Family B2 Visa Denied

[~ameriptian~ 54]

My stepfather's and brother's B2 visa applications were denied today at the interview. They said that they answered everything correctly. Their papers were all complete. My brother presented a stamped paper from his university that he is going to have his final exams on May 30th, and my stepfather presented proof that he has to get back to Egypt as soon as possible for his projects and for my mother....they said the interviewer was VERY rude to them.

I just want to know the exact reason for their denial (if there's any) to avoid them in the future. I tried contacting the consulate for them a few times but the consulate emailed back saying: "contact USCIS"

Does DOS have anything to do with this? If I email the consulate again should I ask questions about their specific case using their names or is their any number I should use?

I was very very happy to know that we came to an agreement with them in a way...and I think that denial will make matters worse (in the sense that they feel they can't see me whenever they want). We'll probably have to be on the same rollercoaster again

Anyway, if anyone has experience with this please reply..

Thanks,

Aya

[Bernie C 24]

That stinks

Unfortunatley it sounds like they didn't provide enough in the form of strength of ties to the home country.

While the things you listed that they provided sound reasonable to someone like you and me, it really is not significant in the eyes of the consulate.

They should provide things like substanitial proof of property owned, strong financial ties.

I dont have much personal exerience with this but you'll get some good advice from others.

Wish you the best and hope it can get worked out for them to visit.

[~ameriptian~ 54]

That stinks

Unfortunatley it sounds like they didn't provide enough in the form of strength of ties to the home country.

While the things you listed that they provided sound reasonable to someone like you and me, it really is not significant in the eyes of the consulate.

They should provide things like substanitial proof of property owned, strong financial ties.

I dont have much personal exerience with this but you'll get some good advice from others.

Wish you the best and hope it can get worked out for them to visit.

I believe stepfather presented proof of his ownership of 2 houses in 2 different cities. He also had my mother's passport with him and their marriage certificate AS REQUESTED...I don't know other proof does the consulate want!

Thank you for the wishes. I don't think they will try again in the near future.

Aya

[msheesha 548]

I believe stepfather presented proof of his ownership of 2 houses in 2 different cities. He also had my mother's passport with him and their marriage certificate AS REQUESTED...I don't know other proof does the consulate want!

Thank you for the wishes. I don't think they will try again in the near future.

Aya

Sorry that it didn't go well. I don't know much about the process at all, but maybe keep calling the consulate/emailing them and ask specifically about their cases. Ask what was the reason for denial, and what else they would need to be approved. See if they have what is needed and ask the consulate to reconsider if provided with what they need. Maybe? Don't know if that's helpful. Sorry!

[sachinky 465]

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do. All tourists are presumed to have immigrant intent and the onus is on them to overcome this presumption. This is usually a 50/50 chance.

They can only qualify on their own by showing SIGNIFICANT and OVERWHELMING ties to Egypt that would compel them to return at the end of their stay in the U.S. in order to convince the CO. Plus, being from Egypt and having a daughter/sister in the U.S. probably didn't help their case.

[angie & abed 1]

Hi Aya,

Sorry to hear about your stepfather and your brother. We had a similar experience with my hubby's mom when we applied for her B2 visa and she was denied...the first time. She really had no ties...they are not able to own property (Pali in Lebanon), she has never had a job (outside the home), she is a widow of 15 years and all but one of her children are grown and we for sure don't have a lot of money. So, she was denied, however, we fought it...she applied again and I contacted my congressman's office and when it was time for her 2nd interview, the congressman's office sent a letter to the embassy. I am not sure if that letter helped or if it was the female CO she had that sympathized with her situation, or it could have been a number of reasons I suppose, but she was approved the second time.

We are getting ready to try to get a visa for his 15 year old brother and still haven't decided yet if we are going to attempt his 21 year old brother or not yet, we don't want him to have a denial on his record, but we want him to be able to visit...anyway, I'm sorry honey. Maybe they should try again? I hope your family won't hold these things against you...

Edited April 21, 2010 by angie & abed

[Minya's wife 25]

I am just postulating here, but the denial may have had to with the fact that your brother and stepfather applied together. I'm not sure what other immediate family members you have, but two family members applied at once, which lends credence to the immigrant intent somewhat. Add to to this, the fact that your brother is a young unmarried university student, who's only tie to the home country is scheduled university exams.

Unfortunately there is no way you can get specifics on tourist visa denials, but given the presumption of immigrant intent attached to tourist visa applicants, you can safely assume that the denial was a result of failure to disprove immigrant intent. I know you said that your family is discouraged from trying again...but what about having your mother (just your mother) try. Perhaps with just one member of the family applying for a visa...the presumption of immigrant intent is lessened.

[~ameriptian~ 54]

Hi Aya,

Sorry to hear about your stepfather and your brother. We had a similar experience with my hubby's mom when we applied for her B2 visa and she was denied...the first time. She really had no ties...they are not able to own property (Pali in Lebanon), she has never had a job (outside the home), she is a widow of 15 years and all but one of her children are grown and we for sure don't have a lot of money. So, she was denied, however, we fought it...she applied again and I contacted my congressman's office and when it was time for her 2nd interview, the congressman's office sent a letter to the embassy. I am not sure if that letter helped or if it was the female CO she had that sympathized with her situation, or it could have been a number of reasons I suppose, but she was approved the second time.

We are getting ready to try to get a visa for his 15 year old brother and still haven't decided yet if we are going to attempt his 21 year old brother or not yet, we don't want him to have a denial on his record, but we want him to be able to visit...anyway, I'm sorry honey. Maybe they should try again? I hope your family won't hold these things against you...

Thank you, Angie!

Will try that next time if they want to apply again... John really likes them to try again ASAP, but I'm afraid matters will just get worse if there's a second denial. Also, my brother has to stay in Egypt for his exams, it will take at least 3 more weeks for a new interview date.

Aya

[~ameriptian~ 54]

Sorry that it didn't go well. I don't know much about the process at all, but maybe keep calling the consulate/emailing them and ask specifically about their cases. Ask what was the reason for denial, and what else they would need to be approved. See if they have what is needed and ask the consulate to reconsider if provided with what they need. Maybe? Don't know if that's helpful. Sorry!

Msheesha,

As far as I know the embassy doesn't answer case specfic questions over the phone.

I'll probably email them and hope they don't tell me to contact USCIS anymore!! We did contact USCIS and it had nothing to do with them when it comes to a specific person (the interviewee) as we expected!

Aya

[~ameriptian~ 54]

I am just postulating here, but the denial may have had to with the fact that your brother and stepfather applied together. I'm not sure what other immediate family members you have, but two family members applied at once, which lends credence to the immigrant intent somewhat. Add to to this, the fact that your brother is a young unmarried university student, who's only tie to the home country is scheduled university exams.

Unfortunately there is no way you can get specifics on tourist visa denials, but given the presumption of immigrant intent attached to tourist visa applicants, you can safely assume that the denial was a result of failure to disprove immigrant intent. I know you said that your family is discouraged from trying again...but what about having your mother (just your mother) try. Perhaps with just one member of the family applying for a visa...the presumption of immigrant intent is lessened.

I would LOVE that my mom comes and visits me here, but she almosts speaks no English and has expressed her wish to be accompanied by my brother or my stepfather when she visits one day...so it's almost the same thing.

Now we are putting our wedding plans on hold, but do have to get legally married ASAP for the AOS.

Could me being here for less than 2 months be a reason for the denial? Do you think our chances will be higher after having our AOS approved?

Aya

[Minya's wife 25]

I would LOVE that my mom comes and visits me here, but she almosts speaks no English and has expressed her wish to be accompanied by my brother or my stepfather when she visits one day...so it's almost the same thing.

Now we are putting our wedding plans on hold, but do have to get legally married ASAP for the AOS.

Could me being here for less than 2 months be a reason for the denial? Do you think our chances will be higher after having our AOS approved?

Aya

The fact that your mother speaks no English should not be a deterrent. I've seen grandmothers (in their mid/late seventies) from small villages who've never been outside their small village, successfully make the cross ocean trip.

You should not put your wedding plans on hold...if it is needed for AOS (you came on a K-1?) then it should be done within the 90 day time-frame. The fact that you're a recent 'immigrant' yourself may also have contributed to the denial of the tourist visa for your dad and brother....I'm not sure. Did your family take with them a letter from you and your husband-to-be as part of their 'evidence,' detailing that you'd like them to come for your wedding?

[Lia792 5]

My husband's B1/B2 was denied before we got married. I contacted my Congressman and they told me they could look into the reason he was denied, and if we made a second interview they would contact the embassy on our behalf. You might want to try that since I imagine you would like support in your new life (to see them for your wedding, etc.) I know it was very upsetting to me that we had to get married without my husband having met anyone in my family in person thanks to the strictness of tourist visas from Mexico. If you go to the Congressman or Senator's website for your district, you can usually find a form to contact them. They will probably get back to you and ask you to fax a permission form or mail it.

Good luck and sorry they got denied.

[~ameriptian~ 54]

The fact that your mother speaks no English should not be a deterrent. I've seen grandmothers (in their mid/late seventies) from small villages who've never been outside their small village, successfully make the cross ocean trip.

You should not put your wedding plans on hold...if it is needed for AOS (you came on a K-1?) then it should be done within the 90 day time-frame. The fact that you're a recent 'immigrant' yourself may also have contributed to the denial of the tourist visa for your dad and brother....I'm not sure. Did your family take with them a letter from you and your husband-to-be as part of their 'evidence,' detailing that you'd like them to come for your wedding?

Yes, I entered the US on a K1 visa. My I-94 expires on June 12th.

My fiance and I wrote invitation letters for them which they had with them at the interview. Not sure if the CO read them or not.

We also emailed the IV section prior to their application and reminded them of our case number and visa timeline and asked them for help in which direction we should go with their B2 visas. I forwarded that email to my brother and I believe he printed that as well.

Aya

[~ameriptian~ 54]

My husband's B1/B2 was denied before we got married. I contacted my Congressman and they told me they could look into the reason he was denied, and if we made a second interview they would contact the embassy on our behalf. You might want to try that since I imagine you would like support in your new life (to see them for your wedding, etc.) I know it was very upsetting to me that we had to get married without my husband having met anyone in my family in person thanks to the strictness of tourist visas from Mexico. If you go to the Congressman or Senator's website for your district, you can usually find a form to contact them. They will probably get back to you and ask you to fax a permission form or mail it.

Good luck and sorry they got denied.

Thanks for the info, Lia!!

Aya

[Nothing1234 2]

I would LOVE that my mom comes and visits me here, but she almosts speaks no English and has expressed her wish to be accompanied by my brother or my stepfather when she visits one day...so it's almost the same thing.

Now we are putting our wedding plans on hold, but do have to get legally married ASAP for the AOS.

Could me being here for less than 2 months be a reason for the denial? Do you think our chances will be higher after having our AOS approved?

Aya

Aya,

Azza, Ziad and Mido interviewed all together and were approved. Two months before that Mido interviewed alone and was denied. The reason: At the time Hazem did not have a job and they were curious as to how they would be taken care of while here (EVEN THO, I had a job for over 10 years!). So you never know the reason BUT they can reapply and SHOULD!

Send information on John's employment including any 401k or other sources of income besides a job that he might have. I made sure to show all funds that we had so that would not be an issue...also I had to make sure they were well versed on what I did for a living and on ME. That was another thing Mido could not even answer...my job title. However, when he reapplied, he was ready.

Don't give up girl!