Advice for tourist Visa

[Niels Bohr 72]

No kidding Ben, it's easier to believe a negative fact of visa betrayal than to simply trust that fact of a good citizen who contributed countless of volunteer hours to help their country, right? And that this good citizen has no skills to say, a close relative will not be able to return to their home country. Is that what you think how things should work?

I find it quite funny that they let a welfare brat who have his friend come to the US, while a hardworking person stay unable to come.

Because of this problem, I'll just simply file several complaints and will show evidence that the Celebs are abusing their visa priveliges as well. Eventhough this won't help my cause. It'll make it even harder for everyone else to get a visa. That is what I want.

to the OP: While as a citizen you can enter the embassy, you cannot obtain information about a visa denial, other than generic info. Your appearance at the embassy everyday (allegedly) won't put any pressure on any VO, no matter how experienced or inexperienced he or she may be. You cannot control their decision making, nor can any senator or any 'big shot' friend of yours. Oddly, you claim you and your wife will be attending the niece's interview; but you will quickly discover that you will not be allowed to do so, no matter how you may rant and rave about your 'rights.' You have none as far as this process goes....zero....nada....in spite of all of your 'vast wealth.'

And, if indeed you attempt to accompany her, well, her visa request will be denied even faster....why? because your presence in Cambodia, along with your wife's, means there will no need for the niece to travel in order to visit with your spouse! You will have resolved the 'gosh, I miss my niece' issue instantly.

No U.S. laws will be changed because you might decide to throw a fit in the embassy, or make 'demands' that the entire process be changed to suit you....what you will discover is that if you create enough of a disturbance, you will be placed on the 'no admittance' list..and then you will NOT be allowed to enter the embassy without the permission of the consul general....because all they have to do is state that you are now a security risk..and the end of your daily visits to pester the consular staff.

While local Cambodian citizens work inside our embassy, as other foreign nationals do in every country in which we have an embassy, they are not empowered to adjudicate visas...only VOs (who must be USCs) are legally empowered to do so...without any influence from ANY third party.

Your 'pedigree' or bank account or anything else you may have or possess bears ZERO positive bearing on the eventual adjudication of a tourist visa....every applicant must convince a VO that he or she will depart the US when they say, and not engage in unlawful employment while in tourist status....there is absolutely nothing you can do to enhance her chances of getting said visa....waving your bank statements around or threatening to call your senator will be met with a loud yawn....you cannot do anything to change the VO's mind, or our laws.

You will no doubt soon discover this fact.....

Edited May 25, 2013 by Niels Bohr

[Ben Thardunthat 4]

The laughter from the consulate will be loud...all your fluffing of feathers won't change a single thing....a simple fact to consider....no one, save for ICE officials, have any authority over another human being who is in the US...which means YOU cannot legally force your wife's niece to board a plane when it's time to go home....you cannot make her do anything, no matter how many dollars are currently in your bank accounts, no matter how important you think you are. Trying to tattle out some other group of folks who may or may not be abusing their B1 visas won't even generate a phone call from ICE...nor will your tantrums somehow convince the VOs of their error of their ways...and certainly will not cause them to suddenly reach for the approval stamp for a future application of your wife's niece....there is no cause and effect by anyone's attempt to influence a VO....it's been tried umpteen thousands of times...to little or no avail. As you also discovered, your favorite senator could not influence the VO's decision (for one simple reason: Senators and congressmen are in the legislative branch of our government, while the DoS is in the executive branch; and, calling upon a class from Govt 101, no member of one branch can tell another what to do....and you could try to stuff all the money you want into your senator's pocket and the end result will be the same...all he or she can do is write some boiler plate letter, to which the consulate will respond with their own boiler plate letter....and their decision will remain unchanged. And how is that 'hardworking person's 'business' going survive during her absence? Oh yes....thanks to the 'help' of those mythical relatives who will jump right in from the rice paddies and run the biz while the niece is out shopping for a husband...

[Niels Bohr 72]

You don't understand.

They give out bans at the embassy. No ICE involved. Once they have evidence. In other words, the next time these folks apply for a visa, they'll hit with a ban automatically. No need for ICE.

The laughter from the consulate will be loud...all your fluffing of feathers won't change a single thing....a simple fact to consider....no one, save for ICE officials, have any authority over another human being who is in the US...which means YOU cannot legally force your wife's niece to board a plane when it's time to go home....you cannot make her do anything, no matter how many dollars are currently in your bank accounts, no matter how important you think you are. Trying to tattle out some other group of folks who may or may not be abusing their B1 visas won't even generate a phone call from ICE...nor will your tantrums somehow convince the VOs of their error of their ways...and certainly will not cause them to suddenly reach for the approval stamp for a future application of your wife's niece....there is no cause and effect by anyone's attempt to influence a VO....it's been tried umpteen thousands of times...to little or no avail. As you also discovered, your favorite senator could not influence the VO's decision (for one simple reason: Senators and congressmen are in the legislative branch of our government, while the DoS is in the executive branch; and, calling upon a class from Govt 101, no member of one branch can tell another what to do....and you could try to stuff all the money you want into your senator's pocket and the end result will be the same...all he or she can do is write some boiler plate letter, to which the consulate will respond with their own boiler plate letter....and their decision will remain unchanged. And how is that 'hardworking person's 'business' going survive during her absence? Oh yes....thanks to the 'help' of those mythical relatives who will jump right in from the rice paddies and run the biz while the niece is out shopping for a husband...

[Ben Thardunthat 4]

I understand only too well, and no matter what may or may not happen to those alleged B1 abusers, it won't change a single thing about your wife's niece ability to obtain a tourist visa....if in fact said group received a ban or had their visas cancelled, the VOs are not going to call the niece and say 'good news...thanks to that 'rich' American dude who ratted out those visa abusers, why, we are going to overlook section 214b of the INA and award you a visa....and we won't even charge you a penny!'....not too likely.

[Niels Bohr 72]

I know there's no way that my niece will get a visa. That's a given. Maybe when she's older, in you 60s. However, I will make it worse for other people.

I understand only too well, and no matter what may or may not happen to those alleged B1 abusers, it won't change a single thing about your wife's niece ability to obtain a tourist visa....if in fact said group received a ban or had their visas cancelled, the VOs are not going to call the niece and say 'good news...thanks to that 'rich' American dude who ratted out those visa abusers, why, we are going to overlook section 214b of the INA and award you a visa....and we won't even charge you a penny!'....not too likely.

[Ben Thardunthat 4]

A one man crusade.....no doubt we will read about your exploits at CNN....

[Niels Bohr 72]

One man.

Have you read that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step? That's what I was told when people say I can't become an Engineer. You're not good enough.

It's not about CNN, or any news. That's what you think that is, right?

I'm just pushing the buttons to make it harder for these people getting their visas and abusing it. Especially singers who, on a traveler visas, getting compensation at all these random clubs, restaurants. I can only imagine what the Cambodian population in the US will feel after they hear that their stars are not permitted anymore for 10 years. It's quite unfortunate.

A one man crusade.....no doubt we will read about your exploits at CNN....

[Ben Thardunthat 4]

while your heart might be in the right place (I am not a fan of visa abusers either), sadly, due to a Congress who gives only lip service to border security, and who, amazingly, is poised to reward 11 million + visa cheats and border jumpers with some form of work authorization and/or eventual citizenship (which will make a mockery of our current visa laws), no one will likely give you the time of day, even if you had videos of these visa abusers working and collecting $$$....there just isn't enough political will power to enforce our current laws..which is sad....and I can't think of a single reason why this should be except a cynical one: Big Business wants the cheapest labor they can find, and are willing, with the savings, to pour cash into campaign coffers of the very folks who are supposed to represent us, to 'encourage' them to pass laws that keep the supply of cheap labor abundant, while lowering corporate tax rates....anyway, good luck...hope somebody answers the phone....

[Boiler 43,385]

https://www.numbersusa.com/content/

This might be a good site to look at.

Just some thoughts:

1. Whilst you would certainly be admitted to a US Embassy, Visa's are dealt with by US Consulates. You need an appointment to get past security.
2. There are at least 11 million working in the US without authorisation full time, which does not seem to bother the US Government one jot. It is not as if the majority are not easy to track down.
3. No Government official is going to talk to you about a foreign national's visitor visa application, it has nothing to do with you.
4. If you want to see some serious abuse of USC's, go and read some of the threads concerning VAWA abuse and the total lack of interest by USCIS etc.
5. Whilst it is so easy to disappear once you are inside the US it is difficult to see anything changing, half of those here illegally entered with visa's. Difficult to see anything changing, well not in my lifetime.
6. You may have seen news reports of ICE releasing people here illegally with multiple criminal convictions, why are they going to be interested about an alleged music performance?

[goat 1]

I just came across this thread while starting to think about bringing my wife's sister from Thailand on a tourist visa for a legitimate visit.

I am a lawyer in the Los Angeles area, but before I married a Thai woman in 2008 I had little experience with immigration "law." I was horrified and outraged at the way my wife and I were treated with the K-1 application, green card, and eventual removal of conditions. (We are good now, thanks in part to visajourney). I have 33 years of presenting "proof" in a courtroom, but the concept of "proof" has a different meaning to USCIS than it does to a real judge. My convicted criminal clients have far greater rights than an ordinary visa applicant who has done no wrong. And it is unfair that immigrants originating in the western hemisphere can simply walk across the border somewhere, while less advantaged Asians, Africans and Europeans have so much trouble. Books could be written, and have been written, on how messed up the process is.

I think it is unfair to taunt Niels Bohr over his unique efforts to provoke a change in an unjust system. His methods may be misguided, but his frusration is understandable. Most users of this forum have been victimized by this "legal" process. If the question is, "do we have a right to be treated fairly by our government," the answer is "yes" for citizens and no for everyone else. And if we, the citizens, are not being treated fairly, what is our recourse? I have written endless letters to my senator and congressperson. They are liberal democrats who favor a form of immigration reform that would give greater opportunities to ordinary people seeking a better life. But they have no authority to intervene in the day to day affairs of the USCIS, and they generally don't. This is a failure of democracy, and certainly not the only one. Think about it, no one is going to run for office on a platform that favors easing restrictions on tourist visas for people from poorer countries, for the benefit of their American families.

So deal with the reality as it is and will be. The USCIS and state department branches are guided by "aspects of life that bind people to their place of residence, including, but not limited to, possessions, family relationships, employment, education, and prospects in Cambodia. As each person's situation is different, there are no set answers or documents as to what constitutes adequate ties." The issue for the interviewer is: what is the likelihood of this applicant becoming part of the underground employment economy and overstaying their visa? This is not a legal standard, it is a bureaucratic standard that employs racist and sexist assumptions and denies the applicant any individualized treatment. "there are no set standards" means "we will be arbitrary if we feel like it."

There is a cottage industry in Bangkok near the embassy on Thanon Wittayu where specialists assist Thai people with visas. As a lawyer, I tip my hat to these folks because they have a much better sense of how to satisfy the bureaucrats than American "immigration lawyers" do, and they charge a lot less. What they would tell a Thai person (equally applicable to a Cambodian) is to create an appearance of binding ties to the country of origin. And in many instances, this means planning far ahead. As someone mentioned, plunking a lump sum of money into a relative's bank account by wire a week before the interview is not going to cut it.

I get my information from the Thai experts. The visa applicant must have roughly $3000 (US) in their account at least three months before the application, because this is the estimated cost of a low budget trip to the U.S. for legitimate tourism. The visa applicant must have a plausible explanation for a source of funds in the country of origin, which is tough in a country where 60% of income is under the table. And the person must have a reason to come back - a skill that will land a job, a job that they have had for more than a year, minor children, a husband or wife, a dependent parent, ownership of land, and so forth. And if they lack these things, the appearance of having these things can be created, over a period of time. No amount of sponsor wealth will change the application process directly. (well, maybe the Koch brothers have special channels)

I see Thai tourists in Los Angeles all the time. Thailand is a relatively income-stratified country with many poor, a small middle class, and a smaller group of wealthy people. The latter two groups get tourist visas as a matter of course, while the poorer people do not. So I think the best answer is to help the applicant become a middle class person for a while. And using a local assistant is usually a good idea, but don't let them handle the cash beyond their fee. I am not advising anyone to defraud the authorities. Lying to anyone during this process leads to long term ineligibility if not a permanent disqualification.

Finally, seeking vengeance against a mindless, soul-less bureaucracy through legal action and complaints is likely to cause more psychic damage than it relieves. You cannot reasonably expect a satsifying result. It will add to your frustration.

Plan ahead, Niels Bohr, and persevere. It can be done.

Goat