Effect of having family in US in student visa application

[MamaJoy 0]

My younger brother is applying for Fullbright scholarship to get a PhD in Economics here in US. He has sincere intentions of going back to the Philippines after his doctoral studies to make a difference in our country. Having a US brand of education of course helps propel his credentials to a higher level as perceived in the Phils.

Question is will his student visa application be affected at all by the fact that he has immediate relatives (me & both our parents) living here in US as citizen and LPR? Once, when he applied for business travel visa to attend a prestigious conference in New York (which he rightfully got invited for) he was denied for lack of ties in the Phils. We were wondering if such will be the case again in application as a Fulbright student.

Edited March 31, 2015 by MamaJoy

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

Fullbright students have no better privilege than regular person, he needs to overcome assumption of IO. He can give it a try, be honest about US relative sometime has more pros than cons.

[Boiler 45,527]

Have you or his parents petitioned him?

[MamaJoy 0]

Have you or his parents petitioned him?

He hasn't been petitioned. Will petitioning him help? My mom can only petition after 5 years as LPR right? I can petition him (I'm USC) and then just transfer the sponsorship to my mom when she's qualified to do it. But doing this will contradict the assumption of him returning to the Phils after his studies.

Edited March 31, 2015 by MamaJoy

[aaron2020 11,651]

He hasn't been petitioned. Will petitioning him help? My mom can only petition after 5 years as LPR right? I can petition him (I'm USC) and then just transfer the sponsorship to my mom when she's qualified to do it. But doing this will contradict the assumption of him returning to the Phils after his studies.

Your LPR mom can petition him now if he is unmarried.

There is no transferring the sponsorship. A petition by you can not be transfer to your mother.

[Boiler 45,527]

With PI usually there is no time benefit being petitioned by a USC Parent or a LPR parent for an unmarried child so sooner she petitions the better.

[blahblahblog 36]

If he is fully funded at a legit school, odds of him being denied are low. If he gets Fulbright, odds are even lower, since that comes with the J-1 and a nice 2YHRR stamp which will prevent him from immigrating anyways.

[aaron2020 11,651]

If he is fully funded at a legit school, odds of him being denied are low. If he gets Fulbright, odds are even lower, since that comes with the J-1 and a nice 2YHRR stamp which will prevent him from immigrating anyways.

A petition filed by mom or the OP would not mature for decades. The J-1 and 2YHRR would be ancient history by the time he is eligible for a visa.

[blahblahblog 36]

The 2YHRR for Fulbright will only be gone after he lives in PI for two years. In order for him to do that, he'll have to leave the country. That will prevent him from immigrating with this student and the IO will be less likely to deny the visa due to lack of ties. He may immigrate 10 years down the road, but he won't be able to adjust from the specific visa he'll be requesting.

Edited April 1, 2015 by blahblahblog

[MamaJoy 0]

Well here's the dilemma. Fullbright assesses an applicant's intent to go back to the Phils. So just from the Fullbright processing alone he is already being judged whether he is likely to return to the country. If that is the case how will having having a standing petition help if the grant wants to assume him returning back after studies?

On the other hand, from visa processing perspective I understand that having a standing petition do help.

So should he be petitioned for the sake of visa favor or will that hurt his Fullbright application?

[Boiler 45,527]

He may or may not get a Fullbright, but he will get a family based petition.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Well here's the dilemma. Fullbright assesses an applicant's intent to go back to the Phils. So just from the Fullbright processing alone he is already being judged whether he is likely to return to the country. If that is the case how will having having a standing petition help if the grant wants to assume him returning back after studies?

On the other hand, from visa processing perspective I understand that having a standing petition do help.

So should he be petitioned for the sake of visa favor or will that hurt his Fullbright application?

There is nothing wrong with having a petition while he studies here.

There is no conflict. His intentions now is to study and go home. His intentions when the petitions mature in 10-24 years, he will immigrate to the U.S. Nothing inconsistent when one happens now and the other happens years from now.

The intent to immigrate in 10-24 years does not conflict with the intent to study, go home, and wait to immigrate.

You are wrong to assume that having a petition improves his chance for the student visa. That is not true. A petition will neither help or hurt his chances for the student visa.