Invitation letter (again) for a B2 visa

[RobertM54 36]

..... Who in their right mind would return to what's going on? Very very few....and even fewer who latched onto an American BF.

Maybe somebody who has no money, no other friends in the USA, and a decent life at home.

The fallacy is there is nothing I can do to help her chances to come visit me, but the fact that my girlfriend has "...latched onto me" works against her in the eyes of the CO. People here are fond of saying I cannot force her to get on the airplane back home. But I can eject her from my apartment, call immigration and tell her that I am no longer so enchanted with my lady who now intends to overstay her Visa, and generally withdraw support. But that is less important in the eyes of the CO than the fact that she has "latched" onto me.

Given that K-1 processing times have dropped to practically zero, there is no incentive for me to game the system. If I knew that I wanted her to stay, I would start the K-1 today and she and her son could arrive in time for 4th of July barbecue.

I spent a decent amount of time in Ukraine this past year. For the vast majority of the country, the war is reflected only in the sucky economy. Bombs are not dropping everywhere. Outside of the war zone, the death rate from gun violence is much less than Chicago.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

But I can eject her from my apartment, call immigration and tell her that I am no longer so enchanted with my lady who now intends to overstay her Visa, and generally withdraw support.

Still irrelevant. That just means she joins the millions of other illegals with no accountability.

If you can't understand why this is to be avoided I don't know what else to tell you.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Avery Cates

[RobertM54 36]

Still irrelevant. That just means she joins the millions of other illegals with no accountability.

If you can't understand why this is to be avoided I don't know what else to tell you.

And how many of those "millions" are overstaying a B2?

The simple fact is the CO has to make some interesting assumptions about my GF if the CO believes her intent is to stay without my help.

If the CO believes she will stay WITH my help, then who I am is relevant to the decision making process.

This, of course, is all a thought experiment. I understand how the process works.

We should know in a month or so what the CO concludes.

[RobertM54 36]

Amazingly, DHS is not able to match entries and exits. There is no reliable information about the percentage of people who overstay a B2 visa. There is certainly no such information for Ukraine. So not only is the CO operating on gut feel, there is no statistical information available to inform the CO's decision.

[NYCruiser 423]

Travel agents or 'visa consultants' are worthless...they offer 'advice' to would be applicants, sometimes help them 'create' supporting documentation, etc....however, the only person these clowns have to fool is....the idiot who would take or pay for their advice or documents!

For me, fake docs and tear jerking invitation letters were a source of amusement rather than taken seriously. One of the things I liked best about being a CO was the sheer enjoyment of identifying the fraudsters, whether they thought themselves experts of same or just those who thought they were more clever than I was.....it is hard to imagine how quickly I could pluck these people from the crowd....yet they kept coming back....I've had applicants who, after being denied, shouted at me, 'I paid $X for those papers, so you should look at them!!'....and as for stories or sympathy generating letters....well, those were a dime a dozen....bona fide applicants generally speaking don't have to try so hard to be convincing...because statistically they are not acting....but actors have 'tells'....in body language, in their irrational answers, in their zeal to get those documents through the window so I will look at them and hand over a visa....sure.....I did not adjudicate B2 visas based on paper evidence (or, I should say, I did not approve visas based on documents, but denied thousands that were based on fake papers, and unbelievable stories.

I had thousands of applicants waving their invitation letters from 'friends', inviting them to a wedding or birthday party or house warming.....really? Someone from a third world country is going to spend 5 years salary for a two week trip to the US to attend one of the above? That would represent their life savings (on average)....who in the world would do that? Of course, some of those invite letters 'promised' to pay the freight of the applicant....and maybe it was true some percentage of the time....but the problem with that is this: if the 'friend' really was going to front the cash for the trip, most certainly they want to be repaid, so....the B2 applicant plans to work while 'visiting' to pay off the vacation loan given to him (or her).....ask yourselves this question: in the past five years, how many of you have shelled out thousands of dollars for airfare, for food and entertainment, for some random distant relative or 'friend' so he or she could visit you for 2 weeks? I doubt even one person out there in VJ land has ever done this....now, maybe for a fiancé.....but a 'family friend' or 'cousin?'....no way, at least, not on planet earth.

I derived immense enjoyment figuring out who was trying to fool and who wasn't...it was like a game, but I had the advantage....and some of the stories told to me were beyond belief....

Thank you for this!! Wish I had seen this five years ago LOL

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Amazingly, DHS is not able to match entries and exits. There is no reliable information about the percentage of people who overstay a B2 visa. There is certainly no such information for Ukraine. So not only is the CO operating on gut feel, there is no statistical information available to inform the CO's decision.

So could they hypothetically place someone into removal who exited the country?

[Avery Cates 1,141]

And how many of those "millions" are overstaying a B2?

A healthy amount, especially from highly fraudulent countries like Philippines and Ukraine.

[Boiler 45,516]

I must be strange or maybe stupid , but I paid the airfare and all expenses for a women to visit me from Kazakhstan, twice. The first time was a gamble, but the second time was for a girlfriend. I had met her in person a couple of years before, so I knew her and had an idea of what I was getting into. So I guess she would not really be considered random, but it was a calculated risk that I am happy to say has paid off quite well as we have been married for the past 5 years.

Dave

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Odd, was on the TV last night.

Hope she did not look like Oxana.

[RobertM54 36]

So could they hypothetically place someone into removal who exited the country?

The article I read said they are not able to correlate ground departures with air arrivals.

A departure matching program was enacted into law after the 1993 World Trade Center attack and again after 9/11.

Apparently, because of resistance from the tourism industry it has never been implemented.

[JFH 12,190]

Actually, I would think it would be pretty common if the visa could be had. First off, it is not thousands of dollars. Round trip air fare to a lot of places is less than a thousand dollars or less than 50,000 frequent flier miles. Expenses once my guest is in the USA can be nominal.

In my case, when I consider time off from work, apartment or hotel, in country transfers; it is far more expensive for me to go see her than for her to come see me. Add to that lack of vacation time, and the difficulty building an international relationship where the USC is the one who flies all of the time is compounded. In my particular situation, I have a lot more money than I have time.

So, if you go there you have to pay for a hotel but if she comes to you she stays in your apartment with you.

Interesting arrangement.

[RobertM54 36]

A healthy amount, especially from highly fraudulent countries like Philippines and Ukraine.

Gee. How would we know which countries are highly fraudulent?

"Federal agencies have not provided a new report to Congress on overstays since 1994, despite the congressional mandate.

"In early 2013, Janet Napolitano, then the secretary of Homeland Security, testified before Congress that the agency planned to issue a report on overstay rates by December 2013. The agency did not follow through because officials said they did not have confidence in the quality of the data. Bersin, with Homeland Security, said last month that the report would be issued in the next six month"

So, if you go there you have to pay for a hotel but if she comes to you she stays in your apartment with you.

Interesting arrangement.

She owns her apartment but it is tiny and far from anyplace I want to be. We had some good times there.

Edited January 16, 2016 by RobertM54

[Boiler 45,516]

Gee. How would we know which countries are highly fraudulant?

"Federal agencies have not provided a new report to Congress on overstays since 1994, despite the congressional mandate.

She owns her apartment but it is tiny and far from anyplace I want to be.

Pretty obvious, you can always trawl the VJ forums.

[caliliving 606]

A healthy amount, especially from highly fraudulent countries like Philippines and Ukraine.

EXACTLY!!!

Unfortunately, immigration is a law and they are not here to care about human feelings. I know so many people who are from third world countries and can not come here. It is the way it is! Most people would be surprised to know that the people overstaying are not from Mexico, but other third world countries who actually come here LEGALLY and overstay. That is the point our fellow CO wanted to make. It is a privledge, not a right, to vacation in America. You need to realize you are not alone and thousands of others have the same issue you have and therefore, have to bring their fiancee to america on a K1 fiance visa and that is the first time she/he will see america. Obviously, this isn't ideal but it is the way it is! Wait until the end of your 90 days so that she can get a feel for america and see if she will enjoy it here or not. If it doesnt work out, you can send her back. You can always send her pictures of your hometown, have her follow the local news, maybe skype her walking around your city. I don't know what to say.

I do find it funny all the 'friends' people buy plane tickets and trip tickets for to attend graduations and birthdays... i dont even think my parents went to my graduation:/

[Avery Cates 1,141]

Gee. How would we know which countries are highly fraudulent?

A cursory knowledge of the particular country.

[RobertM54 36]

A cursory knowledge of the particular country.

Like I said. Gut feel with only the most tenuous basis in real facts.

I found another thread pointing to a 2012 GAO report that specifies Ukraine has a lot of fraud referrals at the embassy.

Note that "fraud" in this context bears no relationship to a non-fraudulent Visa application overstaying a B2.

So while the concern of the CO is an overstay - there is not yet a factual basis that overstays of B2 from Ukraine are common.

Perhaps we will have more data when the long awaited DHS report is issued.

My sister-in-law is stunned I do not have Ukrainian woman crawling all over me trying to get to America.

Stereotypes are hard to break.

From the report: "Certain countries, such as Brazil, China, the Dominican Republic, India,

and Mexico, had high numbers of suspected fraud cases in fiscal year

2010, and certain visa categories, such as work visas, student visas, and

diversity visas, had high levels of fraud. Visa fraud has become more

sophisticated over time with increased globalization, advanced

technology, and ease of travel"

and

For example, in 2010, consular officers

throughout Brazil issued approximately 556,000 visas and referred about

3,000 visa applications to their Fraud Prevention Units, of which 750 (or

24 percent of visa applications suspected of fraud) were confirmed as

fraudulent. Meanwhile, consular officers throughout India issued about

528,000 visas in 2010, referred about 5,200 visa applications to their

Fraud Prevention Units, and confirmed about 2,600 (or 50 percent of visa

applications suspected of fraud) as fraudulent​.

Edited January 16, 2016 by RobertM54