B1/B2 Visa interview coming up, what documents can I send to my mother in law

[Ezy_and_Oghene 10]

I applied for my mother in law to visit us in the US this summer for 4 weeks. She is a teacher in Nigeria, married, babysits her other grandchildren and has a landed property. She also has 4 other children in Nigeria so there's strong ties for her to return. However, I feel like her income alone won't convince the interviewer. We are willing to sponsor her and it's also stated on the DS160 application. Her interview is less than 2 weeks away and I am wondering if there's any document I need to send from my end for her to take with her to the interview, like tax returns, recent W-2 or letter of invitation? We haven't done this before. Just seeking guidance. Thanks!

Edited March 6, 2018 by Ezy_and_Oghene

[payxibka 10,047]

1 minute ago, Ezy_and_Oghene said:

I applied for my mother in law to visit us in the US this summer for 4 weeks. She is a teacher in Nigeria, married, babysits her other grandchildren and has a landed property. She also has 4 other children in Nigeria so there's strong ties in Nigeria. However, I feel like her income alone won't convince the interviewer. We are willing to sponsor her and it's also stated on the DS160 application. Her interview is less than 2 weeks away and I am wondering if there's any document I need to send from my end for her to take with her to the interview, like tax returns, recent W-2 or letter of invitation? We haven't done this before. Just seeking guidance. Thanks!

You cannot sponsor an applicant for a tourist visa.  The applicant must meet the standard on their own.

[Ezy_and_Oghene 10]

Just now, payxibka said:

You cannot sponsor an applicant for a tourist visa.  The applicant must meet the standard on their own.

I know a lot of people that have successful invited their unemployed parents to visit them in the US. Is there a special trick to that or is it just luck?

[Boiler 45,756]

I invited my Mum to visit, she was retired so I guess that is a sort of unemployed.

 

I just called her, no trick.

[TNJ17 1,329]

None. You cannot sponsor a tourist visa. She needs to show she and she alone can financially support her and the trip. 

[Going through 5,671]

12 hours ago, Ezy_and_Oghene said:

I know a lot of people that have successful invited their unemployed parents to visit them in the US. Is there a special trick to that or is it just luck?

No tricks, no luck....more likely those people successfully meeting the criteria for approval.

 

Let us know how to works out for her.

[Unlockable 7,315]

As others have said there is no trick and you don't sponsor you mother's visa. Also, you don't apply for her visa. It is her application and it is approved based on her merits.

 

You can by her tickets and provide her with a place to stay. But it still will be based on her having strong ties to her country.

[teshah 33]

On 3/6/2018 at 2:18 PM, TNJ17 said:

None. You cannot sponsor a tourist visa. She needs to show she and she alone can financially support her and the trip. 

We've sponsored my parents twice and they got the tourist visa.  

[teshah 33]

On 3/6/2018 at 1:43 PM, Ezy_and_Oghene said:

I know a lot of people that have successful invited their unemployed parents to visit them in the US. Is there a special trick to that or is it just luck?

You could ask those people what they did?  For us, we sent an invitation letter, a letter to the IO at the embassy explaining we would be covering all the travel expenses and their expenses while here and 6 months bank statements.  

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

13 minutes ago, teshah said:

We've sponsored my parents twice and they got the tourist visa.  

But not because you sponsored them. From the horse’s mouth:

 

Note: Visa applicants must qualify on the basis of the applicant's residence and ties abroad, rather than assurances from U.S. family and friends. A letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support is not needed to apply for a nonimmigrant tourist visa. If you do choose to bring a letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support to your interview, please remember that it is not one of the factors that we use in determining whether to issue or deny a nonimmigrant tourist visa.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html

 

[TNJ17 1,329]

25 minutes ago, teshah said:

We've sponsored my parents twice and they got the tourist visa.  

Not because you’ve sponsored them. They got the visa because they merited on their own. 

[teshah 33]

5 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

But not because you sponsored them. From the horse’s mouth:

 

Note: Visa applicants must qualify on the basis of the applicant's residence and ties abroad, rather than assurances from U.S. family and friends. A letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support is not needed to apply for a nonimmigrant tourist visa. If you do choose to bring a letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support to your interview, please remember that it is not one of the factors that we use in determining whether to issue or deny a nonimmigrant tourist visa.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html

 

I agree the applicant has to show strong ties to their home country but they also need to prove that they have funds to support themselves while here and not going to be a public charge.  So I will still maintain, we sponsored them otherwise, financial statements from applicant or sponsor would not be one of the documents required by the embassy officials and even listed on the embassy website in my home country.

[teshah 33]

1 minute ago, TNJ17 said:

Not because you’ve sponsored them. They got the visa because they merited on their own. 

Nope.  Got denied previously without the documents we sent.  

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

1 minute ago, teshah said:

I agree the applicant has to show strong ties to their home country but they also need to prove that they have funds to support themselves while here and not going to be a public charge.  So I will still maintain, we sponsored them otherwise, financial statements from applicant or sponsor would not be one of the documents required by the embassy officials and even listed on the embassy website in my home country.

No, you didn't. Sponsorship is a common, but mistaken term applied for a B2 visa. Let me guess your parents came from India? 

 

When you AOSed from F1, you were sponsored by your spouse's presumable USC status, who is/was liable for you financially. That is sponsorship!  Sending a letter of invitation or bank statements is not sponsorship because such statements on a piece of paper are not legally enforceable. The internet is littered with India-centric websites referencing sponsorships for B2 visas. Nothing further from the truth! 

[teshah 33]

2 minutes ago, WeGuyGal said:

No, you didn't. Sponsorship is a common, but mistaken term applied for a B2 visa. Let me guess your parents came from India? 

 

When you AOSed from F1, you were sponsored by your spouse's presumable USC status, who is/was liable for you financially. That is sponsorship!  Sending a letter of invitation or bank statements is not sponsorship because such statements on a piece of paper are not legally enforceable. The internet is littered with India-centric websites referencing sponsorships for B2 visas. Nothing further from the truth! 

Why the assumptions?  I'm not Indian and neither are my parents.  I also know what sponsorship means and yes, we were financially liable for my parents while they were here including purchasing their round trip tickets.  Different embassies have different requirements for citizens of whatever country wanting to visit the US.  The US embassy in Nairobi for example  under documents required for the B visa explicitly states that "If you cannot cover all the costs for your trip, you may show evidence that another person will cover some or all of the costs for your trip". This is usually translates to 6 months' checking account statements. The source is from https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-ke/niv/information/required_docs which is not an "Indian-centric website". It's your prerogative to believe your truth and I will stick to mine.