F-1 Visa Approved, Then Refused After 10 Days

An Indian F-1 aspirant was recently met with shock when the website suddenly changed the status of her approved visa.

The Indian student was all set after answering basic questions from the visa officer. She got verbal approval, hopefully ending her worries. But 10 days later, the CEAC portal showed her visa as “refused,” sparking panic for the applicant.

There has been no email, explanation, or 221(g). After waiting for days, and even booking her flight tickets, her plans seem to be spoiled.

However, it’s not all bad news as users online cleared the air. Many people say this might just be “administrative processing (AP)” as “refused” and “rejected” are two different things in the US immigration system.

Many first-timers are now reporting the same shock, approved at the counter, but CEAC says otherwise. It just highlights that Indian students can’t even rest assured after getting approval.

Even if it’s under AP, the website should change its outdated terminology and not give such panic attacks to the F-1 applicants.