F2 Visa rejected as F1 holder in OPT status

Hi Team,

I completed my masters by May 2017 and I am currently in F1-OPT status and have been working in USA since 19th June 2017. I received my first payslip and i scheduled F2 interview for my wife at Chennai consulate. Interviewer asked which visa I am at currently and my wife informed that I am currently in OPT status and working since 19th June. Interviewer did not ask for any further evidences. He just informed that I am in student visa and refused F2 visa for my wife citing 214-B.

I understand that once F2 is rejected, it is really difficult to get F2 approved again. To resolve this, I have approached the Senator of the state for his approval mentioning that I wanted to gain practical knowledge during OPT period and that I do not want to get settled as an immigrant. How likely it is to receive visa approval on the second attempt? (Note: My wife is showing home ties by mentioning the residential properties in India. We have been married for 3.5 years)

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Did it help?Iā€™m in similar situation. F2 rejected need to know how to proceed.

Yes, helpedā€¦ We got the visa in second attempt

Did u approach the senator, or what change did u have for second attempt

I am also curious. Let me know what changed from previous visa to when you applied again.

Did you carry any additional document, did going to the senator change anything?

I am sorry to hear that. The very same thing happened to my wife a few days ago. Iā€™m working on STEM OPT for the last 3 months. They asked her for my job title, salary and rejected telling to re-apply when ā€˜circumstances changeā€™. I donā€™t know what to make of it or what they mean by ā€˜change of circumstanceā€™.

Please let me know if you approached the senator and if your wife reapplied.

Just an update - yes the letter from senator helped. I spoke with NY senator about this, got a letter from them stating that i dont have any immigration intent and i just wish to obtain some practical experience in USA before returning back to India.
My wife carried that letter to her second interview attempt. But she was not asked to show the letter. The officer checked some details with another officer and approved the visa. I believe that, though my wife did not explicitly show the letter, senator letter must have reached the consulate and helped the process.

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hi. my f2 visa got rejected on march 7th . the vo asked three four questions like marriage date, husband visa type , future plans and asked to see the i20, marriage registration certificate+album . i had all the required documents, my husband earns well to support my stay in US and has the required bank balance to bring a dependent. the vo never asked me about who is sponsoring or didnā€™t ask to see any further documents other than the ones i have mentioned above. He simply said he cant process the visa and told me to reapply again. gave me the 214b and asked me to show that to my husband. my husband is on stem opt and his visa gets expired in june 2020. he has planned to apply for h1 this april. and i have scheduled my f2 visa interview in may again. what is the chance of getting the visa approved ? will the vo ask me about my husbandā€™s h1 plan? if he does, any idea what and how to reply ?

Hi, Sorry for that. I had same difficulties. It all depends on luck really.
When my wife went for interview, i asked her not to state anything about H1B or Stem extension unless they ask about it. Your case also, I would suggest that do not speak anything about it unless asked. If interviewer asks the purpose, just say that ā€œpractical training to obtain the skillset in US environmentā€. If specifically asked about H1B, you can say that ā€œfor additional trainingā€ and dont mention anything about time durations. All the best

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We have the exact same situation. Same questions and documents from the VO and finally got rejected under 214b. Even my stem OPT ends in May 2020. I have just applied for H1b this april. My wife is planning to attend again sometime this month or in May. Please share any details on how you plan to change your approach this time. FYI, we got married this march 2019.

Which consulate did you go to ? My wife went to Chennai. If you think it would help to get in contact please send me a personal email at kalyandandu7@gmail.com to get in touch with my wife so we can work out a better approach together.

Hello,
I am in the same situation. My F2 was rejected thrice with 214(b) and now I am planning to apply for F1 for fall 2020 intake. Could you please tell me how did you approach the senator and got the letter from him? Hope this could help us in getting visa this time.

Thank you in advance.

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how to I request that i donā€™t have any immigration intent letter from senate. I live in texas. Currently on OPT and trying to apply F2 for spouse