B1/B2 Visa for parents of K-1 Visa Holder

[Ksenia_O 695]

5 minutes ago, DmytriiD said:

wow! In addition to all said above about my parents, they traveled all over Europe during 2018 (like France, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Germany, Poland, Czech Rep, Austria). Just in 1 year...and all that I said above. I really can't believe what happened today after they travelled in snow and cold for 800 km there and back. They also said before them there was an old man who said I dont have any movey, my sister in US paying for everything....and he got approved. So no financial stability and relative in the US...I am confused how then the law works!? Different for everyone...

It's all up to a CO... In his/her discretion. 

[gregcrs2 1,777]

1 minute ago, DmytriiD said:

I mean I think the standard celebration is when all people are together...but yeah I do not take my grandmas, or any other family members, etc. Only parents. And yeah I want them to come visit each summer, why not? 

There is no guarantee they will ever get a tourist visa.  You can keep trying though.  I have friends that have been unsuccessful twice now, applying a year apart and with better justification showing intent to return.  You just never know what will happen at the interview.  Perhaps you should consider a plan B, have first wedding celebration in Ukraine and a second one in the USA.  This way your entire family can attend in Ukraine and then if your parents can get a tourist visa, they can still come meet the rest of your new family.    

[aaron2020 11,651]

13 minutes ago, DmytriiD said:

I mean I think the standard celebration is when all people are together...but yeah I do not take my grandmas, or any other family members, etc. Only parents. And yeah I want them to come visit each summer, why not? 

We hear you!

 

Family not being allowed to visit is one of the price for immigrating to the US.  That's just the way it is.  Be pissed for now, but you will have to come to terms and be at peace with this.  

 

It took 25 years for my aunt to see my father, her brother.  That was the price they paid when he left Vietnam.

[Boiler 43,437]

I have been to a B visa interview, a couple of minutes with a glass screen between you, seems most of the time they are not even looking at you.

 

We have Courts who judge truth etc Court cases that take days, weeks, how is a CO supposed to be trained to tell truth from lies in such circumstances.

[carmel34 3,531]

3 hours ago, Ksenia_O said:

it' is important to have all family members at ONE celebrations.  To have them all meet each other, spend time together and celebrate together. If it's not possible - then it's really upsetting. And I can see why the OP is so frustrated with visa denials. I personally wouldn't want to have 2 celebrations... 

It also means his parents won't be able to come and just to visit him, to see how he settled down here in the US and etc..   When my parents came to visit us and spend vocation together - it meant the world to me... As well as for my husband's family.

 

And yes, it is Ukraine, not the Ukraine. 

Sorry, Ukraine, it's a separate country now, I know that's important, especially these days with all that's going on over there, so I apologize for the oversight.  I was just trying to be positive in my suggestion to OP to have two celebrations--if B2 visas keep getting denied for the parents, to have a backup plan, be proactive and feel less like a victim of the crazy system, and that way grandmother can be at the one in Ukraine.

[moosy 139]

Agree with the others: come up with a plan B. 

Plus, you might have a lot of friends there who might choose plan B as well, as it is very expensive to come over for a wedding party.

 

In our case, even though there are ESTAs possible, we still did not throw a wedding party when we got married over a year ago. We were going to do something the moment I had my greencard and I could go visit, but since the reason for the visit coincides with my brother's wedding, we will just not be throwing a party, period.

My friends, although they were willing to come to the wedding, have related to me that they are kinda glad we didn't do this after all, as it is incredibly expensive. My parents and close family were also happy we were planning on doing something there. 

Now that plan B is not going to work out (I feel personally I should not have wedding party in the same week as my brother is actually getting married), no one seems disappointed anyway.

 

Getting married was not a huge deal for my husband and I (if there was a choice, living together legally would have been my preferred way), and I never dreamed of a huge party or anything. 

And as my husband had a huge wedding party with his former wife, both him and his parents were happy we were not going to have a big party (so so expensive!). 

 

The only thing I had, was some pangs of regret that my parents did not see me get married. We did not ask my husband's parents because it would upset me to have them there and not mine.

 

I know it is super disappointing, especially if you've been dreaming about a huge party, but this way you can have two parties! And you have a lot of saved costs for family and friends, and you will have more friends celebrating with you!

You might have to reduce the largeness of the parties a bit, but it is about the celebration, not the actual party I hope!

[Mr & Mr 101]

B1/B2 is a lottery. As all people before said that people who say truth got denials and people who lie and have intentions to move got approved. Ive tried before my K1 process to apply for tourist visa, only because i had some extra money, because before i didnt wanna pay that amount of money just for visa. So onve i had some extra ive decided to apply, and got denial. Ive been sayong truth that im planning to visit few places, likely more close to christmas time (it was february 2016) and CO said i have no ties to Ukraine and no ties to Poland (ive been living in poland already,so applied from there). Ok, then i just said to my self: you USA, there is a lot of other places in the world to see, so decided never apply again. But exactrly after 1 year ive met my fiance, and ive decided to apply for B1 again to have possibility to visit him times to times. And got denial, then i brought more proof that i will come back and after one week applyed again - no luck. So we gave up on tourist visa and after half year made a decision to get married, so applied for K1. So finally we are together. Now have the same stress in my head as yoh have, want my mom to visit us, she lives in UK for last 11 years,still with ukrainian citizenship as she doesnt want to change, so dont know if we can her to try to apply for B1...

[Boiler 43,437]

You had proof

23 minutes ago, Mr & Mr said:

B1/B2 is a lottery. As all people before said that people who say truth got denials and people who lie and have intentions to move got approved. Ive tried before my K1 process to apply for tourist visa, only because i had some extra money, because before i didnt wanna pay that amount of money just for visa. So onve i had some extra ive decided to apply, and got denial. Ive been sayong truth that im planning to visit few places, likely more close to christmas time (it was february 2016) and CO said i have no ties to Ukraine and no ties to Poland (ive been living in poland already,so applied from there). Ok, then i just said to my self: you USA, there is a lot of other places in the world to see, so decided never apply again. But exactrly after 1 year ive met my fiance, and ive decided to apply for B1 again to have possibility to visit him times to times. And got denial, then i brought more proof that i will come back and after one week applyed again - no luck. So we gave up on tourist visa and after half year made a decision to get married, so applied for K1. So finally we are together. Now have the same stress in my head as yoh have, want my mom to visit us, she lives in UK for last 11 years,still with ukrainian citizenship as she doesnt want to change, so dont know if we can her to try to apply for B1...

You had proof that you would not be staying in the US but you then immigrated?

Edited December 20, 2018 by Boiler

[Ksenia_O 695]

26 minutes ago, Mr & Mr said:

B1/B2 is a lottery. As all people before said that people who say truth got denials and people who lie and have intentions to move got approved. Ive tried before my K1 process to apply for tourist visa, only because i had some extra money, because before i didnt wanna pay that amount of money just for visa. So onve i had some extra ive decided to apply, and got denial. Ive been sayong truth that im planning to visit few places, likely more close to christmas time (it was february 2016) and CO said i have no ties to Ukraine and no ties to Poland (ive been living in poland already,so applied from there). Ok, then i just said to my self: you USA, there is a lot of other places in the world to see, so decided never apply again. But exactrly after 1 year ive met my fiance, and ive decided to apply for B1 again to have possibility to visit him times to times. And got denial, then i brought more proof that i will come back and after one week applyed again - no luck. So we gave up on tourist visa and after half year made a decision to get married, so applied for K1. So finally we are together. Now have the same stress in my head as yoh have, want my mom to visit us, she lives in UK for last 11 years,still with ukrainian citizenship as she doesnt want to change, so dont know if we can her to try to apply for B1...

I agree - it's a lottery.

 

About your mom. The  United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA share the data. So, if your mom is a legal resident of the UK, then she should be fine. 

 

Don't know if it's true, but when I got my UK visa , I was told that it would be a good  time to apply for USA visa too - like, an open UK visa increases your  chances to get a visa for one of those 5 countries. 

As I've said, not sure it really works - I didn't apply,  since US wasn't in my travel list, well, that time, until I met my husband 😉 , so didn't  "check" if the statement was correct,  but that's what  "people say"...

 

Well, my sister lives in England, and my parents have the UK visa and also had it  at the time they applied for B1/B2. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not.. They got approved. So who knows... 

 

 

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

1 hour ago, Ksenia_O said:

I agree - it's a lottery.

 

About your mom. The  United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and USA share the data. So, if your mom is a legal resident of the UK, then she should be fine. 

 

Don't know if it's true, but when I got my UK visa , I was told that it would be a good  time to apply for USA visa too - like, an open UK visa increases your  chances to get a visa for one of those 5 countries. 

As I've said, not sure it really works - I didn't apply,  since US wasn't in my travel list, well, that time, until I met my husband 😉 , so didn't  "check" if the statement was correct,  but that's what  "people say"...

 

Well, my sister lives in England, and my parents have the UK visa and also had it  at the time they applied for B1/B2. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not.. They got approved. So who knows... 

 

 

The UK visa application form is far more stringent than the US one, so, I tend to think that if one is able to get a UK visa then one’s circumstances are probably such that one could get a US one (which is different than saying you get one because you already have the other). Of course, you can have a situation where you have a UK visa but are an overstay risk for the US (such as having a citizen adult child or fiancé), in which case your US visa might well be denied even with a UK visa in hand.

[geowrian 22,335]

While I do believe there is an element of chance involved since no 2 COs are identical - let alone across days - it fundamentally is not a lottery. There are many things in common among those who are likely to get approved, and many things in common among those who are denied. That by no means guarantees that if person B gets a visa then person A - with (prima facia) stronger ties back home - will also get a visa.

 

But is one individual has no stable job, a USC spouse, no money, etc., then they would be a poor candidate for a visa. They may still get one, but the odds are stacked against them.

If another individual has a long term job, been married for decades, is in retirement, has no US-based family, has decent funds, etc., there's usually a much better chance of approval (all else being equal).

[Ksenia_O 695]

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

The UK visa application form is far more stringent than the US one, so, I tend to think that if one is able to get a UK visa then one’s circumstances are probably such that one could get a US one (which is different than saying you get one because you already have the other). Of course, you can have a situation where you have a UK visa but are an overstay risk for the US (such as having a citizen adult child or fiancé), in which case your US visa might well be denied even with a UK visa in hand.

I didn't mean a B1/B2 visa was given " because of".

I said it maybe increases a chance to get the visa for the US. Maybe not. Of course - overstay, and etc, if any,  willl be taken into account anyway. it's pretty much possible to have approval for one country and get denial to enter another one, you are right.

 

Agree with you the United Kingdom visa application is more stringent,   plus a lot of documents needed to support the application.

 

Our entire family applied, many times, to be present at sis's graduation ceremony, wedding and just to go see places - it's a beautiful country with a great History . We all always got approved.

It seems like the Kingdom is more "understanding" (not sure If it's the right word )- when parents and other family members are willing to go to see  kids, siblings. Recognizes when it's really just a visit. 

 

But yes, i also see why US is so suspicious. 

Again - "thanks a lot " to all our countrymen, who abused the system - got a B visa and overstayed or never came back... 

 

It just doesn't feel right, when your family members , especially parents, get denial and you know - they did nothing wrong, you followed the rules and etc and now you are just paying for others abuse...

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Ksenia_O

[POA 175]

12 hours ago, DmytriiD said:

Hi Community,

 

I am currently AOSing from K-1 after marriage, EAD and AP already approved. 

Me and my wife planning a wedding celebration for July 2019 because this is the only month when my parents are on holiday and can come here.

They applied for b1/b2 visa for them to come here and was denied.

We provided them with an invitation to the wedding, and a letter explaining where they will stay, etc. They showed it to the officer.

They also showed our marriage certificate. They offered to show bank statements which shows they have enough money for the trip after the question who is paying for the trip. But the officer didn't want to see a bank statement...Also, they answered if they met with my wife...yes they met twice, she was coming over to Europe and to Ukraine. My parents also said they even met her mom, because she also came to Europe once.

They were asked where do they work...my mom is PhD at the University for 22 years or even 25 years... my dad is retired police officer, currently doing business as transporting furniture by his own truck. Also they were asked if they have more kids...they said no...we have only one kid (which is me, and I am in the US). After all these questions...the officer said, the reason is not enough for you to travel to the US. We don't understand now what can be more important reason then a wedding of the only child? Like ####### !?!?!? 
 

I also was thinking that each officer is trained to see people through...like to read them psychologically if they lie or not.... But now I doubt that....because my parents really don't want to move to the US at all. They don't speak English...they don't want this life here beeing without friends and being not a part of society. Unfortunately, without language you cant live a good life everywhere.  So now I understand that officers are not trained to read people for a lie...because many people who lie..they get visas and move illegally. So...I would like to hear any piece of good advice on how to act or what to change for our second try...because I can not believe my parents are not allowed to even visit me, but some other illegal immigrants get their visas every day worldwide !??!?! I was really thinking that system is smart enough in 2018...but now I am not sure. Now I see that you need to play around, not be honest or open. That's so stupid!!! But anyway I see that the question about if they have other kids...(they dont) showed to the officer that they dont have a reason to come back to Ukraine...but officer didnt even ask about their parents...and they really do take care of their parents. My moms mom she is living alone and she is old, they see her very often, like twice a week they come to her and help her around the house and etc. So it can not be like they don't have why to come back. My mom is PhD, my dad doing business and having pension, they take care of grandma, they have 2 vehicles, 2 houses, 1 flat. Like I really do not understand the officer decision. 

 

I am sorry to hear about your parents but  I do agree with you that sometimes I do question the people they give the visa to. My cousin and her husband applied for a tourist visa and they got one, they only hold a e-pass in SG and they had plans of applying for a job here.. before even applying for the visa.  (They didn't end up coming). But by that story, they know for a fact that if they come here they will try to apply or who knows if they would go as far as staying illegally. 

On the other case, one my my friends mom was able to get a visa(she never worked, she has kids and grand kids in the PH) and she came here to take care of her newly born grand kid. (which supposed to not be done by someone on a tourist visa)..

 

I am sorry I am not that helpful but thought I'd share.

 

 

[TBoneTX 43,058]

13 hours ago, DmytriiD said:

In addition to all said above about my parents, they traveled all over Europe during 2018 (like France, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Germany, Poland, Czech Rep, Austria). Just in 1 year...

I was going to say (because no one else really had, yet) that a good travel history is one of the very few obvious-to-us variables that can work in an applicant's favor.  However, given your parents' travel history, the refusal of the visas is even more mystifying.  All that I can suggest is that they visit more countries, then reapply next year for the U.S. tourist visa.  This might necessitate your postponing your celebration until 2020 -- but, if your parents' attempt is successful, the postponement will have paid off.

[Villanelle 4,121]

2 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

I was going to say (because no one else really had, yet) that a good travel history is one of the very few obvious-to-us variables that can work in an applicant's favor.  However, given your parents' travel history, the refusal of the visas is even more mystifying.  All that I can suggest is that they visit more countries, then reapply next year for the U.S. tourist visa.  This might necessitate your postponing your celebration until 2020 -- but, if your parents' attempt is successful, the postponement will have paid off.

There are inconsistencies-

 

How does the statements he made mesh together-

 

My parents traveled to EIGHT different countries in 2018

My parents take care of Grandma and go to her house 2x a week

and my parents have steady jobs and property they maintain....

 

So either they did the express tour and only stayed in each country for 24-48hrs (to get home for work and Grandma) or his parents arent very tied down. 8 countries in 12 months? How much time did they actually spend in Ukraine? Perhaps instead of listing so so many places like that he (they) can phrase it (if its true) next time as "I get 4 weeks vacation/ june and july off from teaching job and traveled to many places during it- then went back to work' rather then trying to make a case that they are tied to home yet travel extensively. Not sure suggesting they travel even more would help! Then they'd be saying in 2018 we went to 8 countries and in 2019 we went to 20 (!) but we really do have strong ties home even though we are never there and have tons of money and can afford to be where ever we want. Strangely having lots of money can work against you as well. If one can afford to be where ever they want then its even more important to show you want to be 'home' overseas and not with your only child (and future grandkids) in the US.