The Department of State recently issued its annual report of “ineligibility findings” relating to immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applications in Fiscal Year 2016.

These annual reports are a useful way to see (1) the deconstructed inadmissibility categories, i.e. all the subsections triggering inadmissibility within each of the ten categories of inadmissibility under INA § 212; and (2) the actual number of people found inadmissible for immigrant and nonimmigrant visas within each listed inadmissibility ground.

For example, the chart shows that although you spend hours filling out forms asking if your clients committed acts of extrajudicial torture or recruited or used child soldiers, no one was found ineligible for a visa on those grounds in the past three fiscal years.

If you are worried about whether your client may be denied a visa under INA § 212(a)(3)(A) for having tattoos suggesting gang involvement, you may feel reassured to find out that for the past three years, the number of applicants abroad found inadmissible on that ground has been less than 126.

While the chart also notes the number of inadmissibility findings overcome, these numbers may not pertain to the same individuals listed as being found inadmissible. This is because a visa may be refused in one fiscal year and the refusal may be overcome, by waiver or evidence that the inadmissibility doesn’t apply, in a subsequent fiscal year. But it is important to note that most of the refusals for public charge were due to submission of inadequate affidavit of support, which was overcome by submission of more documentation or an I-864 from a joint sponsor.

A review of successive DOS Ineligibility Reports helps identify whether there are any significant changes in the number of people found inadmissible on particular grounds that might signal changing standards in inadmissibility assessment. As reflected in the chart below, the last fiscal year brought a significant increase in the number of people found inadmissible for smuggling and for triggering the permanent bar under INA § 212(a)(9)(C). The data in these charts is cumulative, and does not identify inadmissibility findings by individual consulate.

In addition, these chart excerpts reflect that the 10-year unlawful presence bar is the inadmissibility ground applicable to the greatest number of visa applicants overall. For both the three-year and 10-year unlawful presence grounds, the State Department separately reports on the number of people who had been approved for a provisional waiver of unlawful presence before their visa interviews.

For example, in FY 2016 there were 11,316 immigrant visa applicants who appeared for their interview, were found to have triggered the 10-year bar, and who had not previously been granted a provisional waiver. In that same year, 31,399 applicants were found to have triggered the 10-year bar, but they had already been granted the provisional waiver. These numbers over the past three years reflect how significant the availability of the provisional waiver has been in increasing immigration by individuals subject to the unlawful presence bars.

Finally, while some grounds of inadmissibility are overcome by waivers, inadmissibility determinations based on public charge are typically due to submission of an affidavit of support determined to be inadequate by the consular officer. In this situation, the ground of inadmissibility is generally overcome by the submission of more documentation or an I-864 from a joint sponsor.

To find  ineligibility charts for prior years, visit the Department of State Annual Visa Reports page at https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/statistics/annual-reports.html. The data on inadmissibility findings can be found at Table XX in the annual report for each fiscal year.