I am the USC and my husband has his CPR. We would like to bring his sister here from Mexico on a tourist visa and I wasn't sure how to go about doing this. I looked back through everything I could find but didn't see anything that was exactly like our situation. She is 14 and is still in school. She just wants to come here for a visit and possibly for us to take her to Disney World. I looked on the US Dept of State website to see what we would need to do and it stated we needed to fill out form DS-156. She needs evidence of ties to her country and proof she will go back. She also needs to show why she is coming here. Is this everything or is there something else we should be doing? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

More what she needs to do rather than what you need to do.

Look up B2 visa at the US Consulate: here it is

http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/wwwhbcc.html

Yeah, I know she needs to do it. I thought I would do as much for her as I could though, since she is only 14. Plus, if I understand the process then I can help explain it to her. Thanks for the info. It will be very helpful.

clmjmm,

It makes sense that you will be doing the work for her, but be sure to keep the perspective that it's her applying not you. It needs to be done from her point of view, not yours.

Except, perhaps for the public charge aspect - you can take that responsibility.

Yodrak

Right. That makes sense. I actually just wanted to fill out as much of the paper work as I could for her. Some of it she will have to do herself. What kind of paperwork do we need to fill out for the financial aspect of it? As we will be footing the bill for the trip. Is there an affadavit of support or something to that effect?

Not sure that is really relevant for a 14 year old going on holiday.

I 134 would be the one.

Not actually sure a 14 year old needs to interview, will be on that link, but if you are paying for everything you could write a letter of invitation, probably look better if her Parents were more in the picture.

It's not that her parent's aren't involved, there are just circumstances that exist so we have to provide all the financial support. Her mom and dad are seperated and she doesn't have any contact with her mother. Her dad is the primary caregiver and could be more involved. Since I have done immigration paperwork before he thinks I am more adept at filling out her forms and things. I am not exactly sure if he will have the money for her trip over here and that's why we are expecting to pay for everything. I was prepared to write the invitation letter. I thought it may help her chances on getting the visa. I think, if I read correctly, she will need to interview. There is an age limit of 15, I think, and she will be 15 by the time of the visit. Thanks everyone for all your input. I think I have it figured out now. I know where to come if I have anymore questions.

Thank you again.

Charity, You can send her a notarized letter inviting to visit you where you state you are going to be responsible for all of her expenses. She would then take this with her to her interview. As I'm sure you know, getting tourist visas in Mexico aren't easy, but aren't impossible either. My in-laws and sister-in-law and her family all have gotten theirs within the last year. The US consulate in Mexico is looking for the following things: proof the person will return to Mexico, and proof the person has the means to pay for their trip. In the case where you'd be footing the bill, I'd still have her take proof of her parents' bank accounts and/or assets (i.e. houses, cars, etc.) with her, just to show it's not entirely on you.

The US Embassy in Mexico City's website has a lot of good information> Here's that link: http://mexico.usembassy.gov/mexico/evisas_tourist.html

I pulled this off of it:

InLove: Thanks. That should help too. I know it's tough getting a tourist visa from Mexico, that's why I want to be prepared. I don't think there should be any problem in showing she will return to Mexico. She is still in school and will just be coming over while they are out on vacation. The main problem will be showing her father's assets. I don't know that he has anything in his name. They live in her grandmother's house. He doesn't have a car. I am sure they have a bank account, but they aren't rich by any means. They aren't even middle class. That's why we are pretty sure we will be paying for everything. I guess we can only provide our financial info along with what little he may have and hope it works.

Well you know the problem, just need to concentrate on the positives.

Will she not need permission from her Mother as well?

I don't know. That thought hadn't even crossed my mind. It's possible we could get it. My husband has a relationship with his mother. They are really weird about it. Since he is 21 it's okay for him to have a relationship with her but since his sister is still under age and lives with her father, she isn't. It's all very strange to me. My husband would just need to ask his mother for permission. I am sure she would give it. See this is exactly why I asked questions because I knew there would be something I wouldn't think of. I also knew there would be plenty of helpful people on here. Thanks again.

Yeah I hadn't thought of that either- great catch Boiler. You should check at what age Mexico stops requiring a letter of permission from both parents to leave the country. Mexicana Airlines could probably provide that info, either via phone or their webpage.

Thanks. I will check on that. I never imagined before I got into all this immigration stuff how complex things are. It's great to have a place to go where you know you can get answers and helpful ones at that.

Important.

This has nothing to do with Immigrating.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that but okay. I know she isn't immigrating. I was just trying to thank everyone for all the help and stuff. Thanks.

clmjmn,

Similar to my earlier comment on perspective, I don't like the term 'invitation letter'. What one calls something creates a point of view in their mind, and that point of view will influence their actions.

You don't want to write a letter inviting the girl to visit the USA, you want to write a letter that supports and confirms her reasons for wanting to visit the USA and the reasons why she will want to return to Mexico rather than stay in the USA. The difference is subtle, but it's subtle things that can create an impression in the consular officers mind and influence their decision. (And if you have trouble coming up with ideas for this then you understand what the consular officer will be thinking! The consular officer has to be given things that will allow them to say 'yes'.)

Have a look at 9 FAM 41.31 Notes, N1-N6, and in particular N3.2. Try to understand the concepts.

Yodrak

yodrak also addressed the issue so I will say no more.

I'm sorry you all feel I "don't understand the concepts" but when I said immigration stuff, I was referring to visas in general. If you don't realize, I have already been through getting one visa and was just stating that getting visas is a lot more complex than most people realize, whether an immigrant or non-immigrant visa. I was basically trying to get some advice on how to go about getting a tourist visa. I will remember this the next time I need questions asked and ask them somewhere else where my intelligence won't be questioned. I'm sorry if I don't have the "concepts" down as well as the rest of you. It was pretty obvious I didn't know anything about getting a tourist visa in the first place or I wouldn't have asked the question. As for me calling it an invitation letter, I did so because that's what InLove called it. I know it isn't really an invitation letter. Maybe you all shouldn't read so much into things and take things so literal. Thanks again.

clmjmm,

Consular officers are going to base their decisions on what you say or write. They're going to listen to and read your words, not read your mind. They're going to take you literally and not try to guess that you mean something different from what you said or wrote.

If one does not express themself properly the consular officers are not going to get a proper understanding of what you're trying to tell them and they're likely to make a decision that you're not going to be happy with.

Yodrak