Are bank statments needed

[neel06 0]

Applying for my mother in law to visit for few weeks. My husband’s income is enough. Will he still need to show our bank account?

[Ate 180]

8 minutes ago, neel06 said:

Applying for my mother in law to visit for few weeks. My husband’s income is enough. Will he still need to show our bank account?

 

Proof of your husband's income and bank accounts are not needed.  The outcome of your mother-in-law's tourist visa application depends on her own merits and her ability to convince the consul officer of her strong ties to her home country.

 

Edited March 14, 2019 by Ate

[neel06 0]

9 minutes ago, Ate said:

 

Proof of your husband's income and bank accounts are not needed.  The outcome of your mother-in-law's tourist visa application depends on her own merits and her ability to convince the consul officer of her strong ties to her home country.

 

We are sponsering her through 1-134. My husband income is above the 125 percent income- so i asked will the bank statements be needed if income alone is sufficient?

[Ate 180]

1 minute ago, neel06 said:

We are sponsering her through 1-134. My husband income is above the 125 percent income- so i asked will the bank statements be needed if income alone is sufficient?

 

There is no sponsorship for tourist visa.

 

Here is what the US Department of State says about affidavit of support --

 

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.

 

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

 

[millefleur 5,046]

11 minutes ago, neel06 said:

We are sponsering her through 1-134. My husband income is above the 125 percent income- so i asked will the bank statements be needed if income alone is sufficient?

I-134 is not required for a tourist visa.

 

What strong ties does she have to her home country? A job, property ownership, family?

[neel06 0]

Just now, millefleur said:

I-134 is not required for a tourist visa.

 

What strong ties does she have to her home country? A job, property ownership, family?

She has her home, farmland, 2 other children. However, we were taking care of her expenses so thus we considered the 1-134

[millefleur 5,046]

10 minutes ago, neel06 said:

She has her home, farmland, 2 other children. However, we were taking care of her expenses so thus we considered the 1-134

A couple of things:

 

Firstly, the CO is not required to look at any supporting documents that applicants bring to the interview. Often times, the decision is based on the DS-160 and the interview alone.

 

Secondly, if she does bring supporting docs, what makes the most sense is docs to prove that she has reasons to return home. So, docs related to her property ownership, job, possibly family. Any ties to family residing in the US (including her children in the US), will be seen as a strong tie in the US versus home, so she really needs to focus on reasons to return.

 

They will not even look at an I-134 as it's not required, so there's no use bothering with it. If anything, even mentioning the I-134 may come across as immigrant intent and will surely get the visa denied. Affidavits of Support are for folks who intent to immigrate/live in the US, not visit.

Edited March 14, 2019 by millefleur

[neel06 0]

6 minutes ago, millefleur said:

A couple of things:

 

Firstly, the CO is not required to look at any supporting documents that applicants bring to the interview. Often times, the decision is based on the DS-160 and the interview alone.

 

Secondly, if she does bring supporting docs, what makes the most sense is docs to prove that she has reasons to return home. So, docs related to her property ownership, job, possibly family. Any ties to family residing in the US (including her children in the US), will be seen as a strong tie in the US versus home, so she really needs to focus on reasons to return.

 

They will not even look at an I-134 as it's not required, so there's no use bothering with it. If anything, even mentioning the I-134 may come across as immigrant intent and will surely get the visa denied. Affidavits of Support are for folks who intent to immigrate/live in the US, not visit.

Thank you. Appreciate your feedback

[geowrian 22,337]

35 minutes ago, neel06 said:

She has her home, farmland, 2 other children. However, we were taking care of her expenses so thus we considered the 1-134

She can list you as who is paying for travel expenses on the DS-160. That's all they need or care about. An I-134 is not enforceable nor applicable for a tourist visa (as explicitly noted in the DOS website linked above).

She will be issued a visa or not based on her individual merits. COs care much more about why somebody is compelled to leave the US (see INA 214(b)) than why they want to visit.

Good luck.

Edited March 14, 2019 by geowrian

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

8 hours ago, neel06 said:

We are sponsering her through 1-134. My husband income is above the 125 percent income- so i asked will the bank statements be needed if income alone is sufficient?

You aren't sponsoring anyone for a tourist visa. 

 

The so-called sponsorship of a b2 visa is a myth that is mysteriously prevalent in India or among Indian Americans. It's usually word of mouth, 'oh I sponsored so and so, you can send papers too' blah blah. As the posts above state, there is no such thing. An i-134 is used for immigrant visas where the petitioner is legally bound to financially support a beneficiary immigrating to the US. A tourist is not bound to anything other than exiting the US prior to i94 expiration.

 

COs everywhere don't really care why someone wants to come to the US; they care more about what compels someone to leave the US. Therefore invitation letters, affidavits of support, bank statements, w2s, etc are a waste of paper. They are not looked at during what is at most 2-3 minutes at the interview window.

[neel06 0]

Thank you all for the clarification.