Wifes mom denied from Poland

[tehans 52]

My wife's mom was denied a tourist visa, they say she is retired and has no other family and will stay. Poland is not a high fraud country.

Is there anything we can do at all? She is just coming for a few months when my wife has the baby in 4 months

[Oksana & Max 94]

My wife's mom was denied a tourist visa, they say she is retired and has no other family and will stay. Poland is not a high fraud country.

Is there anything we can do at all? She is just coming for a few months when my wife has the baby in 4 months

Unfortunately there is nothing much she can do. In order to get a tourist visa, the person qualifying have to proove that he will return, not having strong ties back home doesn't help a lot. Being retired, not having any assets or family will reduce the chances of getting the tourist visa. Sorry to hear that visa was denied, but your mom-in-law really need to show some strong evidence that she will return and having daughter in the US doesn't help.

[tehans 52]

I was told if I submit an I-134 and reapply it could be helpful??

[aaydrian 479]

My wife's mom was denied a tourist visa, they say she is retired and has no other family and will stay. Poland is not a high fraud country.

Is there anything we can do at all? She is just coming for a few months when my wife has the baby in 4 months

Poland may not be a high fraud country but that doesn't mean your in a much better position than anyone else. At her age, to be in a better position to get a visa, she would have to be married and have a child who is responsible for her in Poland. From what I see your mother is likely to stay I the US because she has no form of financial, familial or any other responsibility and she's going to the US to help her daughter out with babysitting. If the consulate officer knows the latter then its an automatic 'no' because even if your MIL is babysitting for free, she is taking the job of someone your wife should be paying to care for the baby. The interviewer is working in the best interest of of America and taking the chance with your mother with the present circumstances isn't doing that.

Edited March 20, 2012 by aaydrian

[tehans 52]

Poland may not be a high fraud country but that doesn't mean your in a much better position than anyone else. At her age, to be in a better position to get a visa, she would have to be married and have a child who is responsible for her in Poland. From what I see your mother is likely to stay I the US because she has no form of financial, familial or any other responsibility and she's going to the US to help her daughter out with babysitting. If the consulate officer knows the latter then its an automatic 'no' because even if your MIL is babysitting for free, she is taking the job of someone your wife should be paying to care for the baby. The interviewer is working in the best interest of of America and taking the chance with your mother with the present circumstances isn't doing that.

My wife doesn't work, her mom will not be a baby sitter, she only wants to come here when the baby is born. She has no desire to stay here, she has a flat and car and money but she is retired.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Most people apply again.

[aaydrian 479]

Well if you that your MIL really is qualified then reapply.

[DaveE 178]

Every consulate is different. This is from the US Embassy in Poland

I am a U.S. citizen and want to invite my Polish relative or friend to come to the United States. Is it required that I provide them with an invitation letter or an Affidavit of Support?

A: Visa determinations by consular officers are not based on the assurances or guarantees of U.S. relative or friends. U.S. immigration law requires that each applicant qualify for a visa in his or her own right. It is the applicant’s situation, not that of his U.S. relatives or friends, that is decisive. Thus, invitation letters or Affidavits of Support are optional rather than mandatory for the interview, and the consular officer may choose not to review them if it appears that additional documents will not make a difference in the adjudication.

Additionally, Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) states:

Every alien shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status.

Ask me how I know? My daughter in law gets this, (or the US Embassy Philippines version), read to her every time she applies for a tourist visa. We have her apply every year for her yearly disapproval. Last time with a statement of support from us and a personal letter from our US Senator. This time, the CO flat out told her she will never get a tourist visa to the states because her mom and sister live there. Although she owns a condo, has a full time job at a call center, and goes to college full time, and has visited Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia - the CO says they will never be convinced she would not stay.

Basically, they assume your mother in law will violate the law and stay.

Unless she can prove she has a compelling reason to return home she will not get a visa.

If you are lucky and the CO is having a great day, they might give her one for some unknown reason. Have seen this happen, just not to my family.

[Noah Lot 387]

Nonetheless, the full time babysitting aspect of a 'visit' is something that VOs are always looking for .... merely having a flat and a car and being retired will not prevent such an activity...or, though the soon to be new mom might not be working now, having grandmom there to babysit frees her up to out and look for said job....again, something that most VOs know happens, especially in this economy and with one more mouth to feed, makes logical sense (looking for a job, not having grandmom babysit...that would be the by product of a job search)...sadly, there are no easy quick fix answers...an I-134 is a meaningless document....it has already been shown to be legally UNENFORCEABLE (not sure why the DoS even uses it for K1s) as is any other paper written that 'promises' to send grandmom back home or forbids her from babysitting, etc...because none of those statements are enforceable...the whole thing relies on trust and confidence, not stacks of notarized papers.

And no, a letter from some senator or congressman pulls zero weight ...they cannot order the VO to issue a visa, nor can a representative 'vouch' for anyone....your mom will have to do the convincing...by herself.

[Noah Lot 387]

see the posting above mine that talks about the lack of positive impact a senator's letter had....a lot of people think that just because an applicant is waving such a letter around, why, the VOs will fall all over themselves to issue a visa, when in fact it has the direct opposite effect...it often demonstates the desperation of an applicant to get to the US...or else why would somebody go and harangue their representative to write such a letter, when the representative knows full well that they cannot change the VO's decision....Congress makes the laws; the VOs implement same. Congress has NO power to issue a visa nor to direct any VO to issue one --only the VOs have the legal authority to make visa decisions.

[tehans 52]

Well I guess she won't be coming, it is very sad for my wife. The crazy this is many of the other countries in the European Union are in the visa waiver program and don't even need to go through this

[Noah Lot 387]

Well I guess she won't be coming, it is very sad for my wife. The crazy this is many of the other countries in the European Union are in the visa waiver program and don't even need to go through this

It is not crazy...it is just the way it is. Countries on the VWP had to meet certain criteria, which as of today, Poland has not met. I am sure you won't be surprised to learn that more than a few folks from Poland have used tourist visas to either work illegally in the US or to use it to gain access to this country and then 'forget' to return....blame them, not our laws. The US of A cannot just dole out tourist visas to everyone (certainly not without an extremely rigorous method of enforcing their departure from the US after a visit, and putting other things in place that would dissuade such activity....)

[aaydrian 479]

see the posting above mine that talks about the lack of positive impact a senator's letter had....a lot of people think that just because an applicant is waving such a letter around, why, the VOs will fall all over themselves to issue a visa, when in fact it has the direct opposite effect...it often demonstates the desperation of an applicant to get to the US...or else why would somebody go and harangue their representative to write such a letter, when the representative knows full well that they cannot change the VO's decision....Congress makes the laws; the VOs implement same. Congress has NO power to issue a visa nor to direct any VO to issue one --only the VOs have the legal authority to make visa decisions.

Question is what is the worth of a 'Senator's words' if everyone knows 'The Senator' and has a letter from 'The Senator'?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Well I guess she won't be coming, it is very sad for my wife. The crazy this is many of the other countries in the European Union are in the visa waiver program and don't even need to go through this

There are plenty of stories on this very board of people who applied a second time with the same evidence, and were approved. It's no harm to try again.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I was told if I submit an I-134 and reapply it could be helpful??

It is not a matter of support, it is a matter of countering the presumption that all tourists will not return to their own country. Why not wait until the wife is a citizen, and then she can bring your mother-in-law to the US, instead of trying to jump ahead of the process.