Mother-in-Law Denied Tourist Visa from Mexico for having only 1 child

[visa992291 5]

She was denied today and says the reason was because they asked her how many children she has and she said she only has 1 child. Her daughter is the US Permanent Resident that she wants to visit considering she's only seen her daughter 1x in 10 years!!! Also would like to see her 2 grandkids aged 9 months and 4 years old! Also, she was born almost 70 years ago shocking that they would be so bad at their job that they couldn't connect the dots to see one of the most perfect examples for visiting in the book...Anyhow....

 

What kind of options do we have? Just brainstorming but let me know if you have any other ideas for what our next step should be:

 

1) Reapply in 6 months --- Does this do anything or is she permanently banned until she dies without seeing her grandkids?

 

2) My wife apply for the N-400 Naturalization thing....Takes what? 1 year? Then after 2 years of being a citizen so a total of 3 years out (???? guessing on time ????) she can petition her mom for a greencard (?) which would take another year (total 4 years?).

 

3) Wife goes in the winter to visit Mexico --- $3000 in airfare and then living expenses for a few weeks.

 

4) Mother-in-law pays $750 (about going rate) to fly Acapulco to Toronto. We drive 4 hours which isn't bad and seems kinda cost effective besides daily meals for 5 people and hotels would cost a fortune. Not to mention I'd be dragged over there for a week when to be honest I don't have any relationship with her ! 

 

I like the idea of over the summer she comes to visit to our house. Maybe 2 weeks maybe 3 at the most. I don't have to move. I don't have to travel. I don't have to spend a fortune on airfare, etc.....But obviously that doesn't appear to be an option.

 

 

 

 

[ElDiablo 95]

So what ties does she have to Mexico? Seems all you have posted is about her ties to the USA, which does not make the denial surprising.

 

Looks like you have covered all the options, depends whichever works best for you.

[visa992291 5]

4 minutes ago, ElDiablo said:

So what ties does she have to Mexico? Seems all you have posted is about her ties to the USA, which does not make the denial surprising.

 

Looks like you have covered all the options, depends whichever works best for you.

 

Pretty sure they didn't discuss that. Is it put on the application cause I'm playing middle man and my wife filled out her mom's application and no idea what she put.

 

Her ties are her job, her house, and her entire family (several sisters, etc.). Her entire life dating back about a century. She has absolutely no connection to the US, language, culture, etc. Aside from just so happens to have a daughter that lives here.

Edited June 25, 2019 by visa992291

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

Agreed with above. This has nothing to do with your assumption at "how bad they are at doing their jobs", sounds like they did their jobs perfectly to be honest. From what you stated, all her ties are to the US, not Mexico, so why would she return home and not just stay? The key thing for any applicant for a tourist visa is to prove to the embassy why they would return home, not just why they want to go to the US. Her daughter, being an LPR, her grand kids, all good reasons to just stay in the US. What does she have that would make her go home afterwards?

 

She can reapply how ever many times she wants, but unless she provides more evidence to return home, results will stay the same most likely. But the more denials also add up to seeming desperate. Have the daughter visit Mexico as an alternative.

[Crazy Cat 39,220]

I seriously doubt they said she was denied because she has only one child.  But her situation is pretty common these days.  She can thank all those people who have entered the US illegally or overstayed their visas........and your post makes it seem as though she does have interest in immigrating to the US.  She is free to reapply for a tourist visa, but I think your best bet is to visit her outside the US......

[Unidentified 2,930]

I would seriously look into option 3 or 4 if I were you for short term solution and then if the mother-in-law wants to I guess you can consider option 2 for long term solution. 

[Roel 7,191]

What kind of job a 70 year old woman have? Honestly sounds like she had more ties to the US. It would be very easy for her to just use b2 Visa to remain in the US. Reapplying will probably have same results. 

[visa992291 5]

7 minutes ago, missileman said:

I seriously doubt they said she was denied because she has only one child.  But her situation is pretty common these days.  She can thank all those people who have entered the US illegally or overstayed their visas........and your post makes it seem as though she does have interest in immigrating to the US.  She is free to reapply for a tourist visa, but I think your best bet is to visit her outside the US......

Agree with first part but incredibly wrong on the second part.

So my wife comes here in 2009 and over 10 years pass and her mom never even once applied for a tourist visa until now. Try to picture how long 10 years is. Really think about it. She has zero interest in anything other than visiting for a week or 2 and going back to her home. Again, I'm just playing telephone asking my wife what happened who asked her mom what happened. I wasn't there and don't even talk to her mom ever....Maybe 15 minutes in these last 10 years lol. But, they talk daily for about an hour.

Edited June 25, 2019 by visa992291

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

Well more to the point, why the 10 year wait? All can seem suspicious to the embassy. At 70, all of a sudden after a decade, trying to go visit the US? to them again it may seem like she's planning her retirement in the US with her daughter and grand kids. You have to be realistic with this things, so many people before have done it, hence why it is tough for some to ever obtain a tourist visa from certain countries (Philippines for example, difficult because of prior misuses by so many, and it still happens almost everyday probably)

[visa992291 5]

6 minutes ago, Roel said:

What kind of job a 70 year old woman have? Honestly sounds like she had more ties to the US. It would be very easy for her to just use b2 Visa to remain in the US. Reapplying will probably have same results. 

She lives in Acapulco kinda up in the mountain there is a small church that she works at. Like I said I don't exactly have long telephone chats with her so I don't know what she does. It's not some lucrative high paying job. Maybe she volunteers. Maybe she gets 40 pesos a day I have no clue I don't talk to her!!!

How can someone get ties to their country? Guess if in 70 years she still has no ties to her country aside from the same thing 99% of people have (a house, all of her family but 1, a job) then no point in applying to visit again.  

 

Having a daughter here rules her out of visiting in your mind? LOL.

 

So apparently just visiting to randomly visit is a better and more legitimate reason than having a daughter to visit? 

[Crazy Cat 39,220]

10 minutes ago, visa992291 said:

Agree with first part but incredibly wrong on the second part.

So my wife comes here in 2009 and over 10 years pass and her mom never even once applied for a tourist visa until now. Try to picture how long 10 years is. Really think about it. She has zero interest in anything other than visiting for a week or 2 and going back to her home. Again, I'm just playing telephone asking my wife what happened who asked her mom what happened. I wasn't there and don't even talk to her mom ever....Maybe 15 minutes in these last 10 years lol. But, they talk daily for about an hour.

Unfortunately, a LOT of people don't have plans to stay in the US and adjust status when they arrive for a "short" visit.....yet here they are......As a result, it has all but guaranteed that some people will never get the chance to visit the US.  By law, every tourist visa applicant is assumed to have intent to stay in the US illegally.  A 70 year old might get extra scrutiny.....

Edited June 25, 2019 by missileman

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

Besides, even getting a tourist visa doesn't mean she might not get turned away upon trying to enter, whether in an airport or the border, even the visa itself doesn't guarantee entry, only offers the possibility.

[visa992291 5]

1 minute ago, Ben&Zian said:

Well more to the point, why the 10 year wait? All can seem suspicious to the embassy. At 70, all of a sudden after a decade, trying to go visit the US? to them again it may seem like she's planning her retirement in the US with her daughter and grand kids. You have to be realistic with this things, so many people before have done it, hence why it is tough for some to ever obtain a tourist visa from certain countries (Philippines for example, difficult because of prior misuses by so many, and it still happens almost everyday probably)

 

Mostly money I suppose. I do try to look at it in their eyes but literally every example can be suspicious. Can say the same at 80, 85, then again at 90 (well, she's probably got 5 years left and wants to spend them in the US with her daughter). Oh, she's 75, she's trying to retire there for sure. 

 

 

[Ben&Zian 4,397]

1 minute ago, visa992291 said:

 

Mostly money I suppose. I do try to look at it in their eyes but literally every example can be suspicious. Can say the same at 80, 85, then again at 90 (well, she's probably got 5 years left and wants to spend them in the US with her daughter). Oh, she's 75, she's trying to retire there for sure. 

 

 

 

Well again, as hard as it is to seem to be able to self-justify their decision, even in the sense of my husband, he knows his dad would never get a tourist visa probably, so he is in same situation, but we just plan to travel and visit when we can there. That's the simple solution then trying to fight something that you can't fight. So that's the simple solution for your wife's situation, take a family trip and visit Mexico. 

[visa992291 5]

2 hours ago, Unidentified said:

I would seriously look into option 3 or 4 if I were you for short term solution and then if the mother-in-law wants to I guess you can consider option 2 for long term solution. 

 

Option 4 (her to Toronto) sounds torturous for me. With zero interest I have to force myself into hauling my kids and wife on a 4 hour road trip. A "vacation" I want nothing to do with.

 

Option 3 (wife visiting Mexico) sounds extremely expensive like lighting $3000 to $5000 on fire.

 

Option 2 is a guarantee but does anyone know how long of a process it is start to finish...I think it is 4 years but I don't know?

 

And based on what everyone said apparently having a house, job, and dozens of family is amazing ties to your country. Doesn't get any better. But if you add, "oh, by the way, I have no interest in visiting your (removed) country but I'd like to visit my daughter, who happens to live there, for 2 weeks" all of a sudden your ties to the country mean nothing.

Edited June 25, 2019 by Unlockable