My Colombian wife's successful strategy- B2 visa

[albym 3]

Hi all,

 

So my Colombian wife recently was granted a U.S. Tourist visa after a long journey to ensure we were in the best position to succeed. While our situation is unique, I'll mention it here in case others have similarities. I met my wife 6 years ago while I was living in Bogota (I am American) and we started dating. She is quite a bit younger than I and at the time had just started a university program and she was relatively poor and without assets. Her family was from the coast in the same economic situation so I didn't want to even bother applying at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota to save her the humiliation and money lost when rejected. In fact, I didn't want to apply at the Embassy in Bogota at all since the rejection rate is so high. We decided we would wait for her to get her Bachelor's degree, we'd move to another country where we'd both work, and then have her apply through the U.S. Embassy/Consulate in the 3rd country. During that time, I taught her English as well. 

 

So we waited. She eventually earned her bachelors in her chosen profession in Bogota. We traveled internationally to as many other countries as we could to show evidence that she was a responsible traveler. We then got married in Mexico. I accepted another international job in Dubai with my employer taking care of her visa. After moving to Dubai, she was then able to get a job, a bank account, and save a bit of money. She subsequently applied to the U.S. Consulate in Dubai carrying all of her financial information, resume, work letter/contract, marriage certificate, my financial info. etc. They only asked to see her Colombian passport, work contract and my passport. They asked her 5-6 standard questions and most of the questions were clarifications about my work/visa status in the country. She was then granted the visa. She said the guy in here in Dubai was very nice and professional and made her feel at-ease. 

 

I just wanted to contribute this in case there are others like me who work internationally but would like their foreign spouses to be able to visit home with them. I move countries every 3-5 years anyway, so this strategy worked for me. I firmly believe that my wife not applying in Colombia really helped her chances. Indeed, even with a job in Colombia, it would have been more difficult for her in my opinion. 

Edited March 7, 2020 by albym

[Bill Hamze 89]

Seems like a good strategy. 

 

When my wife interviewed for a B2 and got denied, the CO told her it was "too soon" and that she could reapply in a year. We had been married only a little over a year. But now we've changed our minds and decided to move to the U.S instead of staying in Vietnam, pending approval.

 

In your case, you've been married for several years before you had your wife apply. 

[albym 3]

39 minutes ago, Bill Hamze said:

 

In your case, you've been married for several years before you had your wife apply. 

Hi Bill,

 

To clarify, we were only married 8 months before she applied for and was granted the B2 visa in Dubai, although we dated for several year before that. 

[millefleur 5,046]

Thanks for sharing this story. To be honest, waiting is a good strategy in general when it comes to tourist visas. My mother-in-law successfully got a B-2 recently after waiting 2 years to even apply for one (2 years after we had already been living in the US). During the interview, the IO asked her why she didn't apply sooner, and she said that she was too busy with her life and other family in Russia and didn't have time. It definitely seems like waiting for a while (maybe even years) can help strengthen that there is no desperation to go to the US and that the applicant has a busy life in their home country, thus a strong reason to return.

Edited March 7, 2020 by millefleur

[ninaholm 0]

Wow Congratulates.