B1 Visa advice

[Jimbo09 19]

Need community advice on this one since I thought we have bulletproof case for ties to the home country.  Basically my wife's sister wants to visit the United States for vacation but was denied twice so I hoping someone can shred some lights and let us know where is the "gap". 

 

My sister-in-law applied for B1 visa back in 2015 and was denied during in the interview when the CO asked her like 2-3 questions.  Nothing specific to her trip, more like generic questions.  It seemed like the CO came to the interview with a verdict and was only there as a courtesy.  She waited like another year and retry--this time applying for B1 visa through a tourist agency, was not involved so not exactly sure what happened.  The result was another deny.  Below are her background.  We really want to understand this.

 

US Relative:  US green card sister

 

Ties to home country: 

   1.  Married with 2 sons (3 and 7), along with little brother, mother and father

   2.  Have a small business and working a side job

   3.  Own 3 houses and a plot of land in Vietnam

   4.  Have visited Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

   5.  College graduate with no criminal background or tie to the Communist gov't

 

 

 

[Coco8 1,042]

 

- Is she on the owner of the houses and plot? Or is her husband the owner? If she owns that, she should take evidence to the consulate interview.

 

- Do they own the business? Why does she need a side job? Probably she need to take evidence that she is needed at her business. 

 

 

 

[Boiler 45,932]

Was she given the opportunity to show she had sufficient funds?

[Jimbo09 19]

32 minutes ago, Coco8 said:

 

- Is she on the owner of the houses and plot? Or is her husband the owner? If she owns that, she should take evidence to the consulate interview.

 

- Do they own the business? Why does she need a side job? Probably she need to take evidence that she is needed at her business. 

 

 

 

1.  Yes, her name is included in all the documents.

2.  Yes, she is like the CEO of the company.  As for side job, its something she's been doing for a long time and the business is down the street from her house so she just stick with the job.  Her boss is very flexible--this is accounting work so I don't think there is work everyday.

 

She didnt even have the opportunity to present her case or disapprove of any preconceive notions, if there was one.  The only thing that could be a red flag is that her mother has a US B1 visa also--not in the US or has overstayed during the process.  She changed her plan to visit Dubai instead of NYC now, but we're trying to figure this one out and at least get a better grip on it the next time if she wants to apply again.

[MacUK 983]

Unfortunately there's no such thing as a bulletproof case.

 

One thing I'm curious about, you said the second application was through a tourist agency and she wasn't involved? Surely she went to an interview at the embassy?

[Jimbo09 19]

I was not involved so did not know the finer details, but it is through an travel agency that offers tour packages as well as help with filing for B1 visa.  Yes, fully aware now that nothing is bulletproof hence the reason why I started this thread.

[WandY 430]

My wife is from VN. Her friend - a single female - was able to travel to U.S. on tourist visa. In her itinerary, she included a stop that was at a business expo relevant to her VN biz. She was on personal holiday, but included places/events that might help her VN business. She filed all the paperwork herself, no agency. Good luck!

[Coco8 1,042]

Maybe next time she should fill in the paperwork herself. Sometimes those travel agencies can make mistakes and a simple error can get a visa denied.

 

I also recommend taking paperwork to the interview on the following:

 

On 3/1/2018 at 12:24 PM, Jimbo09 said:

1.  Yes, her name is included in all the documents.

2.  Yes, she is like the CEO of the company.  As for side job, its something she's been doing for a long time and the business is down the street from her house so she just stick with the job.  Her boss is very flexible--this is accounting work so I don't think there is work everyday.

 

I doubt the fact that her mother has a visitor visa played any role here. Maybe she'll have better luck next time. She has a good case.

 

 

 

 

[Jimbo09 19]

Thank you everyone that have responded.  We just got back from a Hawaiian trip and my sister-in-law wants to be able to do the same. 

 

With her 2 denials, any advice on whether she should even bother applying?  If she applies for a B1 in the Fall 2018 then it will be over 1.5 years since the last denial.  Family and work circumstances remain same--the only change being they bought more properties in Vietnam.  Any thoughts?  Thanks in advance!

 

Below are ties to Vietnam:

 

1.  Married w/ 2 toddlers and all members, with exception of my wife, are in country.

2.  Is working and own a business.

3.  Own multiple properties.

[Boiler 45,932]

Well the toddlers do not count, you will see many posts on here from people who leave them behind.

 

Owning properties, well so do I and I live in the US.

 

So the Business, that seems the biggie.

 

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

Well the SIL can apply; chances are slim with the 2 denials and no significant change in circumstances. COs posted in the applicant's home country are trained to be familiar with living circumstances of the population, and they're able to roughly judge the strength of an applicant's claimed ties to home. 

[Jimbo09 19]

Just trying to understand the whole "ties to the home country" definition since if you put all that i've provided on a scale, obviously her ties to Vietnam are a lot stronger than the U.S since only her younger sister is here...

[Boiler 45,932]

Basically that she will remember to go home, for example you said she has her own business and that she would be silly to leave that rather than stay  illegally in the US.

[Jimbo09 19]

Sure.  We understand all that--trust me when I say her life in Vietnam is a lot better than our life in the US .  That's why we were kind of stunned when we heard that she got denied not only once but twice.  The odds sure is against her but we'll wait to see if the travel bug hits her again to throw $160 in this B1/B2 lottery.

[EmilyW 1,514]

Her life may be better but statistics show that many Vietnamese women don't feel the same way and end up overstaying their tourist visas.  That's what she is battling against.  The actions of her compatriots who were trusted to go home and didn't.