Need to tale care of my grandmother who will undergo surgery

[Dkyle 0]

Hi, I am planning to visit US to take care of my grandmother who will undergo knee surgery on september. I am a registered nurse and I will be the one who will be assisting her post operatively. My current status is that I am an employed nurse for 5 years in a big hospital here in the Philippines, married also to a nurse and has a 3 y/o child. I have only travelled to hongkong last 2007. I have already tried applying for US tourist visa last 2005 when I as still 3rd year college. I have no acceptable funds in the bank, and my salary is just around 18-20k pesos. I have no other properties. My relatives in the US can provide me a document regarding the medical and surgical operation coming from the hospital/US insurance of my grandmother. My questions are: is there a good chance i can be approve? Can my aunt in the US provide me affidavit of support for my expenses? If I apply and get denied again, will it make my record worse since I got denied already, or just wait for a better status before I apply again? Thank you.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

You cannot come to the US to work on a tourist visa. She needs someone else besides you to assist her after the operation, like the hospital staff and the PT people.

[Dkyle 0]

I will not go there to work, just to assist her post operative since my aunt has a small child and she needs someone who can help her to take care of my grandmother.

[lost_at_sea 995]

I assume you were intending to apply for another tourist visa?

Tourist visas do not allow you to work (so an affidavit of support may actually be counter-intuitive to obtaining a tourism visa, as it could look like you're being paid for services). There is no other kind of visa that covers this sort of temporary short-term personal work, either.

If you want to apply for a tourist visa, you can obviously give it a go. A previous denial should tell you what they expected to see that you didn't show last time. They'll want to know you have very strong ties to your homeland and that you intend to leave at the end of your visa stay. Visiting a family member without strong ties home will look very much like you have immigrant intent.

A previous denial does not mean a definite future denial, but the burden of evidence to show that you're going to use the visa appropriately is on you.

Edited August 9, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[JohnR! 5,495]

in order to get a tourist visa to the US you will need to prove ties with your home country and show evidence of sufficient funds for the trip. Your application must stand on its own. You must declare you are coming to visit your grand mother and all, but you should not count on that being a decisive factor. In other words, your application will be judged on its own merits.

Whereas you must inform the officer your address in the US, you might consider refraining from citing any intention to help your grandmother in your professional capacity. Remember the interview is quite short and there is a lot going on. You must be truthful but you must also choose your words carefully not to give the impression you are coming to the US to be a nurse - for money or otherwise. You are not certified to be a RN in the US and if the interviewer should understand that you are trying to come here for work, your visa will be denied.

Be honest but at the same time be mindful of how you express yourself not to give anyone the wrong idea.

Good luck!

[Dkyle 0]

Yes, I intend to apply for another tourist visa. I am aware that tourist visa does not allow me to work in the US.

I'm thinking that asking for an affidavit of support from my aunt will be a good reason to cover for my travel expenses since I have no sufficient funds in my bank to cover my travel expense. It means that she will be the one who will finance my travel expenses when I go to US. Is the affidavit of support acceptable?

Re strong ties, I can only think of two possible ties, one is my employment and another is my family. I don't know if that would be convincing enough for the consul considering I am a Nurse. I have no business or any properties.

What do you think would be my chances of getting approved? Thank you.

[Dan and Judy 614]

Anybody know how long it takes to get a tourist visa? seems like it could be kinda late.

[Dkyle 0]

in order to get a tourist visa to the US you will need to prove ties with your home country and show evidence of sufficient funds for the trip. Your application must stand on its own. You must declare you are coming to visit your grand mother and all, but you should not count on that being a decisive factor. In other words, your application will be judged on its own merits.

Whereas you must inform the officer your address in the US, you might consider refraining from citing any intention to help your grandmother in your professional capacity. Remember the interview is quite short and there is a lot going on. You must be truthful but you must also choose your words carefully not to give the impression you are coming to the US to be a nurse - for money or otherwise. You are not certified to be a RN in the US and if the interviewer should understand that you are trying to come here for work, your visa will be denied.

Be honest but at the same time be mindful of how you express yourself not to give anyone the wrong idea.

Good luck!

So is it better if I tell the officer that I want to visit my grandmother who will be undergoing surgery instead of saying that I will be the one who will take care of my grandmother post surgery?

[JohnR! 5,495]

Considering you are not authorized to be a RN in the US, declaring your intentions to take care of your grandmother after surgery will most likely get you in trouble. Furthermore, from a legal POV, you should not take up the functions of an RN while in the US, not matter who the patient is. You may end up facing criminal charges if something were to go wrong with your grandma.

Having said that, there is nothing wrong with your wanting to be near her during these trying times.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Gegel

[aaron2020 11,651]

Visiting the US is okay.

Coming to the US to "assist" your grandmother because you are a nurse is work. It's work because a US person can be hired to "assist" your grandmother.

No one can pay another person to visit the US for you, but your family can certainly pay to have someone assist your grandmother.

How you present yourself to the CO will be super important.

Visiting is okay. Assisting is not okay and is considered work.

[Dkyle 0]

Just to clarify, I will not assist my grandmother during hospitalization and function as a nurse. I will just be there mostly as a companion since my aunt has to go to work and take care of her son. When my grandmother gets discharged, I will be the one assisting her at home considering its a knee surgery where in she cannot walk for a few days and assist with her activities.

[belinda63 3,023]

Sure I understand what you are saying...Grandma won't be able to get around for a bit and needs a companion to do things like go to the grocery, help her around the house, drive her places, etc. Not an official job but just a family member helping her out while she is unable to do for herself. You need to be careful to keep your RN status and the helping Grandma separate.

As to the tourist visa, you have to apply on our own although Grandma showing she will provide you a place to stay while you are there will help. Anyone applying for a tourist visa is considered to be intending to immigrate and it is up to the applicant to prove otherwise. Gather all the proof you can as to why you will return home after your visit. Family, children, job, school, anything to show you don't intend to remain in the US.

[apple21 953]

Just to clarify, I will not assist my grandmother during hospitalization and function as a nurse. I will just be there mostly as a companion since my aunt has to go to work and take care of her son. When my grandmother gets discharged, I will be the one assisting her at home considering its a knee surgery where in she cannot walk for a few days and assist with her activities.

All you can do is apply and wait for the consul's decision, nothing to lose there but the filing fee. You don't need any kind of assistance or paper work from your relatives in the US. You have applied before so you know the drill.

[Cathi 5,728]

Yes, I intend to apply for another tourist visa. I am aware that tourist visa does not allow me to work in the US.

I'm thinking that asking for an affidavit of support from my aunt will be a good reason to cover for my travel expenses since I have no sufficient funds in my bank to cover my travel expense. It means that she will be the one who will finance my travel expenses when I go to US. Is the affidavit of support acceptable?

Re strong ties, I can only think of two possible ties, one is my employment and another is my family. I don't know if that would be convincing enough for the consul considering I am a Nurse. I have no business or any properties.

What do you think would be my chances of getting approved? Thank you.

there is no affidavit of support for a tourist visa. You must apply and be approved on your own merits, not the merits of someone else. Showing that you will have someone here to support you will not help, in fact it could work against you. You must show ties to your home country proving that you will in fact return.

[SBB 74]

So is it better if I tell the officer that I want to visit my grandmother who will be undergoing surgery instead of saying that I will be the one who will take care of my grandmother post surgery?

Just tell the officer "I am planning to visit my grandmother" don't say anything about her surgery or helping her unless specifically asked.