Anthonyisbeautiful

I went to an interview at the London U.S embassy for a F-1 student Visa but was rejected. I have everything i need in order to go college but the reason was that they felt i did not have any ties here. I tried to find out how i would show i will return to the U.K after college and that i do have ties and they told me how. But all the things they said i dont have, they were

A Property,
Children
Work
In Education

Im17 years old, almost 18 so i cant get my own place and i wouldnt want to buy somewhere to just leave it. I dont understand what documents i could take to show them i would come back. I know i definately would but how do i convince them i will, what can i either take or say to show that i will return to the UK?

dunroving

I must admit I'm very surprised at this (as an educator, not an immigration expert). I'd say you are pretty typical of an undergraduate student. You don't own a property. You don't have children. If you have a job, you'd obviously give it up in order to pursue a degree. And not in education? Well surely, you wouldn't be, if you plan to get a degree in the US!!

Is there something else about the picture you have mentioned? Did you tell them you have a US girlfriend? Have always wanted to settle down in the US? Any prior immigration problems?

Anthonyisbeautiful

i have a girlfriend in the U.S but that wouldnt stop me from coming back. If i was going to stay there illegally i would of done in the last 2 times ive been on the Visa waiver program. I really want to be able to go college and the person at the interview said they felt like i was mainly going to see her but that isnt true. Ive always wanted to go to college in the United States and ofcourse if i pick a college id rather pick one near my girlfriend than the other side of the country. But that dosent mean im going to stay, i have family here and id wouldnt do anything to put at risk me being able to go the U.S again.

Is there anything i could do, its just ive been planning college for 5 months and its been the hardest and most expensive time of my life. I dont want it all to stop and me to have wasted all that time for nothing, i even had to take the GED Exams to do it.

ian-mstm

It stops many from coming back... and all US immigration has is your word that you won't stay. They tend not to take you at your word.


People usually take the GED because they don't have a high school education. While the ACE allows you to sit the GED after age 16, most states won't allow you to sit until you're 18.

Ian

Anthonyisbeautiful

ive already taken the GED's and have a GED Certificate, i finished high school but unfortunately my grades werent the equivelant of me graduating from a U.S high school.

I just dont know what else i can do, if they really knew me theyd accept me but i know whatever i say is just my word and i have no proof.

dunroving

That's the exact truth, and is why I asked if you had left out some important piece of information - like a US girlfriend. Doesn't matter what your intentions are, they can't read your mind, they don't "really know you", as you put it. The appearance of impropriety is about as dangerous as impropriety itself when it comes to US immigration.

Without seeing the CCTV, we don't know how the conversation went, but we can probably guess. There's a fine line between telling the truth and telling facts you don't need to, or telling things in a way that can be interpreted one way or another. Choosing words like "friend" vs "girlfriend", etc., etc., can give a very different impression.

md95065

Yes, in fact I was wondering how the issue of the OP having a US girlfriend ever came up in the first place.

Unless he was specifically asked a question which required that piece of information as part of the answer it should not have done.

meauxna

There is a specific form question about certain relatives/relationships in the US and I've always read that the topic comes up.
One of the questions is about who you will be living with in the US.

md95065

Yes - the DS156 form asks about immediate relatives and Fiance/Fiancee but not girlfriends.

There is indeed also a question about where and with whom you will be staying in while in the US. The OP's statement about picking a college that was "near" his girlfriend led me to believe (possibly incorrectly) that he was not actually planning on staying with her.

When a friend of mine got an F1 visa about a year ago I do not believe that he was asked any questions about girlfriends / boyfriends in the US although obviously it is a question that could well come up.

My point was just that, in the absence of any specific question for which a truthful answer required the mention of a girlfriend it was certainly not necessary for the OP to bring the matter up in casual conversation at the interview.

English Muffin

On another forum the OP stated that he told the ConOff he intended to live with his girlfriend while in the US on his F1.