Success with sister's visit!

[lucyrich 20]

We picked up Lucy's sister at the airport last night! It's not easy for a Venezuelan to get a tourist visa, and after the stories we'd heard, I'm almost surprised it worked.

Back in January, we wrote a letter to the embassy in Caracas, had it notarized, and gave it to Lucy's sister to carry with her when she applied for her tourist visa. It said something to the effect of:

To whom it may concern:

We are a married couple living in the United States. Richard is a US Citizen, having been born in the USA. Lucy is a lawful permanent resident, having been issued a CR-1 Visa in Caracas on 18 January, 2005, and having entered the US on 22 January, 2005.

We would like to invite Lucy's sister, Maria, to visit us in our home. The exact dates are somewhat flexible, but we plan for a visit lasting approximately one month, beginning around the first of June, 2007. We are looking forward to having her visit us so that she can help us celebrate the first birthday of our daughter, on June 8, 2007. During her stay with us in the US, she will sleep in our house, and we will provide for her food and incidental expenses. We will take her to the airport to return home at the conclusion of her visit.

Thank you for considering these facts as you reach your decision regarding her visa.

We affirm that the above facts are true and correct.

signed and notarized

Lucy's sister has a long work history (10+ years) at a bank, and is leaving her 16 year old daughter in Venezuela with relatives. So there are significant ties to Venezuela. However, she doesn't have very large financial assets in Venezuela. Any assets she would have would be extremely difficult to convert to dollars, due to the currency controls instituted by the Venezuelan government. So when she went to her visa interview, they first objected that she didn't have the money to support herself for a US vacation. She addressed that issue by bringing out the invitation letter we had written. She was granted the tourist visa back in January.

We get to spend the next few weeks playing tour guide.

[RobandNatalya 0]

We picked up Lucy's sister at the airport last night! It's not easy for a Venezuelan to get a tourist visa, and after the stories we'd heard, I'm almost surprised it worked.

Back in January, we wrote a letter to the embassy in Caracas, had it notarized, and gave it to Lucy's sister to carry with her when she applied for her tourist visa. It said something to the effect of:

To whom it may concern:

We are a married couple living in the United States. Richard is a US Citizen, having been born in the USA. Lucy is a lawful permanent resident, having been issued a CR-1 Visa in Caracas on 18 January, 2005, and having entered the US on 22 January, 2005.

We would like to invite Lucy's sister, Maria, to visit us in our home. The exact dates are somewhat flexible, but we plan for a visit lasting approximately one month, beginning around the first of June, 2007. We are looking forward to having her visit us so that she can help us celebrate the first birthday of our daughter, on June 8, 2007. During her stay with us in the US, she will sleep in our house, and we will provide for her food and incidental expenses. We will take her to the airport to return home at the conclusion of her visit.

Thank you for considering these facts as you reach your decision regarding her visa.

We affirm that the above facts are true and correct.

signed and notarized

Lucy's sister has a long work history (10+ years) at a bank, and is leaving her 16 year old daughter in Venezuela with relatives. So there are significant ties to Venezuela. However, she doesn't have very large financial assets in Venezuela. Any assets she would have would be extremely difficult to convert to dollars, due to the currency controls instituted by the Venezuelan government. So when she went to her visa interview, they first objected that she didn't have the money to support herself for a US vacation. She addressed that issue by bringing out the invitation letter we had written. She was granted the tourist visa back in January.

We get to spend the next few weeks playing tour guide.

My wife and I want to invite my wife's mother to visit us over the summer for a couple of months. Natalya's mom is a school teacher and owns her own flat in the Ukraine. What forms do we have to fill out to start the process? i-134??

[lucyrich 20]

My wife and I want to invite my wife's mother to visit us over the summer for a couple of months. Natalya's mom is a school teacher and owns her own flat in the Ukraine. What forms do we have to fill out to start the process? i-134??

I've heard of people filing an I-134, but we simply wrote a letter with no official form. We mailed the letter to the visiting relative overseas, so that she could carry it with her when she went to her visa interview.

For a visit, it's up to the visitor to start the process by contacting the US embassy that serves the visitor's country and following the procedure listed there. They'll have published procedures for making visa appointments, filling out the visa application (DS-156?), etc. It's primarily the visitor's job to start everything and to meet the criteria of admissibility, especially ties to the home country to demonstrate non-immigrant intent. The stateside relative's letter only helps in assuring that the visitor won't become a public charge, and in showing a reason for the visit that's consistent with a visitor's visa.