Student or Tourist Visa (from Thailand)

[BirdBird 0]

For a friend of a friend:

Is one or the other visa type far harder to get?

Where does one get information on that? 

 

 

 

[Adventine 3,196]

***Moved from CEHST forum to Tourist Visa forum***

 

A few things:

 

1. The friend of your friend should be asking the questions here.

 

2. The questions should not be which one is harder or easier to get. If the intention is to study, apply for a student visa. If it is to have a vacation, apply for a tourist visa. Otherwise, it just looks like fishing for whatever way is easiest to get to the States, nevermind the true reason.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Well considering that for a student visa you need to have applied somewhere for a course of study, been accepted, and show the CO that you have funds to pay for the course, a student visa is generally more hassle. Which one (if either) you are more “likely” to get depends on your own circumstances, most specifically your ties to home, so often someone who would be denied for one on the basis of lack of ties to home would be denied for both.

[Joe Kano 327]

It seems as if student is much easier to get.

 

I have seen two student recently enter the USA from Philippines staying at the same family, they are bringing their relatives over.

 

Once they pass the ILETS Test which is a test to prove you understand English, the wait was about 5 weeks for the interview.  I think you don't have to do a medical either.  Petitioner only needs $25K in bank per each student.

 

Seems rather quick and easy process to me, here is a local community college near me information for F1 Student visa:

 

Initial F-1 Visa Applicants - Collin College

[Joe Kano 327]

5 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Well considering that for a student visa you need to have applied somewhere for a course of study, been accepted, and show the CO that you have funds to pay for the course, a student visa is generally more hassle. Which one (if either) you are more “likely” to get depends on your own circumstances, most specifically your ties to home, so often someone who would be denied for one on the basis of lack of ties to home would be denied for both.

I haven't seen the "Ties" you talk about being an issue.

 

My now wife went she arrived she had a cousin who had been in the USA for a while on a student visa, I am positive she would of been denied a tourist visa from Philippines due to her youth and not having any ties.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

3 hours ago, Joe Kano said:

I haven't seen the "Ties" you talk about being an issue.

 

My now wife went she arrived she had a cousin who had been in the USA for a while on a student visa, I am positive she would of been denied a tourist visa from Philippines due to her youth and not having any ties.

Plenty of posts on plenty of forums about student visas being denied for this reason. Your wife is not the entirety of visa experiences. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

By the way if Vanderbilt, a T20 college has a whole page advising student applicants what to do if denied under 214b for lack of ties, it is clearly an issue. 
https://www.vanderbilt.edu/isss/immigration/travel/visa-renewal-information/visa-denial-information/

[Joe Kano 327]

29 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Plenty of posts on plenty of forums about student visas being denied for this reason. Your wife is not the entirety of visa experiences. 

I have seen three student visa.  2 of them came to USA within the last couple of months

 

How many student visa has your family members or friend applied for?

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Top US college  (among other colleges) has a webpage that gives detailed advice on what is clearly a common problem (including noting some student applicants will never get a visa because they cannot demonstrate enough ties), arbitrary anon VJ poster claims he knows a few people for whom it hasn’t been an issue therefore makes broad sweeping statements, take your pick on who to believe as to whether or not it can be a problem lol

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

20 minutes ago, Joe Kano said:

How many student visa has your family members or friend applied for?

Have you ever heard the saying anecdotes are not data? No.. I guess not. If it was just my family and friends that I based experiences on, then I would claim that a tourist visa is super easy guaranteed because literally no one I know who applied ever got denied for a US tourist visa regardless age, occupation or even having a USC boyfriend in one case (that person did only get a one year visa rather than the usual ten year). However I am also aware enough that the limited experience of people I know does not translate into truths across the entire experience.

 

 

Edited August 1, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[Boiler 45,525]

Appointments for tourist visas seem difficult to get so my vote is Student visa.

[Rocio0010 5,579]

3 hours ago, Joe Kano said:

I have seen three student visa.  2 of them came to USA within the last couple of months

 

How many student visa has your family members or friend applied for?

If we are using personal anecdotes, then I can counterbalance your argument by telling you the ties I had to show to my home country when I applies for my F1: a deed to my apartment, a letter from my employer, bills under my name, etc.

So your wife is only a sample of all the students that are coming here. Just because she had it easy it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy for everyone, just like my experience doesn’t mean that everybody is going to have it hard.

Back to OP, your friend seems to be fishing for a way to get here. The visa depends on the purpose of the person coming here. If they want to study, it’s an F1; if they want to visit, it’s a B2. Period.

[Adventine 3,196]

Well, since we're already on the subject of anecdata, I also know someone from the Philippines, with a valid US tourist visa and who had a good travel history and significant assets, had travelled to the US many times. This person then applied for a student visa and was denied by the Embassy because they didn't think the applicant needed to go to a US school, and could get the same education in the PH. The tourist visa was NOT revoked and the person travelled to the US for tourism again after the student visa denial.

 

So the ease or difficulty of getting a student or tourist visa seems subjective and dependent on the totality of the applicant's circumstances, as well as how convincing their case is for either type of application.

 

[SalishSea 17,836]

2 hours ago, Adventine said:

Well, since we're already on the subject of anecdata, I also know someone from the Philippines, with a valid US tourist visa and who had a good travel history and significant assets, had travelled to the US many times. This person then applied for a student visa and was denied by the Embassy because they didn't think the applicant needed to go to a US school, and could get the same education in the PH. The tourist visa was NOT revoked and the person travelled to the US for tourism again after the student visa denial.

 

So the ease or difficulty of getting a student or tourist visa seems subjective and dependent on the totality of the applicant's circumstances, as well as how convincing their case is for either type of application.

 

Now we wait for one of the participants on this thread to suggest your friend's tourist visa was not revoked because she had an invitation and affidavit of support from someone in the US......

[Adventine 3,196]

6 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Now we wait for one of the participants on this thread to suggest your friend's tourist visa was not revoked because she had an invitation and affidavit of support from someone in the US......

 

Oh, I'm sure the thought has crossed certain participants' minds. 🤣 Too bad, that friend of mine never needed an invitation or affidavit of support for the tourist visa. And neither did I, nor anyone else I know who successfully obtained US tourist visas in the PH. Everyone applied based on their own merits, and were approved based on their personal circumstances, as is usually recommended on this site.