“Application Received” Will No Longer be Stamped in Passports Upon Visa Refusal
by Michael J. Gurfinkel

For over 25 years, consular officers have been noting visa refusals (denials) by stamping “Application Received” at the back page of an applicant’s passport. This was how a consul would alert other consuls to the fact that a person had a previous visa denial or refusal.

Many people, aware of this “kiss of death”, would try various types of tricks and schemes to hide a previous refusal, such as claiming to have “lost” their passport and applying for a new one, which did not have the “Application Received” on the back page. I know one case where an enterprising applicant tried to glue the last page to the back of the passport, so that when the consul tried to open the back of the passport, the second to last page would appear blank. Of course, the consul knew exactly how many pages are in a Philippine passport, and since the “last” page of the passport did not jive with the actual number of pages, the applicant was again refused a visa.

Recently, the State Department announced that because of new information technology, it is no longer necessary that consuls stamp the back page with “Application Received”. This is because the “refusal” data is now available to all embassies and consulates as well as port of entry officers, when a person tries to enter the U.S.

I know that some people who were recently refused visas were rejoicing because the consul had not stamped their passports, and so they thought that there was no record of the refusal. That is not the case.

So you know, a refusal remains on a person’s record forever. Some people were under the mistaken belief that a refusal is kept on their record for only so many years, and then it is somehow “deleted”. That is not the case. The refusal will stay on your record, and is now retained in the U.S. government’s database, which is accessible to all governmental agencies.

If you were refused a visa in the past, and hope to apply again, you must disclose the prior refusal. In fact, on a visa application form, it specifically asks, at Question 31, “Have you ever been refused a U.S. visa?”. The correct and truthful answer would be “yes”. If you lie, and check the “no” box, not only will the truth appear in the consul’s database, but now it can be a new ground for refusing your visa, based on your being untruthful. After all, if you lied about a previous visa refusal, maybe you’re also lying about whether you are truly going to the U.S to visit and come right back, vs. going to the U.S and going TNT.

Rather than trying to hide or cover up past refusals, or conceal the truth, you should probably take a step back and evaluate why you were refused in the first place. Sometimes it is possible for a person to overcome the grounds or reasons for the refusal. It could have been that, in the past, you had not demonstrated sufficient roots or ties to the Philippines, or you may not have provided sufficient documents, evidence or proof of eligibility. Perhaps circumstances have changed and you may now be truthfully eligible. By providing untruthful information (such as not disclosing a prior refusal), you could mess up your chance to now get a visa.

The bottom line is although the consuls are no longer stamping “Application Received” in the backs of applicants’ passports whose visas are refused, it does not mean that there is no record. There is a record, and the consuls have access to that information.

Back to Main