Tourist Visa

[caupina]

Hey guys: I need to vent some steam. I'm currently working in the US under a working-permit visa (H1B). The company I work for (an international airline) moved me to LAX, more than 5 years ago and they did all the necessary paperwork to get me the visa, etc. Since I work for an airline, my relatives have access to some free tickets to fly with this airline so I invited a niece to come over for vacations, but first she needed to get her tourist visa. She provided all the necessary documents, like bank accounts, car registration, an invitation letter provided by me, which stated that she was going to stay with us (my wife and me), and the ticket was also provided by me. She had to pay USD 130 for her visa to be process, which might be a lot for some of you, but is a lot of money for us. Today she showed up to the interview at the US consulate, and she was denied the visa, the only reason given being she did not meet the criteria...WTF. I know the frame of mind of the USCIS (former INS) is to treat anybody applying for a visa as "possible illegal immigrants", but give me a break. She has no intention whatsoever to live here, she has a great life back home. I just don't get it...instead of targeting the real suspects, people with no other intentions than just to visit here for vacations gets turned down and the USD 130 forfeited. I guess anybody south of the border is a potential illegal alien.
I like it here, there's no denying in that, but if I were to be transferred by my company, I'd go in a heartbeat, and if that means going back home, that's even better. Most people I know, just feel curious to find out what the good old USA has to offer which is a lot, but it never crossed their mind the idea of living here 'cause they got everything the need and want in their homeland. I ended up here 'cause that's my boss wanted to, and I'm making the most out of my experience here, but it's a shame that I can't let the people I care most have a taste of what this wonderful country has to offer.

 

[jamie2112]

That is really sad to hear. I hope that things work out. I would write your senator or local state legislators to see if there is anything they could do. I wish you the best and hope you can see your family soon.

 

[Halon451]

Did they give any indication as to which of the specific criteria she failed to meet? From your post it looks like she had everything in order, something must have been amiss for them to deny the request. In these times as you know, all it takes is one little errant stroke of a pen or something - which can be appreciated of course, unless you're in you're niece's position in which case it seems like a nightmare. Sometimes both Consulate and TSA agents get a bit overly gung-ho about what they do to the point of being a$$h**es.

 

[caupina]

Did they give any indication as to which of the specific criteria she failed to meet? From your post it looks like she had everything in order, something must have been amiss for them to deny the request. In these times as you know, all it takes is one little errant stroke of a pen or something - which can be appreciated of course, unless you're in you're niece's position in which case it seems like a nightmare. Sometimes both Consulate and TSA agents get a bit overly gung-ho about what they do to the point of being a$$h**es.

That's the thing Halon, they don't tell you anything, no specific reason, nada...so at the end of the day you end up having no idea how to start over again. My feeling is that they want to make sure you have absolutely no reason to come here and stay for good, but how can you do that????. No offense here but there are other nationalities that stand out when it comes to be tagged as prime suspects to become "illegal aliens" but in our case, man, it takes us 11 hours to fly from Santiago to LAX (8:40 hrs to Miami).....anyway I guess that's just the way it is.

 

[Tarub]

People from economic stable countries like Western Europe, Japan, Australia, etc doesn't need a visa to visit the US. But for the third world countries due to to their economic situations that you will come to the US and find a better job, you need to get a tourist visa to the US Consular office. And you need to give a proof of STRONG TIES from your country of origin for your visa to get approve.

WHAT CONSTITUTES "STRONG TIES"?

Strong ties differ from country to country, city to city, individual to individual. Some examples of ties can be a job, a house, a family, a bank account. "Ties" are the various aspects of your life that bind you to your country of residence: your possessions, employment, social and family relationships.

As a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, imagine your own ties in the United States. Would a consular office of a foreign country consider that you have a residence in the United States that you do not intend to abandon? It is likely that the answer would be "yes" if you have a job, a family, if you own or rent a house or apartment, or if you have other commitments that would require you to return to the United States at the conclusion of a visit abroad. Each person's situation is different.

Our consular officers are aware of this diversity. During the visa interview they look at each application individually and consider professional, social, cultural and other factors. In cases of younger applicants who may not have had an opportunity to form many ties, consular officers may look at the applicants specific intentions, family situations, and long-range plans and prospects within his or her country of residence. Each case is examined individually and is accorded every consideration under the law.

http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/denials/denials_1361.html

 

[caupina]

Tarub, I know how this all plays out, I'd point out though that not every citizen of the "third world country" wants to live here on a permanent basis. In my case, being a citizen of Chile, we don't need visas to travel to many countries around the world, even Europe. Chile has a strong economy and many ties to the US, like a free-trade treaty. If you look at this link, you can see what I'm talking about

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1981.htm

So even though it is true that every case needs to be treated on an individual case by case basis, you have to look at other factors that definitely need to be considered. Before coming to US to work, I had (still have) a tourist visa, which I renewed every ten years. The last time I had to renew it, back in 2002, I had no job, and pretty much nothing that would tie me to Chile, however I did have a letter from another airline stating that I needed to renew my visa in order to go to Miami for an interview, and that was it!!!!, I got it renewed for another 10 years (valid until 2012) without anybody asking me anything....you can argue that my case was different since I was a former tourist visa holder that never overstayed in the US, but that's exactly my point, how can I prove that I'm not intending to become an illegal alien if I'm never given the chance to prove it (excuse the redundancy). It's like when I came here for good, I was not able to get a loan to buy a car 'cause I didn't have any credit history, how am I going to do that if nobody is giving me credit????? (unless I get a co-signer)

 

[Pyrrho]

Hey guys: I need to vent some steam. I'm currently working in the US under a working-permit visa (H1B). The company I work for (an international airline) moved me to LAX, more than 5 years ago and they did all the necessary paperwork to get me the visa, etc. Since I work for an airline, my relatives have access to some free tickets to fly with this airline so I invited a niece to come over for vacations, but first she needed to get her tourist visa. She provided all the necessary documents, like bank accounts, car registration, an invitation letter provided by me, which stated that she was going to stay with us (my wife and me), and the ticket was also provided by me. She had to pay USD 130 for her visa to be process, which might be a lot for some of you, but is a lot of money for us. Today she showed up to the interview at the US consulate, and she was denied the visa, the only reason given being she did not meet the criteria...WTF. I know the frame of mind of the USCIS (former INS) is to treat anybody applying for a visa as "possible illegal immigrants", but give me a break. She has no intention whatsoever to live here, she has a great life back home. I just don't get it...instead of targeting the real suspects, people with no other intentions than just to visit here for vacations gets turned down and the USD 130 forfeited. I guess anybody south of the border is a potential illegal alien.
I like it here, there's no denying in that, but if I were to be transferred by my company, I'd go in a heartbeat, and if that means going back home, that's even better. Most people I know, just feel curious to find out what the good old USA has to offer which is a lot, but it never crossed their mind the idea of living here 'cause they got everything the need and want in their homeland. I ended up here 'cause that's my boss wanted to, and I'm making the most out of my experience here, but it's a shame that I can't let the people I care most have a taste of what this wonderful country has to offer.

You might want to find an expert on visa applications, and see what can be done. But be careful, as I am told that there are unscrupulous people who pretend to be experts, but really do nothing but take your money and possibly make matters worse. (That, of course, makes it like every other area of life; you can find "experts" who will waste your money for useless junk to supposedly [but not really] improve your audio system, too.)

 

[caupina]

(That, of course, makes it like every other area of life; you can find "experts" who will waste your money for useless junk to improve your audio system, too.)

hahahahaha....that's a good one....I guess I fit the bill with my bose speakers and monster cables....

Back on topic, I don't think she'd want to do that, it's just a waste of time and money, besides there are plenty of other places she could go without a visa (or even a passport), but I'd love to have her here with us for a while just to show her around.

 

[Halon451]

Maybe a good laugh then, for now...

Okay, as a disclaimer, this doesn't truly represent your specific case, but it happened to come into my inbox here at work and thought it to have partial relevance to various government agencies here in the US that deal with travel abroad: Enjoy, then we can all get back on topic. Just goes to show it isn't necessarily easy leaving this country either.

An actual letter to the passport office

Dear Sir:
I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot believe this. How is it that Radio Shack has my address and telephone number and knows that I bought a t.v. cable from them back in 1997, and yet, the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date.

For Christ sakes, do you guys do this by hand? My birth date you have on my social security card, and it is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 30 years. It is on my health insurance card, my driver's license, on the last eight g***amn passports I've had, on all those stupid customs declaration forms I've had to fill out before being allowed off the planes over the last 30 years, and all those insufferable census forms that are done at election times.

Would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Maryanne, my father's name is Robert and I'd be absolutely astounded if that ever changed between now and when I die!!!!!!
S**T!

I apologize, I'm really pi$$ed off this morning.

Between you an' me, I've had enough of this bull***t! You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my f***in' address. What is going on? You have a gang of Neanderthal a$$h***s workin' there! Look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden? I don't want to dig upYasser Arafat, for s**t sakes. I just want to go and park my a$$ on a sandy beach.

And would someone please tell me, why would you give a s**t whether I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? If I ever got the urge to do something weird to a chicken or a goat, believe you me, I'd sure as hell not want to tell anyone! Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other end of the city and get another f***in' copy of my birth certificate, to the tune of $60.

Would it be so complicated to have all the services in the same spot to assist in the issuance of a new passport the same day?? Nooooo, that'd be too damn easy and maybe makes sense. You'd rather have us running all over the f***in' place like chickens with our heads cut off, then find some a$$h**e to confirm that it's really me on the go***mn picture - you know, the one where we're not allowed to smile?! (f***in' morons)

Hey, you know why we can't smile? We're totally pi***d off! Signed - An Irate Citizen.

P.S. Remember what I said above about the picture and getting someone to confirm that it's me? Well, my family has been in this country since 1776 . I have served in the military for something over 30 years and have had security clearances up the yingyang. However, I have to get someone 'important' to verify who I am - you know, someone like my doctor WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN COMMUNIST CHINA!

Sincerely,

You Sure In The Hell Should Know Who.

 

[caupina]

That was hilarious!!!!. Thanks Halon you put a big smile on my face....now if I could only wipe it off my face, I need to get a new photo to renew my passport

 

[mike c]

coming from a third world country myself:

1) it is the sole prerogative of the interviewer to approve or disapprove the application
2) they do not give any reason for rejection

when i applied for my us tourist visa, i brought along an entire clearbook of documents proving i got more stuff over here to keep me anchored in my own country. also, i brought wedding pics to prove we were on our honeymoon.

caupina, are you from Mexico?

there are countries that have people with a greater risk of wanting to stay in the US. Philippines and Mexico included.

 

[caupina]

No MikeC, I'm from Chile.....way down south....of the border

 

[AdrianMills]

Hey guys: I need to vent some steam. I'm currently working in the US under a working-permit visa (H1B). The company I work for (an international airline) moved me to LAX, more than 5 years ago and they did all the necessary paperwork to get me the visa, etc. Since I work for an airline, my relatives have access to some free tickets to fly with this airline so I invited a niece to come over for vacations, but first she needed to get her tourist visa. She provided all the necessary documents, like bank accounts, car registration, an invitation letter provided by me, which stated that she was going to stay with us (my wife and me), and the ticket was also provided by me. She had to pay USD 130 for her visa to be process, which might be a lot for some of you, but is a lot of money for us. Today she showed up to the interview at the US consulate, and she was denied the visa, the only reason given being she did not meet the criteria...WTF. I know the frame of mind of the USCIS (former INS) is to treat anybody applying for a visa as "possible illegal immigrants", but give me a break. She has no intention whatsoever to live here, she has a great life back home. I just don't get it...instead of targeting the real suspects, people with no other intentions than just to visit here for vacations gets turned down and the USD 130 forfeited. I guess anybody south of the border is a potential illegal alien.
I like it here, there's no denying in that, but if I were to be transferred by my company, I'd go in a heartbeat, and if that means going back home, that's even better. Most people I know, just feel curious to find out what the good old USA has to offer which is a lot, but it never crossed their mind the idea of living here 'cause they got everything the need and want in their homeland. I ended up here 'cause that's my boss wanted to, and I'm making the most out of my experience here, but it's a shame that I can't let the people I care most have a taste of what this wonderful country has to offer.

I sympathize with you dude and it's the same the world over. My girlfriend is Russian and it's a right royal PITA having to get visas to visit her and vise versa; it's actually more difficult for her to come into Western Europe than it is for me to go there. She has to prove all sorts of ties to her country before they'll give her a schengen visa and it's expensive too!

We're meeting up in Finland this Saturday because Norway (where I live) is very strict about giving out visas to Russians but Finland is much more accommodating. I wanted to take her to the UK to visit my family this summer but from this year not only does she have to go through an interview at a British consulate (Saint Petersburg or Moscow which are both several hours on a plane for her) but she also has to have biometric data collected - fingerprints and the like. Even with our history there is no guarantee of her getting a visa.

Seriously, what a pain. Don't they realize that the vast majority of the undesirables don't apply for a visa but enter illegally. It’s a crock.

 

[Matt34]

I've seen first hand the problems even a service member has trying to get their German national spouse a visa. The entire process seems totally broke and ineffective.

 

[caupina]

Seriously, what a pain. Don't they realize that the vast majority of the undesirables don't apply for a visa but enter illegally. It’s a crock.

That's an excellent point....I guess they just don't see it that way