Bringing my sister (tourist visa)

[Orangesapples 1,954]

2 minutes ago, Allovertheworld said:

OP states single with 3 kids living with partner

 

 

But then talks about her sister's husband. 

[Allovertheworld 355]

2 hours ago, Unlockable said:

Once again, there is no official requirement for a 3rd party in the US, or anywhere else in the world, to provide the applicant with any documents. 
 

Please provide a link to your sources.

 

Source: A real Consular Officer who does the actual visa interview.  It from the US Embassy in Manila, an Official US Government employee who do or used to do video on Visa in the Philippines and how to apply.   Sure don't get more official than from the horses mouth..........

 

I think this is the same guy who conducted my visa interview, He seemed to be more excited about my approval than I was. Interesting character he was and super nice

[Allovertheworld 355]

2 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

But then talks about her sister's husband. 

They don't use the term him or her in Philippines. I "think" she is saying her husband (OP) is providing for her sisters family.

 

Just my opinion, but it makes more sense

 

 

[minimum20 0]

4 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

But then talks about her sister's husband. 

Oops! I just checked, I said husband. Sorry for the confusion. It is her live in partner.. 

[Allovertheworld 355]

Sorry Skip to the 3 minute mark it where they talk about "Tourist Visa'

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

No harm in bringing documents that show your case.

Very little chance they will ever look at them or consider any such documents, though.

Official word from the DOS is here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html

Quote

Note: Visa applicants must qualify on the basis of the applicant's residence and ties abroad, rather than assurances from U.S. family and friends. A letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support is not needed to apply for a visitor visa. If you choose to bring a letter of invitation or Affidavit of Support to your interview, please remember it is not one of the factors used in determining whether to issue or deny the visa.

This pretty clearly states that a letter of invitation is not something they will consider.

COs aren't typically questioning why somebody would want to visit their family. They don't need a letter for that.

 

I have seen cases from Manila where people did not provide invitation letters and got refused. They later applied with invitation letters and got approved. I also have seen many cases where they were still refused.

There is no data suggesting the letters had any impact on the result. There's plenty of conjecture, but only the CO knows why they reached a particular decision.

The only official word we have to go on is above.

[Raja007 67]

10 hours ago, Unlockable said:

It is NOT incorrect information. What you are referring to is for the applicant. Not from a relative in the US. The supporting docs should be docs showing the applicants stable jobs, property ownership, bank account's and such. The OP is asking about what documents they provide, which is nothing.

 

And there are many cases here on VJ where an invitation letter did nothing. The interviewing officers did not even look at them.

 

I applied for my parents and sister a year ago and I provided all the documentation that I will be bearing all the expenses of their trip to USA. The officer gave visas to my parents without asking a single question but denied my sister because according to the officer she couldn't prove her strong ties with her home country and she is young and single. Like the answer says it all depends on your sister how successfully she can prove her ties otherwise she likely be denied wish her all the best 

[Chancy 6,241]

14 hours ago, chimchim said:

Hello everyone! I would like to ask for information or advices on how to bring my sister here in America through tourist visa. I have been in the US for 5yrs now and I haven’t gone home (Philippines) since. As of now she is in the process of getting her passport. I would really appreciate all the informations, suggestions and advices.

 

13 hours ago, chimchim said:

Thank you for the warm welcome! My sister is single but she has 3 kids and is living with her partner. I loaned a house that is in her name as well. Is that good enough reason for strong ties?. Also, I have read some on the website travel.state.gov that she has to be the one to apply. Get her passport, fill up DS-160 and pay the fee. Now, My husband and I would like to be the sponsor for her trip since she doesn’t really have a job for the moment since her husband is the one providing for their family. What are the documents do I have to provide for her application? And what are the requirements she needed or to provide? Thank you!

 

No one here can say for sure whether your sister will be granted or denied a tourist visa.  The only way for her to know is to apply.  Just set your sister's expectations low.  It's unlikely for a working-age Filipina who has no job, to get a tourist visa.  To be approved, an applicant must convince the consul officer (CO) that they have compelling reasons not to overstay or illegally work in the US.

 

Still, it's not impossible.  I was single and unemployed when I got my B2 visa from the US Embassy in Manila (USEM).  That said, it is not helpful to base your sister's chances on my case as our overall circumstances are different.  What might be helpful are the lessons I learned from my own and my friends' experiences, and from reading hundreds of interview testimonies of tourist visa applicants at USEM --

 

• Fill out the DS-160 accurately and completely.  Whatever information you want to highlight, put it on the DS-160 if possible.  The embassy interview usually takes only a few minutes.  This suggests that the CO already made an initial judgement based on the DS-160 and the interview just serves as a final confirmation.

• Be honest, but don't volunteer information at the interview.  When asked, don't lie, but don't say more than what is asked.  If the CO wants more information, they will ask.

• Be consistent.  Answers at the interview should match what's on the DS-160.  Review if needed, to make sure on interview day that you remember the information you submitted.

• Bring supporting documents, but don't expect that they will be looked at.  From all I read online and heard from friends, I know of very few cases where the applicant was asked for supporting documents.  In my case, because I noted that I'm funding my trip even while unemployed, I asked the CO if he wanted to check my documents.  He said no.

 

The official website describes what supporting documents to bring.  As others already mentioned, letters from US-based family and friends will not help --

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html

 

Good luck to your sister!

 

[minimum20 0]

Thank you everyone for all your inputs! I really appreciate it.

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

**** Many posts removed for bickering, personal attacks or quoting same and off topic replies.  Posts should be polite and directly relevant to the OP, or do not post. *****

Edited September 6, 2020 by Penguin_ie

[Celebi 136]

Hi, I just wanted to share my experience when I got my B2 visa last year. My interview only lasted for 2 minutes. Was asked the following questions:

Where are you going? New York City

What are you going to do there? Pre-birthday gift to myself, vacation.

Who are you staying with? My friend

Why does your friend live in NY? My friend lives there as she got married to an NYC resident

Where do you work? At ** (a top US legal research company)

What do you do? Explained my job

Officer then stated, "I used to use your company when I was in law school back in the US. Enjoy your vacation."

 

I remember it so well as if it was yesterday because I couldn't believe how easy it was for me. To be honest, it may have something to do with my job. So it might be true (in my case) that the Immigration Officer already knew if he was going to approve me or not prior to the interview. But it also helped that I did mock interviews with a friend after watching Youtube videos and compiling questions for interviews. 

 

I am not in the same position as your sister. I was in my 30s, single but working at my job for about 5 years then. I have also been to a few countries prior to applying for a visa. I brought with me a lot of documents - invitation from my friend signed by her and her husband, planned itinerary for 3 weeks, employee certificate, bank certificate (prior to coming to the US for a visit, I did not own any credit cards), 2 of my old passports with stamps from other countries I have visited. None of these documents were asked from me but was approved immediately. 

 

There was an older lady (probably late 50s as she said she still works) being interviewed at the other window and the IO asked how long she wanted to stay in the US. She replied 6 months and she asked her how can she still keep her job if she was going to stay that long? She gave her a certificate (maybe from HR with her total number of vacation days?) and other documents proving that she has an accumulation of 6-months worth of vacation days. She was approved. 

 

[MikeB17 0]

Is there less chance of a B2 approval if applicant applies for full 6 months vs say 3 or 4? Is requesting 6 months a red flag?

[powerpuff 6,712]

Zombie thread closed. Please start your own thread to ask questions.