Applying for Tourist Visa with a Pending F1 Category Application

[PD10052015 1]

I know this probably has been asked multiple times but i'm interested to know if there are any new successful applicants with the same situation.

 

Basically, my sister is currently being petitioned by our mom. Her PD is October 2015, F1 Category in the Philippines. I know the wait for this preference (thankfully and hopefully will continue to speed up) is moving at a good phase as of the last couple of months. At this rate, her PD could become current in about 2-3 years.

 

However, i'm interested to know what are my sister's chances of getting approved for a Tourist Visa to temporarily visit us here in the US. Everyone in my family has traveled to visit us except for her and I really want to make her upcoming birthday extra special by giving her the trip as a gift.

 

She's currently self-employed owning a business in the Philippines. She owns a car which she makes payments on and she also owns a house. She's travelled to and has been granted to a few other countries (Japan, South Korea) which she never over-stayed in.

Has anyone had a similar situation? What was the outcome? Thank you so much!

[geowrian 22,338]

Apply and find out. There's really not much else to it.

Good luck.

[PD10052015 1]

26 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Apply and find out. There's really not much else to it.

Good luck.

I'm not really asking for chance of approval to warrant an "apply and find out" kind of response since I know that is highly variable. I'm more interested to know if anyone has had any recent success with a similar situation or if the outcome isn't favorable what reasons have been cited.

 

But thanks, I guess...

Edited February 20, 2020 by lord-of-mischief

[Boiler 45,912]

If you go through this section you will find a variety, approvals and denials. Now what constitutes a similar situation?

[PD10052015 1]

15 minutes ago, Boiler said:

If you go through this section you will find a variety, approvals and denials. Now what constitutes a similar situation?

I did and I have made notes on some of the cases I saw while browsing but i’m curious if there are more who might be able to share their results and experiences (because I thought that’s what a forum does). 
 

Similar situation would be someone with a pending family-based petition that’s projected to become current within the next 5 years. The reason for all of this is because we are trying to be smart with our decisions especially since I mentioned that her PD might become current within the next couple of years. By asking for similar experiences and results, we are hoping to identify some sort of trend that would help us make the right move for her case. I’ve read some outdated articles that says sometimes the PD movement and wait time can be a factor on approvals. This prompted my curiosity to see if this is still current; hence, my asking about recent cases.

[Boiler 45,912]

I sort of assume it is not her pending petition that is likely to be the issue, more the other more normal factors. Intending to immigrate is sort of assumed, here she has a path but not for sometime.

 

 

[PD10052015 1]

3 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I sort of assume it is not her pending petition that is likely to be the issue, more the other more normal factors. Intending to immigrate is sort of assumed, here she has a path but not for sometime.

 

 

Yes, that was my original thought too that’s why I mentioned the info about her current ties to the Philippines (business owner, properties). But some people close to us have been saying that sometimes there are instances when the consul would be more lenient especially if the PD is becoming current very soon. The immigration intent is there and known and it’s inevitable. So there’s a good chance of getting a tourist visa. 

 

However, I currently don’t have the numbers that would support this theory. That’s why I was hoping to gather some insights about it in this forum through other’s experiences.

[Boiler 45,912]

There are no numbers, anything you see on line is likely to be subjective and inherently biased.

 

You say she is a Business Owner, so compare her with other Business Owners. But it would be reasonable to assume there would be a big difference between somebody who employs 5 to somebody who employs 1,000.

 

We sort of go back to the first point, 

[PD10052015 1]

Which I disagree with. My whole point is that i’m trying to build data regarding the recent trend. I know and I acknowledge that everything is highly variable but at least with the facts, we’ll be more smart in making our decisions.

Forgive me for trying to be scientific about this. I didn’t know this sort of approach isn’t welcome here.

[geowrian 22,338]

I'm not sure what exactly you are looking for nor how a CO will interpret it. All we know is she is a business owner who has traveled to southeast Asia with US family. The house and car are not really compelling factors here (see below).

 

The pending petition is unlikely to be a significant factor. Even if it were considered, it would only be a negative. Presumably she is able & willing to close the business, or have somebody else run it when she immigrates. She has no use for the car or house when she immigrates either. So they're not exactly a compelling reason to come back, not to mention it's not really that difficult to sell or store them in PH while living abroad.

 

Nothing you've mentioned is something that jumps out as "she would have a hard time leaving those behind".

At the same time, I've certainly seen people with even fewer ties get approved.

It's not chance-based process. The individual CO that weighs her circumstances certainly matters, but how exactly that particular CO will weigh her specific circumstances is impossible to know.

 

I've seen people in similar situations gets approved. I've seen people in similar situations get refused. I use "similar" loosely here, as we only have a very small glimpse of her - and the vast majority of others who have applied - circumstances.

 

You could, for example, find maybe 20 people who are FB-1 beneficiaries that are business owners from PH. The point is If 15 of them got the visa, it says virtually nothing about whether or not she will let the visa.

 

Hence the suggestion to just apply and find out. Anything else is just going to obfuscate the situation.

 

9 minutes ago, lord-of-mischief said:

The immigration intent is there and known and it’s inevitable. So there’s a good chance of getting a tourist visa. 

That seems very counter-intuitive. She is presumed to have immigrant intent by law. The petition here is unlikely to be a significant factor IMO, but it can only show even stronger intent.

A tourist visa can only be issued if they can overcome the presumption of immigrant intent. See INA 214(b). Just because she will eventually immigrate does not mean she is more likely to get a tourist visa.

The CO must believe not just that she won't overstay or otherwise violate status, but that she won't use the tourist visa to come to the US and adjust status there (instead of going through consular processing) once her PD is current.

 

1 minute ago, lord-of-mischief said:

Which I disagree with. My whole point is that i’m trying to build data regarding the recent trend. I know and I acknowledge that everything is highly variable but at least with the facts, we’ll be more smart in making our decisions.

Forgive me for trying to be scientific about this. I didn’t know this sort of approach isn’t welcome here.

What decision is there to make exactly? She applies and possibly gets the visa or she doesn't and she doesn't get the visa.

If the concern is the $160 application fee being lost, then a tourist visa probably isn't the best idea anyway.

 

Data is welcome. Well, "good" data anyway, IMHO. Variability isn't the issue here.

[Boiler 45,912]

Not a question of not welcome, it is just not possible. To be scientific you need data and it simply is not available.

 

There is only one decision to make, she can apply or not. And it is only $160 to find out.

[SusieQQQ 11,587]

2 hours ago, lord-of-mischief said:

I'm not really asking for chance of approval to warrant an "apply and find out" kind of response since I know that is highly variable. I'm more interested to know if anyone has had any recent success with a similar situation or if the outcome isn't favorable what reasons have been cited.

 

But thanks, I guess...

You want someone with a soon-ish to be current petition, from a country with high refusals for young singles, who owns (but not outright) a car, and a house, and is self employed, who recently applied, to tell you their experience? And lots of these , so the data can be considered good?

Edited February 20, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[SalishSea 18,073]

12 hours ago, lord-of-mischief said:

Which I disagree with. My whole point is that i’m trying to build data regarding the recent trend. I know and I acknowledge that everything is highly variable but at least with the facts, we’ll be more smart in making our decisions.

Forgive me for trying to be scientific about this. I didn’t know this sort of approach isn’t welcome here.

One doesn’t “build data” by seeking anecdotal evidence on an online forum.

[arken 4,197]

12 hours ago, lord-of-mischief said:

Which I disagree with. My whole point is that i’m trying to build data regarding the recent trend. I know and I acknowledge that everything is highly variable but at least with the facts, we’ll be more smart in making our decisions.

Forgive me for trying to be scientific about this. I didn’t know this sort of approach isn’t welcome here.

People here are simply suggesting that there is no point in doing regression analysis or data computing whichever you are trying to do. There is no smart decisions in visitor visa applications unlike other immigrant visas. One just applies for it. No documents can be attached during the application. The result could be decided on the spot by the CO without asking any questions.

 

There are cases where a spouse with pending i130 with already current PD has been approved for visitor visa while a brother or son with no i130 petition has been denied. A same person could get denied by one CO but be approved by the other. For visitor visas, it’s all random and some luck. No analysis can predict the outcome,

Edited February 20, 2020 by arken

[Mollie09 1,543]

13 hours ago, lord-of-mischief said:

Which I disagree with. My whole point is that i’m trying to build data regarding the recent trend. I know and I acknowledge that everything is highly variable but at least with the facts, we’ll be more smart in making our decisions.

Forgive me for trying to be scientific about this. I didn’t know this sort of approach isn’t welcome here.

Can she afford $160? Yes - apply. No - don't apply.