US §214(b) ties & intent checklist

Twelve questions. Ninety seconds. You'll get a specific list of gaps a consular officer will probe at your F-1 visa interview — not a headline score.

This is not a refusal predictor.

§214(b) is a statute a real consular officer applies, weighing many factors — including things a checklist cannot capture. Treat this as a checklist for rehearsal, not a verdict on your visa outcome.

Ties to your home country

What holds you back in your home country after graduation.

  • Immediate family (parents / siblings / spouse) live in your home country.

    Immediate family staying in-country is a strong social tie. Extended family counts less.

  • You or your family own real property (house / land) in your home country.

    Real property is a concrete, verifiable financial tie. Rental / lease does not count.

  • You have a written job offer, promotion, or an ongoing business waiting in your home country after graduation.

    A concrete post-study opportunity that pays you at home is stronger than a general career plan.

  • You or your primary sponsor maintain active bank accounts + long-standing employment in your home country.

    Financial infrastructure at home suggests intent to return to it.

  • You have dependents (children, elderly parents you support) in your home country.

    Dependents create an obligation to return that officers weigh heavily.

  • You have ongoing community, professional, or religious roles at home (volunteer, board, alumni committee, etc.).

    A role you cannot easily replace remotely signals rootedness.

Immigration intent + academic posture

How well-defined is your plan, and how honestly can you speak to it.

  • You can name your specific university and program of study.

    Specificity beats generality — an officer will not accept "I want to study in the US".

  • You can articulate why THIS specific program (vs. programs at home or in other countries).

    You should be able to name a specific course, professor, or lab that is unavailable at home.

  • You have a specific post-graduation plan that involves returning to your home country within a year of finishing.

    Vague plans (e.g. "I will see what opportunities come up") are the classic §214(b) weakness.

  • Your funding for the first year (tuition + living) is fully documented and matches your I-20 Section 7.

    Financial gaps are the second-most-common §214(b) trigger after weak intent-to-return.

  • You have not been refused a US visa (F-1, tourist, or any other category) before.

    A prior refusal is not disqualifying but you must address it directly and honestly at the window.

  • You do not have close family in the US who could sponsor immigration (e.g. no green-card holder parents / spouse petitioning for you).

    This is a fact, not a fault. Officers ask because dual intent complicates F-1. Answer honestly at the window if this is a "no".

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How this is scored

Deterministic — no AI. Every answer maps to a fixed weight from a public rubric(src/lib/tools/us-214b-scorer.ts). Positive answers add weight; a small set of factors ("no prior refusals", "no US immigrant petitions") subtract when the answer is "no". The result is normalised to 0-100 with three bands: strong (75+), workable (50-74), high risk (<50).

Ready to rehearse? Our paid US mock runs the same rubric on a real Q&A instead of a checklist, and grades your spoken answers on the same categories.