An Indian student recently received a visa rejection letter from the US that said they were not convinced that he had sufficient ties to India that would compel him to return to India after his time in the United States. In an interview with the Washington Post, Kaushik Raj revealed that he made it clear during the application process that he was born and brought up in India and that his entire family lives in India. Kaushik Raj told Post that he feels the rejection came after the US officials went through his social media profiles, which is now a mandatory process for a visa. Kaushik Raj said he was not active on social media and did not post anything on controversial issues, but he spent four years working as a journalist and posted links of his stories. The rejection letter, however, did not mention social media profiles as a reason for rejection. The 27-year-old applied for a visa as he won a $100,000 scholarship to pursue a graduate degree in journalism at Columbia University.
‘You were not able to demonstrate…’
The rejection letter said: “You were not able to demonstrate that your intended activities in the United States would be consistent with the classification of the nonimmigrant visa for which you applied.”It said that an applicant has to demonstrate that they have a residence in a foreign country which they have no intention of abandoning. “Applicants usually meet this requirement by demonstrating that they have strong ties overseas that indicate they will return to a foreign country after a temporary visit to the United States. Such ties include professional, work, school, family, or social links to a foreign country. You have not demonstrated that you have the ties that will compel you to return to your home country after your travel to the United States.“The letter also mentioned that the decision cannot be appealed, but if he wants to reapply, he will have to submit a new application and appear for an interview and be prepared to explain how his circumstances have changed since this application.
