Cambodian girlfriend seeking tourist visa to accompany me to US visit

[home_visit 2]

Dear all,

I am a US citizen that has been living abroad for a long time and has lived in Cambodia for 9 years total. I am also a former US government employee in Cambodia for three years. I will be going back to the US to visit my mother and father (who live in two different places) for one month, and would like my girlfriend to visit with me as well. My girlfriend and I met about two years ago and she has been living with me for more than one year.

Both of us have jobs in Cambodia and need to return for this reason at the very least. I have a good well-paying job here while she has a decent job with an international company. In addition, she has a mother and a brother here that she sees regularly, and she also owns property here.

She would be traveling with me when I go. I would be paying for her plane ticket since it is really quite expensive. Other than flight costs, there are hardly any costs associated with this trip since we would be visiting my parents.

But it seems that others in this forum have said that it doesn't look god if she says in her interview that I will be paying for everything because it makes it look like she doesn't have enough income.

Does anyone have any idea about the likelihood of getting a visa in this case? Does the issue of who is paying make any difference? Would it help if I wrote a letter as part of her documentation explaining why we are making this visit and attesting about our employment and the need to return? Do you have any other helpful ideas?

We do not have any plan to get married in the near future so getting married while we are there is not possible.

Thanks in advance!

[home_visit 2]

PS, I forgot to mention that she has an interview at the Embassy in about 1 week.

[Max! 10]

Cambodian embassy is one of the tough nut to crack.

You need to show a strongest tie to Cambodia and that you will be returning back there and purpose of that vise is for tourism only.

Good luck on that and be prepared to answer all sorts of questions

[canadian_wife 1,785]

Your letter is meaningless.

The application is about her. What are HER ties to Cambodia? Has she traveled to other countries (particularly western countries) in the past? How does SHE intend to pay for the trip? Her reasons for traveling to the U.S. are irrelevant. What they want to see is why she must return. There are plenty of reasons why people want to come to the U.S., some of them heartbreaking but consular officers really want to know what reasons applicants have to return.

Good luck

[home_visit 2]

OK, thanks, I look forward to hearing from anyone else who may have any helpful input!

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

her chances are slim to none

they will think she intends to return especially when traveling with US bf

US embassy in Ecuador just denied a woman who owned a house, was traveling to pick up a birth cerificate here for her son (age 10) born in US, has a teaching job in Ecuador and would return in 2 weeks to husband and 2 sons in Ecuador

?????? she had strong ties and was denied

but good luck as stranger things have happened

[home_visit 2]

her chances are slim to none

they will think she intends to return especially when traveling with US bf

You are saying that chances are slim to none but they will think she intends to return where? You mean to the United States or Cambodia?

I'm not sure if you read my post carefully but I live in Cambodia and have lived here for nine years, have a job here. I myself am returning to Cambodia. So there is no reason to return to the US to visit me.

[KierenHby 897]

We do not have any plan to get married in the near future so getting married while we are there is not possible.

Her odds are officially 50-50 if she applies, but very slim, realistically.

Devil's advocate.. what if she is just trying to use you as piggyback to get to the US on a B2 and not return? You're neither engaged nor married; from a CO's perspective, she's just another Cambodian applicant.

[Starkilla09 366]

You are saying that chances are slim to none but they will think she intends to return where? You mean to the United States or Cambodia?

I'm not sure if you read my post carefully but I live in Cambodia and have lived here for nine years, have a job here. I myself am returning to Cambodia. So there is no reason to return to the US to visit me.

The point she was trying to come across is that the burden of proof to show non-immigrant intent is not on to you but her, and it's a very high bar to meet especially for those in 3rd world countries. For her to qualify for a visit visa she will need to show strong ties applicable to her and not you to show she will return to Cambodia after her brief visit.

[home_visit 2]

Well, anyway, I was just chatting with a friend of mine (Cambodian) who had basically the exact same situation as mine, and on her application she said that her boyfriend would be paying for her trip, and she got a visa, twice. She said not to let people on this forum discourage you to much.

So far I haven't had much in the way of constructive suggestions but just a lot of mention that it's a slim chance.

[Boiler 43,396]

Well, anyway, I was just chatting with a friend of mine (Cambodian) who had basically the exact same situation as mine, and on her application she said that her boyfriend would be paying for her trip, and she got a visa, twice. She said not to let people on this forum discourage you to much.

So far I haven't had much in the way of constructive suggestions but just a lot of mention that it's a slim chance.

My constructive suggestion is that she should apply.

Please do come back and let us know how it goes.

[Pitaya 2,576]

Welcome to the forum.

Your GF will have to prove to the satisfaction of the US consular official at the interviewing US embassy/consulate, that she has significant ties to Cambodia, such that she would return to Cambodia after her US visit is completed. Such ties could include, property, house ownership, current stable employment, etc. Each visitor visa applicant is presumed to have immigration intent, and must prove that they are not trying to immigrate to the US. A letter from a doctor, any documents from you, or any other invitation-type letter would likely have no positive effect on the visitor visa approval.

Good luck.

[KierenHby 897]

Does anyone have any idea about the likelihood of getting a visa in this case? Does the issue of who is paying make any difference? Would it help if I wrote a letter as part of her documentation explaining why we are making this visit and attesting about our employment and the need to return? Do you have any other helpful ideas?

These were the questions in your initial post. Everybody who responded gave you realistic likelihoods of getting a visa in this case.

Your Cambodian friend who got a visa while mentioning a boyfriend has no bearing on your girlfriend's application. Two separate cases.

Rest is up to her to apply and find out.

[Rc123rc 528]

Dear all,

I am a US citizen that has been living abroad for a long time and has lived in Cambodia for 9 years total. I am also a former US government employee in Cambodia for three years. I will be going back to the US to visit my mother and father (who live in two different places) for one month, and would like my girlfriend to visit with me as well. My girlfriend and I met about two years ago and she has been living with me for more than one year.

Both of us have jobs in Cambodia and need to return for this reason at the very least. I have a good well-paying job here while she has a decent job with an international company. In addition, she has a mother and a brother here that she sees regularly, and she also owns property here.

She would be traveling with me when I go. I would be paying for her plane ticket since it is really quite expensive. Other than flight costs, there are hardly any costs associated with this trip since we would be visiting my parents.

But it seems that others in this forum have said that it doesn't look god if she says in her interview that I will be paying for everything because it makes it look like she doesn't have enough income.

Does anyone have any idea about the likelihood of getting a visa in this case? Does the issue of who is paying make any difference? Would it help if I wrote a letter as part of her documentation explaining why we are making this visit and attesting about our employment and the need to return? Do you have any other helpful ideas?

We do not have any plan to get married in the near future so getting married while we are there is not possible.

Thanks in advance!

Not sure why the OP is getting upset unless he just didn't like the answers. 1) You're paying for the trip. Red Flag. 2) She's living with you. Red Flag. 3) Anything about you is irrelevant. It's her visa not yours. 4) The consulate wants to know everything and I mean everything that would convince them that she will return to Cambodia. From the responses and what you have written, think about it from a Consulate Officer standpoint. What you would like to happen has no bearing on this situation. Good Luck and I do mean it. Having almost get a K-1 denial recently, I can sympathize. Have her take the interview but I would not suggest buying any plane tickets until after the interview. Oh, and don't forget they can still deny her at POE.

[home_visit 2]

Not sure why the OP is getting upset unless he just didn't like the answers. 1) You're paying for the trip. Red Flag. 2) She's living with you. Red Flag. 3) Anything about you is irrelevant. It's her visa not yours. 4) The consulate wants to know everything and I mean everything that would convince them that she will return to Cambodia. From the responses and what you have written, think about it from a Consulate Officer standpoint. What you would like to happen has no bearing on this situation. Good Luck and I do mean it. Having almost get a K-1 denial recently, I can sympathize. Have her take the interview but I would not suggest buying any plane tickets until after the interview. Oh, and don't forget they can still deny her at POE.

So far I don't think anyone has explained to me why me paying for the trip and the fact that's she's living with me is a red flag. That would be good to know if anyone could explain that (although it wouldn't make difference because it's the truth).

Second, Rcripps seems to be contradicting himself- first he says that I'm paying for the trip is a red flag, then he says that she's living with you is a red flag. Then he says anything about me is irrelevant.

So why is it that if anything about me is irrelevant, that two things related to me are red flags? It doesn't seem to make sense.