Child Visa Denial | What To Look Out For When Applying

Bringing your child to live with you in the U.S. is an exciting time both for you and your family. However, unforeseen circumstances during the visa application process decrease your chances of success. Maybe you’ve only started your journey, or perhaps, you’ve already faced visa refusal. Either way, you shouldn’t worry. Even after your child visa denial, you can change the application for the best by submitting additional documents.

Visa denials are quite a common occurrence, but luckily there are ways to avoid such scenarios. Let’s go over the main reasons why your child’s IR2 visa might not get approval. In addition, read what you should look out for before starting the application process.

1. Inadequate Affidavit of Support

Having sufficient financial means to support your child in the U.S. is a prerequisite for starting your visa application. Whether you meet the financial requirements depends on the state where you live, your annual income, the number of children you plan to sponsor, and the total number of people in your household. Without an adequate affidavit of support, your visa might not get approval under public charge. You can easily check your eligibility on the VisaExpress website by providing the necessary details regarding your financial situation. If you’re interested, access our free income calculator and see if you meet the requirements.

2. False information or lack of information

If the Consular Officer does not have all of the information required to process the application and determine if your child is eligible to receive an IR2 visa, that will have a strong negative impact on the approval chances. Fortunately, visa rejection due to incomplete information only requires you to provide additional documents. You won't have to start your application all over again. Consequently, you won’t have to pay the visa application processing fee again. The crucial thing is to stay up to date and supply the needed information on time. If you’re struggling with this, you can let us handle your case and communicate with the authorities on your behalf.

3. Applying late

Once the necessary documents are in the hands of authorities, and they approve the I-130 submission, the U.S. Department of State will invite you to submit additional documents—and the sooner you apply, the better. With VisaExpress, your child’s IR5 visa application is thoroughly reviewed, filled in a timely manner, and submitted to the officials. By sending all of the necessary documents the first time you apply, you will avoid any unpleasant delays.

4. Insufficient proof of family relationship

The relationship between you and your child is familiar to you but not to the Consular Officers. You need to submit proof of a parent-child relationship in order for them to gain insight into your case. If the birth certificate is not available, you have the option to submit the certificate of nonavailability, and explain why the original birth certificate cannot be there. The more alternative documents you submit, the better. After all, it is best to come prepared and have extra documents than to have documents missing. In case the father is petitioning on behalf of his child, legitimation is required. This means that you must undergo a blood test to prove your paternity, or take a DNA test that is more reliable.

5. Ineligibility based on age or marital status

For your child to be eligible for an IR2 visa, they have to be unmarried and under 21 years of age. In case your child is older than 21, they can still file a petition, however, a child over the age of 21 is not an immediate relative and the process might take longer. In that case, family preference visa F1 is the appropriate one.

VisaExpress is part of the GovAssist family, which also owns and operates GovAssist Legal, a non-traditional legal services provider authorized to the practice of Immigration Law by the Utah Supreme Court’s Office of Legal Services Innovation.

Our team is supervised by in-house immigration lawyers, and you will be provided with attorney representation throughout your case. Using technology and our paralegal team we can charge much less than traditional law firms.