Best option for MIL to gain lawful entry into US

[106206 15]

I will make this short & to the point since I´m on vacation here in Vzla

1. Wife has her CONDITIONAL GC (see sig below)
   
2. Her mom (my mother in law or MIL) has 2 siblings in the US with permanent greencards, neither of which meet the 120% poverty guideline for I-864.
   
3. My MIL would like to be able to come and visit the US for visits, aka "tourism", with potential down road to live in the US.
   
4. MIL is NOT legally married to her husband but has joint tennancy of house, finances, etc. for about 27 years
   
5. MIL went to Caracas in Dec 2010 to apply for a tourist visa and was denied on the spot, verbally, and was not given a reason. She was told to reapply in 6 months.
   
6. She had previously been granted a B1 visa that she traveled to/from US on without overstay, which had since expired.
   
7. It appears that she was asked if she had family in the US to which she said ´no´ but in actuality her daughter was there on a valid B1, and her 2 sisters had greencards.
   
8. During the interview the consulate worker appeared to be agitated with her answers.
   
9. They asked how she paid for her trip to the US previously and she said it was a gift from her spouse. She is not legally married and she listed ´single´ the application. So for this she wrote the right thing on the app but her verbal answer did not line up.
   
10. They also asked how she could leave her work for months on end to visit, she said she was an independent worker (she does beautician work from her house), this also troubled the worker it seems.

Questions:

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1. Is my assumption that if MIL gave incorrect info at visa interview and it was detected, she is permanently barred from entering the US, visa, greencard, or otherwise, without expection, correct?

2. My thought is that the easiest way for MIL to gain unobstructed access to US would be through a GC since she has the right through her sisters, but since they do not meet the income guideline, it crates a problem.

3. Given she has had the decline in the past, and she is getting (my judgemental words here) shoddy advice from random people, she should get legal advice from a lawyer.

If there is a better way to get her able to come over and visit let us know. Again she does not want to live in the US at this point, but to have that door open in the future would be a good thing. If she did get a GC she would not be coming over for more than a month or so at a time.

Thanks again & happy holidays

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

Couple things (wrong answer, unclear answer, her daughter is LPR...) will not convince the IO to issue her any visas in near future, because she shows her intention to immigrate to US already.

1. I don't think she would be banned, because the guy told her to reapply in 6 months. She can try, but it costs money to do so.

2. GC through LPR siblings is not available. GC through USC Siblings (F4) takes about 12 years give or take.

3. Lawyers, IMHO, cannot help her to get any visas right now (but can take bunch of money from her)

* Best choice: Wait til your wife to become US citizen (3 years give or take) then sponsor her mom's GC (less than a year)

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

*** Moving from AOS to Bringing Relatives of US citizens, as OP is intending MIL to come over via her sisters or possibly his wife *****

[Boiler 46,103]

If her Daughter is interested in sponsoring her to live in the US then she should naturalise as soon as she can.

I can not see her getting a Visitor Visa anytime sooner. No harm in trying again, only the fee at risk.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

1. Is my assumption that if MIL gave incorrect info at visa interview and it was detected, she is permanently barred from entering the US, visa, greencard, or otherwise, without expection, correct?

No. Her inconsistent answers on the forms and during the interview were not about material facts. In other words, her eligibility to receive a visa did not depend on her giving the correct answers. She wouldn't be barred for material misrepresentation unless she lied about something where the truth would have to change the outcome. For example, if she had a criminal record that would make her inadmissible to the US and she lied about this in an effort to conceal it from the CO then she could be found guilty of material misrepresentation.

Her conflicting answers probably did contribute to her being denied. The was the discretionary decision of the CO, and not because her inconsistent answers caused her to be statutorily barred from the US.

2. My thought is that the easiest way for MIL to gain unobstructed access to US would be through a GC since she has the right through her sisters, but since they do not meet the income guideline, it crates a problem.

As Nancy stated, her LPR sisters cannot petition for her. Only a US citizen can petition for a sibling. If the petitioner is eligible to submit a petition, and they don't have enough income to submit a sufficient affidavit of support, then they can use a joint sponsor who does qualify. The joint sponsor can be any US citizen or LPR who is domiciled in the US.

3. Given she has had the decline in the past, and she is getting (my judgemental words here) shoddy advice from random people, she should get legal advice from a lawyer.

No point. A lawyer can't change her situation and help her get a visa.

If there is a better way to get her able to come over and visit let us know. Again she does not want to live in the US at this point, but to have that door open in the future would be a good thing. If she did get a GC she would not be coming over for more than a month or so at a time.

Permanent residents are required to reside in the United States. They can't use a green card as a substitute for a visitors visa. If she gets a green card and CBP determines she's residing abroad then her green card will be revoked.

She's in a catch 22 here. The consulate won't give her a visa because they're convinced she'll try to stay in the US. I'd guess that at least half of the people on this planet are in the same boat, and could never get a visitors visa, including pretty much all of my wife's family. If an eligible relative petitions for her, and she eventually gets a green card, then she'll be required to live in the US or she'll lose her green card.

Edited December 29, 2011 by JimVaPhuong

[106206 15]

Thanks for the feedback guys