Tourism visa denied

[ndu26 114]

Not true. But documents are generally only used to doublecheck certain aspects of an applicant's story...if the VO believes the applicant, no papers are required; and, of course, if the VO does not believe an applicant, again, no documents will (likely) change that..the grey zone cases might be resolved (probably more in the direction of a denial than an approval) with documents....example: A person claims to have a high salary, and says they can pay for their 6 week trip to Orlando and Disneyland (which would cost the average family about $5000 with airfare)...the applicant's bank documents do not show hefty deposits that coincide with the claimed income...ooops....

Or, there are no regular deposits, but one great big one (totaling, amazingly, $5000!) made a week or two before the interview...when the applicant is asked about the source of this sudden and coincidental deposit, the answer is: 'I sold a car or some property'....of course, the VO then asks for the bill of sale or other papers that prove such a sale took place....and the applicant claims to have 'forgotten' that piece of paper....once again....denied.

Invitation letters might contain the wrong message...for example, the applicant claims that she is going to visit the ever popular 'family friend' but the inivitation is signed by 'uncle Fred' or 'cousin Joe'...hmmm...a lack of consistency will usually mean a denial. There are numerous other examples.

while the applications may well be reviewed, the questions posed will try to confirm the credibility (or lack thereof) of the applicant.

on the contrary decisions could be made even before they meet you at the window(from experience)...one time the VO asked me why I was going to the U.S and just as I was abt to complete answer to that first question, the denial stamp was already being placed on my passport !!!!

Also I believe request for documents tend towards approval more than denial. they rarely ask for any papers once they are tending towards denial but if its approval and they are about to favor you, they start asking for documents they could use to validate their approval. I do agree with that sudden cash deposit scenario though...dumb move by people

[Noah Lot 387]

on the contrary decisions could be made even before they meet you at the window(from experience)...one time the VO asked me why I was going to the U.S and just as I was abt to complete answer to that first question, the denial stamp was already being placed on my passport !!!!

Also I believe request for documents tend towards approval more than denial. they rarely ask for any papers once they are tending towards denial but if its approval and they are about to favor you, they start asking for documents they could use to validate their approval. I do agree with that sudden cash deposit scenario though...dumb move by people

It is possible that the applicant's application has enough serious flaws in it that nothing they can say will save the day....for example, in the space where it says 'name of employer' and that space is blank, but there is a cell phone number listed, and the applicant is of working age, well....how does one 'forget' the name of your employer? there may also be other fatal flaws that have compromised the applicant's chances, but that would be comparatively rare with a first time applicant.

[Harsh_77 716]

On the letter we explained that the purpose of the visit was only tourism and my husband as a combat veteran gave his word she wouldn't overstay nor engage in any illegal activity. But it doesn't matter anyway because the consul didn't even let her show the letter nor mention it. She brought to the interview a letter from her employer also, which happens to be Brazilian's biggest company and she works for them it's been 25 years, on the letter it said her vacations days and that she is not retiring or anything, she also brought her house title, showing that she owns the house but he didn't ask for anything at all! I really don't know what else could proof ties to Brazil besides the fact that her whole life is there, she owns a house and has an excellent job! =( However I know people that got a tourist visa having no ties to Brazil at all, I'm finding quite hard to figure out their standards on this matter.

It really does not matter if your husband give his word or not, unfortunately it does not matter if your husband is veteran or not everyone is same for Immigration.

Your mother will have to give enough reason to immigration officer on her own that she would not over stay her visa in US and would return back to her home country upon completion of the visit.

[Harsh_77 716]

Sweet heart, unfortunately uscis does give a damn about vets or active duty military members, and that's coming from a marine wife. From the military hotline , to invitation letters. Military likes to give you the illusion that when it comes down to it, they will treat you differently,but they won't.

I m not saying all vets are same, but some vets have been caught helping gangs by smuggling money and contrabands.

So most authority will give most vets some flex, but in cases like this where immigration just cannot go by someones word does not matter who you are.

Say worst case scenario what is OPs mom decided to overstay her visa, was her husband(vet) run after her and chase her to the border?

[Linha87 0]

I m not saying all vets are same, but some vets have been caught helping gangs by smuggling money and contrabands.

So most authority will give most vets some flex, but in cases like this where immigration just cannot go by someones word does not matter who you are.

Say worst case scenario what is OPs mom decided to overstay her visa, was her husband(vet) run after her and chase her to the border?

We did not think that being a vet would make a difference we just stated that my husband is a lawful citizen and has fought for his country, he would never do something illegal. I don't think your comment was appropriate nor that would make any sense due the matter. And for your question, my mother would never overstay her visa nor engage in any illegal activity but hypothetically speaking, if she did I am sure my husband would be the first to chase her and send her home. Anyway if you go by that line then nobody would ever be able to get a visa because I am sure that the number of regular people, americans or not, who engage in illegal activities in this country is much bigger than the number of vets who has done it. You cannot generalize or compare people about something like that.

Anyway, I don't mean to be rude or anything, I respect your opinion but I don't think that the way you put it was appropriate.

[Noah Lot 387]

We did not think that being a vet would make a difference we just stated that my husband is a lawful citizen and has fought for his country, he would never do something illegal. I don't think your comment was appropriate nor that would make any sense due the matter. And for your question, my mother would never overstay her visa nor engage in any illegal activity but hypothetically speaking, if she did I am sure my husband would be the first to chase her and send her home. Anyway if you go by that line then nobody would ever be able to get a visa because I am sure that the number of regular people, americans or not, who engage in illegal activities in this country is much bigger than the number of vets who has done it. You cannot generalize or compare people about something like that.

Anyway, I don't mean to be rude or anything, I respect your opinion but I don't think that the way you put it was appropriate.

What she is saying is that no one has legal authority over another person from a different country....your husband has no legal authority over your mother and cannot nor could not force her to do anything regarding her travels. That is a simple fact of life. He cannot physically carry her to the airport (assault and battery) and could not, without a ticket himself, accompany her to the boarding gate. It is certainly doubtful that he would call ICE to come and corral YOUR mother....that would certainly detract from the domestic tranquility.

the main thing is this: no one can promise our government that a third party will adhere or obey our laws, because there is NO LEGAL MEANS by which such an individual, like your husband, veteran or not, can 'order' somebody else to do something. It cannot happen, and thus, any such promises to do such a thing are totally meaningless.

[Linha87 0]

What she is saying is that no one has legal authority over another person from a different country....your husband has no legal authority over your mother and cannot nor could not force her to do anything regarding her travels. That is a simple fact of life. He cannot physically carry her to the airport (assault and battery) and could not, without a ticket himself, accompany her to the boarding gate. It is certainly doubtful that he would call ICE to come and corral YOUR mother....that would certainly detract from the domestic tranquility.

the main thing is this: no one can promise our government that a third party will adhere or obey our laws, because there is NO LEGAL MEANS by which such an individual, like your husband, veteran or not, can 'order' somebody else to do something. It cannot happen, and thus, any such promises to do such a thing are totally meaningless.

I understand that and i agree with you that nobody has any power over one or one's actions, it's not up to other's though to judge someone's action in case something happened specially because nobody knows anybody here, just like I couldn't say what your actions would be, you cannot preview what my husband's would be. But that's not the case because as far as I know we are here to help each others and not to judge or play the guess-teller...anyway, what I meant was that the way that was put before was inappropriate. I understood the general idea but the way it was expressed was not the best. That's all.

For the letter, that may be meaningless to some but not to all, nevertheless even a verbal agreement is still an agreement as much as someone's words is responsibility of that person and should be considered as the government could state it on the visitor's file. Anyway, the purpose of this thread was not to point fingers to anyone nor offend anyone, it was purely to ask for help and advice and try to understand how the process works because it is still unclear how the decisions are really made and I am sure that just like me most of all people here would like their family to be able to visit.

Like I said before I didn't mean to come off rude or to engage in a discussion, internet can be really deceiving because you don't know the tone the person is using and sometimes what you write can be misunderstood, I respect every point of view posted in this thread and I appreciate that you all took the time to help.

[Boiler 43,635]

I think it is pretty clear what the factors are in getting a Tourist Visa.

It is also pretty clear that nobody can vouch for someone else in such a matter.

I have no idea what being a Veteran has to do with this issue so I will let that one pass.

In this case the applicant has few ties and is from a high fraud country - QED.

[Linha87 0]

I think it is pretty clear what the factors are in getting a Tourist Visa.

It is also pretty clear that nobody can vouch for someone else in such a matter.

I have no idea what being a Veteran has to do with this issue so I will let that one pass.

In this case the applicant has few ties and is from a high fraud country - QED.

Being a Veteran has nothing to deal with the matter.

And no, the process is still unclear specially because I know people who has been granted tourism visas being students with no strings attached to the country at all when in this case the applicant brought her employer letter stating that she works for the biggest company in the country for 25 years and didn't have any intention of retirement and with her vacations days, plus taxes, plus pay check, house title etc. seems to me a good amount of ties compared to a student. But anyway, we are gonna wait, maybe a couple years or so, and in this while my husband and I will be visiting Brazil which is not bad at all, or maybe, as someone else said, we'll go on vacations somewhere else with my mother, the only thing I am sure of is I am seeing her it doesn't matter where I'll have to go.

[Boiler 43,635]

Owning property, well i live in the US but own property in the UK.

Size of the company, can not think of any relevance. Nor how long she has worked there.

[Noah Lot 387]

I understand that and i agree with you that nobody has any power over one or one's actions, it's not up to other's though to judge someone's action in case something happened specially because nobody knows anybody here, just like I couldn't say what your actions would be, you cannot preview what my husband's would be. But that's not the case because as far as I know we are here to help each others and not to judge or play the guess-teller...anyway, what I meant was that the way that was put before was inappropriate. I understood the general idea but the way it was expressed was not the best. That's all.

For the letter, that may be meaningless to some but not to all, nevertheless even a verbal agreement is still an agreement as much as someone's words is responsibility of that person and should be considered as the government could state it on the visitor's file. Anyway, the purpose of this thread was not to point fingers to anyone nor offend anyone, it was purely to ask for help and advice and try to understand how the process works because it is still unclear how the decisions are really made and I am sure that just like me most of all people here would like their family to be able to visit.

Like I said before I didn't mean to come off rude or to engage in a discussion, internet can be really deceiving because you don't know the tone the person is using and sometimes what you write can be misunderstood, I respect every point of view posted in this thread and I appreciate that you all took the time to help.

Letters that promise something are not enforceable, and neither are any sort of verbal agreements....if they were, all any applicant would have to do is say..."gee, I promise I will return to my country and not work illegally in the US...' and poof...they get a visa....but...sadly, such statements, whether written or spoken, are absolutely worthless because even the VOs have no power to enforce such a promise. If there is no immediate penalty for breaking one's promise or 'word', well, then anyone could say (or write) anything....which they can do, but it holds no sway over the visa process.

[Harsh_77 716]

Being a Veteran has nothing to deal with the matter.

And no, the process is still unclear specially because I know people who has been granted tourism visas being students with no strings attached to the country at all when in this case the applicant brought her employer letter stating that she works for the biggest company in the country for 25 years and didn't have any intention of retirement and with her vacations days, plus taxes, plus pay check, house title etc. seems to me a good amount of ties compared to a student. But anyway, we are gonna wait, maybe a couple years or so, and in this while my husband and I will be visiting Brazil which is not bad at all, or maybe, as someone else said, we'll go on vacations somewhere else with my mother, the only thing I am sure of is I am seeing her it doesn't matter where I'll have to go.

Your mother does have ties to her home country, in most cases a job and property would be considered strong ties, but I m guessing she is also coming to retirement age.

Now with a daughter in US and almost ready to retire Co could assume she would never return back to Brazil and continue to stay in US.

I don't think it would be very difficult to resign from out of Brazil over an email or a call.

Maybe if she has some strong family ties in Brazil then might work.

[josandme 6]

From the state department website:

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.

WHO CAN INFLUENCE THE CONSULAR OFFICER TO REVERSE A DECISION?

Immigration law delegates the responsibility for issuance or refusal of visas to consular officers overseas. They have the final say on all visa cases. By regulation the U.S. Department of State has authority to review consular decisions, but this authority is limited to the interpretation of law, as contrasted to determinations of facts. The question at issue in such denials, whether an applicant possesses the required residence abroad, is a factual one. Therefore, it falls exclusively within the authority of consular officers at our Foreign Service posts to resolve. An applicant can influence the post to change a prior visa denial only through the presentation of new convincing evidence of strong ties.

Financial ties may not be the issue here. What does your mother have holding her to Brazil?

Immediate family?

There is nothing you can do to get a decision reversed. Your mother has to present more convincing evidence.<br style="margin-left: 0px;">

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