Apply for tourist visa to USA, Yes or No?

[rickkant 21]

Iam in USA and wife is in India, we are still waiting for NOA2,

we are missing each other and i cant go to India due to work, but she is free and she wants to come to USA on tourist Visa so we can spend more time together,

btw, I filled a I-130 for spouse,

My wife spoke with visa firms in Indian, and 90 percent said not to apply, since if she gets denied it will mess up the interview, and it will flag her case, while

others said since she has applied for I-130 she wont be allowed to apply for a tourist visa,

What do the VJ people think,

Please help, This wait for NOA2 is driving me crazy,

THanks VJ

[Ryan H 3,834]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to Tourist Visas forum.

[vegasbound 83]

Once you filed for I-130 which is an immigrant visa, you are no longer qualified for any type of NON-immigrant visa. I hope you can see the logic.

I suggest to be patient and go on with your regular life. It takes time but the I-130 process will eventually be done. As an alternative, you can go visit her!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Once you filed for I-130 which is an immigrant visa, you are no longer qualified for any type of NON-immigrant visa. I hope you can see the logic.

I suggest to be patient and go on with your regular life. It takes time but the I-130 process will eventually be done. As an alternative, you can go visit her!

This is NOT true.

OP: Your wife can apply, and can be approved. If she is denied, it will not mess up her spousal visa case at all. She will need to show that she does not intent to immigrate on the tourist visa, and that she will come back to India and will wait to immigrate until she has the appropriate spousal visa. With a husband in the US it will be more difficult to get a tourist visa, but still possible. The only thing you have to lose is the application fee.

[Harsh_77 718]

I will not agree with post #3 you can still apply there is nothing wrong as per laws.

It will not mess up your file either, so don’t worry about it. I was in similar situation and I had directly talked with US consulate in Mumbai and even they had confirmed you are free to apply.

Now in reality chances of your wife’s B1/2 getting approved would be very very low, unless she can somehow prove she has really strong ties to India and she would return back to India to complete the CR1 process.

I was applying for B1 so I had documentation from my company that I was working for and the CO actually approved my B1 while my CR1 was in process.

[vegasbound 83]

I think the two commenters responding to my comment most likely misunderstood what I meant.

I was not implying that OP's wife would NOT BE ALLOWED to apply for a tourist visa by saying that she would no longer be qualified for any type of non-immigrant visa and I certainly DID NOT say that filing for a tourist visa, regardless of the outcome, would in any way affect the pending I-130.

By all means, she can certainly file the application for a tourist visa but

" With a husband in the US it will be more difficult to get a tourist visa, but still possible." (I guess, technically, 1% possibility is still considered possible.)

and ...

".. in reality chances of your wife’s B1/2 getting approved would be very very low, unless she can somehow prove she has really strong ties to India and she would return back to India to complete the CR1 process."

With the OP saying that his wife "is free and she wants to come to USA on tourist Visa so we can spend more time together", I assumed that she is currently not employed thus having one less (major) tie to India. Do the above commenters still would recommend the OP to go ahead with the application? That's just giving the OP false hope.

Edited July 29, 2013 by vegasbound

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You don't know it's 1%. You are making that up. You said cannot be approved. That is wrong. No misunderstanding here.

[vegasbound 83]

You don't know it's 1%. You are making that up. You said cannot be approved. That is wrong. No misunderstanding here.

I said "technically", which can also mean it's hypothetical.

Just to be clear, I said "no longer qualified", not "cannot be approved."

In fact, most tourist, or non-immigrant, visa denials are based on 214(b) which presumed that every 'alien', or applicant, has immigrant intent until proven otherwise. If I-130 is filed and immigrant intent has been established, what are the chances of someone getting a non-immigrant visa by proving that they do not have immigrant intent? That was the logic I was referring to. Of course, there are rare exceptions but based on OP's wife current situation as stated, it seems highly unlikely that she'll get approved.

Semantic matters.

Edited July 29, 2013 by vegasbound

[Harsh_77 718]

Once you filed for I-130 which is an immigrant visa, you are no longer qualified for any type of NON-immigrant visa. I hope you can see the logic.

I think the two commenters responding to my comment most likely misunderstood what I meant.

I was not implying that OP's wife would NOT BE ALLOWED to apply for a tourist visa by saying that she would no longer be qualified for any type of non-immigrant visa and I certainly DID NOT say that filing for a tourist visa, regardless of the outcome, would in any way affect the pending I-130.

By all means, she can certainly file the application for a tourist visa but

" With a husband in the US it will be more difficult to get a tourist visa, but still possible." (I guess, technically, 1% possibility is still considered possible.)

and ...

".. in reality chances of your wife’s B1/2 getting approved would be very very low, unless she can somehow prove she has really strong ties to India and she would return back to India to complete the CR1 process."

With the OP saying that his wife "is free and she wants to come to USA on tourist Visa so we can spend more time together", I assumed that she is currently not employed thus having one less (major) tie to India. Do the above commenters still would recommend the OP to go ahead with the application? That's just giving the OP false hope.

I disagree with your original post as you said once you file for I-130, you are no longer qualified for any-type of Non- Immigrant visa.

Which is not true… I have seen cases thru years where B1/2 is approved after application of I-130.

I also included my personal case where I was approved B1 but as I said I had supporting docs from my company but I have seen cases of B1/2 as well, yes the numbers are not great but they do get approved.

[soccerFan 6]

As an alternative, why don't you guys visit another country for a little while? For example UK or Canada? It might be a little pricey with the plane tickets and all, but once every few months might not hurt.

Ofcourse with Indian citizens, they need Visa's everywhere they go.. so there is always the hassle of applying and cost.. but here is a list of countries where Indian's don't need Visas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_requirements_for_Indian_citizens

Just a suggestion..

As far as the whole Visitors Visas to the US goes, I have heard that it doesn't DISQUALIFY you if you have applied for the I-130, the chances that you would get approved are slim to none. It will not harm your current application. So if you have the time, money and patience, go for it.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I said "technically", which can also mean it's hypothetical.

Just to be clear, I said "no longer qualified", not "cannot be approved."

In fact, most tourist, or non-immigrant, visa denials are based on 214(b) which presumed that every 'alien', or applicant, has immigrant intent until proven otherwise. If I-130 is filed and immigrant intent has been established, what are the chances of someone getting a non-immigrant visa by proving that they do not have immigrant intent? That was the logic I was referring to. Of course, there are rare exceptions but based on OP's wife current situation as stated, it seems highly unlikely that she'll get approved.

Semantic matters.

You were wrong. That's okay. Mistakes happen.

But, now you are trying to split hairs to say you meant something else instead of just saying oops. You are trying to make up percentages and decide for a stranger if they are qualified or not. I am familiar with issues of intent.

And technically does not mean hypothetical in any way. I'm out.

Edited July 29, 2013 by Harpa Timsah

[Dave&Roza 748]

Iam in USA and wife is in India, we are still waiting for NOA2,

we are missing each other and i cant go to India due to work, but she is free and she wants to come to USA on tourist Visa so we can spend more time together,

btw, I filled a I-130 for spouse,

My wife spoke with visa firms in Indian, and 90 percent said not to apply, since if she gets denied it will mess up the interview, and it will flag her case, while

others said since she has applied for I-130 she wont be allowed to apply for a tourist visa,

What do the VJ people think,

Please help, This wait for NOA2 is driving me crazy,

THanks VJ

I see I am in the minority but IMHO, I think your chances of obtaining a tourist visa for your wife have increased since filing the spousal visa. Why? Because you cannot have her come to the US on a tourist visa and suddenly decide to get married and then file for AOS while she is in the US. The USCIS would ban her for life for visa fraud and you would have no good defense. The only course left for her to immigrate to the US is to complete the spousal visa which will require her to attend an interview in India, so she has a very, very good reason to leave the US and go back to India. IMHO a better reason than someone with property, a job, and family. I would say that she apply and let it be known that a spousal visa is pending. The worst that can happen is you are out the application fee and will have to claim this denial on the DS-160 form submitted for the interview. My wife was denied her first time she applied for a tourist visa and she was approved for two tourist visas and a K-1 visa. You will not know unless you try.

Good luck,

Dave

Edited July 29, 2013 by Dave&Roza

[rickkant 21]

First of all thanks for the input to everyone.

My wife left her job so she can spend some time with parents before she comes to USA. I never thought that the I-130 wait is this long. I was expecting a 7-8month processing time but after this long noa2 wait. It looks like it will be a long wait time. I was expecting for her to be here in USA around dec but it would be a miracle for it to happen.

My boss won't let me take a leave more than 7 days so making a trip to India for few days is not worth it.

After reading this. I understand that my wife can apply for tourist visa but the chance are slim. Very slim there are so many Indians who have miss used this tourist visa which makes it tough for few people like us.

I will speak to my wife about giving a try on tourist visa which is around 150 dollars. Worth a short. This way we get to spend at least few months.

Thanks for all input. More would be great.

Typed from my phone so sorry for spelling error

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

**** several posts removed for bickering and personal attacks. Let's stick to constructively discussing the OP. ****

[Boiler 46,123]

Many people visit during this process, I did, and I am sure most from Canada.