F-1 Visa

[Georgevr 0]

Oh, you couldn't even imagine.

[Noah Lot 391]

Oh, you couldn't even imagine.

Well, anyway, good luck to you. Your writing skills are superb, BTW.

[Georgevr 0]

Thank you for your advice. Thanks, must be this browser.

[Noah Lot 391]

Thank you for your advice. Thanks, must be this browser.

Much higher than the average 'carnie', I imagine!

[Georgevr 0]

From what I read on their maintenance sheets, yes. Spelling and grammar really wasn't what they would deem necessary. The carnival thing was just to get some travelling done, and I the second time around, I had the opportunity to visit some of my prospective colleges. But I did learn a lot from the carnival, lots of mechanics, overcame my fear of heights, and I got to do a lot of people watching. So all in all it was a good experience.

Edited December 8, 2011 by Georgevr

[Soapz 14]

George, at your age, proving ties will be somewhat difficult as every case will be considered individually.

I found this on an immigration lawyers homepage:

There are various ways to document ties, including through property ownership (deeds, escrow documents, etc.), employment records (paystubs, letter from employer, tax returns, etc.), and family obligations (affidavits providing information about important relationships the applicant maintains abroad that require the applicant’s physical presence). It is also helpful to submit current bills and statements showing maintenance of a foreign address, along with a lease or rental agreement with an expiration after the applicant’s U.S. stay to show he/she intends to return to that address (this is not always feasible if the nonimmigrant visa is for several years).

And this here is an article on how to establish ties to your home-country written in the UK:

You have to take a systematic approach. It’s not going to be just one thing. Instead, it will be based on how you have ordered your home affairs for the duration of your US stay. You have to think long and hard and be prepared to go through extra-ordinary lengths to put this part of your application together.

Here are some ideas that might help you: -

1. Do you own your own home? If you own your own home do not sell it; wait until after your application has been approved. You may or may not have to sell it ultimately, but if you sell it, and then make a visa application this will weaken your case considerably, since it highlights a substantial breaking of ties with the UK. Of course, many people will need to sell their home to raise capital for their US trip or to raise capital to buy a US business. Even so, try to leave it until the last possible moment.

Action: If you own your home submit a copy of your last mortgage statement.

2. Are you renting?

If you are renting then this places you in a lesser position but not a fatal one. You may have a long lease of a year or more. The longer the outstanding lease-term the better. Maybe you can find someone to sub-let it while you’re away exploring US opportunities, so as to maintain the obligation of the lease and thus maintain close UK ties.

Action: Submit a copy of your on-going lease agreement.

3. Leaving Past Employers:

Very few employers will grant employees, (even faithful ones), paid vacation for six months to a year while they explore their US opportunities. However, the employer may write a letter to say that you are an exceptional asset to the company and they would be very keen to consider re-hiring you on your return. This does not place any legal obligation on that company to actually re-hire you, but at least it is an indication to USCIS that you have a strong tie with a current employer in the UK that could draw you back home rather than overstay in the US.

Action: Ask your employer to write you a glowing reference indicating strong possibilities of re-hiring you on your return.

4. Elderly Parents or Relatives: If you have elderly or frail parents in the UK and you are very close to them, (in that, there are not two or three other siblings who could easily look after them), then this could be deemed a close tie. You could argue that if anything happened to them you’d need to be there for them.

Action: Statement from your parents or parent’s Doctor, Carer or Care Institution supporting this claim.

5. Professional Licenses: If you have any kind of professional license that could expire unless you return home, or at the very least, there would be some kind of burden on you to maintain some level of UK expertise, then this should be argued.

Action: Any letter from the professional institution citing the relevant rule would be useful.

6. Career Advancement: If you have an established career in the UK and have risen in the ranks to a management or senior position, this could show you have an incentive to return, and therefore close home ties.

Action: Enclose a short-form C.V. highlighting your career progression. Also visit any UK employment website that would show what kind of salary you could demand on your return. If you could find 2-3 this would be excellent.

7. Assets: List all the assets that you will be leaving in the UK, such as, up to date insurance policies on your life and property, or other assets, like endowment policies, deposit accounts, etc. When taken together it all shows intent to return and stay close to home.

Action: Submit proof of assets, bank statements, deposit accounts, insurance policies, etc. A page or two of each would be sufficient.

8. Social Ties: Outline any strong social ties you may have. This could include any church or charitable memberships you belong to, or organizations where you have been actively involved.

Action: Submit any supporting documentation.

Summary

Establishing that you will maintain close home ties for the duration of any short-term visa can be a very arduous process, but stay the course. We are seeing more and more perfectly good visa applications run into difficulties due to a failure to outline strong enough home ties. Therefore make every effort to submit as much information as possible to establish that you do indeed have these ties.

Keep in mind that it mainly depends on the consular officer that looks at your case. Being denied before might make them more suspicious, then again, it might not. It might also help if you can explain to them what you explained to us here regarding the background. Maybe find a study or something to back this up.

Good luck.

Edited December 8, 2011 by Soapz

[Georgevr 0]

Thank you Soapz, that was very informative, and will definitely take all of those things into consideration before filing my next visa application.

[Georgevr 0]

My appointment is tomorrow, any last advice?

[Noah Lot 391]

My appointment is tomorrow, any last advice?

Always tell the truth!

[Georgevr 0]

Seems that just isn't enough.

Thank you for all the advice everyone.

There's always Canada.

[Boiler 45,525]

There are many many countries outside of North America.

[Harsh_77 718]

No, however, I do believe they do have some common sense.

I'm sorry, but I do not see what you're trying to infer by stating "Your track record strongly suggests that returning to S Africa to live and work is not likely".

I did not enter the USA previously on false pretenses, I did not overstay my visa, I did not break the law. I worked there for 2 years, and it was a means as to obtaining some of the finances, and/or information and accessibility to pursue my studies in the US.

Let's say you referred to my previous studying experience. How many students across the world change their major whilst studying, or take an hiatus and later return to completing school?

I have every intention of returning to South Africa. I want to go there, study, do some travelling in my free-time, and come back to my home-country where my family, friends, culture and pretty much everything else is.

Something I forgot to add in my original post was that I do have a letter of future employment, for when I complete my studies.

Funny thing, I was actually asking for advice, and the attacking tone of your post, albeit relevant, still does not really satisfy the questions I asked.

80-90% student applying for the student visa claim they would return back to their home country during interview..... and only few of them ever return back to their home country... thats a fact.

You abided by terms of your visa on your previous visit which is good and would always work in your favour, right now just trying to enter again on another visa within a short duration is a big red flag.

It would be a better option to start your studies in your home country in choice of your field and then apply to school in US for higher education.