Inviting brother in-law to visit -- should I do it or the wife?

[giulianoseguro 8]

Hi guys,

 

Need some expertise here. Wife and I live in California and we want to invite her brother to come visit us for the summer. I'm an L1B and she's an L2.

Since he's a high school student and her family doesn't make a lot of money we want to send an invitation letter along with an affidavit of support to help.

 

Questions are:

1. who should send the invitation and affidavit? Her as the sister or me as the brother-in-law?
2. I've already filed and submitted his DS-160 with her being the sponsor and US contact instead of me. Can I submit the I-134 myself with the DS-160 having her as the sponsor? Or should I re-do everything?
   
   Some more facts to help:

• She's currently not working so no income directly from her but we file taxes jointly
• I have enough income and savings to support the 3 of us during his trip
• We both have our I-140's and I-485's in process and waiting for our GCs.

 

Any information/guidance or suggestion is greatly appreciated! 

 

Thanks,

[Mollie09 1,543]

No such thing as an invitation or sponsorship for a tourist visa, brother has to qualify on his own merits and demonstrate to the IO that he will return home at the end of his visit.

Edited June 15, 2017 by Mollie09

[Jordan8768 107]

6 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

No such thing as an invitation or sponsorship for a tourist visa, brother has to qualify on his own merits and demonstrate to the IO that he will return home at the end of his visit.

And being a high school student should suffice 

[giulianoseguro 8]

14 minutes ago, Mollie09 said:

No such thing as an invitation or sponsorship for a tourist visa, brother has to qualify on his own merits and demonstrate to the IO that he will return home at the end of his visit.

Just to clarify I'm just talking about *financial sponsorship* not the visa itself (like a GC)

 

He does have enough ties to be able to convince the VO. My concern again is who's writing the letter and the affidavit of support (money-wise)

[Unshakable Faith 493]

8 minutes ago, giulianoseguro said:

Just to clarify I'm just talking about *financial sponsorship* not the visa itself (like a GC)

 

He does have enough ties to be able to convince the VO. My concern again is who's writing the letter and the affidavit of support (money-wise)

There is not invitation letter or affidavit of support for a visitor's visa.   They have to apply solely on their own.   Nothing is needed from you and could actual hinder their outcome more than help because it shows strong ties to the US instead of their home country.

 

It's a common misconception that those things are needed or even asked for at visitor visa interviews.

 

They have to go in and show their own financial support and their own plans for coming to the US as well as significant ties to their home country.

Edited June 15, 2017 by Unshakable Faith

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

Honestly you can provide a letter stating your wish for him to visit.... but like everyone else has said it might not be asked for, even read, and maybe even could be seen as a hinderance to the visa request. 

[Crazy Cat 42,062]

22 minutes ago, giulianoseguro said:

Just to clarify I'm just talking about *financial sponsorship* not the visa itself (like a GC)

 

He does have enough ties to be able to convince the VO. My concern again is who's writing the letter and the affidavit of support (money-wise)

This is not a good idea.  You could actually hurt his case for entry into the US.  It is best to let him apply on his own merits.  Not providing strong ties to home country is a leading cause for denial.

[Crazy Cat 42,062]

26 minutes ago, Unshakable Faith said:

There is not invitation letter or affidavit of support for a visitor's visa.   They have to apply solely on their own.   Nothing is needed from you and could actual hinder their outcome more than help because it shows strong ties to the US instead of their home country.

 

It's a common misconception that those things are needed or even asked for at visitor visa interviews.

 

They have to go in and show their own financial support and their own plans for coming to the US as well as significant ties to their home country.

^^^THIS^^  Very well said!!!!!

[geowrian 22,338]

As others stated, there is no sponsorship for a tourist visa. He needs to qualify on his own. You can agree to cover costs for him, and the CO may ask who is paying for the trip (I believe the DS-160 asks about this briefly as well), but that may raise concerns about having ties to the US. But it is what it is, and he just needs to answer truthfully if asked. An I-134 will not help his case at all. He needs to show that he can take care of himself in the US.

 

46 minutes ago, Jordan8768 said:

And being a high school student should suffice 

It is a tie. It's arguably not a strong tie (plenty of high school students have entered the US, stayed, and enrolled in the US...a public school cannot deny access based on immigration status).

Edited June 15, 2017 by geowrian

[Jordan8768 107]

15 minutes ago, geowrian said:

As others stated, there is no sponsorship for a tourist visa. He needs to qualify on his own. You can agree to cover costs for him, and the CO may ask who is paying for the trip (I believe the DS-160 asks about this briefly as well), but that may raise concerns about having ties to the US. But it is what it is, and he just needs to answer truthfully if asked. An I-134 will not help his case at all. He needs to show that he can take care of himself in the US.

 

It is a tie. It's arguably not a strong tie (plenty of high school students have entered the US, stayed, and enrolled in the US...a public school cannot deny access based on immigration status).

Ohh, I was unaware that schools cannot deny students.  Thank you for the knowledge!:)

[geowrian 22,338]

28 minutes ago, Jordan8768 said:

Ohh, I was unaware that schools cannot deny students.  Thank you for the knowledge!:)

np! You're not allowed to do it on a tourist visa, but even if undocumented, schools cannot deny access to it or even ask about immigration status either (note: this does not include higher education).

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/plyler-v-doe-public-education-immigrant-students

[giulianoseguro 8]

44 minutes ago, geowrian said:

As others stated, there is no sponsorship for a tourist visa. He needs to qualify on his own. You can agree to cover costs for him, and the CO may ask who is paying for the trip (I believe the DS-160 asks about this briefly as well), but that may raise concerns about having ties to the US. But it is what it is, and he just needs to answer truthfully if asked. An I-134 will not help his case at all. He needs to show that he can take care of himself in the US.

 

It is a tie. It's arguably not a strong tie (plenty of high school students have entered the US, stayed, and enrolled in the US...a public school cannot deny access based on immigration status).

Thanks for all the advice and suggestion however I'm even more confused now so a few other follow up questions:

1. More important for me now -- If the affidavit can hurt more than help, what happens with the fact that in his DS-160 form we specifically said we were the ones paying for (or "sponsoring" ) the costs of his trip? The only reason I thought of the affidavit was because I read I needed it to corroborate that part of the form. 
    
2. What happens to someone who has more than enough family and other ties to their home country but just doesn't have the money to take a trip like this? He has an ok life but his parent's do make a huge amount of money so they live ok but can't just spend on a trip like this. Seems like we're judging eligibility purely based on finances. My brother-in-law has 5 other siblings in Brazil not to mention his parents, school and is an apprentice at a business. There's no way on earth he's staying here but really wanted him to experience this trip.   How to properly convey this to the VO ? I highly doubt that nobody has never been on a similar situation
    
3. Should he hand over the invitation letter to the VO at least and keep the rest if needed?

Thanks!

[az2014 381]

3 minutes ago, giulianoseguro said:

Thanks for all the advice and suggestion however I'm even more confused now so a few other follow up questions:

1. More important for me now -- If the affidavit can hurt more than help, what happens with the fact that in his DS-160 form we specifically said we were the ones paying for (or "sponsoring" ) the costs of his trip? The only reason I thought of the affidavit was because I read I needed it to corroborate that part of the form. 
    
2. What happens to someone who has more than enough family and other ties to their home country but just doesn't have the money to take a trip like this? He has an ok life but his parent's do make a huge amount of money so they live ok but can't just spend on a trip like this. Seems like we're judging eligibility purely based on finances. My brother-in-law has 5 other siblings in Brazil not to mention his parents, school and is an apprentice at a business. There's no way on earth he's staying here but really wanted him to experience this trip.   How to properly convey this to the VO ? I highly doubt that nobody has never been on a similar situation
    
3. Should he hand over the invitation letter to the VO at least and keep the rest if needed?

Thanks!

You are missing the point.

 

Forget the invitation letter and affidavit, its useless.

 

If you are paying for his trip then thats his answer at the interview when they ask.

[Crazy Cat 42,062]

9 minutes ago, giulianoseguro said:

Thanks for all the advice and suggestion however I'm even more confused now so a few other follow up questions:

1. More important for me now -- If the affidavit can hurt more than help, what happens with the fact that in his DS-160 form we specifically said we were the ones paying for (or "sponsoring" ) the costs of his trip? The only reason I thought of the affidavit was because I read I needed it to corroborate that part of the form. 
    
2. What happens to someone who has more than enough family and other ties to their home country but just doesn't have the money to take a trip like this? He has an ok life but his parent's do make a huge amount of money so they live ok but can't just spend on a trip like this. Seems like we're judging eligibility purely based on finances. My brother-in-law has 5 other siblings in Brazil not to mention his parents, school and is an apprentice at a business. There's no way on earth he's staying here but really wanted him to experience this trip.   How to properly convey this to the VO ? I highly doubt that nobody has never been on a similar situation
    
3. Should he hand over the invitation letter to the VO at least and keep the rest if needed?

Thanks!

The most important thing is establishing strong ties to his home country.  Hope it goes well for you all.

[geowrian 22,338]

20 minutes ago, giulianoseguro said:

Thanks for all the advice and suggestion however I'm even more confused now so a few other follow up questions:

1. More important for me now -- If the affidavit can hurt more than help, what happens with the fact that in his DS-160 form we specifically said we were the ones paying for (or "sponsoring" ) the costs of his trip? The only reason I thought of the affidavit was because I read I needed it to corroborate that part of the form. 
    
2. What happens to someone who has more than enough family and other ties to their home country but just doesn't have the money to take a trip like this? He has an ok life but his parent's do make a huge amount of money so they live ok but can't just spend on a trip like this. Seems like we're judging eligibility purely based on finances. My brother-in-law has 5 other siblings in Brazil not to mention his parents, school and is an apprentice at a business. There's no way on earth he's staying here but really wanted him to experience this trip.   How to properly convey this to the VO ? I highly doubt that nobody has never been on a similar situation
    
3. Should he hand over the invitation letter to the VO at least and keep the rest if needed?

1. As stated, you're allowed to pay for the trip. The CO will likely want to know how he intends to get to the US, come back, and where he will stay. But the I-134 (or a letter making promises) is not enforceable. The CO doesn't need anything to corroborate who is paying for the trip. He just needs to tell them the truth.
2. That's a decision for the CO to make by looking at the totality of his circumstances. People have been approved without sufficient finances to pay for it themselves. People have been denied with plenty of funds. Financial capability is one factor in the decision. The best way to convey it is by being calm, honest, and if the CO chooses to look at other evidence, providing evidence of his ties. It sounds like his chances are pretty decent based on what you've stated.
3. He can provide the letter, but the invitation may not be looked at and it won't impact the result. The CO doesn't care why he's coming so much as 1) why he is compelled to leave, and 2) he is not likely to violate the visa (i.e. engage in unlawful work). Nobody can say for certain anything that will go on during the interview, but the actual interview is likely be only a few minutes and the CO will ask a few questions. He's not likely to look at much additional documentation.

Edited June 15, 2017 by geowrian