Bringing Family Member for Visit from Philippines

[ADW 0]

My wife is from the Philippines and we have been married 3 years. We are expecting our second child in June. Ideally, we would like her Sister (who is married) to come here and help us out for a few months after the baby is born. I know all of the logistics involved in getting the visa, but I was wondering if anyone had advice about ways we could increase the chances of her successfully being granted a tourist visa. Is it very difficult to get such a visa for a Philippine resident, who I wouldn't consider as being poor but is by no means rich either? Any advice that can be shared would be much appreciated.

[Boiler 46,109]

Do not mention the child care aspect.

[N360 0]

My wife is from the Philippines and we have been married 3 years. We are expecting our second child in June. Ideally, we would like her Sister (who is married) to come here and help us out for a few months after the baby is born. I know all of the logistics involved in getting the visa, but I was wondering if anyone had advice about ways we could increase the chances of her successfully being granted a tourist visa. Is it very difficult to get such a visa for a Philippine resident, who I wouldn't consider as being poor but is by no means rich either? Any advice that can be shared would be much appreciated.

What does the sister do for a living? Is she a nurse, pharmacist, chemist? It will be tough to get a tourist visa if shes got skills for those in-demand jobs here in the US.

You'll have to present a very convincing evidence that she has heavy ties in the Philippines. Such as owning large pieces of land or profitable business etc.

Its a tough situation because if she has a profitable business or owns large pieces of lands, she's probably not gonna be too keen on coming to the US, forget about her business or property, and leave her own family behind to baby-sit your kid. No offense. Just proving a point that chances are... she doesnt have heavy ties in the PI.

Even still having immediate relatives in the PI is not enough. The embassy knows many filipinos would still over stay and live in the US even though they still have their immediate relatives in the PI. Sad but true.

And also, another sad but true fact. Philippines is still considered a "developing nation" by the international community. Its another term for a third-world country. It is safe to consider Philippines a poor country. Hence the reason why its hard to get a tourist visa.

I almost forgot. Congrats on your baby!!

Edited March 1, 2008 by NoelandTintin

[Jasman0717 9]

The sister will need to prove strong ties to the Philippines by way of a highly skilled and paying job or land or other investments that would prevent the normal person from abandoning.

[blair&judith 0]

Hi All,

Similar thought here, although we would like to bring my wife's sister here on a more permanent basis. Obviously she is a sister, and not a daughter so it appears all the advice on this site is not applicable to either of our situations.

Having said that, it is really disappointing that the system assumes wrong prior to it's occurrence when it comes to visits and immigration from PI. One would think, that a green card involved couple asking for a visit of a relative would suffice to have said visit be allowed, since violation would likely negatively affect the green card holder...

My wife's sister lives and works in United Arab Emirates, and as said, we would like to figure out how to have her come live here, not just visit, but it appears there is no way to help? If there is a way to help her we would love to hear about it.

Just to have her visit would be nice too. And we would do whatever we agreed to do, have her visit for a set amount of time, or come here to stay... Either way, tying it to my wife's immigration as bond should, be sufficient. (Granted the reality of USCIS appears to be that it isn't...)

ADW good luck! Wish we had some advice for you, although we will follow your thread here and see what advice you get.

[Boiler 46,109]

Similar thought here, although we would like to bring my wife's sister here on a more permanent basis. Obviously she is a sister, and not a daughter so it appears all the advice on this site is not applicable to either of our situations.

A USC can sponsor a sister.

Having said that, it is really disappointing that the system assumes wrong prior to it's occurrence when it comes to visits and immigration from PI.

Not PI, anywhere.

One would think, that a green card involved couple asking for a visit of a relative would suffice to have said visit be allowed, since violation would likely negatively affect the green card holder...

How?

My wife's sister lives and works in United Arab Emirates, and as said, we would like to figure out how to have her come live here, not just visit, but it appears there is no way to help? If there is a way to help her we would love to hear about it.

All sorts of ways, if she is relying on her Sister then her Sister needs to naturalise first.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Similar thought here, although we would like to bring my wife's sister here on a more permanent basis. Obviously she is a sister, and not a daughter so it appears all the advice on this site is not applicable to either of our situations.

A USC can sponsor a sister. <--- Good information, thanks!

Having said that, it is really disappointing that the system assumes wrong prior to it's occurrence when it comes to visits and immigration from PI.

Not PI, anywhere. <--- Possibly true, unless of course your SO is from the right county, but PI citizens seem to have it about as rough as anyone, if not more so when it comes to being allowed to visit the USA.

One would think, that a green card involved couple asking for a visit of a relative would suffice to have said visit be allowed, since violation would likely negatively affect the green card holder...

How? <--- By making the green card involved couple's green card status contingent upon the sponsored visitor leaving when agreed to... Not rocket science, and people tend to wish their relatives can one day come to visit them...

My wife's sister lives and works in United Arab Emirates, and as said, we would like to figure out how to have her come live here, not just visit, but it appears there is no way to help? If there is a way to help her we would love to hear about it.

All sorts of ways, if she is relying on her Sister then her Sister needs to naturalise first. <--- Since we have not made it to the stage in the process where my wife can naturalize, this option isn't open to us, but it is nice to know it could be an option a few years down the road.

[Boiler 46,109]

So I would lose my Green Card Status if a relative overstays their visa, no thanks! That is not the law and would never be so, it is so illogical.

I have seen people from most countries have issues with US Immigration, and I guess if you searched hard enough you would find all Countries represented. I doubt if there is a single country not represented by overstayers.

[ready4ONE 5,400]

So I would lose my Green Card Status if a relative overstays their visa, no thanks! That is not the law and would never be so, it is so illogical.

I have seen people from most countries have issues with US Immigration, and I guess if you searched hard enough you would find all Countries represented. I doubt if there is a single country not represented by overstayers.

I don't agree it is illogical, we would wish for her sister, or other relatives, to visit enough to agree to those terms if the option was available. If she had a relative we thought would not return as agreed, we would not sponsor them. It seems to me that such an agreement would be both easily enforceable, and perhaps even more likely to end with the visitor leaving as promised as any other means of determining if visitors plan to visit vs use a visit visa to illegally emigrate.

Other's might not choose to take the risk of course, likely it would depend on the relative in question. For K-1 visa holders though, the wait is at least three years for citizenship, and to get a sister here would mean giving up former citizenship, which is not in my opinion something every immigrant would want to do.

True though that people from any country can have issues with US Immigration. Did not mean to imply folks from PI have a corner on the &%@%^% USCIS market!

[Boiler 46,109]

You do not sponsor visitors, you do sponsor immigrants.

Very few countries forbid dual citizenship, I did not realise PI was one of them.

I came on a K1, in my case looks like 6 years to Citizenship.

So how would I enforce this, how would I make a visiting relative leave? Say my brother, I do not have a sister.

[sj5 4]

You do not sponsor visitors, you do sponsor immigrants.

Very few countries forbid dual citizenship, I did not realise PI was one of them.

I came on a K1, in my case looks like 6 years to Citizenship.

So how would I enforce this, how would I make a visiting relative leave? Say my brother, I do not have a sister.

Does the law RA 9225 apply to dual citizens?

RA 9225 does not apply to dual citizens, ie, those who have both Philippine citizenship as well as foreign citizenship not acquired through naturalisation.

1. A child born of parents who are both Filipino citizens (at the time of birth) in a country that adheres to the jus soli principle (eg, the United States) is a dual citizen. The child, who is a natural-born Filipino because the Philippines adheres to the jus sanginis principle, is also entitled to apply for a US passport.

   Jus soli (right of soil) is the legal principle that a person's nationality at birth is determined by the place of birth (ie, the territory of a given state).

   Jus sanguinis (right of blood) is the legal principle that, at birth, an individual acquires the nationality of his/her natural parent/s.

2. A chld born of one parent who is a Filipino citizen (at the time of birth) and of one foreign parent (eg, Australian) whose country adheres to the jus sanguinis principle is a dual citizen and is entitled to apply for both Philippine and Australian passports.

3. A child born of one parent who is a Filipino citizen (at the time of birth) and of one foreign parent (eg, Australian) whose country adheres to the jus sanguinis principle in a country that adheres to the jus soli principle (eg, US) would be entitled to apply for Philippine, Australian and US passports.

[Boiler 46,109]

What happens if you naturalise?

[ready4ONE 5,400]

You do not sponsor visitors, you do sponsor immigrants.

Very few countries forbid dual citizenship, I did not realise PI was one of them.

I came on a K1, in my case looks like 6 years to Citizenship.

So how would I enforce this, how would I make a visiting relative leave? Say my brother, I do not have a sister.

Need to clarify, I don't know if the PI forbids dual citizenship, they might. The US government officially does not recognize dual citizenship however, if you naturalize, you are then and forever a citizen to the US government.

Correct to the other poster: you don't sponsor visitors. But for people in our situation, where relatives do not come from countries that are free from the need for visit visa's, an option to sponsor relatives would be a great thing in my opinion. And would be easy to enforce. Far be it for me to suggest USCIS should get creative and allow human beings to easily visit with their relations!

[RICHIE07 0]

You do not sponsor visitors, you do sponsor immigrants.

Very few countries forbid dual citizenship, I did not realise PI was one of them.

I came on a K1, in my case looks like 6 years to Citizenship.

So how would I enforce this, how would I make a visiting relative leave? Say my brother, I do not have a sister.

I thought you can apply for dual citizenship in the Philippines. That's what I heard though.

I guess, tourist visa is the only way for your siblings or parents. When I talked to the USCIS Officer and they told me that if your a green card holder you can't petition or sponsor your parents. You can only petition or sponsor if your a US citizen. I know it's pretty hard to get a visa in the Philippines.

I've been wanting my Mom to visit me or live with me. Tourist visa would be kinda a lil hard for my Mom because she's a teacher in the Philippines. If I want her to come, I want her to stay with me permanently not just for 6 months.

If your married to a US Citizen you can apply for citizenship in 3 years (minus 90 days) from the day you become a permanent resident, if not 5 years (minus 90 days).