B2 visa chances

[Nikki&Nathan 1]

Hey all , I am hoping to visit my best friend in the US my Visa appointment is in 2 weeks so i am looking for some advise . I am from South Africa been in my job for 15 years I am taking the following docs as proof of ties

1. Letter of leave application from my boss

2. Credit card statements

3. A copy of my paypal statement as I have transferred $3000 which will then be transferred to friends account to cover the cost of my expenses.

4. a letter from my friend to say i will be staying at her residence for the three weeks i am there.

5. A copy of my rent to own lease agreement with a letter from the landlord

6 copies of my tax returns

can anyone else provide some advise please.

thanks so much

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Best friend or girlfriend?

1. Anyone can write a letter

2. Credit cards are easily movable

3. Works against you possibly

4. Again anyone can write a letter, could work against you

5. Leases can be broken

6. Doesn't really mean anything.

Your ties may or may not be looked at. All that you can do is try.

[Nikki&Nathan 1]

Well why do they bother telling you to bring anything to prove your ties. Almost seems impossible. She is my best friend.

[Transborderwife 4,666]

They may get looked at, they may not. there is a former co on here by the screen name of hfm181818. His posts are highly informative on the issue.

[Nikki&Nathan 1]

Can I send him a pm?

[Transborderwife 4,666]

Should be able to

[HFM181818 748]

if you went to the embassy's website, they might have a list of things to consider bringing...but COs do not interview papers and credit card statements....and as others have mentioned, letters mean zilch, credit cards can be paid from anywhere nowadays and leases broken and jobs abandoned...thus, it boils down to you being able to convince a CO that you have more reasons to return than to run down to the courthouse one day after arrival in the US and marry your 'best friend.' BTW, COs with more than ten minutes of interviewing experience can easily translate 'best friend' into what it really means - fiancé. Trying to play word games during the interview will likely backfire....as soon as an applicant starts to evade questions posed to him/her, the interview is pretty much over....COs don't have the luxury of time to spend with an applicant who is reluctant to answer questions honestly and instead tries to use what they think are clever terms that attempt to mask the true situation, whatever it may be.

Most documentary 'evidence' is rarely looked at because all of it can be easily manufactured - and documents wield no physical control over a person's actions...which is why the interview itself is far more important than ten pounds of paper.

Ask yourself this simple question: how can a credit card statement force you to board a plane back to S Africa?

Much of the time, I only asked to see a document as a back check on a statement made by an applicant....and usually because whatever the applicant just told didn't make sense....I did not depend on papers ever...a single bank statement, for example, showing a hefty balance, was worthless....I would often ask an applicant to bring me statements for the past 12-18 months, so I could see the alleged deposits (if they indeed took place) that resulted in the balance indicated....guess what I usually saw? (a) a recent, unexplained large deposit, made from the US or (b) the applicant had some statements made in some kiosk three blocks from the embassy; but the math did not add up as the person counterfeiting such statements did the job in a hurry and forgot to add and subtract accurately! or © the applicant never returned because they knew that their bank statement was phony...(and of course, since they likely had no job, there would not be any record of regular payments to their bank account by their 'employer.')....people often try to be clever, forgetting that many COs can run circles around such 'cleverness'....seen it all...or just about all....only the names change, but the often transparent efforts to fool are pretty similar.

In any event, at the end of the day, it's what the CO believes that matters, not what's printed on some papers.

[Nikki&Nathan 1]

Thank you. Both of us are female therfore there will be no marriage. I can't think of anything else to take with, all I am going on is a three week vacation. Seems doomed to even try, everything just gets shot down

[MacUK 983]

Thank you. Both of us are female therfore there will be no marriage. I can't think of anything else to take with, all I am going on is a three week vacation. Seems doomed to even try, everything just gets shot down

You're not being shot down at all.

All that's been said is that documents are useless, YOU just have to personally convince the CO of your intentions.

[Nikki&Nathan 1]

Yeah I understand that, but then do the insist on proof if they are going to shoot ot down, how else do you prove you are working unless your boss confirms it, how do you prove you own a house unless you have the documentation, how do you prove you can pay your way without showing bank statements, that's my point, why even bring anything if they considered useless. It's just confusing to me and sounds almost impossible.

[HFM181818 748]

Because none of those items, when presented, will guarantee visa issuance. If our B2 visa process was reduced to just having applicants bring in the blue, pink and yellow papers, everyone on the face of the earth would bring in the identical papers and hold their hand out for the visa. No document ever produced by mankind can regulate the actions of a B2 visa holder. No document can exert physical control over a human being. No document can guarantee compliance with US law......and no document can prevent the all too frequent mind changes that befall people when they are standing at the baggage carousel.....thus, the process is instead driven by the one on one interview. Any document can be forged or created in today's world of easy access to basic technology. Some countries have better or worse reputations for such nonsense...but at the end of the day, a piece of paper proves nothing regarding the applicant's INTENT.

Has your 'best friend' ever visited you in S Africa? If so, when and how often. If not, then the term 'best friend' might not be accurate. When was the last time you visited one another? (yes, you can expect these questions)....now, if you decide to be 'creative' and say to the CO, 'oh gosh, yes, she visited me a couple of years ago...' (knowing that, let's say, that statement was not true)....be careful....because I often asked a rather pointed follow up question....a request to see a piece of paper....namely, your friend's airline ticket (a photo copy would do).....you don't want to answer a question with a lie, only to have the CO quickly ask for some sort of viable proof of your last response....I cannot tell you how many people I've interviewed who tried silly games like this....now, I admit, I am very good at reading body language, so if the applicant presented a 'tell' that suggested that I had just hit a nerve, the follow up questions would begin...and I never accepted the answer (when asking for proof), 'I can't get it' or 'I don't know where it is'...sorry...interview over.....be better prepared next time....

Just something to think about....if you are going to make some sort of bold statement or answer to a question, be prepared to back it up somehow. Otherwise, avoid such bold answers unless they are 100% true. Do not toy with a CO....sure, some are more experienced than others, but nowadays, more experienced ones are serving in countries that are more modern, because many of those COs have spent considerable time in 'sand box' countries, and are given more choice assignments as a form of reward. Thus, being interviewed by a relative newbie is less likely in S Africa. So don't try to be clever....be honest at all times....remember, you will be lucky to have a 3 minute interview (4 tops), so any misstep by you might be critical, as you may not have time to re-explain.....don't let the misstep (if it occurs) take place at the end of the interview....as that could easily change the outcome.

Edited March 30, 2016 by HFM181818

[KierenHby 897]

Related, but slightly off topic..

Is there a chance to submit supporting documents and/or letters during the ds160 submission process? If not, how else does an applicant provide supporting documentation.. to document their ties to home.. to a CO if the chances of a CO looking at them during the interview are slim to none during the 60-second interview?

[Nikki&Nathan 1]

Because none of those items, when presented, will guarantee visa issuance. If our B2 visa process was reduced to just having applicants bring in the blue, pink and yellow papers, everyone on the face of the earth would bring in the identical papers and hold their hand out for the visa. No document ever produced by mankind can regulate the actions of a B2 visa holder. No document can exert physical control over a human being. No document can guarantee compliance with US law......and no document can prevent the all too frequent mind changes that befall people when they are standing at the baggage carousel.....thus, the process is instead driven by the one on one interview. Any document can be forged or created in today's world of easy access to basic technology. Some countries have better or worse reputations for such nonsense...but at the end of the day, a piece of paper proves nothing regarding the applicant's INTENT.

Has your 'best friend' ever visited you in S Africa? If so, when and how often. If not, then the term 'best friend' might not be accurate. When was the last time you visited one another? (yes, you can expect these questions)....now, if you decide to be 'creative' and say to the CO, 'oh gosh, yes, she visited me a couple of years ago...' (knowing that, let's say, that statement was not true)....be careful....because I often asked a rather pointed follow up question....a request to see a piece of paper....namely, your friend's airline ticket (a photo copy would do).....you don't want to answer a question with a lie, only to have the CO quickly ask for some sort of viable proof of your last response....I cannot tell you how many people I've interviewed who tried silly games like this....now, I admit, I am very good at reading body language, so if the applicant presented a 'tell' that suggested that I had just hit a nerve, the follow up questions would begin...and I never accepted the answer (when asking for proof), 'I can't get it' or 'I don't know where it is'...sorry...interview over.....be better prepared next time....

Just something to think about....if you are going to make some sort of bold statement or answer to a question, be prepared to back it up somehow. Otherwise, avoid such bold answers unless they are 100% true. Do not toy with a CO....sure, some are more experienced than others, but nowadays, more experienced ones are serving in countries that are more modern, because many of those COs have spent considerable time in 'sand box' countries, and are given more choice assignments as a form of reward. Thus, being interviewed by a relative newbie is less likely in S Africa. So don't try to be clever....be honest at all times....remember, you will be lucky to have a 3 minute interview (4 tops), so any misstep by you might be critical, as you may not have time to re-explain.....don't let the misstep (if it occurs) take place at the end of the interview....as that could easily change the outcome.

We met when she came out to S Africa 8 years ago and when have been in contact ever since we talk on the phone and email everyday, that was the only time she ever came out and this would be my first vist to the USA. Looks like I wouldn't stand a chance of getting a visa

[KierenHby 897]

At the end of the day, what works is..

Go to your interview in 2 weeks, take anything with you that show why you WILL RETURN back to SA. Be honest with anything the CO asks. That's all any applciant can do!

[HFM181818 748]

maybe, but usually only more specialized NIVs required some documents with the application...COs interview people, not papers.