An immigration lawyer explained that visa officers reject applications because they are trained to spot discrepancies.

As it becomes increasingly difficult to obtain a US visa even for tourism purposes, immigration attorney Andrea Szew said the approval process does not work the way people think it works. Applicants feel they were not given enough time to explain their case and were rejected, but visa officers are trained to spot inconsistencies and have to make quick decisions because they don’t have time to read the intent of the application, Szew explained in his YouTube video.Here are 5 things to know:

The decision has already been made but it is not final

Andrea explained that people think their case starts when they get to the interview window. But by that time, the visa officer has checked the person’s DS-160, travel history, prior visa applications, prior visa notes. They have already taken the decision but it is not final. Their questions are meant to confirm what they see in the application. Even if the case is simple, they are trained to ask if the person has any reason to return to their country.

there is no benefit of doubt

Visa officers are trained to look for patterns, consistency, reliability, logic and risk, if something is unclear it does not get the benefit of the doubt, it is treated as a matter of concern. Visa officers do not have time to investigate every single case, as they are also interviewing 100s of applicants a day. They ask targeted questions to obtain important information.

Grandiosity, over-interpretation harms the case

Andrea said many people think they didn’t get a chance to explain their case because the visa officer only asked one question. Visa officers are not looking for long answers. In fact, bluster and over-interpretation harm the case. They are looking for short, direct and aligned answers.

This is also a reason for visa application rejection

Andrea said that it is not that the applicants were not given visas because they were lying. One reason for visa application rejection is inconsistency or mismatch between the answer and the application. The visa officer is not looking for an exact answer. The decision was made based on overall impact, Andrea said.

Reliable sound not rehearsed

Applicants should know exactly how to apply, but they should appear credible and confident, not rehearsed. Anticipate key questions and answer confidently, advises Andrea.