Need a cliffs notes....and am i in the right place?

[Ryan76 46]

My wife and I have been married a little over a year and she has her Green Card, but sometime soon...maybe within the next year, we would like to bring her mother and or her sister to come visit for a couple of weeks. From the studying i did months ago I know we will need to show proof of financial support, but I'm a little fuzzy on all the other details, forms, fees visas, and everything we will need to get in order to get this process moving. Can someone direct me to a better thread or a sticky that has all the basic questions and answers? Any advice would be muc appreciated.

Thank you

[Ryan H 3,812]

***Moved from Bringing Family Members of Permanent Residents to America forum to Tourist Visas forum.***

**Moderator hat off**

If her mother and sister are only planning to visit for a couple of weeks, then they would need to apply for an be granted tourist visas. Whether or not they are issued one will be on their own ties to their country, there is nothing you can do on your end to increase their chances. Additionally, you would not be required to show proof of financial support for them to obtain tourist visas.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Mom and sis apply on their own.

[Boiler 45,541]

All on the local Consulate web site.

[Ryan76 46]

"there is nothing you can do on your end to increase their chances"

Wow, seems absurd that a mother visiting a legal resident daughter is no different than some random person who wants to come here for vacation or to see the sights.

[Merrytooth 5,748]

well, thanks to those millions people who overstay their tourist visa and forget to leave ....

[stevie b 141]

"there is nothing you can do on your end to increase their chances"

Wow, seems absurd that a mother visiting a legal resident daughter is no different than some random person who wants to come here for vacation or to see the sights.

actually a mother visiting a LPR is more of a reason for denial in lots of cases

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

"there is nothing you can do on your end to increase their chances"

Wow, seems absurd that a mother visiting a legal resident daughter is no different than some random person who wants to come here for vacation or to see the sights.

There is no difference and I agree with that.

It doesn't matter your reason for visiting the US. Visiting Disney is just as valid a reason to go to the US as visiting a friend, a family member, or going to a dog costume convention.

Some countries care about the reason for visiting, and require an invitation, or something. The US does not do that.

What matters, is proving that the person will leave. She should focus on her ties to home and proving she will go back home when her visit is over.

[Ryan76 46]

"Visiting Disney is just as valid a reason to go to the US as visiting a friend, a family member, or going to a dog costume convention."

Agree to disagree I guess. I think visiting a mother/father/son/daughter should be in an entirely different category than someone who wants to go on vacation and ride rollercoasters, but that's just my opinion. It's more of a human necessity than it is a "desire" or "want", and I don't really see how that could even be debateable. But there's no point debating opinons. The rules are what they are, broken or not.

How do we "focus on her ties to home"? Her mom has a part-time job, shares an apartment with her son and daughter, has most of her large family around her, and has strong ties to the local church which is a huge part of her life. Other than listing those things in a cover letter I'm not sure how to attempt to prove that she doesn't plan on overstaying her visa. Her mother loves Colombia and has no desire to move away, she just would like to visit her daughter, see where she lives and meet all the in-laws...but I don't know how to prove this.

So basically it will be entirely up to her mom (we want her sister to visit at some point too but the mother is more important to my wife) to go to the embassy in Bogota, apply, etc. and there's not a whole lot we can do on our end? If/when the visa is approved, how long is the window that she is allowed to travel. I know how long she can stay, but would she have to leave within like 60 days or is it valid for like a year or what?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You can try to send things to take with her, but often those things have the opposite effect of what you want. If you send a bunch of letters about how you will pay for her trip and pay for her food and give her everything in the US, it makes a stronger case that she will never leave the US.

The vast majority of people get tourist visas on their own because they want to visit the US for fun.

So yes, she applies on her own. She proves that she will return to Colombia, not you.

Has she travelled anywhere before?

If the visa is approved then generally it is good for multiple entries for a longer period, 5 or 10 years, though it can be less. Each country has a typical visa validity.

So during the validity of the visa she is cleared to travel to the US and request permission to enter, and she can stay up to 6 months at a time, as long as the spirit is that she is visiting and not really de facto living in the US.

http://bogota.usembassy.gov/nonimmigrant_visas.html

Colombia had a B2 refusal rate of just 11% last year. http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY12.pdf

[SennaBrigante 92]

When I applied for my tourist visa, the consul didn't ask for a single document from me. The first time, I had a folder full of documents and none of it was asked for or looked at. The second time I didn't bother to bring anything and I got approved. I told them that I was visiting relatives that I haven't seen for about 7 years.

There is a high likelihood that the consul wouldn't ask for any documentation and will just go by what is written in the application form and your MIL's answers to their questions. They'll probably ask what she's gonna do in the US, where she will stay, if she has immediate family in the US and how many, who's paying for her trip, how long she'll be staying, does she work, etc.

The consuls really wouldn't care about YOUR financial situation and they'll just focus on your MIL.

She has to begin the process online. She'll fill out the application form, pay the fee then schedule the interview in the embassy. She'll be asked to bring the confirmation pages and her passport and most likely, those are the only two documents they'll ask from her.

[dbarker2 1]

I guess it does depend on the Country to some degree and the CO that you get, but I would definitely not agree with those saying that there is nothing you can do to help her. In the sense that you cannot go to the interview and hold her hand through it, that is true, but you can prepare her and send her helpful documents that can be of assistance in her interview.

In our situation, my wife (LPR) wanted her mother to come to see her and to see our son (3 years old) and to be here when our second son (due any day now) is born.

She does not have a job. She does not own any property. Her husband works 25 out of 30 days a month in a different State in Mexico. However, she does have two other children in Mexico, has lived at the same home for ten years, is very involved with her local LDS Church, and has many other family ties in Mexico.

I prepared a packet full of documentation showing her ties to Mexico, but it isn't enough to just send a bunch of documents, because the CO doesn't have time to look at them. So I sent a summary page as well - this was basically a table of contents divided into three parts: 1. Evidence Showing Economic Ties to Mexico; 2. Evidence Showing Family Ties to Mexico; and 3. Evidence Showing Purpose of Visit.

I also created a Page entitled "Statement of Family". On this document I had two subheadings: 1. Family in Mexico; and 2. Family in the United States. My mother-in-law has 11 brothers and sisters who still live in Mexico, her Husband lives there, her two other children and her grandchild. Only my wife, my son and myself live in the United States.

When she had her interview, the CO asked her some questions about my father-in-law, and was a little concerned that she didn't have his paystubs (she had other documentation verifying his employment). But then he looked at the summary pages that I sent, including the Family Statement. He then asked some questions about me, and what I do and where I live. He thanked her for the organized information and said that her Visa was approved, and now she is here with us and will be here through November.

Every situation is different, but even though your MIL's CO may not care about any paperwork or summaries, at least if she is denied, you can say that you did everything that you could to help her.

Good Luck!