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What the Annotation on Your Visa Means
The line printed beneath the machine-readable strip is the annotation. Most people notice it, cannot decode it, and worry. It is worth understanding, because the Foreign Affairs Manual is explicit that it is written for the officer at the border — and that it can affect how long you are let in for.
This page explains what the rules are and where they come from. It is not legal advice.
Everything below is from 9 FAM 403.9-5, read on 21 September 2026.
Who the annotation is actually for
From 403.9-5(A) (CT:VISA-1835; 09-20-2023):
A visa annotation is a simple and useful method to convey information about a visa applicant and the circumstances under which a visa was issued, explain the circumstances or assumptions on which the visa decision was based, or clarify key factors which were considered at the time of adjudication.
And the consequence that matters to you:
The information contained in a visa annotation should help facilitate an immigration inspector's decision on whether to admit the visa holder to the United States, and, if to admit, for how long.
So the annotation is one of the inputs to the number that ends up on your I-94 — see how long you can stay.
It is meant to be readable by you
The FAM instructs officers to write plainly:
Annotations should be concise and should be understandable to persons outside the Department. Abbreviations may be used, but they must be clear and self-evident. You should not use jargon or shorthand.
And, in a line that is easy to miss and worth knowing:
You should carefully review annotations to avoid conveying a negative tone.
An annotation is not a warning label. Where one records something difficult, the manual's instruction is still that it be constructive and informative.
Decoding the notations that worry people most
From 403.9-5(F) (CT:VISA-1991; 05-24-2024).
"CLASS … OVERCOME" — where an applicant has overcome a refusal or quasi-refusal under a ground of ineligibility, the officer must annotate:
CLASS (code for specific ground of refusal) OVERCOME; Clearance received (date): Reference CCD Notes
This is a good annotation. It records that a ground was raised and resolved, so a border officer seeing the underlying record also sees that it was cleared.
"INA Section 222(g) overcome under extraordinary circumstances" — the annotation used where someone is exempted from INA 222(g), the provision that voids a visa after an overstay.
"212(d)(3)(A)" — this one looks alarming and is not a refusal. Where DHS waives a ground of inadmissibility, the officer enters 212(d)(3)(A) followed by the paragraph of INA 212(a) that was waived, the authorised duration, the port of entry where applicable, and the purpose. The FAM's own worked example:
212(D)(3)(A): (6)(C) 4 WEEKS-N.Y., N.Y. CONFERENCE: HAPPY MOTORING COMPANY
Read that back: a waiver of §212(a)(6)(C) — misrepresentation — for a four-week trip to New York for a named company's conference. The numbers in the bracket are the ground that was waived, and the rest is the trip it was waived for.
The grounds these numbers point at are mapped on the security and background questions.
If your annotation is blank
Most visitor visas carry no annotation at all, and that is unremarkable. Annotations are required in defined circumstances and used where they help; an empty field is not a signal about you.
Frequently asked questions
Does the annotation affect how long I can stay?
It can. The FAM says the annotation should help the inspector decide whether to admit you and for how long. The period you receive is still the officer's decision.
What does "CLASS … OVERCOME" mean on my visa?
That a ground of ineligibility was raised and then resolved before issuance, with the clearance date recorded. It is a favourable notation, not an adverse one.
My visa says 212(d)(3)(A). Have I been refused?
No. That notation records a waiver granted by DHS. The bracketed paragraph is the ground of inadmissibility that was waived, followed by the duration and purpose it was waived for.
Why is my annotation blank?
Because nothing required one. Most straightforward visitor visas carry none.
Can I ask for the annotation to be changed?
Annotations are part of the printed visa, and a printed visa is corrected by reissuance rather than by hand — see why your name looks different on the visa.
What is INA 222(g)?
The provision that voids a visa where the holder has overstayed. The annotation named above records an exemption from it in extraordinary circumstances.
Official sources
- 9 FAM 403.9 — NIV issuances, read 21 September 2026; annotations are at 403.9-5