B2 Visa for Indonesian Citizens

[Springrain22 427]

I'd say their chances are slim to none. Too poor for a visa. You can't really sponsor their trip, there's no such thing for a tourist visa.

[AlinaB 43]

21 hours ago, usmsbow said:

She's coming in May for 2-3 weeks. I don't know if she booked her plane ticket before getting her visa. She will be staying with her daughter, so I assume they didn't inquire much about accommodations while she's here. 

Great thanks =)

13 hours ago, CEE53147 said:

Do NOT buy tickets before they get the visa. It will not improve their chances.

Never intended to - not my first rodeo ;-) 

[AlinaB 43]

4 hours ago, Springrain22 said:

I'd say their chances are slim to none. Too poor for a visa. You can't really sponsor their trip, there's no such thing for a tourist visa.

Don't know what you mean about "sponsor their trip". We have read the pertinent information that writing letters and such does no good, so we had no intention of doing so. We did however see that there is no problem with someone else purchasing the flight for those visiting. And that as long as it is financially feasible for them to be gone, which is absolutely is because while they make nothing, their bills are also nothing, then there should be no problem there either. 

 

Please clarify your statement so I can better understand your meaning. We prefer to be prepared for the worst, but it won't stop us from trying. As I have mentioned ad nauseam on this thread - we are not delusional. 

[Boiler 43,450]

3 minutes ago, AlinaB said:

Don't know what you mean about "sponsor their trip". We have read the pertinent information that writing letters and such does no good, so we had no intention of doing so. We did however see that there is no problem with someone else purchasing the flight for those visiting. And that as long as it is financially feasible for them to be gone, which is absolutely is because while they make nothing, their bills are also nothing, then there should be no problem there either. 

 

Please clarify your statement so I can better understand your meaning. We prefer to be prepared for the worst, but it won't stop us from trying. As I have mentioned ad nauseam on this thread - we are not delusional. 

Nobody here decides, apply and find out.

[az2014 381]

19 minutes ago, AlinaB said:

Don't know what you mean about "sponsor their trip". We have read the pertinent information that writing letters and such does no good, so we had no intention of doing so. We did however see that there is no problem with someone else purchasing the flight for those visiting. And that as long as it is financially feasible for them to be gone, which is absolutely is because while they make nothing, their bills are also nothing, then there should be no problem there either. 

 

Please clarify your statement so I can better understand your meaning. We prefer to be prepared for the worst, but it won't stop us from trying. As I have mentioned ad nauseam on this thread - we are not delusional. 

One of the first questions at the interview (its already on the DS160 too) is who is paying for the trip. Answer of 'myself' means a nice big plus. Answer of 'my _anyone else in the US already_' means a big fat minus. If you can't even afford the trip yourself then there is less chance of returning.

 

Off course there are exceptions depending on specific curcumstances but its common sense.

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

5 hours ago, Springrain22 said:

I'd say their chances are slim to none. Too poor for a visa. 

I don’t know if I necessarily agree with this. If you’re poor, and especially if you’re elderly,  being poor in your home country where you have property, probably a cheaper cost of living, probably a family-and-friends support system and probably access to public healthcare (I don’t know the Indonesian system) is way easier than being poor and illegal in the US. We’ve had other posters on here report success in getting visas for their “poor” parents to vacation in the US, paying for airfare and hosting them etc.

 

OP, it’s not a shoe-in but definitely worth a try. Anything that ties them to home needs to emphasized in the application. 

[AlinaB 43]

1 minute ago, SusieQQQ said:

I don’t know if I necessarily agree with this. If you’re poor, and especially if you’re elderly,  being poor in your home country where you have property, probably a cheaper cost of living, probably a family-and-friends support system and probably access to public healthcare (I don’t know the Indonesian system) is way easier than being poor and illegal in the US. We’ve had other posters on here report success in getting visas for their “poor” parents to vacation in the US, paying for airfare and hosting them etc.

 

OP, it’s not a shoe-in but definitely worth a try. Anything that ties them to home needs to emphasized in the application. 

THANK YOU for your honest, yet kind advice. This is what we are hoping will be case. We have several months to help prepare them as well, to make sure they can clearly articulate their strong ties back home. Beyond the house and his fishing house boat, their livestock and garden, they also have another grandbaby in Indonesia, as well as their entire family. My husband's Dad can rent his boat out while he is gone to help provide money to help his son take care of the house. And his son and daughter-in-law have jobs of their own (government) and no house of their own as a burden. We see a pretty clear story of both ties and no financial burden from leaving. 

 

If they don't get approved, which we will mentally prepare for, at least we tried. I truly appreciate your reply. 

[Boiler 43,450]

1 hour ago, AlinaB said:

THANK YOU for your honest, yet kind advice. This is what we are hoping will be case. We have several months to help prepare them as well, to make sure they can clearly articulate their strong ties back home. Beyond the house and his fishing house boat, their livestock and garden, they also have another grandbaby in Indonesia, as well as their entire family. My husband's Dad can rent his boat out while he is gone to help provide money to help his son take care of the house. And his son and daughter-in-law have jobs of their own (government) and no house of their own as a burden. We see a pretty clear story of both ties and no financial burden from leaving. 

 

If they don't get approved, which we will mentally prepare for, at least we tried. I truly appreciate your reply. 

There have been thousand of similar posts on this, the one very common story and my own experience is that you get asked two or three questions and that is it. Done and out before you know what happened.

 

The application has the information needed to make the call in the vast majority of circumstances.

 

Now of course there are always outliers, unusual cases, but this sounds a pretty common application, no big story.

 

[Ryan H 3,791]

~~~Closed for review~~~

 

***Thread back open, two posts violating the TOS (abusive language) removed.***

Edited March 22, 2018 by Ryan H

[AlinaB 43]

Just coming back to let everyone know, especially the naysayers, that my very poor in-laws were approved yesterday. Which just shows that if they have someone helping them in the process, the chances of success are greater. We paid for everything and accepted the cost risk - comforted by the knowledge that we had to at least try.

 

The only thing they brought to the interview, beyond what was required, was proof of home and fishing boat ownership. 

[WeGuyGal 1,052]

Congrats on their visa.

 

A majority of the posts were fact based advice based on past trends. Applications for visitor visas are a chance based on individual circumstances. Glad they're approved and hope they enjoy their visit. 

[AlinaB 43]

Just now, WeGuyGal said:

Congrats on their visa.

 

A majority of the posts were fact based advice based on past trends. Applications for visitor visas are a chance based on individual circumstances. Glad they're approved and hope they enjoy their visit. 

Yes. However, some of them were bullying, rude, and totally unnecessary. I live in a fact based world - based on my career and PhD. It’s how I categorize life. I thanked the people who gave me facts without any snide comments. 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

53 minutes ago, AlinaB said:

Just coming back to let everyone know, especially the naysayers, that my very poor in-laws were approved yesterday. Which just shows that if they have someone helping them in the process, the chances of success are greater. We paid for everything and accepted the cost risk - comforted by the knowledge that we had to at least try.

 

The only thing they brought to the interview, beyond what was required, was proof of home and fishing boat ownership. 

Congrats on the visa.

 

as one of the ones who suggested you give it a go on the facts of the case,  I’d also point out that you don’t know for sure that having someone help them made a difference.  They either have the right ties or they don’t, and they clearly did. Enjoy the visit.

[Boiler 43,450]

On 3/20/2018 at 10:35 AM, Boiler said:

Does not sound like they will be able to stay very long with those commitments.

 

There is not much to do, fill the form and go to the interview, their situation is what it is.

 

Not sure what was wrong with my comments.

[Going through 5,668]

I think OP was referring to the removed posts, perhaps.