Bringing mother and sister in law in on tourist visa

[SalishSea 18,074]

1 minute ago, SusieQQQ said:

It is official department of state data. And my assumption would be that seeing as they are VWP countries, the vast majority of those who apply for B visas are not able to get an ESTA which usually means some issue like a criminal record or previous overstay (and less usually, travel to countries on the “list”) - exactly the kind of issues that are likely to result in a visa being refused.

I was just curious.  My fiance is a Kiwi, and he applied for (and received) a B-2 after traveling here on an ESTA.  He flew from Auckland to Vancouver, and our US POE was via ferry to one of the islands on the Washington State side of the border.  They were a bit flummoxed by the ESTA at that tiny little port, and took him into a makeshift trailer office for questioning. The B-2 has been great, and he has used it many times without incident.

[Umka36 781]

14 minutes ago, brazilhelp said:

agreed. but the issue remains, we need to be able to track down illegal immigrants, people who overstay their visas, etc. If we don't, then it only encourages people to stay or cross illegally. It is kind of pathetic. We need a national ID program that shows nationality. Only way to do it.

Visa overstay we do know their Nationality, they need to show their passport to get in. What we would need to do is flat out not allow adjust of status in the US no matter the circumstances. That's not going to happen in my lifetime.

 

What's pathetic is when people who end up staying illegally and protesting while waiving their home countries flag for whatever reason. What's the point in all that, national pride? Sorry to get off topic. 

[brazilhelp 3]

16 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Nationality is not the same as legal status.  Most "illegals immigrants" in the US are here via overstays, so scrutiny and vetting at the consular level is indeed the most appropriate method of prevention.

Illegals are not the same status as overstayed (or out of status). That is why it is simply an adjustment of status if they get married. Illegal immigrants, who did not have a visa to even get into US cannot get greencard through adjustment of status.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

9 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

I stand corrected.  I should have said "They make a decision based on the facts they choose to consider...."   Again, human nature, and very unpredictable from one person to the next.

I think if you spend some time reading past reports (actual empirical research on this particular decision-making process) you’ll find that there is actually a clear pattern to how they approach it and that decisions are very often in fact predictable. Yes of course there is a human element and there will be occasional outcomes which may differ from one officer to the next, but it’s not nearly as random/unpredictable as you imply when it comes to a process like this that has trained officers, well-defined criteria, and is intended to be largely based on the information provided in the DS160, because an interview usually lasts a few minutes at most  - which is precisely why (as has been copied above) the offical view is that the stuff you bring to the interview generall doesn’t form part of the process.

 

Certainly we here are seldom surprised by good/bad outcomes when we have even only some of the same facts presented as to a CO, and if we can figure it out often enough it’s clearly quite predictable.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

4 minutes ago, brazilhelp said:

Illegals are not the same status as overstayed (or out of status). That is why it is simply an adjustment of status if they get married. Illegal immigrants, who did not have a visa to even get into US cannot get greencard through adjustment of status.

Actually illegal IS the same status as overstay (you are confusing illegal with undocumented), the only difference is that an overstay is forgiven for immediate relative of US citizens. It is not forgiven for anyone doing any other type of adjustment of status. When you are talking about reforming the system, removing the automatic forgiveness of overstay for IR categories would certainly be an incentive for more people to start following the law properly, and it would likely reduce the incentives for green card marriages as well.

Edited September 18, 2018 by SusieQQQ

[SalishSea 18,074]

2 minutes ago, brazilhelp said:

Illegals are not the same status as overstayed (or out of status). That is why it is simply an adjustment of status if they get married. Illegal immigrants, who did not have a visa to even get into US cannot get greencard through adjustment of status.

If you you look at the DOS statistics, most individuals who currently remain in the United States illegally, originally entered with a valid visa....as opposed to sneaking across the border.

[Unlockable 7,315]

31 minutes ago, brazilhelp said:

So what you are saying is if 8, or 12 million tourists came to the US, it would not add to the economy? You must not have majored in economics...

Uncalled for but I'll bite. Approving a few more visas for economic reasons is not immigration's role. They are there to ensure the safety of the country. They are not a corporation looking to increase profit.

Also, there is no law requiring that the US has to grant visas to visitors. It is the same as a University not excepting every single applicant. So selection processes and vetting are put in place. You may not like to practice, but this is where we are at.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

6 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

If you you look at the DOS statistics, most individuals who currently remain in the United States illegally, originally entered with a valid visa....as opposed to sneaking across the border.

Yes, indeed, overstays have now exceeded undocumented entries to become the biggest part of illegals.

 

some news reports (there is a left wing and a right wing source to stop people here turning this into a political argument, the central facts are the same regardless of your interpretation of what it should mean for policy)

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/no-wall-will-keep-visitors-from-overstaying-their-visas-1516234020

https://cis.org/Arthur/Half-Illegal-Population-Are-Overstays

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/visa-overstays-outnumber-illegal-border-crossings-trend-expected-continue-n730216

 

[brazilhelp 3]

4 minutes ago, NuestraUnion said:

Uncalled for but I'll bite. Approving a few more visas for economic reasons is not immigration's role. They are there to ensure the safety of the country. They are not a corporation looking to increase profit.

Also, there is no law requiring that the US has to grant visas to visitors. It is the same as a University not excepting every single applicant. So selection processes and vetting are put in place. You may not like to practice, but this is where we are at.

Sure, but it is amazing to see the difference between US and Europe. Even Brazil. In brazil, you overstay your visa and you pay a fine. In Europe, visa waiver is way easier for americans to travel to than opposite. I do not think it keeps us safer the way the US does it. For me, it is only highlighting the fact that we are so disorganized and incompetent when it comes to people overstaying or enforcement.

[Ontarkie 14,383]

~~The OP's question has been answered and as this thread has derailed it is not locked to further discussion. The OP is free to start a new thread to update how they're interview went.~~