Regarding Tourist Visas

[TucsonBill 0]

Hi all,

I am trying to find a proceedure guide for getting tourist visas for certain of my wife's family members. Her mother is 75 years old and is owner of a large farm in Thailand, (the family farm), and has quite a bit of assets. She has two brothers who are school teachers and their wives are flight attenants for Thai Airlines so the wives already have visas but they would like to bring thier husbands and children too. Lastly, she has one sister that has a good job and owns a home in Thailand but other than that does not have a lot of assets. All together, I want to try to get seven tourist visas:

Mother

2 Brothers

1 Sister

3 Children

I don't see a section of the forum here specific to tourist visas, can someone perhaps direct me to a good thread or another forum with some step-by-step guides and examples of the letters I can write and so forth?

Thanks!

TucsonBill

[Boiler 45,501]

There are pages and pages of posts on B2 Visa's.

Nothing much to do with you, they apply and get them or not.

[TucsonBill 0]

There are pages and pages of posts on B2 Visa's.

Nothing much to do with you, they apply and get them or not.

Ya - but there are tricks to getting them - hoping I would get some ideas here.

[sachinky 465]

No "tricks" really -- they apply and it's a 50/50 shot. I doubt the whole family is going to be approved at the same time, IMO.

They will EACH need to demonstrate SIGNIFICANT and OVERWHELMING ties to Thailand that would compel them to return at the end of their U.S. stay in order to convince the CO.

I have personal knowledge of many people who applied for tourist visas and were denied while their spouses were approved. They want to make sure you have someone/something to come back to.

[Ning 619]

Ya - but there are tricks to getting them - hoping I would get some ideas here.

The only way to get tourist visas is to study & understand the " strongest ties " rule imposed by the embassy. If there is a "trick" that is it. Trying to get 7 tourist visas for a family will be interesting when attempting to comply. Each person will need their own letter of compliance with the rule.

[Martin11581 0]

let us know if you were able to get the 7 visas! that would be interesting.

[griffin 7]

Greetings,

This is pasted from US EMBASSY,MANILA.JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA.

Demonstrating Ties

OVERCOMING PRESUMPTION OF IMMIGRANT INTENT UNDER U.S. IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT SECTION 214(b)

All B-1, B-2, F-1, F-2, H-2A, H-2B, H-3, J-1, J-2, M-1, M-2, O-2, P-1, P-2, P-3, and Q-1, applicants must qualify under Section 214(b) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Act which states:

"Every alien shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the officer, at the time of the application for a visa... that he is entitled to nonimmigrant status..."

Essentially, the visa officer needs to see that the applicant has compelling reasons to return to the Philippines. By law, the burden of proof is on the applicant to show that he or she qualifies for the visa. This proof may come in many forms, but when considered together, it must be strong enough for the interviewing officer to conclude that the applicant’s ties to the Philippines will compel him or her to return at the end of a temporary stay in the United States.

EVIDENCE OF TIES

Ties are the aspects of one’s life that bind him or her to his or her place of residence, including family relationships, employment and possessions. In the case of younger applicants, who may not have had an opportunity to establish such ties, interviewing officers may look at educational status, grades, the situation of their parents, and the applicant's long-range plans and prospects in the Philippines. As each person's situation is different, there is no set answer as to what constitutes adequate ties.

The following supporting documents may or may not be requested from the applicant and are only required at the discretion of the consular officer:

Bank statements for the last three (3) months and both current and former bank account passbooks

Employment certification including salary, tenure and position

Form W-2

Income tax return with Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) or bank stamp

Audited financial statement with BIR or bank stamp

Pay slips for the last three (3) months

Credit card statements for the prior three months

Vehicle registration with official receipt

Land titles (no certified copies please)

Pictures of family, home or business

Wedding photos

Marriage certificate printed on the Philippine National Statistics Office security paper, if applicable

Birth certificate printed on the Philippine National Statistics Office security paper

For students, certificate of school registration

Certification of membership to legitimate organization(s)

Due to the large volume of applications processed each day, consular officers may not always look at supporting documents, unless there are points in the application forms or in the interview that need clarification.

Notes:

In certain cases, additional documents may be requested.

All documents must be originals. Photocopies will not be accepted, unless specified. The applicant must submit these documents to the interviewing consular officer during the interview. The Nonimmigrant Visa Unit does not accept documents before the interview. Any documents received will not be returned and will be destroyed. Please note, however, that presentation of the documents will not guarantee visa issuance. Applicants must still qualify under INA Section 214(b).

AFFIDAVIT OF SUPPORT

In general, affidavits of support of any sort from relatives or sponsors will be of little value to an applicant (except to student visa applicants). The Affidavit of Support is a requirement only for immigrant visas. The interviewing officer is less concerned about how the applicant will be supported during his or her stay in the United States than whether the applicant has compelling reasons to return home. We encourage the interested third parties to save their time and money and not prepare affidavits of support.

POSTING OF BONDS

There is no provision in the law that allows for the posting of bonds as a guarantee of return. Moreover, this is not considered as familial, social, economic or professional ties that can affect the applicant’s eligibility for a visa.

Please visit the Nonimmigrant Visa Application Procedures page for complete information on how to apply for a nonimmigrant visa to the United States.