Tourist Visa Denied In Bogota

[hlk 0]

My wife had her tourist visa denied this week. She came prepared with documents showing we live in Colombia and are married. She even showed my passport and my Colombian visa. The agent said we were married too recently( just a month) and not enough evidence that we have a life here in Colombia. It's really a shame because I think being married to a US citizen actually hurt our chances of getting the visa. She said don't reapply till we have further documentation. What that means to me is that she needs a job or we need to buy real estate. So I guess now my best option is the CR1 visa and not mess around anymore. I suppose using an immigration lawyer might be the best route as I don't want to take chances. The reason we wanted the tourist visa is because we don't want to live in the US full time. .. any opinions appreciated.

Edited February 8, 2014 by hlk

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Personally, I;d wait a few months and then try again, esp if she can get a job and/ or you plan to buy a house down there. A tourist visa is so much cheaper and a CR-1 will take over a year to get anyways.

[B & G 200]

If you are not planning on living in the US full time, then CR1 could be a waste of time. For your wife to be to keep her green card she must live in the US for at least 6 months of every given year. A CR1 visa is a lengthy process, plus you will have to prove domicile in the US and and the meet the financial criteria in the Affidavit of Support.

[Gosia & Tito 199]

My wife had her tourist visa denied this week. She came prepared with documents showing we live in Colombia and are married. She even showed my passport and my Colombian visa. The agent said we were married too recently( just a month) and not enough evidence that we have a life here in Colombia. It's really a shame because I think being married to a US citizen actually hurt our chances of getting the visa. She said don't reapply till we have further documentation. What that means to me is that she needs a job or we need to buy real estate. So I guess now my best option is the CR1 visa and not mess around anymore. I suppose using an immigration lawyer might be the best route as I don't want to take chances. The reason we wanted the tourist visa is because we don't want to live in the US full time. .. any opinions appreciated.

A CR-1 is probably not what you want, the purpose is for a spouse to immigrate to the US and live permanently.

You probably want to wait some time and reapply, with more documentation that you both are in fact residing in Colombia and are intending to go back.

The Embassy assumes you are intending to go around regulations and is up to you to prove them wrong with documents that show you would not pick up and leave. Bank accounts are not strong enough, but a job to go back, house (not so much rental but ownership), a business; something that you (you and wife) would not just drop or is not so easy to dispose of or liquidate.

As well, living there for several months also is an indicator (though not as strong) that you are i nfact planning to stay there.

[christeen 966]

I would wait till yu have established more proof of ties and intent o live in Columbia then reapply...

[noncompute 9]

My wife had her tourist visa denied this week. She came prepared with documents showing we live in Colombia and are married. She even showed my passport and my Colombian visa. The agent said we were married too recently( just a month) and not enough evidence that we have a life here in Colombia. It's really a shame because I think being married to a US citizen actually hurt our chances of getting the visa. She said don't reapply till we have further documentation. What that means to me is that she needs a job or we need to buy real estate. So I guess now my best option is the CR1 visa and not mess around anymore. I suppose using an immigration lawyer might be the best route as I don't want to take chances. The reason we wanted the tourist visa is because we don't want to live in the US full time. .. any opinions appreciated.

Don't take it personally.

Your chances of getting a tourist visa for her are pretty much 0 unless she has significant ties to Colombia (established career, etc). That doesn't happen overnight and sounds like there's currently nothing there. What are you actually intending to do? You want to live in Colombia and go to the US for vacation?

[hlk 0]

Thanks for the replies.. our intention was just to spend time in both places.. seems that's not going to be so easy. The thing that aggravates me is I keep hearing how the embassy is giving a lot of tourist visas out lately to people don't have a job or real estate at all. I'm not sure how that is possible. I would accept consistency in how they hand them out but it seems pretty random how they do things. So the CR1 might not be best? I was thinking it might be but maybe like you guys said, wait 6 months and try again.. the thing is I need to travel back once in a while and will have to do so without her.. not going to be fun.

[noncompute 9]

Thanks for the replies.. our intention was just to spend time in both places.. seems that's not going to be so easy. The thing that aggravates me is I keep hearing how the embassy is giving a lot of tourist visas out lately to people don't have a job or real estate at all. I'm not sure how that is possible. I would accept consistency in how they hand them out but it seems pretty random how they do things. So the CR1 might not be best? I was thinking it might be but maybe like you guys said, wait 6 months and try again.. the thing is I need to travel back once in a while and will have to do so without her.. not going to be fun.

So you have a Colombian visa, which I'm guessing is a resident visa, and plans to be a resident of Colombia. Yet you want to apply for permanent residency for your wife in the US. This makes no sense. I think you need to have a good sit-down with your wife and go over both of your long term goals together. Then have a good sit-down with Google and the "Guides" section of VJ.

What you should be looking at after you make your plans is K3 vs CR1. (http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare)

[Boiler 45,427]

K3?

[Mononoke28 135]

Thanks for the replies.. our intention was just to spend time in both places.. seems that's not going to be so easy. The thing that aggravates me is I keep hearing how the embassy is giving a lot of tourist visas out lately to people don't have a job or real estate at all. I'm not sure how that is possible. I would accept consistency in how they hand them out but it seems pretty random how they do things. So the CR1 might not be best? I was thinking it might be but maybe like you guys said, wait 6 months and try again.. the thing is I need to travel back once in a while and will have to do so without her.. not going to be fun.

hlk,

I know that it feels as if the whole process is not fair, but you have to look at your case through the CO's eyes. Your Colombian wife, who is a newly wed, wants to travel to the US with her new American husband without much proof that she needs to go back to Colombia after her trip. That is considered a red flag because it makes them think the complete opposite, that she has all the reason in the world to stay in the US with ho intention of going back. That's what they're trying to avoid. And it's not that they're against her living in the US, if that were her intention, they just want her to do it the proper way.

And you're right, the embassy has not been as strict in denying tourist visas as they used to be, but that doesn't mean that they're going to approve every person who goes there asking for one. The person requesting the tourist visa needs all kinds of paperwork and reasons to show the CO that he/she needs to return to Colombia, which is what the CO told your wife during the interview.

If you want to live part of the year in Colombia and the rest in the US, the best case scenario would be for her to become a US citizen. That way she can stay as long as she wants outside of the US without any issues. For her to qualify she would need to be a legal permanent resident for at least three years first, that means that she needs to live in the US during most of that time. She could get her permanent residency by entering the US with a CR1 visa, but again, she needs to LIVE here full time, otherwise, she will lose it.

Those are pretty much your only two options: 1. Get all the evidence and paperwork you can get your hands on to prove that she HAS TO RETURN to Colombia and apply for a tourist visa again. OR 2. Get a CR1 visa and LIVE in the US in order to get her US citizenship in three years.

Diana