Getting B1/B2 in a different country that your own

[SalishSea 18,072]

2 hours ago, Daisy.Chain said:

If you could petition him as a parent, he could visit and then surrender his card/abandon status when he's ready to leave. I think the processing time is around a year but it is more expensive. Not sure if you are a US citizen.

 

This is not good advice.

 

Immigrant visa is for those who want to LIVE in the US, not just visit.  What a huge waste of time and resources, plus - it is not going to be any faster whatsoever.

[GEOntificator 281]

8 hours ago, Daisy.Chain said:

If you could petition him as a parent, he could visit and then surrender his card/abandon status when he's ready to leave. I think the processing time is around a year but it is more expensive. Not sure if you are a US citizen.

 

I still have about 2.5 years until then. Hopefully he gets a visa before that.

[jan22 3,056]

You can schedule an interview for a non-immigrant visa anywhere you want, as long as you have a means to enter that country for your interview. (See the "Schedule an Interview" section of the State Department's website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html). 

 

HOWEVER -- and it's a big however -- you are far less likely to be issued a visa outside your home country, as the consular officers in another country do not have knowledge of the cultural, economical, familial situations in your home country that will constitute "strong ties" to that country that help you qualify for a US visa.  (This does nor apply to those applicants who have an Embassy outside their home country designated as their visa-processing Embassy because they have no options in their home country, e.g., Iran, Venezuela, Russia).

[GEOntificator 281]

1 hour ago, jan22 said:

You can schedule an interview for a non-immigrant visa anywhere you want, as long as you have a means to enter that country for your interview. (See the "Schedule an Interview" section of the State Department's website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/tourism-visit/visitor.html). 

 

HOWEVER -- and it's a big however -- you are far less likely to be issued a visa outside your home country, as the consular officers in another country do not have knowledge of the cultural, economical, familial situations in your home country that will constitute "strong ties" to that country that help you qualify for a US visa.  (This does nor apply to those applicants who have an Embassy outside their home country designated as their visa-processing Embassy because they have no options in their home country, e.g., Iran, Venezuela, Russia).

This is very helpful, thank you so much! I do understand the challenge of getting a visa in a different country. Currently Warsaw wait time shows 25 days vs 679 in my home country.

 

My mother got her visa without any issues and she has traveled back and forth for 3 years now. That has to help my father's application I would imagine. Usually, parents have no issue obtaining a visa in a country where I am from. Many, many of my friends's parents got it without slightest complications.

[millefleur 5,047]

18 minutes ago, kvito28 said:

This is very helpful, thank you so much! I do understand the challenge of getting a visa in a different country. Currently Warsaw wait time shows 25 days vs 679 in my home country.

Please let us know if you have success and what the experience is like if Warsaw allows them to interview there.

[jan22 3,056]

26 minutes ago, kvito28 said:

.....

My mother got her visa without any issues and she has traveled back and forth for 3 years now. That has to help my father's application I would imagine. Usually, parents have no issue obtaining a visa in a country where I am from. Many, many of my friends's parents got it without slightest complications.

Your mother got a visa with no issues... -- in your home country.  Many of your friend's parents got it... -- in your home country.  There is no guarantee that applying in a different country will have the same approval rate/pattern.  Officers in another country may not have access to the information they need to reach the same conclusion on who qualifies for a visa.

 

Your mother's visa and previous travel will not help your father's application.  It could actually be a negative factor.  She has had the visa and traveled without her spouse for three years to visit her child in the US.  Now, after all that time, he wants to travel so quickly that he can't wait for a visa appointment in his own country and is willing to travel to another country just for a visa application -- during an international pandemic.   From a consular officer's perspective, this might be questionable and indicate that maybe they plan to go and stay in the US now.

 

You might certainly be successful and your father get a visa.  I just want to point out that it's not going to be easy and the type of questions he might face.

 

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by jan22

[Daisy.Chain 317]

20 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

This is not good advice.

 

Immigrant visa is for those who want to LIVE in the US, not just visit.  What a huge waste of time and resources, plus - it is not going to be any faster whatsoever.

It's perfectly legal, and has been recommended on this site before. I've heard of some spouses of USC who live abroad, want to visit and can't get approved for a B2 visa that use this way of entry (then turn it in at the end). It would be faster than 679 days if OP was a USC. Since OP is not a USC - moot point at this time!

Edited January 3, 2022 by Daisy.Chain

[SalishSea 18,072]

1 hour ago, Daisy.Chain said:

It's perfectly legal, and has been recommended on this site before. I've heard of some spouses of USC who live abroad, want to visit and can't get approved for a B2 visa that use this way of entry (then turn it in at the end). It would be faster than 679 days if OP was a USC. Since OP is not a USC - moot point at this time!

I don't agree.

 

It is a disingenuous use of that visa, and takes resources away from others who do want to immigrate.

 

And in the grand scheme of things, it still is not faster.

[GEOntificator 281]

Update..

 

I helped my father fill out DS-160 in order to apply in Poland. We paid the fee but unfortunately there are no appointments for non Polish citizens or residents. We called the Embassy a few times and they say that visa appointments for foreign nationals are open, however, there are no available ones as of now. They recommend keep checking the website periodically.

[millefleur 5,047]

26 minutes ago, kvito28 said:

I helped my father fill out DS-160 in order to apply in Poland. We paid the fee but unfortunately there are no appointments for non Polish citizens or residents. We called the Embassy a few times and they say that visa appointments for foreign nationals are open, however, there are no available ones as of now. They recommend keep checking the website periodically.

How did you know the appointments are not available for non-Polish citizens or residents? Did it say that on the website or did you have to call to find out?

[GEOntificator 281]

2 minutes ago, millefleur said:

How did you know the appointments are not available for non-Polish citizens or residents? Did it say that on the website or did you have to call to find out?

After paying the fee the website lets you proceed to schedule an appointment if there are any available. (right now there are none).

Before I paid the fee I called exactly 3 times to make sure they were accepting non-polish citizens or residents. They told me there should be appts available as long as I submit the DS-160 and pay the fee. Well, I did that and now they are telling me we have to wait. There is no consistency. I guess we just have to wait...

[millefleur 5,047]

6 minutes ago, kvito28 said:

After paying the fee the website lets you proceed to schedule an appointment if there are any available. (right now there are none).

Before I paid the fee I called exactly 3 times to make sure they were accepting non-polish citizens or residents. They told me there should be appts available as long as I submit the DS-160 and pay the fee. Well, I did that and now they are telling me we have to wait. There is no consistency. I guess we just have to wait...

In the RUB forum from what I've heard, Russians are also not having any luck with securing slots via Warsaw. I think a lot of people right now are waiting for those appointments so I would not expect any to open up anytime soon but just keep checking and see.

[GEOntificator 281]

8 minutes ago, millefleur said:

In the RUB forum from what I've heard, Russians are also not having any luck with securing slots via Warsaw. I think a lot of people right now are waiting for those appointments so I would not expect any to open up anytime soon but just keep checking and see.

I figured the same but for some reason embassy employees are adamant that slots will open shortly. They cannot be so misinformed or lying.

[millefleur 5,047]

33 minutes ago, kvito28 said:

I figured the same but for some reason embassy employees are adamant that slots will open shortly. They cannot be so misinformed or lying.

Oh I'm sure they are planning to open slots "shortly" - we just have no idea if that means in the next few weeks or months or what. It's all so up in the air. I hope slots will be opening soon! There seems to be priority for Poles and Polish residents right now so I guess it depends on how many of those they need to get through first.

[GEOntificator 281]

23 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Oh I'm sure they are planning to open slots "shortly" - we just have no idea if that means in the next few weeks or months or what. It's all so up in the air. I hope slots will be opening soon! There seems to be priority for Poles and Polish residents right now so I guess it depends on how many of those they need to get through first.

I have been checking every day since 1/21 (when I paid the fee) and no changes so far. Below is the email response to my inquiry.

 

"Dear Applicant,

Thank you for writing to the U.S. Visa Service Desk.


We understand that you wish to schedule your appointment, but there are no available slots.

Please note that the opening of free slots for a visa is regulated by the Consular Section, so we do not have the opportunity to indicate the exact time of their appearance in the system. Please, periodically check the information in your account.

We hope this information is helpful to you.


Please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/gss_poland to share feedback on the services we provide.

Sincerely,

U.S. Visa Service Desk"