Application Refused under Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) 221(g)

On this page:

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Every year, the U.S. Congress determines the number of visas available in certain categories.  Please visit the Visa Bulletin at https://usvisas.state.gov/visabulletin for information on your visa category’s cut-off dates. If the Visa Bulletin indicates that your petition’s priority date is before the cut-off date for your visa category, please continue scheduling and attend your appointment. If your visa cannot be issued at this time, please do NOT schedule your appointment or cancel your appointment if you have already done so, monitor the Visa Bulletin, and reschedule once there are visas available for your category and priority date. The U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City may TURN AWAY immigrant visa (IV) applicants who do not follow these instructions.  If you have any other questions, you may submit an inquiry via our website, as follows: https://vn.usembassy.gov/ivcontact.

Overview

Refusal under section 221(g) means that essential information is missing from an application or that an application requires additional administrative processing. The consular officer who interviews you will tell you at the end of your interview if your case is being refused under 221(g). The consular officer will either tell you that the case has to undergo administrative processing, or will ask you to submit additional information.

If further information is required from you, the consular officer will tell you how to submit that information. When your visa application is refused under section 221(g), you will be given a written letter (OF-194) notifying you of the visa refusal and will have 12 months from that date to submit the requested documents without having to reapply and without having to pay a new visa application fee. Please follow the instructions in the refusal letter. If you do not submit the requested documents within one year, your application may be terminated per section 203(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Who is eligible to schedule an appointment?

Currently this page is reserved for immigrant visa applicants who received OF-194 Refusal Letters marked “R2-A” in large print at the top; these letters are blue and state that applicants should schedule appointments to return to the Consulate and submit additional information or documents. 

Schedule my appointment

As soon as you have obtained ALL of the information and/or documents listed in the OF-194, please follow the step-by-step instructions below to schedule an appointment to return to the Consulate and submit the additional information and/or documents in person.

Step 1 – Create an account at: http://bit.ly/visa-account. If you already have your own account, please move to Step 2.

Step 2 – Log in to your account at: http://bit.ly/us-login.

Step 3 – After logging in, you will be taken to a Dashboard, please look at the left of the Dashboard, click on “New Application / Schedule Appointment”, and follow the instructions below:

a. Choose “Immigrant Visa”, then click “Continue”.
b. Choose “221G Requests”, then click “Continue”.
c. Select your visa class, then click “Continue”.
d. Fill in all the required fields, then click “Continue”. Please make sure the First Name field includes both your first name and given name. For example, if your full name is Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, please enter “Thi Thu Trang” in the First Name field and “Nguyen” in the Last Name field. Please also make sure you enter your most updated Passport Number and please do not forget to provide your phone numbers. These fields are very important.
e. Choose your preferred date from the calendar, then click “Schedule Appointment”. If there are currently no appointments available, please go back to the scheduling system at a later time. Our office typically schedules additional 221(g) appointment slots on a rolling basis depending on the demand for appointments. Therefore, we recommend you check the appointment system periodically for availability.

f. Click on “Printable Version” and print out the 221(g) Appointment Confirmation Page.

Once you have scheduled an appointment and printed out the 221(g) Appointment Confirmation Page, you may return to the Immigrant Visa Unit of the U.S. Consulate General at 4 Le Duan, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City with the following documents:

1. The OF-194 Refusal Sheet;
2. The 221(g) Appointment Confirmation Page;
3. ALL of the information and/or documents listed in the OF-194;
4. Original passports of all eligible travelling applicants.

You will be unable to enter the Consulate without having the OF-194 and the 221(g) Appointment Confirmation Page.

If you have questions, please submit an inquiry form at: https://vn.usembassy.gov/ivcontact.

Administrative Processing

Some refused visa applications may be refused under section 221(g) because further administrative processing is required. The consular officer who interviews you will tell you at the end of your interview if your case is being refused under 221(g) due to required administrative processing. The duration of the administrative processing will vary based on the individual circumstances of each case.

Note: Before inquiring about your visa status, you or your representative must wait at least 180 days from the date of your interview or the submission of supplemental documents, whichever is later.

You may check the status of your application any time at the Department of State’s website.

Visa Ineligibilities and Waiver

If you were informed by the consular officer that you were found ineligible to receive a visa, but were eligible to apply for a waiver of the visa ineligibility, please refer  to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website  for information regarding waiver application procedures.