Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act means that consular officers have to assume that every nonimmigrant visa applicant is an intending immigrant unless she or he, at the time of application for a nonimmigrant visa, can prove that s/he will return to Lithuania. The determination that an alien is not an immigrant can be made only on the basis of the facts existing at the time of a specific visa application.
The vast majority of visa denials arise from the applicants' inability to overcome the presumption that they intend to immigrate to the United States. If an applicant wants to overcome the presumption of being an intending immigrant, s/he normally shows that s/he has strong ties to Lithuania. Strong ties are assessed in many different ways, and consular officers do not use any specific formula to determine an applicant's eligibility. Each applicant's situation is unique. However, applicants with strong family, financial and professional ties to Lithuania are more likely to receive nonimmigrant visas.
Applicants should understand that American immigration law places the burden of proof on them. Thus, applicants have to show that they have strong ties to Lithuania that would compel them to leave the United States at the end of a temporary stay. They also need to show that they neither intend nor need to work illegally in the United States. Finally, misrepresenting relevant facts in an application or interview will result in denial of the visa, and possibly in a permanent ineligibility for any visa.