Rejected at visa interview citing strong ties?

[KHas]

Asking on behalf of a friend, a medical student in Turkey. She was approved for a month-long internship at a high-end university in the US. Gathered all requisite documentation - proof of status at her school, letter of acceptance for the internship, financials etc. She went in for the interview (this type of visa being recommended by the university here), but was rejected on the grounds of lacking "strong ties" to come back to Turkey (she's Syrian, but hasn't set foot there since before the civil war started).

She's graduating med school just a few months after the intership ends. Seems more than enough motivation to come back unless she intended to abandon any chance of becoming a doctor (in the US or anywhere else) on the cusp of graduating in favor of living here as some kind of unemployable fugitive. I can appreciate the need for due diligence, Syria is a scary place right now, but this does not make sense. The interviewing officer, by the sound of it, didn't even ask to see the document from her university. Not sure if the officer was in a bad mood or what her problem was.

We had been preparing for this for more than half a year. Apartment reservations were made, etc. Furthermore, it's a requirement for her to graduate. Is there any chance of applying again? And if so, what would constitute "strong ties?"

[daggit]

Always interesting that when the visa is denied, the officer must surely be in a bad mood or having a bad day, etc.

Visa applicants of all strides (tourist, student, fiance) are attracting extra scrutiny these days for obvious reasons; your friend isn't singled out. At the end of the day, the officer makes the decision to issue or deny a visa based on the evidence submitted and the in-person interview. Apparently, Syrian\Turkish applicants present a higher risk of overstaying their US visa, though the continuing education in Turkey is a valid point in your friend's favor. Your friend can try again.

-Not legal advice, just my suggestion. Use at own risk.

[KHas]

Always interesting that when the visa is denied, the officer must surely be in a bad mood or having a bad day, etc.

Visa applicants of all strides (tourist, student, fiance) are attracting extra scrutiny these days for obvious reasons; your friend isn't singled out. At the end of the day, the officer makes the decision to issue or deny a visa based on the evidence submitted and the in-person interview. Apparently, Syrian\Turkish applicants present a higher risk of overstaying their US visa, though the continuing education in Turkey is a valid point in your friend's favor. Your friend can try again.

-Not legal advice, just my suggestion. Use at own risk.

Appreciated. Didn't mean to come across as snippy, there's a bit of a deadline here, it's an unfamiliar process and I'm just trying to help her. Didn't make sense to me why this happened because the bit about graduation was in the documents she provided. She's trying to decide whether to appeal it somehow or just apply again, either way it will be the last opportunity.

[daggit]

If your friend can re-afford the fee, suggest she apply again; but it's her decision. The visa decision isn't just the officers', it is backed by her superiors at the embassy, so appeals tend to get bogged down in paperwork.. and your friend's word against the embassy.

-Not legal advice, just my suggestion. Use at own risk.

[bandk]

Most Syrians apply for asylum the moment they touch western soil. She's a high risk.

[KHas]

Most Syrians apply for asylum the moment they touch western soil. She's a high risk.

She's not a refugee, and she's not at risk of being sent home. She's in her final year of med school in Turkey, and is on track to proceed with residency there if she doesn't get the USMLE scores needed to match in the US. If she applied for asylum here, she'd be tossing aside years of medical school just a few months short of graduating and giving up any chance of becoming a doctor here or anywhere else.

[Libra_14]

Multiple threads

Why are you opening multiple threads for the same story?

http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showthread.php/200034-Embassy-got-a-mistaken-impression-and-rejected-her-visa-do-I-call-them

[KHas]

Why are you opening multiple threads for the same story?
http://www.immihelp.com/forum/showth...do-I-call-them

My understanding of what happened and why changed significantly after speaking to her about the interview. Simply applying again with more documentation won't make a difference if this is the conclusion they drew about her. I am not interested in marrying her while she's here and she is not interested in abandoning her education and her career along with it three months before graduating. The embassy won't give her a second glance so long as they think that's the case. I'm trying to find a solution which won't hurt her more in the future.