Tourist Visa/Mother-in-law Wants to Visit

[Christian n Katy 0]

I have a question - we are currently in the process of getting my husband's status changed to permanent resident - he is at the biometrics appt stage. He is from Venezuela, and his family is still over there.

His mother has applied for a tourist Visa to come visit us - we don't know if his papers will be complete by that time, and it's sometimes hard to get a tourist Visa from the Venezuelan government, so i was just wondering if there is anything that would help them approve her Visa, such as us writing a letter requesting her to come over and including proof that we are married or something like that? Or is it something that we can't mess with and just have to wait and see what they say to her?

We really want her to be able to come and visit us, and we are nervous that they might say no because my husband has had some problems with them approving his Visas to come over here in the past, and knows a lot of people who have been denied.

Any advice would be appreciated!

THANK YOU!!!

[TBoneTX 43,019]

On the surface, the requirements tend to heavily involve the tourist's probability of returning. As such, it is crucial to provide indisputable evidence of ties to the home country, including a return ticket and actual or implied urgency (for example, a letter from a boss stating the date certain by which the traveler is expected back at work).

However, I have heard anecdotally but have no proof about THIS: It is necessary for the couple to be married for a year before relatives will be granted tourist visas to visit. My in-laws & sister-in-law paid three visa fees and traveled 14 hours by bus to Quito, carrying copious financial and stability evidence. The evidence was not reviewed, and the CO dismissed them after 3 minutes, saying "Well, maybe next time." The same happened to the mother-in-law of another VJer. Either there's an unwritten rule as I've surmised above, or we can be extremely ashamed of our country's treatment of our foreign relatives.

Others can perhaps comment. Please let us know what your mother-in-law is told.

Edited July 2, 2009 by TBoneTX

[Old Dominion 26]

You should write a letter of invitation, in which you promise to pay for all of her expenses while in the U.S. She needs to have that when she goes for the visa interview. There are no other issues at your end to worry about. At her end, she must provide proof of very strong reasons that she must return home after the visit -- home ownership, husband, steady job, bank accounts, etc. But the idea of providing a return ticket is questionable; she should not buy plane tickets until she is sure she has a visa.

[TBoneTX 43,019]

the idea of providing a return ticket is questionable; she should not buy plane tickets until she is sure she has a visa.

Ah, si man -- the exception being only if the tickets are fully (or palatably) refundable.