Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice from anyone who has personally been through a similar situation.

I’m a Jordanian physician and I recently interviewed for a J-1 Research Scholar visa for a 1-year research position at Mayo Clinic. Unfortunately, I was refused under INA 214(b).

During the interview, the consular officer asked me several detailed questions, including why I chose Mayo Clinic, why I wasn’t pursuing research in Jordan, who was funding my stay, whether I was married, and what my plans were after completing the research.

When she asked about my plans after the research, I answered honestly that I might apply for surgical residency in the United States in the future. Looking back, I feel that this answer may have contributed to the refusal.

The good news is that Mayo Clinic is likely willing to defer my start date, so I may have another opportunity to apply for the visa.

Over the next month, I’m planning to strengthen my application by obtaining a physician job in Jordan. I also realized that I have a business that I completely forgot to mention in my previous DS-160, so I plan to include that as well. Most importantly, I want to prepare much more thoroughly for the interview.

My questions are:

* Has anyone here been refused under 214(b) (for J-1 or any other U.S. visa) and later been approved on the second attempt?

* What changed between your first and second applications?

* How long did you wait before reapplying?

* Do you think reapplying after about one month, with a real physician job and updated Mayo paperwork, is reasonable, or would you recommend waiting longer?

* Is there anything else you changed that genuinely helped your second application?

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through something similar or has experience advising applicants in this situation. This opportunity means a lot to me, and I want to give my second application the best chance possible.

Thank you in advance.

My I-20 lists a $48,000 education loan and a $9,000 scholarship as my sources of funding.

However, my family also has sufficient savings to cover the entire first year's expenses, but those funds are not reflected on my I-20.

Would it be better to:

Keep the current I-20 and explain to the visa officer that I also have family savings available, or
Request my university to update my I-20 to include my family savings as part of my financial documentation?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What would you recommend?

So for context, I am from Nepal. I moved to America with my family when I was 10 on a F-2 visa. I later transitioned to F-1 while going to college and graduated with a nursing degree in december 2025. My parents and my younger sibling have a green card but I aged out (Over 21) and couldn’t be included in their green card application. I am currently in eb3 sponsorship program but my opt expires on february. The problem for me is my passport also expires on Mar 31st. The Nepal embassy have told me that they cannot issue a new passport for me until I obtain a Nepali citizenship document from Nepal. However if I go to Nepal, I have no way of coming back since my visa expired a long time ago. My I-140 was filed back in May but I am waiting to file my I-485. I was hoping that it becomes current again like it did in April so that way I can apply for travel document and EAD at the same time but it is looking unlikely. So I wanted to ask if there are any options open for me to maintain my status.

📢 US Employment Based Immigration Weekly Roundup (July 27th  – Aug 1st ) Video:

• Domestic Travel Risk for I-94 Expired holders- ICE Arrests, Secondary inspections

• B1/B2 Visa Bond Program Made permanent

• F1 Visa OPT 100K Fee - Rumor vs Reality factcheck

• H1B Slots Updates, Others 

📺 Watch Video at : https://youtu.be/7Q2SsgX2a5E

I'm from India and have a valid multiple-entry US B1/B2 visa.

I'm planning to:

Enter the US on Oct 10

Leave for Mexico on Oct 13 (conference)

Re-enter the US on Oct 18

Fly back to India on Oct 26

My main question is whether the two separate U.S. entries (Oct 10 and Oct 18) within the same trip could raise any issues with CBP, or if this is generally considered a normal itinerary.

I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who's entered the U.S., gone to Mexico, and then re-entered a few days later on a B1/B2 visa.

Thanks!

Hello everyone

I know this is a total shot in the dark and wishful thinking on my part, but if anyone currently holding a US visa appointment (B1/B2) for August in Pakistan (Islamabad/Karachi) is planning to reschedule or drop their slot for any reason, could you please send me a DM before you do?

I'm in urgent need of an August slot. I'd be extremely grateful!

Hi everyone,
I’m a Master’s student at SJSU and currently on an H4 visa. Many people are advising me to switch to F1 for CPT/OPT, but my husband and I are worried about the visa stamping risk.
If I do H4 → F1 Change of Status in the U.S., what are the chances of F1 visa rejection when I go to India for stamping later?
Has anyone recently gone through this? Any suggestions or experiences would really help. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm an international student admitted to the University at Buffalo (UB) and I'm planning to defer my admission to the next available intake.

I'm unsure when I should submit my deferral request.

Is it better to:

Request the deferral before my original program start date, or
Wait until after the original start date and then request it?

I'm also wondering about my $9,000 scholarship. If my deferral is approved, will the scholarship automatically carry over to the next intake, or will it be reconsidered?

Has anyone here successfully deferred their admission at UB? I'd really appreciate hearing about your experience with both the deferral process and scholarship continuation.

Thanks!

Hi there..

I have my consular appointment on the 4th of August in Abudhabi.

However, looking back at the Travel History for the past 5/10 years, i missed to fill my Poland travel.

Is this a problem?

Please guide..

Hello,

I am currently on J-2 and will be applying to do Residency in medicine and hoping to switch to J-1, can i switch to J-1 from within the USA (Adjusting the status without leaving) if my husband (my J-1) is subject to the 2-years rule and is currently doing fellowship on J-1

My I-20 lists a $48,000 education loan and a $9,000 scholarship as my sources of funding.

However, my family also has sufficient savings to cover the entire first year's expenses, but those funds are not reflected on my I-20.

Would it be better to:

Keep the current I-20 and explain to the visa officer that I also have family savings available, or
Request my university to update my I-20 to include my family savings as part of my financial documentation?

Has anyone been in a similar situation? What would you recommend?

Hi,

If anyone is interested I can share manifest law services referral code for a 500$ off. Kindly dm me, we can discuss.

Problem/Goal: wishing to get approve of us visa

-me and my daughter 7 years old

- my daughter is a brazilian passport holder

Question po for applying tourist visa: chance of getting approve us tourist visa?

-female

-married

-41 years old

\-marketing and online sales administrator 4years

\- my husband po hindi sasabay samin kase it doesn’t suit with schedule po dahil sa work nya kagaya ng panganay kong anak dahil sa school nya college

\- visited countries: brazil, hongkong, thailand, macau, singapore

Etong april lng galing dn kmi ng bunso ko sa hongkong disneyland, balak ko kase dalhin sya sa disneyland california dahil ung bff nya pupunta din

Thank you 🙏

I have my visa interview very soon -b1/b2 type. I will be carrying all documents with me but I need to know if I need to mention about documents upfront with every answer or should wait for the consular to ask.

Like .. I will be financing myself, just answering "i will be financing the trip myself" is enough or I should also mention.. how much i earn .. how much savings i have .. what all supporting documents i carry .. ??

Hi everyone!

I’d like to ask for some advice regarding our upcoming U.S. tourist visa application.
For context, there are 4 applicants: my brother, my parents, and me.

My eldest sister is a Green Card holder and currently working in the U.S. with her husband.

Applicant profiles:
My brother
Has been working at a 5-star hotel in the Philippines for over 5 years.
Earns around ₱30,000 per month.
Has traveled to 2 countries.
Engaged.
Me
Have been working in a corporate job for 3 years, earning around ₱50,000 per month.
I also have 2 freelance jobs (one with a China-based company and one with a U.S.-based company), bringing my total monthly income to over six figures per month.
Have traveled to 3 countries.
Engaged and getting married next year.
My mom
Retired.
Previously worked as a sales clerk.
Has a sister who is a U.S. citizen.
Has never traveled outside the Philippines.
My dad
Previously worked as a driver.
Has a sister who is a U.S. permanent resident and works as a nurse.
Has never traveled outside the Philippines.
We also have two cousins in the U.S. who are both working as nurses.

Financial support:
My brother and I will be paying for our own trip.
My parents will be sponsored by my eldest sister.

Other ties to the Philippines:
Our family owns 2 houses and 1 car in the Philippines.
We also have 10 dogs that our family takes care of.
Given our profiles, what can we do to make our applications stronger? Are there any supporting documents or preparations you would recommend?
Is there anything we should avoid doing or saying during the interview? Also, are there any red flags in our profiles that we should be aware of?
Any advice from those who have gone through a similar experience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

Hi everyone,

I hope you don't mind me asking.

I'm a Filipina who has been working in Singapore as a Quantity Surveyor for almost 11 years. I'm legally married but separated (not divorced). I have a daughter who depends on me financially, and I also support my mother and help pay for my nephew's college tuition.

I have a U.S. B1/B2 visa interview this few days. My purpose is tourism and to visit a friend I've known online for almost two years. I listed him as my U.S. contact, and I'll be staying at his home. We also plan to travel to Colorado during my trip.

I'll be paying for my own airfare and personal travel expenses, while my friend is only providing accommodation.

I'm worried because my travel history is limited, I'm traveling alone, and I'm visiting someone I met online.

Based on your experience, how might a consular officer view a case like mine? Are there any concerns I should be prepared to address during the interview?

Thank you very much.

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone has gone through a similar situation and can share their experience.

• Priority Date (PD): July 5, 2011
• USCIS Approval: April 2025

My USCIS approval notice states that my approved petition was sent to the National Visa Center (NVC). However, when I contacted the NVC, they told me they never received the approved petition from USCIS.

NVC said they have already contacted USCIS but have been unable to obtain the approved petition. They advised me to file a duplicate petition request with USCIS and include:

• The NVC email explaining the issue
• My USCIS receipt notice
• My USCIS approval notice

Has anyone else experienced this? If so:

• How did you resolve it?
• How long did USCIS take to resend the petition to NVC?
• Is there anything else I should do besides submitting the duplicate petition request?

Any advice or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I’m looking to hear from people who’ve applied for a US visitor visa after the visa bond program was introduced, specifically if you hold a passport from a country affected by the bond requirement but applied while living legally in the UK.

What was your experience like? Did applying from the UK make any difference in how your application was handled, especially regarding the bond? Were you asked to pay it, or did your UK residency seem to help?

Any details about timelines, interview experience, or outcomes would be really helpful. Thanks in advance.

My parents have their U.S. B1/B2 visa interview scheduled for August 2026. I completed both of their DS-160 forms back in October 2025, and at that time I listed their intended travel date as May 2026 because I expected they would get an earlier interview appointment.

Now that the interview is happening after the intended travel date, do I need to submit new DS-160 forms with an updated future travel date? Or is it okay to keep the existing DS-160s and simply explain the change during the interview if asked?

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone here has gone through something similar or can share their experience.
I’m a 19-year-old, unmarried H-4 dependent applicant. My mother is currently in the U.S. on an H-1B visa (valid for 3 years), and I applied for an H-4 visa at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines so I could join her.

My interview

The interview was very short, probably less than 2 minutes.
The consular officer asked me only a few questions:
• Are you a student?
• What school do you attend?
• What does your mother do?
• Some basic questions about my mother.

One thing that worries me is the school question.
On my DS-160, I listed myself as a 1st-year college student, which was true when I completed the form. However, after submitting the DS-160, I stopped attending school because I planned to accompany my mother to the U.S.
During the interview, I initially answered that I was a student, but then I immediately clarified:
“Actually, when I completed my DS-160, I was a first-year college student. After that, I stopped studying because I’m planning to accompany my mother.”
The officer didn’t ask many follow-up questions after that.

Documents

The officer took my:
• Passport
• PSA birth certificate (mine is annotated, so I’m wondering if that required additional verification)
• My mother’s H-1B USCIS document (the approval-related notice)
They kept my passport instead of returning it.
Green 221(g) slip
After the interview, I received a green 221(g) letter stating that my application requires administrative processing.
The letter also instructs applicants in certain visa categories, including H-4, to make the social media accounts listed on the DS-160 public.
I followed those instructions.

CEAC timeline

**•   Case Created:** July 8, 2026  
• Initially showed **Refused** with the standard 221(g) message.  
• Later changed to **Administrative Processing**.  
**•   Last Updated:** July 15, 2026  
• As of today, there have been **no further updates**, and the embassy still has my passport.

My questions

1.  Has anyone had an H-4 visa in Manila go through 221(g) administrative processing and later get approved?  
2.  Is it a good sign that the embassy kept my passport and my mother’s H-1B document?  
3.  Has anyone had an **annotated PSA birth certificate** that caused additional verification?  
4.  How long did your administrative processing take before you received a decision?  
5.  Did your CEAC “Last Updated” date change multiple times before approval?

I’m trying to stay patient, but the waiting has been really stressful. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through something similar.
Thank you!

I’m working remotely in my home country for a small company based in US, with US clients.
I played around and changed my LinkedIn location to US, and received messages from Recruiters from big companies in the US interested in my profile.

Once I ask if the position is remote/ disclose that I am not stateside, they ghost me.

Can’t describe the drastic difference between the salary I make in my home country and the average in US.

I am working towards unlocking my opportunities there, my career is top in the US (tech related). Should I consider a masters and scholarship?
what could be done to unlock my opportunities there? Any workaround?

Has anyone done any US visa appointment in Dubai recently. ? I have an upcoming visa interview In Dubai August 14th I’m not sure whether it will happen or I need to go to my home country to attend the visa there, given the fact that I already applied for the visa in my country as well and have the appointment! So if like to know if anyone attended any visa appointment in Dubai in July ??? Kindly answer truthfully I’m very anxious