U.S. consulates in India have been issuing more 221(g) refusals to IT professionals, which is when the Consular Officer temporarily denies a visa for lack of essential information or because the applicant is undergoing administrative processing (basically, that the security checks are taking a long time). More software engineers, programmer/analysts and other IT personnel are being denied visas, and given a questionnaire regarding information that the Consular Officer should already have, including questions regarding the particular project the applicant is going to work on, the technical description of the project, budget, timeline, current status, how many employees are assigned to the project, and detailed information about the other employees on the same project.

At the time an H-1B or L-1B application is filed, an IT company will have certain projects going, and will not be able to anticipate all their future projects, as these continuously change, so the Consular Officer may be looking for a way to deny a visa if the original project proposed for the H-1B or L visa applicant is no longer on-going, and the company intends to send the applicant to another project, perhaps without the LCA on file.

Additionally, administrative processing, including security checks with the various agencies such as the FBI, CIA, DEA etc., may also be quite time-consuming, depending on a variety of factors.

Another issue is the BAHA (Buy American, Hire American) proclamation which has been added into the Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), so visa applicants need to be ready to explain how their position in the US will not take jobs away from US workers, and how they and their project will benefit the US economically. Due to the ongoing shortage of labor in the US, it should not be difficult to document the shortage of IT professionals.

Visa applicants need to be able to express themselves clearly to explain their qualifications, the job duties and the project, as well as answer questions about the company itself and their future salary and benefits. Applicants need to review the petition support letters carefully and be aware of the contents of those letters.

The good news is, a 221(g) refusal is not a final denial, applicants and their employers still have the opportunity to submit additional evidence and make the Consular Officer happy.