Marc was a holder of a ten year multiple entry visitor visa issued to him in 2005. Since its issuance, Marc would visit her daughter, Marissa, who is a student in a California university. This year, Marissa is finally going to graduate and Marc would like to attend her graduation ceremony.
Unfortunately, Marc received a notice from the US Embassy Consular Section informing him that his visitor was already revoked last month. He is being asked to go to the US Embassy so they can physically cancel the visa. In this letter, he was also told that he may no longer use his visa even if, on its face, it still has a remaining validity period of five years.
Marc was disappointed when he received this news but at the same time he was not surprised. He has heard from some of his colleagues who used their B2 visas being told at the port of entry that their visas have already been revoked despite the fact that it is still not expired. Marc’s prior immigration history many years back may have caused the revocation of his visa.
Power to Revoke
The Department of State, through the consular officers, is given authority to issue visas to foreign nationals. They are also afforded the discretion to revoke and cancel visas after they have been issued. This power and discretion on the part of the consular officer has recently been reinforced in an April 27, 2011 regulation which was released by the State Department. The visa holder’s ability to request for reconsideration of a revocation has been eliminated. It also allows the consular officer to revoke the visa without notice if it is “impracticable” to notify the visa holder.
According to the new regulation, “security concerns” was taken into account in justifying additional authority to consular officers.
Reasons for Revocation
There are statutory grounds that allow revocation of an already issued visa. The consular officer is mandated to exercise this power only within the bounds of the statutory provisions of applicable law. Nevertheless, it appears from the reading of the rules that consular officers have wide discretion to exercise this power.
When a consular officer receives derogatory information that renders the visa holder ineligible for the visa that he currently holds, a revocation of the visa may take place. There must be an actual finding of ineligibility to support the revocation.
Aside from eligibility and national security grounds for revocation, the other enumerated grounds for revocation include: the visa holder was ordered excluded from the US, permission was requested and given to the visa holder to withdraw his application for admission, and, prior nonimmigrant waiver granted was withdrawn.
Provisional Revocation
Consular officers are given the authority to revoke visas immediately while considering facts determining grounds for ineligibility. This is called the “provisional revocation.” Generally, notice of revocation shall be provided to the visa holder but only “if practicable.” This means that even if the visa holder is not yet notified, his visa may be considered revoked provisionally. Whether or not the visa holder is notified, once the revocation is entered into the State Department’s Consular Lookout and Support System (CLASS), the visa is no longer valid for travel.
When the findings of the consular officer become final to warrant a revocation, after a provisional revocation, the visa holder is notified and will be asked to submit the issued visa to be stamped with the word “REVOKED”. The rules are clear that if the visa holder does not surrender the visa for physical cancelation, the finding of revocation still stands.
Re-Applying For the Visa
Since 1997 judicial courts have been divested of jurisdiction to review the findings of the consular officers in regards revocation of visas. The latest regulations also eliminate the request for reconsideration of a revoked visa rendering the findings of revocation final. The visa holder who believes that the visa is revoked without sufficient basis may then re-apply for another nonimmigrant visa. In this new application, he will be afforded an opportunity to prove his eligibility for the re-issuance of the visa that was previously revoked. This will require the applicant to be in possession of countervailing proof of eligibility.
Danger of Losing Visas
Each year it has become complicated to obtain visas for some who are truly deserving of this benefit. Fraudulent applications as well as abuse in the use of nonimmigrant visas have been the reason for heightened standards for visa applications. With the extended discretion granted to consular officers in revoking already issued visas, a nonimmigrant visa holder should understand the value of having one in his possession and make sure that it is use accordingly in order to avoid losing it.
(Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com or at 02 8877177 or at 02 721 1963).
