Tourist Visa Denied

[Soul Froosh 31]

She views it as "manipulation" in the sense that they wanted to simply visit on a tourist visa. Now since that is denied they have to consider marriage and fiance visas to get the guy into the US.

It's influencing their relationship in a way they wouldn't have considered had they allowed him a visit.

I agree that he should have been honest up front and declared he was visiting GF (although I'm sure that would have been denied also)

[BruceHill64925 8]

The denial rate for tourist visas from Brazil is very high. I have heard that perhaps as many as 90% are denied. You really have to show strong ties which would bring him back to Brazil - e.g. owning a car, owning a home, large bank balance, long term stable and good job. It is very tough and it does not help that often the US and Brazil do not always have the best relationship. However, being denied a tourist visa would have absolutely no impact on a K-1 or CR-1 approval.

In those types of visas the primary evaluation regards the nature of your relationship. You have to prove that you have a bona fide relationship as finance or as a spouse. They just look at different things. You will just have to go to Brazil a lot and do the Skype thing. Make sure you save just about anything that will help you ultimately prove a serious relationship and I mean save EVERYTHING!

Unfortunately K-1 and CR-1 visas really are not meant for the period of time you are just deciding you want to take it to the next level, you should be at that level when you apply for either one of them.

Good luck and we wish you well.

[agrabs 241]

We were in your same position a a few years back. I had gone to visit my husband ( then boyfriend ) in Romania several times and we wanted him to come here to visit before we made the decision to take the next step. He was denied a tourist visa twice, so we decided to go the K1 route.

The denied tourist visas never came up during our K1 process.

In fact, I attended the interview with my fiance and after the interview was over and we were having a friendly conversation with the CO, we asked about the denied tourist visas. He wasn't even aware of them until he looked it up in his computer. He then proceeded to explain that it wouldn't have mattered what ties to Romania my husband had, he never would have been issued a tourist visa being a young single male who had not really traveled out of his country.

You should really look at the difference in K1 vs Cr1. At the time we did the process, the K1 and Cr1 was about the same processing time. AT the time the K1 was the best choice for us. If I had to do it all over again however, i would choose the Cr1. It might take longer, but when your spouse gets here, they will get their greencard when then enter the country and be able to work right away, get a license, and travel.

With the k1 your I-94 expires 90 days after you enter the country, so there is this time period when you are applying for AOS while you are waiting on your EAD/AP carde and you are in "limbo" .You have legal presence here, but have nothing to show it. Until you get your EAD, you can't work and in my state, my husband couldn't get a driver's license. It might not seem like a big deal, but I underestimated how hard that time period of sitting around the house and not being able to work or drive would be on him. It took us almost a year from the time we applied for aos until we got the greencard.

We did not use an attorney for either step, I followed the guidelines on visa journey and read as much as I could about each step.

Good luck with the path you choose to follow

[drenie_elyonie 12]

I applied for a business visa during the time me and my now fiance were already together. There was a question on the application form for the visa where they ask if you have any relatives and/or fiance in the US. I answered no because at that time we were not yet planning on getting married then during the interview for the business visa, they didn't ask me about it but if they had I would be honest and tell them I had a boyfriend in the US. The golden rule with these interviews is never attempt to hide anything as much as possible be ready with answering any kind of question. I just had my K1 interview last monday and I told the CO that I did visit my boyfriend during my business trip. He just looked at our pictures together. He then proceeded to cancel my B1/B2 visa and said that he was approving my K1 visa so just be honest and not try to hide anything and everything will be fine.

[Brit Abroad 166]

If your boyfriend can't get a visa to the US, and you don't want to go the commitment visa route, why not meet somewhere in the middle, where visa requirements are less stringent? There are plenty of other countries in South America that would make a nice holiday point and would be building evidence that you are both committed enough to the relationship to travel for each other.

The most important thing is to keep all the evidence of your meeting for the future application. Think carefully about which of you has the more "portable" career or income generating business and decide where you want to set up home accordingly.

On the subject of an immigration lawyer - you seem like a very literate woman and you've mentioned that there aren't any problematic behaviours in your boyfriend's past (drugs, criminality) so you should be fine to complete the forms and compile the evidence yourself. 1. it's cheaper 2. you maintain control over the process at all times 3. why pay someone to fill in the forms that they have to ask you all the information for? Seems like a no-brainer.

Best of luck to you.

Edited November 22, 2013 by Brit Abroad

[RandR2013 1]

Any way your boy friend can increase ties to his home country (maybe start a degree program for which he has to return.. something along those lines) and reapply? Just a thought - though I'm not sure as to how good of an idea it is. He could get a letter from an administrator stating that he is enrolled and is required to attend in person.

Also, my now husband told them he was coming to visit me when he applied for his visitor visa - they asked him if I was his fiance - to which he truthfully replied no. If they asked if I was his girl friend - he would have said yes and I don't know what the outcome would have been. He visited me 3 times - once pre-engagement, once while we were engaged and once after we were married - had no issues at POE. So, maybe it is an option to tell them he wants to come here to spend time with you and meet your family. Maybe that's a bad idea - unfortunately it is all so dependent on subjective judgment of the interviewer.

And, I totally understand your frustration with feeling the need to expedite things when you may not have done so in other circumstances. We also considered one of us taking 6 months off to spend with the other - but neither of our jobs/obligations allowed it. Good luck...

[Just Kelley 4]

The denial rate for tourist visas from Brazil is very high. I have heard that perhaps as many as 90% are denied. You really have to show strong ties which would bring him back to Brazil - e.g. owning a car, owning a home, large bank balance, long term stable and good job. It is very tough and it does not help that often the US and Brazil do not always have the best relationship. However, being denied a tourist visa would have absolutely no impact on a K-1 or CR-1 approval.

In those types of visas the primary evaluation regards the nature of your relationship. You have to prove that you have a bona fide relationship as finance or as a spouse. They just look at different things. You will just have to go to Brazil a lot and do the Skype thing. Make sure you save just about anything that will help you ultimately prove a serious relationship and I mean save EVERYTHING!

Unfortunately K-1 and CR-1 visas really are not meant for the period of time you are just deciding you want to take it to the next level, you should be at that level when you apply for either one of them.

Good luck and we wish you well.

Obrigada, BruceHill!

Actually thank you to ALL of you who have posted encouraging comments - your words and wisdom are gratefully received!

My boyfriend said prior to his interview, he spoke with someone who owns a travel agency who absolutely advised him not to volunteer information that he was coming to visit me unless they specifically asked (they didn't ask). Afterward, we researched others' experiences and it seems to be as you said: a very high percentage of Brasileiros are denied tourist visas, especially if they're in their 20s and unmarried, even if they own property and have money in the bank.

We've saved everything snail mail that we've sent each other (including the envelopes with postage dates). We also have two years of Skype conversation transcripts if they need it

Edited November 22, 2013 by Just Kelley

[RhettVoe 282]

A travel agent is not the best person from whom to seek visa advice....as I pointed out earlier, likely when some key questions were asked, your BF gave an answer (or a delayed answer) that might have given the appearance of evasiveness....and that combined with his age, etc, would have tipped the balance against him (given that our laws presume immigrant intent from the outset). As far as our government somehow being in control of your lives, well, our law is clear regarding tourist visas....the reasons for coming to the US are not nearly as important as the reasons an applicant has for returning to their own country....what other plans, etc, that might be disrupted due to a denial are not relevant.

[Just Kelley 4]

A travel agent is not the best person from whom to seek visa advice....as I pointed out earlier, likely when some key questions were asked, your BF gave an answer (or a delayed answer) that might have given the appearance of evasiveness....and that combined with his age, etc, would have tipped the balance against him (given that our laws presume immigrant intent from the outset). As far as our government somehow being in control of your lives, well, our law is clear regarding tourist visas....the reasons for coming to the US are not nearly as important as the reasons an applicant has for returning to their own country....what other plans, etc, that might be disrupted due to a denial are not relevant.

At some point in the discussion do you intend to post something relevant to this topic or are you simply interested in sharing unimportant and irrelevant information so you can "be right?" Given your contributions thus far, I'm going to guess it's the latter.

[Just Kelley 4]

If your boyfriend can't get a visa to the US, and you don't want to go the commitment visa route, why not meet somewhere in the middle, where visa requirements are less stringent? There are plenty of other countries in South America that would make a nice holiday point and would be building evidence that you are both committed enough to the relationship to travel for each other.

The most important thing is to keep all the evidence of your meeting for the future application. Think carefully about which of you has the more "portable" career or income generating business and decide where you want to set up home accordingly.

On the subject of an immigration lawyer - you seem like a very literate woman and you've mentioned that there aren't any problematic behaviours in your boyfriend's past (drugs, criminality) so you should be fine to complete the forms and compile the evidence yourself. 1. it's cheaper 2. you maintain control over the process at all times 3. why pay someone to fill in the forms that they have to ask you all the information for? Seems like a no-brainer.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks so much for your thoughts on the topic and for the kind wishes! We're pretty sure we're fine with simply moving forward - we just had a sort of a knee-jerk reaction to his being denied entry since me going there has never been a problem. I did call my attorney (long time friend) and his advice is for my boyfriend to buy a ring, get on one knee, propose, and make sure someone takes pictures the next time in in Brazil.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

The denial rate for tourist visas from Brazil is very high. I have heard that perhaps as many as 90% are denied. You really have to show strong ties which would bring him back to Brazil - e.g. owning a car, owning a home, large bank balance, long term stable and good job. It is very tough and it does not help that often the US and Brazil do not always have the best relationship.

Lol what? The Denial rate from Brazil is so low that they are in line to become part of the VWP. Last year's denial rate was 3.2% That means nearly 97% get approved. http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY12.pdf

Edited November 22, 2013 by Harpa Timsah

[Phred 5]

I went the K1 route for my Myanmar fiancé. We both live in Singapore. We only plan to visit the USA. We wnt to marry there so her sister can witness it.

I have no desire to live in the USA. My fiancé has no desire to live there. She has no "strong ties" so her chances of getting a tourist visa are less than none. I asked for the K1 because a K1 has a 95% approval rate. We will only get married, take in the tourist attractions, and leave. We likely will never go back again.

I only wish I could just put up a bond of say $20,000 that will insure that she will not overstay her visa.

The really sad thing about the way the USA handles visas is very poor at best. Any terrorist can get a visa at anytime. But can they give a US veteran an oportunity to take his harmless girlfriend there for two weeks? No, they have to make it difficult. That is why, even though I was born in California, I tell everyone I am German.

I went the K1 route for my Myanmar fiancé. We both live in Singapore. We only plan to visit the USA. We wnt to marry there so her sister can witness it.

I have no desire to live in the USA. My fiancé has no desire to live there. She has no "strong ties" so her chances of getting a tourist visa are less than none. I asked for the K1 because a K1 has a 95% approval rate. We will only get married, take in the tourist attractions, and leave. We likely will never go back again.

I only wish I could just put up a bond of say $20,000 that will insure that she will not overstay her visa.

The really sad thing about the way the USA handles visas is very poor at best. Any terrorist can get a visa at anytime. But can they give a US veteran an oportunity to take his harmless girlfriend there for two weeks? No, they have to make it difficult. That is why, even though I was born in California, I tell everyone I am German.

[Just Kelley 4]

Lol what? The Denial rate from Brazil is so low that they are in line to become part of the VWP. Last year's denial rate was 3.2% That means nearly 97% get approved. http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY12.pdf

On the whole, this is true; however, if you break it down by demographics, the denial rate for unmarried 20-somethings with no children is quite high.

[Just Kelley 4]

Update: since my boyfriend's tourist visa was denied, we decided to spend the holidays in Europe instead, specifically Italy - we had an amazing time! The only annoying thing was that we'd have preferred to put the money into the USA's economy and I'd have loved to show him some of the terrific sights here but hey, can't complain about a wonderful holiday overseas in the alps!

[dwheels76 5,468]

Update: since my boyfriend's tourist visa was denied, we decided to spend the holidays in Europe instead, specifically Italy - we had an amazing time! The only annoying thing was that we'd have preferred to put the money into the USA's economy and I'd have loved to show him some of the terrific sights here but hey, can't complain about a wonderful holiday overseas in the alps!

And you know what in the grand picture thats all that matters. Time together. I am so jelous. Sounds magical. Good for you.