How to appeal and success rate

[Noah Lot 387]

If I had the 'magic answer' that was guaranteed to work 100% of the time (or even 90%) I could sell it to those seeking visas and retire in comfort, assuming I would choose to compromise my ethics for mere money (which I would not do).

Bottom line: there is no magic answer. All those things you tossed in the air as some vain hope that somehow one or more of them would cause a VO to overlook the obvious fact that your sister has virtually zero reasons to return are meaningless. Whether or not she can conceive is not a parameter that is weighed during an interview; trying to have some representative 'intervene' or offer their unwanted and worthless opinion, whether a congressman, a mayor, a librarian or the dog catcher, will not affect the process.

An applicant's 'word' or promise to return has about as much value as a week old newspaper. History is an excellent teacher, for those who care to review the previous events. Countless thousands have likely offered reasons for their return that turned out not to be true, and even the newest VO has been exposed to those fairy tales.

Sympathy plays no role in the visa adjudication process -- no one cares why she wants to go to the US; what matters is what will make the VO believe (and I mean really believe) she would return to a life you have described as far from being a lure back to the hometown. Newly arriving VOs are given tremendous amounts of information about the country they are about to serve in, from the local economy to politics, and you can bet that there are fat files full of those same sympathetic stories that resulted in a visa issued to somebody who 'suddenly' changed their mind at baggage claim.

Another thing to remember...YOU are not the visa applicant; your sister is. Whatever you decide to write in support of her application means virtually nothing...whatever promises you make are not enforceable. The VOs have no legal authority over YOU to enforce any such promise.

As an aside, I don't see any details about how you came to acquire residency or whatever status you have in the US...did you travel as a tourist and forget to return? That will instantly work against her...(once one member does it, they often try to get the rest of their siblings to the US by any means)...a student who also offered similar reasons for your return, yet??? Or maybe you did the 'right way' - via a K1 visa....if so, good for you. But...as you might have surmised, your actions, whatever they were, can usually only have a negative effect; they will rarely become a positive one.

At the end of the day, there is no 'one size fits all' solution to the difficulty your sister has had and will continue to have convincing a VO about her intentions....and that is what matters. Intentions. That is what the VOs are judging...are they or will they be 101% convinced she will return? Until the answer to that question becomes 'yes' in a VO's mind (and in the VO's mind alone, not yours, not some congressman's, not some low level politician's), then the answer will be 'no.'

Oops...now I see your time line..and that you used the K1 visa...so for that, I applaud you. However, your sister's situation has not changed (sadly).

Someday our congress might decide to rewrite some laws about visas...but until there is tremendous oversight and enforcement, and total elimination of AOS's or instant forgiveness for having violated our immigration laws by virtue of marrying some American citizen, the VOa (and our current laws) will bear down on those whose ties are little more than a suggestion.

[JohnR! 5,495]

1338342746[/url]' post='5407174']

trouble is that there is no such thing as a 'conditional' visa except possibly for minor children (like under 12 or so), nor can USCIS tell anyone upon arrival where they can and cannot go within the borders of the US...once again, these sorts of 'strategems' have been tried over and over...whether she is allegedly traveling with her father or not does not make her more or less qualified for a tourist visa, nor will some sort of self imposed travel restriction overcome 214b.

I may have expressed myself incorrectly. The visa itself is a garden variety tourist visa, and it comes with annotations to the effect tha the bearer must travel with a parent and limited to a certain geographic area of the US. It is not really a stratagem so much as it is a way to ensure that certain exceptions may be addressed. In addition certain visas also include a restriction to the duration of the stay. Therefore if her father could accompany her to the US that might be a way for her to spend some time with her sister here. It was only an idea for a course of action that has been travelled before.

[bt1 42]

Thank you for the replies. I understand everything you are saying and even agree with most of it. However you are not offering any solution to the problem. After all this is our situation, our life the way it's gonna be. We are not faking notes from employer or transferring money to her bank account or signing over a property on her name or marrying her fiance just so she can get the damn visa! We go ahead and tell the truth! All we have is our word and our honest intentions, no one can appreciate that?!? Please give me an advice not the facts I already know.

Unfortunately, there is nothing else you can do: I can certainly relate as come from Eastern European country and was never successful in getting a tourist visa despite never wanting to use it to stay in the USA, I only wanted to visit my friends. I even had a well paid job for over 15 years, owned an apartment and had 2 children, but was divorced. That one fact never let my application through the system as the presumption was, eligible to marry, then you must want to stay in he USA and get married. Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is that she is unlikely to ever get a tourist visa based on the current situation.

[Harsh_77 716]

I don't understand this ... if the concern is that they will go the US and then adjust why don't we just create non-adjustable tourist visas? This would allow so many more people to come to our country (and spend their tourism dollars) and solve the issue of people adjusting after arriving in the US. It seems so logical, so simple.

How do you handle ppl who just care is to get their foot in the door, all they need is one time entry. How do you handle who never returns to their home country be adjustable or non - adjustable visa?

Safest way is to stop them in their home country - the posting you see here for not getting visa are only fraction there are hundreds of tourist visa issued all the time.

[Boiler 43,430]

I may have expressed myself incorrectly. The visa itself is a garden variety tourist visa, and it comes with annotations to the effect tha the bearer must travel with a parent and limited to a certain geographic area of the US. It is not really a stratagem so much as it is a way to ensure that certain exceptions may be addressed. In addition certain visas also include a restriction to the duration of the stay. Therefore if her father could accompany her to the US that might be a way for her to spend some time with her sister here. It was only an idea for a course of action that has been travelled before.

Annotations are meaningless. You occasionally see the PoE making them as well.

[JohnR! 5,495]

1338391246[/url]' post='5408213']

Annotations are meaningless. You occasionally see the PoE making them as well.

Perhaps, but if they come attached to a visa, the whole may be greater than the sum of the parts.

[Boiler 43,430]

Nope

[MissAAA 9]

She can re-apply later when she can establish more ties in her home country.

[Noah Lot 387]

I may have expressed myself incorrectly. The visa itself is a garden variety tourist visa, and it comes with annotations to the effect tha the bearer must travel with a parent and limited to a certain geographic area of the US. It is not really a stratagem so much as it is a way to ensure that certain exceptions may be addressed. In addition certain visas also include a restriction to the duration of the stay. Therefore if her father could accompany her to the US that might be a way for her to spend some time with her sister here. It was only an idea for a course of action that has been travelled before.

USCIS and CBP do not have the authority to restrict a person's movements within the US after admitting said person...no matter what their age. As to some means of 'forcing' a young adult to travel with a parent, well, sounds like the sister is over 18, so that issue is moot. As to the duration of stay, once again, moot...if duration of stay was really enforced, no one would or could overstay their visas...but thousands do every year...and more thousands 'change their mind' about how long they were really going to remain, once they latch onto some American citizen who appears to be the one who will help said visa holder obtain a green card.

sometimes annotations are made for minor children, having to arrive with a parent, etc, but once admitted, no one is going to check on them, and hene the futility of such an arrangement becomes apparent when said child takes up residence with a relative, attending public school on the taxpayer's dime and nothing bad ever happens to that child as far as immigration issues are concerned.

[Noah Lot 387]

Annotations are mostly useless....often CBP makes an annotation of 'No EOS COS AOS' (no extension of status, no change of status no adjustment of status) but when the paperwork arrives seeking any one of the above, the application is rubber stamped 'approved' the majority of the time....annotations cannot control human behavior.....they are no security blanket against overstaying or 'falling in love' moments after wheels down...and thus will not sway a VO of even modest experience to dole out a visa to a person who has no compelling reasons to return to her country.

[JohnR! 5,495]

1338400900[/url]' post='5408676']

USCIS and CBP do not have the authority to restrict a person's movements within the US after admitting said person...no matter what their age. As to some means of 'forcing' a young adult to travel with a parent, well, sounds like the sister is over 18, so that issue is moot. As to the duration of stay, once again, moot...if duration of stay was really enforced, no one would or could overstay their visas...but thousands do every year...and more thousands 'change their mind' about how long they were really going to remain, once they latch onto some American citizen who appears to be the one who will help said visa holder obtain a green card.

sometimes annotations are made for minor children, having to arrive with a parent, etc, but once admitted, no one is going to check on them, and hene the futility of such an arrangement becomes apparent when said child takes up residence with a relative, attending public school on the taxpayer's dime and nothing bad ever happens to that child as far as immigration issues are concerned.

I now am sure I expressed myself incorrectly. My reply to the OP was simply meant as a suggestion, based on precedent, to something that she could try with the hope of a different outcome at a possible next interview. It was not meant as a be-all end-all solution to denied visas.

I am sure much of what you say is correct but it does not change the fact that such annotations exist in cases where exceptions were made.

[Noah Lot 387]

I now am sure I expressed myself incorrectly. My reply to the OP was simply meant as a suggestion, based on precedent, to something that she could try with the hope of a different outcome at a possible next interview. It was not meant as a be-all end-all solution to denied visas.

I am sure much of what you say is correct but it does not change the fact that such annotations exist in cases where exceptions were made.

such annotations would not apply to somebody over 18, to the extent that they have any real effect (which is minimal at best and zero most of the time).

Remember, if the sister returns soon to the embassy to try some new and improved strategy, the first question the VO will likely ask her is: "What has changed in YOUR circumstances in the last 'x' days or weeks?' -- offering some silly notion that now (miraculously) she plans to travel with her father, and therefore should merit a visa, does not address the question posed to her....which asked...'what changed in HER circumstances?'....creating some supposedly novel method of attaching oneself to another as a means of overcoming 214b is futile...and dodges the question totally. This young adult would still be unemployed, owns no property, has few if any financial resources of her own, has no realistic chance of improving her lot in life in Bulgaria with her current BF and has every reason to remain in the US, hoping for salvation, irrespective of her alleged inability to conceive a child. Based on the fact that there will be NO significant, positive changes in her circumstances since the last application, what conclusion do you think will be drawn by the next VO? easy to guess.

[Noah Lot 387]

such annotations would not apply to somebody over 18, to the extent that they have any real effect (which is minimal at best and zero most of the time).

Remember, if the sister returns soon to the embassy to try some new and improved strategy, the first question the VO will likely ask her is: "What has changed in YOUR circumstances in the last 'x' days or weeks?' -- offering some silly notion that now (miraculously) she plans to travel with her father, and therefore should merit a visa, does not address the question posed to her....which asked...'what changed in HER circumstances?'....creating some supposedly novel method of attaching oneself to another as a means of overcoming 214b is futile...and dodges the question totally. This young adult would still be unemployed, owns no property, has few if any financial resources of her own, has no realistic chance of improving her lot in life in Bulgaria with her current BF and has every reason to remain in the US, hoping for salvation, irrespective of her alleged inability to conceive a child. Based on the fact that there will be NO significant, positive changes in her circumstances since the last application, what conclusion do you think will be drawn by the next VO? easy to guess.

And even if she tried to make the claim she would be traveling with dad, who can enforce that? The Bulgarian police? A VO? some silly annotation? Answer: such a statement has no relevance and would more than likely reinforce the VO's belief that there are other as yet undisclosed reasons for her rapid return to try for a visa again.

[JohnR! 5,495]

1338403163[/url]' post='5408752']

such annotations would not apply to somebody over 18,

Yes, these annotations apply to the bearer of the visa, regardless of age.

[JohnR! 5,495]

1338401101[/url]' post='5408688']

Annotations are mostly useless.....

Maybe they are, but they do exist and that is why I mentioned them. Maybe they are a possibility in this case, maybe they are not. We cant say for sure one way or the other.