Strong ties to home country - meaning ...

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

25 minutes ago, didi&bebe said:

I am starting to believe that this is true!

So you have 2 out of 3 in your own family & 2 friends approved but it’s all a scam? Right. 

Edited April 3, 2019 by SusieQQQ

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

40 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

According to some people it’s all a scam to collect visa fees 🙄

The running joke in Philippines is to pay your $160 and go to Manila for the interview to get your denial...…….

[didi&bebe 0]

23 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

So you have 2 out of 3 in your own family & 2 friends approved but it’s all a scam? Right. 

If not a scam it’s a lottery. How did they make a difference between my brother and my friend who are the same age traveling with family for the same reason?

[Boiler 45,522]

7 minutes ago, didi&bebe said:

If not a scam it’s a lottery. How did they make a difference between my brother and my friend who are the same age traveling with family for the same reason?

The application

 

The interview maybe

[Crazy Cat 41,884]

16 minutes ago, didi&bebe said:

If not a scam it’s a lottery. How did they make a difference between my brother and my friend who are the same age traveling with family for the same reason?

Not chance based.........

[CEE53147 559]

On what basis did you become a citizen? Via birth, GC, and if GC what was your initial visa? What is his job and education?  Was he answering honestly or trying to answer what he expected the CP wanted to hear? Was he nervous or confident?

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

1 hour ago, missileman said:

Is that supposed to be a joke?

 

1 hour ago, Chris Duffy said:

Not at all

 

I have seen my wife relatives and friend with strong ties and get denied, and I have seen others with identical ties and get approved.

 

No Rhyme or reason, Had a US Citizen do a letter saying he would take care of all expenses and boom approved for a herd of people from Philippines.  Figure that one out

 

 

It is 50/50 honestly. I've had a friend before in the Philippines go for a tourist visa (knowing he would be denied basically as he had never traveled before, and didn't really have any strong ties, but he tried)... he explained that there was 10 people in line. #1, denied... #2 approved.. # 3 denied, #4 approved, #5 denied.... seeing the pattern? He was #9. lol 

 

So while I like to think this is not the case and the embassy doesn't just get bored and have "game days"... it is interesting.

[Unlockable 7,314]

4 hours ago, didi&bebe said:

THE OFFICER DID NOT EVEN LOOK AT HIS PAPERWORK!!!

Can't tell you how many times we have heard this on VJ. This is why the assumption is that the decision is 99% made prior to the interview.

 

4 hours ago, didi&bebe said:

Visa was initially denied and approved after the senator did what was in his power. I am very confused! 

Can't help but to be skeptical about this. Not saying it didn't happen, but there has to be more to the story. 

 

One thing I have notice is that the people who get the most upset over visitor visa denials are the ones who have compared visa approvals to others they have heard of or witnessed. They speak about their denials then immediate reference a friend, family member, or someone else that got approved. 

 

There is a lot of talk about how the US government denies visas with no rhyme nor reason. USA issued nearly 6 million new B1/B2 visas last year and is averaging around 6mil per year

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/AnnualReports/FY2018AnnualReport/FY18AnnualReport - TableXVIB.pdf

 

Since 2014, the US gave out a total of 32 million new visitor visas. That is almost 10% of our country's population in visas in just 4 years.

 

I akin it to a hot and popular night club in a big city. Everybody wants to get in, but obviously for safety and security reasons the club can't let everyone in all at once. So there will be a few that has to wait outside in line. I see why people get upset at visitor visa denials. They kinda take it personal. But I honestly think that there are just too many people applying and there may be some system or algorithm that keeps the visa issuances at controllable levels. But that is just my theory. (aluminum foil hat off now).

 

@didi&bebe

If you take anything away from this thread the following quote should  give you the most thought...

Quote

So you have 2 out of 3 in your own family & 2 friends approved but it’s all a scam?

If you think about it, your family has been successful in getting visas. This is a higher percentage of approvals  for family than most people here on this forum. A person should never expect to get a visa because a visa to the US is a privilege, not a right and it is never guaranteed.

 

Hopefully, he can apply again and be granted a visa. Good luck with your wedding.

Edited April 3, 2019 by Unlockable

[carmel34 3,633]

3 hours ago, didi&bebe said:

He moved there recently

Here's the difference from the other family and friends who were approved--he only recently arrived in Germany from Bulgaria, it shows he is mobile, willing to leave the country of his birth and move to another country, hence weak ties and more likely to have immigrant intent.  The others applied from their country of origin where they were able to satisfy the CO with stronger ties.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

2 hours ago, didi&bebe said:

If not a scam it’s a lottery. How did they make a difference between my brother and my friend who are the same age traveling with family for the same reason?

If that’s the case, no use gettIng advice here, just enter the lottery again. I’m done with this thread.

[Crazy Cat 41,884]

2 hours ago, didi&bebe said:

How did they make a difference between my brother and my friend who are the same age traveling with family for the same reason?

Different travel history? Different work history?  Different TIES to home country?     Lots of variables to consider.

Edited April 3, 2019 by missileman

[RedroseMT 37]

1 hour ago, carmel34 said:

Here's the difference from the other family and friends who were approved--he only recently arrived in Germany from Bulgaria, it shows he is mobile, willing to leave the country of his birth and move to another country, hence weak ties and more likely to have immigrant intent.  The others applied from their country of origin where they were able to satisfy the CO with stronger ties.

I doubt that was the reason: some of my family members live and work in Ireland , they have applied for B2 in Dublin and all have got their visas - I have applied from Oslo - the same case, no problems . 

[carmel34 3,633]

3 minutes ago, RedroseMT said:

I doubt that was the reason: some of my family members live and work in Ireland , they have applied for B2 in Dublin and all have got their visas - I have applied from Oslo - the same case, no problems . 

It all comes down to the specific circumstances and the strength of ties to the home country.  Every visa applicant is unique.

[Nat&Amy 623]

22 minutes ago, missileman said:

Different travel history? Different work history?  Different TIES to home country?     Lots of variables to consider.

Exactly. Even a small difference in age might put you in a different bracket for risk. I used to work as a visa analyst in my home country and people very often forget that every question they answer in their application gets taken into account. There are not two identical applications, so obviously one should not expect the same outcome no matter how many people in their family apply.

 

And also, you might take a 3 pound folder loaded with evidence to your interview, but if the IO has already made a decision to deny based on DS160, then it will be very rare for them to even ask to see those documents. As many have pointed out, there is no way they can check their authenticity during the interview, for starters.

Edited April 3, 2019 by Nat&Amy

[milimelo 4,481]

Applying after a recent move to Germany is what I’d suspect was not in his favor. All your other family members applied in home country.