A 20-year-old student from Malaysia has shared her disheartening experience of being denied a U.S. B1/B2 tourist visa twice under Section 214(b), despite what she believed was a strong application.
In a Reddit post that is now gaining attention, the student, who is completing her academic diploma at a top private university in Malaysia by June 2025, had planned a short 16-day vacation to the United States this July—six days in Seattle and ten in Los Angeles. She intended to return to Malaysia to begin her undergraduate degree in September.
According to her post, the first visa interview was held in Kuala Lumpur in May 2025. The visa officer asked about her travel history—which includes solo trips to the Netherlands, France, and Australia, along with a family trip to India—and her reason for visiting Seattle. She admitted she fumbled her answer and was quickly handed a 214(b) refusal slip after brief questions about her father’s job, who is sponsoring the trip.
Determined to try again, she reapplied a week later but received a second rejection. “It felt rushed,” she wrote. “Like the decision was made before I even had a chance to explain myself.”
The student suspects her “transition phase” between diploma and degree may have been viewed as a red flag, implying weak ties to her home country—a common reason for rejection under 214(b). However, she insists she had every intention of returning.
She now plans to reapply after graduation with an offer letter for her upcoming degree, hoping to prove her strong intent to return.