygamy
b.You are a guardian accompanying an inadmissible alien
c.You are an international child abductor, or a supporter or a relative of an international child abductor
d.You are a former U.S. citizen who renounced citizenship to avoid taxation
10.J1 visa Two-Year Foreign Residence Requirement
You may be denied an Immigrant visa if:
a.You have participated in a J1 program in the U.S. and were financed by an agency of the U.S. government or by the government of the country of your nationality, or your last residence
b.You have not resided in your home country for at least two years following departure from the U.S. or received a waiver of the 2 year residency requirment
Note: Some former J1 exchange visitors must live abroad for 2 years. Physicians who intend to practice medicine must pass a qualifying exam before receiving immigrant visas.
