My sister got denied B2 visa - What to do to make sure she gets it next time?

[Suze1 366]

@jaysaldi Excellent post/suggestion. Proactive, positive, best foot forward. That is how we did everything also. 

(And guess what? We received our Oath Ceremony Letter TODAY!!!! Will be a citizen in 3 weeks! Yaay!)

Best to all.

[Nodame 0]

6 hours ago, jaysaldi said:

I appreciate they didn't look at her documents, but I don't think she should have brought a letter of invitation from you, a copy of your green card, or your bank statements.  Also, her goal should be to convince the consular officer that she will be "well taken care of" by relatives in the USA. Her goal should be to convince the officer that she can take care of herself.

I think the wedding invitation plus birth certificates plus proof of her life in Rwanda (employment letter, medical certificates, house title, etc.) is what she should bring the next time. 

 

My impression is that the consular officers review each file for 30-90 seconds and mostly make up their minds before calling the applicant up to the window for the interview. Maybe the consular officer read her file very quickly and missed that she was a doctor and head of hospital department. They might have even missed that she was going for a wedding (though "wedding" is a common fraudulent reason too).

 

Perhaps she should force her work as a doctor and her travel for wedding  into the conversation if possible, like this:

 

Q: "Good morning, how are you?

A:  "I'm well, I'm Dr. Nodame, nice to meet you."

Q: "Who are you visiting?"

A: "I'd like to go to the USA for my sister's wedding for two weeks, I'm the head of neurology at Kigali General Hospital and I can only take two weeks vacation because I've got lives to save here."

 

Q: "When was she born?"
A: "She's three years younger than I am and she has asked me to be the maid of honor at her wedding. My husband and children will stay here."

 

Q: "What is your relationship?"
A: "We're sisters, she's an accountant and I'm the head of neurology at Kigali General Hospital."

The examples above might be extreme and obnoxious, but my point is that regardless of what questions they ask, she should answer the questions in such a way that highlights that she's a doctor and that she is going for a particular very special reason for which a doctor might be expected to be pulled away from her duties for a week or two.  

 

Otherwise, if they only glanced at her file for a few seconds they may think she's just another poor uneducated Rwandan asking to go to the USA to "visit" a relative.

 

 

@jaysaldi: Thank you for your detailed reply.

I think that advice can help during her future interview.

However, as some people stated, the CO would most likely have already decided on the fate of the application mostly based on DS-160 application alone. What can my sister possibly put (or not put) in her DS-160 that would increase her chances of getting granted the B2 visa?

Also, do you think it would help if I send an email to the Embassy explaining her situation and why I really need her to be there at my wedding (given the fact that she would be my only family present and take the place of our deceased parents)? And also ask them what she could do in her application to increase her chances the second time around?

I heard that by email, they are usually responsive.

[jaysaldi 213]

9 minutes ago, Nodame said:

@jaysaldi: Thank you for your detailed reply.

I think that advice can help during her future interview.

However, as some people stated, the CO would most likely have already decided on the fate of the application mostly based on DS-160 application alone. What can my sister possibly put (or not put) in her DS-160 that would increase her chances of getting granted the B2 visa?

Also, do you think it would help if I send an email to the Embassy explaining her situation and why I really need her to be there at my wedding (given the fact that she would be my only family present and take the place of our deceased parents)? And also ask them what she could do in her application to increase her chances the second time around?

I heard that by email, they are usually responsive.

My guess is that no, emailing the embassy outside the regular process will not help at all.  Every denied applicant thinks the denial was a terrible injustice. The last thing the embassy wants is to receive emails from denied applicants with sob stories about how desperate they are to visit the USA. That won't help at all and can only hurt.

 

The wedding invitation is helpful only in that it tends to show that your doctor sister wishes to go to the USA for a normal reason that has nothing to do with any desire to immigrate. She's not just going to the USA to "hang out" or "play house" or "spend time" with family in the USA like many intended immigrant do.  She's going to the USA for a "family obligation," not because of some burning desire to go to the USA. She would prefer to stay with her husband and kids and important job in Rwanda, except she has this family obligation.

 

Other than that, the consular officers don't care about you or your reasons for "needing" her at your wedding. There's no "right" have foreign relatives at a wedding in the USA.  It's extraordinarily common for people all over the world to apply for visas to attend weddings in the USA and be denied. The embassy  will not be moved that this is a hardship to you or your sister.

 

US embassies also get many, many visa applicants presenting fake wedding applications and who use weddings as a cover story to enter the USA and overstay.  A person who is basically ineligible to visit the USA due to personal or financial circumstances and presumed immigrant intent doesn't suddenly become eligible to visit and lose the presumed immigrant intent just because they say a relative is getting married in the USA.

 

One of two things happened here: either they read the file too quickly and didn't grasp that she's a doctor and head of hospital department with land and husband and kids in Rwanda OR they read all that and fully appreciated it and denied her anyway.  If the latter, then she will probably be denied again. But if it's the former, she may be able to get approved this time by re-filing and hoping they notice this time that she's a doctor.  There are few places to list that on the application form, I imagine just the places that ask about her education and employment. 

There's not much she else can do except be prepared to inject this into the conversation at her interview in the hopes of changing their mind at the interview if they once again are inclined to deny her. Of course, she should also dress professionally, look older, wear glasses, maybe even wear her white coat and doctor ID card because "I just came from the hospital."  The security staff won't let her walk in wearing a stethoscope around her neck, unfortunately.

 

[Unlockable 7,322]

47 minutes ago, Nodame said:

@jaysaldi: Thank you for your detailed reply.

I think that advice can help during her future interview.

However, as some people stated, the CO would most likely have already decided on the fate of the application mostly based on DS-160 application alone. What can my sister possibly put (or not put) in her DS-160 that would increase her chances of getting granted the B2 visa?

Also, do you think it would help if I send an email to the Embassy explaining her situation and why I really need her to be there at my wedding (given the fact that she would be my only family present and take the place of our deceased parents)? And also ask them what she could do in her application to increase her chances the second time around?

I heard that by email, they are usually responsive.

@jaysaldi made some great points in their reply above. Many immigrants and foreigners find a denial for a tourist visa for them or their loved ones an extremely hard realization to accept. Emailing the embassy may get you a person to vent to but it will fall short of your ultimate goal. There is no shortage of bleeding heart stories embassies around the world receive on why the applicant absolutely needs a visa. 

 

We know your sister is important to you because your deceased parents. But to give you an idea of what you are facing I will share a story of another poster who came on VJ looking for help. Her very own mother was on her deathbed in the US and she needed a visitor visa to come see her mother before she passed. Well, she was also denied and never got a chance to see her mother one last time.

[Boiler 47,459]

Plan B is always good, maybe a Celebration for your family after the wedding?

 

Others have mentioned streaming option.

[AnnaLee24 16]

From what I have read, as an outsider who’s only info off the subject is what you have said and that she was denied a visa, I think it is possible they assumed she would claim asylum. It is pretty common for leaders in their field to do this. Again, outside view. Your sister couldn’t have learned to be a neurologist in Rwanda that had to be a long time out of the country to go back. If she is good enough to be a head of a hospital in Rwanda she is good enough to get a job in the US, make bank, and enjoy the freedoms Americans have. It seems kinda weird for her to have her own bank account, is that common in Rwanda? Also, is men taking care of children common? Did your sister marry young? How old are her kids? Why aren’t they going or better yet invited to the wedding? Did you address the invitation to the whole family or just your sister?
 

I think her success is what is holding her back.  

[Nodame 0]

22 minutes ago, AnnaLee24 said:

From what I have read, as an outsider who’s only info off the subject is what you have said and that she was denied a visa, I think it is possible they assumed she would claim asylum. It is pretty common for leaders in their field to do this. Again, outside view. Your sister couldn’t have learned to be a neurologist in Rwanda that had to be a long time out of the country to go back. If she is good enough to be a head of a hospital in Rwanda she is good enough to get a job in the US, make bank, and enjoy the freedoms Americans have. It seems kinda weird for her to have her own bank account, is that common in Rwanda? Also, is men taking care of children common? Did your sister marry young? How old are her kids? Why aren’t they going or better yet invited to the wedding? Did you address the invitation to the whole family or just your sister?
 

I think her success is what is holding her back.  

@AnnaLee24 : Well, my sister is not the Head of a hospital - she is just a Doctor who happens to be in charge of a Department at the Hospital.

Also, it is not weird for her to have her own bank account - she is a professional earning money, I am curious, why would you think that is weird? And yes, it is common for people, especially professionals to have bank accounts in Rwanda.

 

Well, logistically, it would have been harder to have the children skip school to come to my wedding - and also it would have been costly for the whole family of 4 to come to the US with flights involved, etc. (and I believe that is a problem faced by everyone in the world, not just Rwandan people) - and yes, men can take care of children - it also helps that most professionals in Rwanda have domestic help at home.

 

Knowing all the above, we thought it'd be best for just her to come - The invitation was addressed to just her

[Boiler 47,459]

Perhaps it looked odd for a Senior Doctor who wishes to attend an important family event to go alone?

[AnnaLee24 16]

26 minutes ago, Nodame said:

And yes, it is common for people, especially professionals to have bank accounts in Rwanda.

I’m sorry I did not mean people from Rwanda didn’t have bank accounts. You said she had her own bank account, as in her husband wasn’t on the account. I wanted to know if separate banking for spouses was a common thing.

 

Im not doubting you want your sister to be your maid of honor. I get that, I’m not doubting anything. I was giving you an observation that is seems odd for a surgeon to go through the trouble to take off work, travel to the US for her sisters wedding, and not bring her family.

[SusieQQQ 11,588]

25 minutes ago, AnnaLee24 said:

I’m sorry I did not mean people from Rwanda didn’t have bank accounts. You said she had her own bank account, as in her husband wasn’t on the account. I wanted to know if separate banking for spouses was a common thing.

 

Im not doubting you want your sister to be your maid of honor. I get that, I’m not doubting anything. I was giving you an observation that is seems odd for a surgeon to go through the trouble to take off work, travel to the US for her sisters wedding, and not bring her family.

I lived my entire life (until 5 years ago) in another sub Saharan African country and never knew anyone who had a joint account with their spouse. Actually there are no such things as “joint accounts” where we come from, the closest is giving a spouse signing powers on the main account holder’s account. And generally it would only be a housewife who had that, never someone with their own job.  Rwanda might well be similar. 
 

As for the second paragraph, again coming from an SSA country, we have done and seen things like this before for various reasons, including school vacations not working out (unlike the US, it is problematic taking kids out of school during term) and the fact that being a high earner at home does not always translate into being able to comfortably  take an entire family to a first world expensive country. I don’t know what the sister’s reasons are, but it’s not an odd situation to me.

Not everywhere works like the US.

 

Edited February 12, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[AnnaLee24 16]

22 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Actually there are no such things as “joint accounts” where we come from, the closest is giving a spouse signing powers on the main account holder’s account. And generally it would only be a housewife who had that, never someone with their own job.  Rwanda might well be similar. 

I looked up Rwanda and they apparently do have joint accounts, well at least some couples do, but that is so interesting joint accounts are not a thing at all where you grew up. I wonder why? Well that is another day. But as for this post I have a question. Since the US has made it well known that they expect co-mingling of married couples does the US assess the lack of joint finances as a lack of ties to the family unit? When applying for a visitors visa does spending a long span of time outside of their home country count as a negative? The sister had to have spent years of school out of Rwanda to learn to be a neurologist. What about if someone has studied in the US then request to return on a visitors visa? Does that raise eyebrows. My thought train is the sister might have been seen as having more close ties to other countries over having ties to her country. I mentioned refugee because of the uptick of predominate women in their field claiming asylum.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistans-first-female-pilot-granted-asylum-in-u-s-1525185293

 

https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-official-unknown-if-iran-athlete-plans-seek-asylum-america

[SusieQQQ 11,588]

In what is apparently a huge newsflash to some people, Africa has plenty of universities that do medical training, including specialities such as neurology. Rwanda even - gasp! - has medical schools.

 

Not going to bother to answer to other nonsense/wild speculation that just derails the thread.

Edited February 13, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[arken 4,199]

10 minutes ago, AnnaLee24 said:

I looked up Rwanda and they apparently do have joint accounts, well at least some couples do, but that is so interesting joint accounts are not a thing at all where you grew up. I wonder why? Well that is another day. But as for this post I have a question. Since the US has made it well known that they expect co-mingling of married couples does the US assess the lack of joint finances as a lack of ties to the family unit? When applying for a visitors visa does spending a long span of time outside of their home country count as a negative? The sister had to have spent years of school out of Rwanda to learn to be a neurologist. What about if someone has studied in the US then request to return on a visitors visa? Does that raise eyebrows. My thought train is the sister might have been seen as having more close ties to other countries over having ties to her country. I mentioned refugee because of the uptick of predominate women in their field claiming asylum.

 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistans-first-female-pilot-granted-asylum-in-u-s-1525185293

 

https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-official-unknown-if-iran-athlete-plans-seek-asylum-america

I believe the CO might have spent less than 10% of the time you spent in analyzing this case. You do have good analysis though. For CO, i believe it was just a minute worth time to analyze, just a sister going to meet another sister, not needed, denied. 

 

Anyways, per interview answers provided by the OP, it seemed they could have been answered in a more elaborative way like one poster mentioned when gotten a chance. Rather than just saying going to meet my sister, saying going for my sister’s wedding and such. Not that it guarantees the approval but at least clarifies more on the purpose.

[Nodame 0]

28 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

In what is apparently a huge newsflash to some people, Africa has plenty of universities that do medical training, including specialities such as neurology. Rwanda even - gasp! - has medical schools.

@SuzieQQQ: You are right. My sister did not have to go study abroad for her medical degree. And just as a side note in reference to some other posts I saw before, my sister is not a neurologist nor a surgeon, she has a different specialty - not sure where that info came from.

 

 

Edited February 13, 2020 by Nodame