Bringing mother and sister in law in on tourist visa

[ameribrazil 37]

2 minutes ago, geowrian said:

From the DOS directly (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html😞

"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 visitor visa. If you choose to bring a letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support to your interview, please remember it is not one of the factors used in determining whether to issue or deny the visa."

I have seen and read that and showed that to my wife. Hence why I was sure and certain an invitation letter will not work. But as mentioned on my post, that an invitation letter doesn't guarantee or assist in getting an approval. While it helped my MIL in her situation, other's might have a different experience. Essentially my message is, while its not a guarantee or "it is not one of the factors used in determining where to issue of deny the visa."  it doesn't hurt to have one nor do I want to discourage a person create one if they feel it might help their case. However, in the end its the applicant who has to establish credibility.

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

COs judge an applicant's credibility much much more than a piece of paper from a US individual. 

[geowrian 22,338]

Can anybody say with any certainty that an invitation letter led to getting the visa? No...there's no way to know what would have happened if they didn't present one.

At the same time, nobody can say with certainty that the invitation letter did not impact the decision.

The only official sources say it is not part of the consideration. I would tend to follow that versus speculations on what may or may not have helped.

[Boiler 45,927]

As the vast majority of Tourist have no contacts in the US needing an invitation letter seems somewhat counter intuitive.

 

Certainly when I first visited, family visited, friends visited  the one factor we all had in common was no US connections.

[ameribrazil 37]

5 minutes ago, NuestraUnion said:

Appreciate the contribution. But this is one of the reasons how the whole invitation letter helps got started. Because of cases where it is a success does not mean it is a norm. I have said it before, it is like saying I got approved because I wore a blue tie. Of course there will be people who get approved that wore a blue tie also.

 

I can't think of anyone here who have said that "nobody ever got approved with an invitation letter". We are stating that it is not a legal requirement and too many people put too much weight on invitation letters and financial documents of a US person when there is no official requirement to do so.

 

Also, I remember a visa review of someone who had been denied multiple times when they provided such documents. Then the last attempt they got approved without even having an invitation letter nor other financial documents they previously. It can happen either way.

 

Just to be clear I'm not discrediting what others are saying because clearly its stated on the DOS website that its not needed.

 

"...We are stating that it is not a legal requirement and too many people put too much weight on invitation letters and financial documents of a US person when there is no official requirement to do so..." ----- I agree with this statement. An invitation letter is not a legal requirement nor is it an official requirements. Which is why I said its a case by case basis. I'm not advocating that an invitation letter guarantees an approval  because maybe at the time of my MIL's interview the CO was in a good mood. What I'm saying is it doesn't hurt to have an invitation letter. "... If you choose to bring a letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support to your interview, please remember it is not one of the factors used in determining whether to issue or deny the visa..." So if the OP wants to write an invitation letter, I support it but with a caveat that it's not a guarantee approval nor is it required.

[ameribrazil 37]

16 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Can anybody say with any certainty that an invitation letter led to getting the visa? No...there's no way to know what would have happened if they didn't present one.

At the same time, nobody can say with certainty that the invitation letter did not impact the decision.

The only official sources say it is not part of the consideration. I would tend to follow that versus speculations on what may or may not have helped.

You are correct that I don't believe anyone can with a certainty that the invitation letter led to getting the visa approved or not. I do not speak for every person who has received an approvals that had an invitation letter. As I said on my initial post, I wrote a disclaimer that I am sharing our experience. I'm just not so quick to oppose writing an invitation letter if the OP wants to write one let them write it.

 

Immigration process is very complicated coupled with human intervention that is why I say IMO I believe its a case by case basis. 

[Muhammad Arman 65]

3 hours ago, brazilhelp said:

Her mom does not even want to come. we are trying to convince her as she is getting up there in age. She owns her own home, and has all her family and friends there. She does not have much else and lives very modestly. We thought of trying to get greencard, but since she has no intention of moving here, it seems pointless. She might stay a few weeks to a month at most.

 

Her sister recently divorced, now owns her own home, and is able to show more independence than when she tried last time. She work and has good paying job, and travels. All her children are there. Two of her kids have visas I think, the third wants to travel here and is trying to get visa too. We know the lie was a problem, but there, travel agents fill out the USCIS forms. She told the agent that she had sister here and agent told her not to put that down. It was pretty dumb.

My Aunt did the same mistake did not mention her daughter is a USC and living in the USA. But at the time of the interview, the CO asked about her Second daughter and she explains everything honestly and got the approval. As long as invitation letter etc depend on don't waste any time and money as on the interview she brought her USC Brother Bank statement, Mortgage, Tax returns, and many other things but the CO did not give a single look at them. 

[carmel34 3,650]

This thread illustrates very well the human factor in making these sensitive visa and US entry decisions.  The CO or USCIS officer or CBP officer or whoever is a human with all the subtleties that go with it.  They consider all the facts in front of them, listen to the person they are interviewing, and make a decision.  I have studied human decision making all of my academic career, and even with a clear set of "rules," people are imperfect decision makers and there are differences in the way one person makes a judgment vs. another, even when given the same set of facts.  This is why we see on VJ time and time again instances of one person's visa being granted, and another's denied, even when it seems to be a very similar case.  From the perspective of the applicant/petitioner/beneficiary, it is frustrating because of these discrepancies.  In this situation, the question is a letter of invitation for a tourist visa.  People will do what they want to do, and hope for the desired outcome.  In some cases, a letter of invitation seems to help, in others, it may actually hurt the applicant's chances.  Put yourself in the CO's position.  If someone has a letter of invitation from a relative in the US, it could be a red flag that the applicant is at a higher risk of overstaying, especially if the letter states that everything will be paid for by the relative in the US.  On the other hand, some COs could see such a letter as showing that the visitor has the financial support to return to their home country.  The key factor in such decisions seems to be the ties to the home country, and the likelihood that the visitor will return and not overstay.  Documentation to support these ties would be the most convincing evidence, as countless threads like this one have pointed out.  Leases, jobs, obligations to family, investments in real estate, commitments, all in the home country, from the applicant, and supported with convincing evidence, are going to make or break such applications for a tourist visa.  Also important will be the interview with the CO, and the credibility of the applicant in answering basic questions about these ties.  At the end of the day, the CO will make a decision based on all the facts and whether or not they believe the applicant.  These decisions are unpredictable, which is why some suggest trying again if denied, because a different CO may come to a different conclusion.  It's frustrating, but that's the nature of the process.  The more hard evidence of strong ties to the home country, the better.  Everything else seems to be window dressing, and may help or may hurt.  Sometimes submitting an unnecessary document makes the person who submits it feel better, and that may be worth it even if the application is denied, as they can say they did everything they could, rather than feel helpless, as many of us often feel in this process.  Good luck OP.  I hope that whatever you do, you get what you seek in the end.

[TNJ17 1,329]

Nothing you send them is gonna help. It’s only gonna make things worse. They need to apply based on their own merits. Having family living in the US and denials in the past is almost certain to get another denial. Unless their situations has drastically changed. 

[brazilhelp 3]

Sorry for being away... was in meeting. THANK you all for your comments. Very helpful.

 

As I mentioned, she was married and therefore most assets were in her husband's name. Now she is completely self sufficient. The 'lie' is an issue as but her intent was to go to different city with her kids on group tour. All of this was not played well on her part and we had warned her.

 

I think we will proceed with the letter, only to inform USCIS that we are expecting her and aware of her travel plans. I will leave out anything about paying for her since she is self sufficient anyway and that would be weird and could cause red flags. It may dispel any notion that she may be coming on her own without telling us,  if that thought would go through their minds.

 

I wonder what the economic loss is to the US every year due to this draconian tourist visa process. If they fixed immigration, they could simply deal with the bad apples instead of punishing everyone.

[Umka36 781]

Just now, brazilhelp said:

Sorry for being away... was in meeting. THANK you all for your comments. Very helpful.

 

As I mentioned, she was married and therefore most assets were in her husband's name. Now she is completely self sufficient. The 'lie' is an issue as but her intent was to go to different city with her kids on group tour. All of this was not played well on her part and we had warned her.

 

I think we will proceed with the letter, only to inform USCIS that we are expecting her and aware of her travel plans. I will leave out anything about paying for her since she is self sufficient anyway and that would be weird and could cause red flags. It may dispel any notion that she may be coming on her own without telling us,  if that thought would go through their minds.

 

I wonder what the economic loss is to the US every year due to this draconian tourist visa process. If they fixed immigration, they could simply deal with the bad apples instead of punishing everyone.

It's the bad apples who ruined it for everyone else. Finding those rotten apples has been pretty futile in the US. Maybe Brazil will one day be part of the ESTA program in the not so distant future.

[brazilhelp 3]

But it should not be that hard. They are all on facebook :0)

[p-ana 933]

17 minutes ago, brazilhelp said:

Sorry for being away... was in meeting. THANK you all for your comments. Very helpful.

 

As I mentioned, she was married and therefore most assets were in her husband's name. Now she is completely self sufficient. The 'lie' is an issue as but her intent was to go to different city with her kids on group tour. All of this was not played well on her part and we had warned her.

 

I think we will proceed with the letter, only to inform USCIS that we are expecting her and aware of her travel plans. I will leave out anything about paying for her since she is self sufficient anyway and that would be weird and could cause red flags. It may dispel any notion that she may be coming on her own without telling us,  if that thought would go through their minds.

 

I wonder what the economic loss is to the US every year due to this draconian tourist visa process. If they fixed immigration, they could simply deal with the bad apples instead of punishing everyone.

It’s not USCIS they will be dealing with. It’s the embassy/ consulate they will apply for the tourist visa at. 

Mas others have stated, it may or may not be looked at by the IO.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

27 minutes ago, brazilhelp said:

.

 

 

I wonder what the economic loss is to the US every year due to this draconian tourist visa process. 

The problem is the very many people who overstay their visas every year, which leads some to argue that the “draconian” process is still not strict enough. People often blame the consular  officers when they should be blaming their fellow citizens for acting in such a way that casts suspicion on everyone else. By the way, have you ever applied for a UK tourist visa? The US process is a total breeze by comparison, it’s really far from draconian.

 

And carmel34, re your assertion (bolded)  below.... academic research on human decision-making notwithstanding, no they don’t necessarily. The main points used in decision making is what is filled in on the form, not what is brought with to the interview. We have had countless reports of applicants being informed of a decision without any of the documents they brought being looked at. It seems clear from report backs that  most decisions are in fact made before the interview has begun and often the interview questions are simply to confirm that (whether positive or negative), and occasionally ask for evidence in borderline cases. You’re welcome to go searching back through the forums to see the many people who complain that they weren’t allowed to show anything and were basically asked maybe one or two questions before being denied. 

1 hour ago, carmel34 said:

The CO or USCIS officer or CBP officer or whoever is a human with all the subtleties that go with it.  They consider all the facts in front of them, listen to the person they are interviewing, and make a decision.  

Edited September 18, 2018 by SusieQQQ

[Boiler 45,927]

21 minutes ago, brazilhelp said:

Sorry for being away... was in meeting. THANK you all for your comments. Very helpful.

 

As I mentioned, she was married and therefore most assets were in her husband's name. Now she is completely self sufficient. The 'lie' is an issue as but her intent was to go to different city with her kids on group tour. All of this was not played well on her part and we had warned her.

 

I think we will proceed with the letter, only to inform USCIS that we are expecting her and aware of her travel plans. I will leave out anything about paying for her since she is self sufficient anyway and that would be weird and could cause red flags. It may dispel any notion that she may be coming on her own without telling us,  if that thought would go through their minds.

 

I wonder what the economic loss is to the US every year due to this draconian tourist visa process. If they fixed immigration, they could simply deal with the bad apples instead of punishing everyone.

Sanctuary Cities?

 

You need to raise the issue with your local politicians.