[throwaway344]

I think the GP is saying that they wonder if an equivalent Northern European with identical stats would have been rejected.

They're not disputing the fact that some white people get denied, but rather that they get denied less than other groups.

[briandear]

That's a very hard allegation to prove. For example, nearly 100% of Indian visa applicants are brown skinned. Nearly 100% of African applicants have dark skin. The skin color isn't the reason for denials, it's the country of origin, the propensity for people of those countries to overstay along with the personal resources of the applicant. A visa applicant from Bangladesh is going to be denied much more frequently than a visa applicant from Serbia. Not because Serbians are lighter skinned, but because statistically, Bangladeshis are more likely to overstay. There's not much personal appearance bias in the consular equations. Also, visa approvals and denials are reviewed by a supervisor -- the State Department is among the most excessively politically correct agencies around. They go out of their way to ensure fairness. I don't agree with all of their decisions of course, but race has minimal if any influence.

If you want to see some "proof" of this, look at the rate of visa denials for Albania (mostly white skinned people) -- 42% denied. Compared to Zimbabwe with only a 22% denial.

The "white skins get denied less because of racism" meme is not based on any sort of data, facts or anything resembling a statistically valid statement. It's just typical nonsense.

http://www.languageinternational.com/high-risk-countries

[throwaway344]

Yeah, I was just trying to communicate the parent's argument. I appreciate your introduction of actual numbers.

[Thrymr]

Of course, that's baked into the system, since most European countries are part of the visa waiver program and citizens don't require a visa to enter the US.