The problem is Trump.
Most americans have much bigger hearts.
This is simply not true.
US authorities have traditionally not looked at this kind of situation with a kind eye. Trump changed precisely nothing in this respect.
Very sorry for the situation.
I am just evaluating the situation out loud and looking for other factors besides the vindictiveness of the consul.
Prior to being granted an interview, when the lady in question filled out the online questionnaire for her visa application, there was a very important question about any previous overstays.
I wonder how she answered that question. There are 2 possibilities:
1. She may have answered >NO<, meaning to say that she has not overstayed in the past (and hoped that the consular interviewer would not find out). If this is the case, and the consul did find out, then her current visa denial is a result of an attempted misrepresentation (or worse, fraud) rather than vindictiveness of the consul. This is a very unfortunate situation to be in because the person in question may be flagged in the system as "inadmissible to the United States", making it very hard to get US visa in the future.
2. She may have answered >YES<, meaning to say that she has indeed overstayed in the past. The online system would have asked her to give details and she would have typed up the details of her situation. If this is the case, and she did admit on her application that she was at one time unlawfully present in the US, the the interviewing officer applies one of the 2 methods in determining the outcome of her visa application:
(a) If her overstay was for one year or more, then she is barred from reentering the U.S.for ten years from her last date of exit
(b) If her overstay was for less than 180 days, then this will not trigger any bars to her reentry, she is not flagged as inadmissible in the future and may certainly be granted the US tourist visa.
In other words, previous overstay does not result in an automatic denial/rejection. Not being honest about it (and hoping that the consular officer will not find out or care about it) has much harsher consequences. I am hoping that this may help someone who may be in the same situation and is considering applying for the US B1/2 (or other) visa.
This is largely correct. The applicant in question would have run a much better chance of getting the visa had she been upfront about the situation.
I am intimately familiar with a case where someone admitted on the record, to US immigration authorities, to way worse than overstaying (to wit, having worked in the US on a tourist visa), and was returned home with the visa revoked. After several denials, the person in question was subsequently granted a 10-year visa. This was considered to be a small miracle, but the point is this can be done.
The DS-160 application has a crystal-clear, point-blank question: "Have you ever been unlawfully present, overstayed the amount of time granted by an immigration official or NO otherwise violated the terms of a U.S. visa?". Example attached below.
If the answer is "Yes", a space is given to explain. That is where you say what happened, list any mitigating circumstances, say sorry, etc.
Giving an untruthful response, especially in such a clear cut case, is not likely to yield a positive result.
(To be clear, it is not absolutely clear from the OP's account that the applicant didn't mention it, though that is certainly the implication.)
A totally different case: My friend overstayed his tourist visa, remained in the US and a few years later he married a US citizen in California. Then he applied for resident alien status through marriage. At that point he was requested to wait for an outcome from Homeland Security OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES. He stayed in Argentina for one or two years waiting for a decision, while his wife was in the USA, running the risk of loosing everything he had left in the USA. Then, while waiting in Buenos Aires, he received a letter saying that he had been "pardoned" and eventually got his green card and returned to the USA. However, they could have turned him down if they wanted to as well.
An immigration application on the basis of a US spouse can beat a lot of problems (though in some cases a US spouse can actually make things worse). And yes, when applying from outside the US you can't enter the country until a decision has been rendered. Had this friend not overstayed, could have applied from within the country (but would be very difficult to leave the US until the case was adjudicated). And again, total candor is non-negotiable. Had the application been made without mention of the overstay, I very much doubt it would have gone anywhere.
