B2 Tourist Visa for Vietnamese Wife: DS-160 Questions

[Bill Hamze 89]

We’re planning a visit to the U.S. in January 2020 during the Vietnamese “Tet” holiday (when she’s off work). We want to visit my mother and plan to stay with her for the duration of our trip, which will be 2 weeks or less. 

 

So, here are some background details about myself and my wife, and further down the post are some questions on how to fill out the DS-160 form. My confusion is mostly around which addresses to use and where.

 

 

ABOUT ME:

 

• 39 year old American-born U.S. citizen
• Owns an online business (marketing) where I can work from anywhere.
• Domiciled in Texas 
• Has lived and traveled abroad since mid-2016, and now spends most of his time in Vietnam.
• Last visit to the U.S. was in late 2017
• Mother lives in Virginia, Father passed away
• Siblings: 1 sister, 2 half-brothers (none currently lives with Mother)
• Got married 1 year ago to a Vietnamese national (see her details underneath).
• Now lives with his wife (who rents an apartment in her name)

 

 

ABOUT HER:

 

• 26 year old Vietnamese citizen
• Works at a multinational company as an employee under a labor contract.
• Parents live in a small town a few hours from Ho Chi Minh city
• Siblings: 1 sister, 1 brother, both living in Ho Chi Minh city
• Rents an apartment on 1-year lease in Ho Chi Minh city (we live together, so I share the same address as hers).
• Has bank accounts, earns a salary (not that large), and is currently servicing some outstanding loans. No ownership of any real estate
• Currently supports her sister because she is in university (pays her tuition and helps pay her rent, etc).
• Travel history: 3 international trips - Thailand, Bali, and Singapore (in that order).
• Never been to the U.S. and has never applied for any visa.

 

 

We have NO immigration petition pending. We have no intention of migrating to the U.S. at this time, and plan to remain in Vietnam for the foreseeable future.

 

I’ve been telling her to get an employment letter permitting her to take time off, that which also stipulates that she comes back to work on February 3rd once the Tet holiday ends.

 

 

HER TIES TO HER HOME COUNTRY:

 

• Family
• Job 
• Employer’s letter of permission to take time off
• Outstanding loans
• Apartment lease in her name
• Bank account (but balance is not high)
• My current address in VN (the fact that I live in VN with her)

 

 

POTENTIAL RED FLAGS?

 

• Me   I’m a USC spouse
• Planning to stay at my mother’s place instead of a hotel
• She can’t pay for the trip herself, so I will be paying for her airfare and travel expenses
• The fact that this is Vietnam we’re talking about (B2 abuse, etc…)
• ?? (did I miss anything?)

 

 

MY QUESTIONS:

 

1. Bring notarized invitation letter to interview, or leave it at home?

 

A month ago, I told my mom to write my wife an invitation letter and notarize a page with my mother’s name, address, birthdate, and employment info on it. I previously thought it would help matters, but on second thought, maybe not. The CO - if he/she even sees the letter at all - might think “wow, you went through all this trouble to notarize an invitation letter… for a visitor visa? Isn’t this normally done for immigration visas, eh?” So yeah, it might hurt her case more than it may help it. Thoughts on that point?

 

 

2. Who do we put down for the “Contact Person in the U.S.” on the DS-160? 

 

My mother, or myself? Right now I don’t live in the U.S., but I am domiciled in Texas, which is where we are NOT going - we are going to Virginia to visit my mother (and stay at her place). So do we put down my mother as the U.S. contact in this case?  If not... if it must be ME, then which address do I put in? My U.S. address in Texas, or my current Vietnam address? (in which case, how exactly can we use my mom's address as the destination?)

 

 

3. Under “Other Relatives” on DS-160, do we put my mother as a “relative” or “other” (from the dropdown menu)? 

 

I asked this question before recently, and I understood that in-laws don’t count as relatives. But in this specific case, should we put her down anyway under “other relatives” as a “relative” because we ARE planning to stay at HER place?  

 

 

Look forward to your answers. TIA

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by Bill Hamze

[Unlockable 7,314]

1. So, the whole invitation letter is a foreigners myth. And we still struggle to understand why so many people believe it will help. The CO is more interested in why a person must return home (strong ties) than why they want to visit the US. I can pick out of a hat a 1000 reasons why a person wants to visit the US. Times square, Hollywood walk of Fame, Grand Canyon, Mt Rushmore, etc etc. Do you need a letter of invitation if you want to vacation to Italy or Australia? If you don't know absolutely nobody in those country how would you be able to vacation there without someone writing you a invitation letter? You now see how a letter is absurd?  So that is why officers rarely look at such documents.

 

2. If you have domicile in the US, you can put yourself. Again, a person does not have to physically know someone in the US to visit. The US approves millions of visitor visas per year and they are people who have no US contacts at all. They are just coming to sight see and tour things.

 

3. For the third time, you are focusing too much on your mother. Just because you are staying with your mother doesn't change to answer. This is not what they are looking for. If they ask who she will be staying with... she answers. If they ask if she has any relatives that are NOT in-laws... she answers no.

 

You are making this more complicated than it needs to be. Your wife applies under her own merits. All this added stuff is just futile information.

[Bill Hamze 89]

Unlockable, thanks for your response. 

 

Fair enough, I wasn't privy to the invitation letter myth - sorry if that question has been asked hundreds of times before. 

 

Let's say we forget about the invitation letter, and forget about putting my mother's details on the form. 

 

If my wife fills out the DS-160 in the following way:

• Destination address: My mom's home address
• Who pays for trip = Other Person (Me)
• Travel companion = Me
• U.S. Contact = Me, with my U.S. address being the Texas domicile
• Immediate relatives = only Me
• Other relatives = None
• Spouse section = Me, with all my information but with my current address in Vietnam, NOT my Texas address (this section allows her to enter a different address)

 

Would this work better? It wouldn't look suspicious to the CO in any way, would it?

 

 

Edited August 23, 2019 by Bill Hamze

[ElDiablo 95]

28 minutes ago, Bill Hamze said:

Unlockable, thanks for your response. 

 

Fair enough, I wasn't privy to the invitation letter myth - sorry if that question has been asked hundreds of times before. 

 

Let's say we forget about the invitation letter, and forget about putting my mother's details on the form. 

 

If my wife fills out the DS-160 in the following way:

• Destination address: My mom's home address
• Who pays for trip = Other Person (Me)
• Travel companion = Me
• U.S. Contact = Me, with my U.S. address being the Texas domicile
• Immediate relatives = only Me
• Other relatives = None
• Spouse section = Me, with all my information but with my current address in Vietnam, NOT my Texas address (this section allows her to enter a different address)

 

Would this work better? It wouldn't look suspicious to the CO in any way, would it?

 

 

It's not about looking suspicious, it's about telling the truth. If those are the truthful answers then they are the answers.

 

You are overthinking this way too much. Just answer the question which is asked. Simple.

[Bill Hamze 89]

13 minutes ago, ElDiablo said:

It's not about looking suspicious, it's about telling the truth. If those are the truthful answers then they are the answers.

 

You are overthinking this way too much. Just answer the question which is asked. Simple.

 

Admittedly I worded this poorly. I just want to get her to fill out the DS-160 form accurately and honestly, and I rather overthink it than to go about it haphazardly (and get it wrong). 

 

And yes, my domicile is in Texas, but we're visiting Virginia, and I currently live with my wife in Vietnam. So that'd be the truth. Just want to make an effort to reflect that truth as accurately as we can.

[Crazy Cat 41,836]

To be honest, I'd say she has about a 40% chance of success.....just my opinion.......While she does have some decent ties to her country, her marriage to you will harm her chances, as will the short time of your marriage, imo.  Some people have left jobs, children, possessions to stay in the US.   By law, all visitor seekers are already assumed to be trying to enter the US to stay.......but my opinion doesn't count.  It all revolves around what the Consulate Officer thinks........All it will cost her (you) is $160 to find out..........good luck....Please let us know the results of her interview.

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

If I were you, I would forget about the Texas address and just put your Vietnamese address in everything. It is not a lie, as you're are currently living in Vietnam and will be living in Vietnam for the foreseeable future. One can make an argument that you actually have domicile in Vietnam (which is a good thing for your wife's application) and you just happen to own a house or condo in Texas (that you keep referring to as domicile). 

 

With this B2 visa thing, all you can do is prepare all you can, throw everything at them that you think would help, and see. It is Vietnam, like you said, and things are a little touchy there. I went to college in the US and during the whole time, my mom applied 3 times (2 for my two graduations and one for a professional conference) to get the visitor visa and was denied all three. She was a dentist (retired now), owned her house, lived with her father and her other son, had her own private practice as well as a shareholder in a company that my Dad left behind. And then there were people who were given visas with much less. It is not in any logical way these visas are issued, at least in Vietnam

[Bill Hamze 89]

12 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

If I were you, I would forget about the Texas address and just put your Vietnamese address in everything.

 

Only problem with that is the U.S. Point of Contact section only accepts an U.S. address. Can't leave it blank either. Maybe put my mother and her home address (which we'll be visiting on this trip) instead of my Texas address? 

 

I know, I know, it's not about me, it's about her and her merits, but...

 

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

5 minutes ago, Bill Hamze said:

Only problem with that is the U.S. Point of Contact section only accepts an U.S. address. Can't leave it blank either. Maybe put my mother and her home address (which we'll be visiting on this trip) instead of my Texas address?

Sure. The way to want to present it is that you live in Vietnam with her. That's where the two of you want to live for the considerable future. This is just to visit your mother, pure and simple. No mention anything in Texas unless specifically asked about it. 

[arken 4,197]

4 minutes ago, Bill Hamze said:

 

Only problem with that is the U.S. Point of Contact section only accepts an U.S. address. Can't leave it blank either. Maybe put my mother and her home address (which we'll be visiting on this trip) instead of my Texas address? 

 

I know, I know, it's not about me, it's about her and her merits, but...

 

Your mother as US point of contact would be better with your address in Vietnam. The moment you wife gets a chance to speak, make sure she tells the CO that you are also living in Vietnam and both of you are going to visit your mom, visit some places and return back

[Bill Hamze 89]

1 minute ago, arken said:

Your mother as US point of contact would be better with your address in Vietnam. The moment you wife gets a chance to speak, make sure she tells the CO that you are also living in Vietnam and both of you are going to visit your mom, visit some places and return back

 

2 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

Sure. The way to want to present it is that you live in Vietnam with her. That's where the two of you want to live for the considerable future. This is just to visit your mother, pure and simple. No mention anything in Texas unless specifically asked about it. 

 

Thanks arken and USS_Voyager. I'm much more clear about this right now, and it's the best way to represent the truth.

 

 

25 minutes ago, missileman said:

To be honest, I'd say she has about a 40% chance of success.....just my opinion.......While she does have some decent ties to her country, her marriage to you will harm her chances, as will the short time of your marriage, imo.  Some people have left jobs, children, possessions to stay in the US.   By law, all visitor seekers are already assumed to be trying to enter the US to stay.......but my opinion doesn't count.  It all revolves around what the Consulate Officer thinks........All it will cost her (you) is $160 to find out..........good luck....Please let us know the results of her interview.

 

40% chance sounds about right. I will let you guys know how it goes. Thank you!

[USS_Voyager 1,972]

4 minutes ago, Bill Hamze said:

40% chance sounds about right. I will let you guys know how it goes. Thank you!

Good luck! Although don't hold your breath. 

 

Does your Mom want to visit Vietnam by chance? Maybe you could offer to pay for her trip (1 ticket is cheaper than 2) :))

[Bill Hamze 89]

6 minutes ago, USS_Voyager said:

Good luck! Although don't hold your breath. 

 

Does your Mom want to visit Vietnam by chance? Maybe you could offer to pay for her trip (1 ticket is cheaper than 2) :))

 

Yeah, she already has visited us for our wedding which took place here. She loved it and definitely is going to be back. My hope is that my wife gets that tourist visa so we can visit her on alternate years (mom visits us on odd-numbered years, we visit them on even-numbered years when we renew her B2). 

 

But yeah. Keep expectations somewhat low and not get our hopes up too much. If it doesn't pan out, we might try meeting in a third country like Spain or Japan.

Edited August 23, 2019 by Bill Hamze

[Cathi 5,747]

You aren't domiciled in Texas if you're living in Vietnam. You own property in Texas that you don't live in. You're domiciled in Vietnam.

[Lil bear 4,189]

3 minutes ago, Cathi said:

You aren't domiciled in Texas if you're living in Vietnam. You own property in Texas that you don't live in. You're domiciled in Vietnam.

Not necessarily ... https://www.google.com/search?q=domicile+or+residence&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS846US846&oq=domicile+or+residence&aqs=chrome..69i57.18623j0j0&hl=en-GB&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8