At MISPL, we are happy to share our success in helping an immigrant visa applicant to overcome the INA 221(g) refusal. The consular post sought additional documents to evidence the U.S. citizen petitioner’s U.S. domicile and financial ability to sponsor the immigrant visa for the applicant.
In the instant case, the U.S. citizen petitioner was a homemaker and a long term resident of India. A U.S. citizen residing in India can file the immigrant petition to sponsor an immediate relative using form I-130 at the USCIS field office in New Delhi. Once the petition is approved, the same is sent to the relevant consular post in New Delhi or Mumbai for further processing. At the time of the final immigrant visa interview, the petitioner needs to establish his/her domicile in the United States. On account of the long stay in India, the petitioner did not meet the “domicile” requirements. Additionally, since the petitioner was a homemaker, she was unable to satisfy the affidavit of support financial requirements.
Attorneys at MISPL charted out a detailed plan of action for the U.S. citizen to re-establish domicile in the United States. In most cases, one can establish the domicile with an offer for job in the United States for the U.S. citizen petitioner. However, in this case, since the petitioner was a homemaker, this was not possible.
The U.S. citizen petitioner was advised on the legal requirements, and she successful established her domicile in the U.S. within a couple of months. Following this, attorneys at MISPL collected all necessary documents from the petitioner including the joint sponsor and sent a detailed legal memorandum in response to the INA 221(g) refusal. After a careful scrutiny, the consulate issued the immigrant visa.
When a Consular Officer issues a INA 221(g) refusal, it is important for the visa applicant to understand the underlying law and regulations on how best to overcome this hurdle. The visa applicant will need to comply with all legal requirements for the visa issuance. We appreciate our client for permitting us to share this success story to help others applying for both the immigrant visa and non-immigrant visa. To maintain confidentiality, the name of our client is being withheld. We are always delighted and honoured to help people achieve success with our strong team of lawyers at MISPL.