Visitor Visa for Husband's Sister

[Boiler 45,486]

3 minutes ago, Amadia said:

What ties does she have to prove that she will return to her home country?

I have known persons applying for tourist visas who have property, permanent jobs, well-established bank accounts, etc. and have gotten denied for their tourist visa for insufficient ties to their home country. One can never truly tell what the consulate officer feels like doing on a daily basis but we should all know that all embassies have a daily quota of approvals and denials to fulfill....sounds harsh, but it is true.

What is the quota, is it a percentage?

[Amadia 711]

2 hours ago, Laurel0708 said:

So how can they deny people if they barely know anything about them?

The same way that they approve them and they barely know them.

 

The onus is on all the applicants to present their case to the best of their ability and be truthful of their immigrant intent.

[Amadia 711]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

What is the quota, is it a percentage?

When I attended my visa interview, I scheduled my parents for their tourist visa interview on the same day. They were called up and stood at the window for 10 minutes, envelope still in hand when my mother was handed the white paper with the denial; no docs review at all, only questions back and forth between my mom, dad and the IO.

When I was called for my interview after sorting my paperwork, I casually mentioned to the officer that my parents came with me to attend their B2 interview but just left to go outside since they got the denial for immigrant intent.

He very nicely explained that this is not uncommon to get a denial especially if they are interviewing the same day as my visa interview for permanent residence. The lady next to him near the other window said to him...in a lowered tone....that they were just following quota.

 

Truthfully, I have yet to find an article about a % of approvals and denials. The Dept of Homeland Security is charging persons for visa applications, saying the cost covers investigations, etc. but then the intent is to deny some because consulates have a mandated quota of approvals and denials. Uncle Sam could end up in hot water if said "mandated quota" is publicly posted.

[Boiler 45,486]

8 minutes ago, Amadia said:

When I attended my visa interview, I scheduled my parents for their tourist visa interview on the same day. They were called up and stood at the window for 10 minutes, envelope still in hand when my mother was handed the white paper with the denial; no docs review at all, only questions back and forth between my mom, dad and the IO.

When I was called for my interview after sorting my paperwork, I casually mentioned to the officer that my parents came with me to attend their B2 interview but just left to go outside since they got the denial for immigrant intent.

He very nicely explained that this is not uncommon to get a denial especially if they are interviewing the same day as my visa interview for permanent residence. The lady next to him near the other window said to him...in a lowered tone....that they were just following quota.

 

Truthfully, I have yet to find an article about a % of approvals and denials. The Dept of Homeland Security is charging persons for visa applications, saying the cost covers investigations, etc. but then the intent is to deny some because consulates have a mandated quota of approvals and denials. Uncle Sam could end up in hot water if said "mandated quota" is publicly posted.

There are no Docs to review for a Tourist visa, well in most cases, you file the application beforehand.

 

The percentage of approvals and denials are published and do vary significantly by Consulate as you might expect so do they have a Quota by Consulate?

[Laurel0708 21]

1 hour ago, YecaCruz said:

Wanted to share our experience with you.

We tried to see if my husband's younger brother could get a tourist visa on two separate occasions. Once in 2016 and then again in 2017.

 

The first time it was just to visit us and the CO was in utter disbelief that my husband's greencard came so fast that she kept saying stuff like "it's impossible he was approved so quickly". Instead of asking questions about my bro-in-law she was focused on my husband and his quick green card processing. Was denied quickly. Thanks for nothing, lady!

 

Second the plan was to meet in Ohio for the Gold Cup when Nicaragua's soccer team advanced in the tourney then he would come back with us to ND. He was denied again.

 

He has a full ride scholarship to UCA in telecommunications and engineering (or something like that, he's a really brilliant kid). I would have thought that would be a great case to convince the CO...'twas not.  I guess just like families, houses, or jobs they've probably seen that education is thrown down the drain and abandoned once they come to the US on a tourist visa. Neither of the times was the CO interested in seeing proof of his full ride scholarship or his top-of-his class grades or anything. I don't blame them though it still stings as so many people tricked the system in the past, y'know. There's a reason they gotta be so strict.

 

Since then my bro-in-law has travelled to a few places within CA with his passport. So maybe after he graduates and gets a job we might try again.  The only thing you can do is try. It's just very hard to get a tourist visa as a youngster in Nicaragua without stuff like a good job or family (as in a spouse and kids). We try to visit Nicaragua when we scrape together enough funds to do that since at the moment, none of his family have the hopes of being able to come here.

 

Good luck!

I appreciated your story, and it's neat that your husband is from Nicaragua. Hopefully the fact that she has to remain in the job for two years after graduating will be some sort of proof. My husband's sisters have actually grown up in Costa Rica. Their mother and father have residency through work (dad has been in the same position for close to twenty years), and they have it through their parents. One of the reasons I am thinking of just applying for one at first is because I would rather only lose one fee rather than two. 

[Laurel0708 21]

1 hour ago, Amadia said:

The same way that they approve them and they barely know them.

 

The onus is on all the applicants to present their case to the best of their ability and be truthful of their immigrant intent.

I know. I mean in comparison with a K-1 or green card. They saw text messages, photos, plane tickets, relationship history. They knew everything about our relationship before they were given a chance to approve or deny.

[Boiler 45,486]

How would she be forced to remain in her job?

 

You are paying for the application fee, a present.

[Laurel0708 21]

Just now, Boiler said:

How would she be forced to remain in her job?

 

You are paying for the application fee, a present.

It's kind of like a scholarship to the university, but the deal is that if she remains in the job for two years, not only will she be paid a regular salary, but they will also pay off all of her student debt (university costs). So, no they won't handcuff her and bring her there, but it's a contract that's not supposed to be broken.

[Boiler 45,486]

To be honest sounds more a negative than a positive.

[Amadia 711]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

There are no Docs to review for a Tourist visa, well in most cases, you file the application beforehand.

 

The percentage of approvals and denials are published and do vary significantly by Consulate as you might expect so do they have a Quota by Consulate?

Documents are checked at the US embassy in Trinidad. When I applied for my tourist visa, I was asked for my letter of employment and my bank account statement.

 

It seems like approvals and denials are stated based on processed applications....and not quotas of potential approvals and denials. I can only think that quota by consulate would vary based on the actual country (high fraud, low risk, etc etc.) Maybe we are straying off topic

[YecaCruz 379]

18 minutes ago, Laurel0708 said:

I appreciated your story, and it's neat that your husband is from Nicaragua. Hopefully the fact that she has to remain in the job for two years after graduating will be some sort of proof. My husband's sisters have actually grown up in Costa Rica. Their mother and father have residency through work (dad has been in the same position for close to twenty years), and they have it through their parents. One of the reasons I am thinking of just applying for one at first is because I would rather only lose one fee rather than two. 

Yeah hopefully! You won't know until you try. You may be pleasantly surprised or unpleasantly disappointed. 50/50 chance right?

[Amadia 711]

17 minutes ago, Laurel0708 said:

I mean in comparison with a K-1 or green card.

The criteria for approval would differ for immigrant versus non-immigrant visa. Immigrant visas ask for proof of relationship to the US citizen/resident who is petitioning the applicant and said petitioner has to complete an Affidavit of Support legally binding them to bear the financial burden for the applicant (where necessary) whereas a non-immigrant visa applicant has to show ties to their home country, prove that they would return home when vacation is over and not end up a public charge to the US govt.

 

I believe you got your answer several responses up as well.

[Boiler 45,486]

50/50 refers to the outcome, not the success rate.

 

Not that it is essentially a chance based process.

[MacUK 983]

What would be the point of having quotas for denials?

All countries love genuine tourists who show up, spend money, then sod off!

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why any country would restrict genuine tourists by having quotas.

[jan22 3,053]

The idea that there is a quota for issauces and denials has been posted here as a fact several times before.  It is not true -- THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO QUOTA THAT CONSULAR OFFICERS MUST MEET IN TERMS OF DENIALS VS ISSUANCE.  NONE.  ZERO.  ZILCH.  Every case is looked at individually, on its own merits.  Sorry to shout , but this -- obviously -- pushed my buttons.  Rumors like this that are presented as facts contribute to peoples' misunderstanding of the process and its requirements and can, in some cases, lead some to consider committing fraud.

 

The closest thing to a quota that an officer faces is an expectation that each officer will process a certain number of cases per day (i.e., an expectation for the number of interviews each officer will conduct) -- a number that varies from country to country and within a country depending on the experience level of the officer and the category of visas being interviewed.  There is NO set expectation of how many of those cases will be issued or denied.