(Sao Paulo, Brazil) Father in-law denied B2 Visa without an interview, under 214(b)

[GABRIEL F 0]

Looking for some opinions and information on how to re-apply after a denial for B2 Tourist Visa for my father in-law. I am a US Citizen, my wife is a greencard holder, and we have a 1 year old daughter.

 

Quick facts:

• Father in-law (FIL) is ~60 years old male from Brazil
• FIL is retired but has multiple (6-12) properties he owns, maintains, and rents out
• FIL has multiple vehicles and steady income from retirement and rentals stated above
• His wife (MIL) and his other daughter (my sister in-law, SIL) successfully got 10-year visas by stating their reason for travel was to go to Disney
  • They have come and gone to the USA multiple times, without overstaying (of course)
• My wife has a green card, we have a 1 year old daughter

 

Visa Denial:

• FIL was denied on-site at the US Embassy in Brazil.
• His reason for travel was to visit his daughter (my wife) and grand-daughter at our home
• The consular officer did not conduct an interview, and did not ask a single question, he was denied solely on the DS-160.

 

Questions:

1. It's been more than a year since being denied, is it OK to re-apply now?
2. What would cause a Consular Officer to reject FIL without any interview at all?
3. Someone outside of the embassy said he should list Disney as the reason for travel and completely omit family ties whenever possible. Is this really a good idea considering he was already denied? This seems like misrepresentation to me.
4. I was planning on writing to my state representatives to have a letter sent to the Embassy in support of his visa. If we obtain the letter, is this a good idea, or would it hurt his chances?
5. When re-applying, does it make a difference for his chances whether he says he will be traveling with our without MIL and SIL?

 

Generally I don't understand how a 60 year old family man with upper middle-class finances who has lived his whole life at home (strong ties) is a high risk of overstaying. He's not even remotely interested in overstaying.

 

Any other tips about specific information and strategies on how to fill out the DS-160 would be greatly appreciated. I see very little information is asked and there is no opportunity to provide evidence in this form, so I don't see how he could be denied without an interview and what we could even do to change the outcome.

 

Thanks for any help

[Boiler 43,543]

1. Yes

2. Confused you said he went to the interview, he must have to be rejected.

3. If he wants to go to Disney, yes. Seems odd for someone of his age to be so Disney focussed, there is one in Paris btw.

4. Unless he personally knows the State Representative then something you get from an Intern is at best irrelevant. Immigration law is Federal and not sure where thios comes in.

5. Well my opinion is no, if they issue a visa they have no control over who he travels with.

[GABRIEL F 0]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

2. Confused you said he went to the interview, he must have to be rejected.

 

He went to the interview. When he got there, they said he was already rejected based on the DS-160. They did not ask any questions at all (i.e. they did not conduct an interview).

 

My question here is: is this normal? What would cause a consular officer to reject someone with good conditions and strong ties to home without even conducting an interview?

[Boiler 43,543]

The norm is 2 or 3 questions, so not something I would get upset about, my impression is that those questions in refusal cases are just being polite. Often people are asked what can be read on the DS160

 

I think it is unreasonable to make people who they are going to deny to attend an interview but as I understand it the Consulate have no choice in the matter.

[GABRIEL F 0]

Do you see any red flags for our case? Do you think it is worth re-applying? Is there anything specifically in the DS-160 that needs particular attention so that we can improve our chances of an approval?

[appleblossom 1,343]

From what you’ve said there are two red flags to overcome - his daughter being in the US, and him being retired with a steady source of passive income rather than a job to return to. Nothing he can do about either of them though, so all he can do is reapply and hope for a different outcome next time. 
 

Good luck. 

[SalishSea 16,806]

1 hour ago, GABRIEL F said:

Do you see any red flags for our case? Do you think it is worth re-applying? Is there anything specifically in the DS-160 that needs particular attention so that we can improve our chances of an approval?

Hopefully by now you realize that they already know he has family in the US, and that omitting that info to deliberately  deceive and say he wants to “visit Disney” is a really dumb idea, and actually decreases any small chance he may have left of getting a visa?

[Boiler 43,543]

3 hours ago, GABRIEL F said:

Do you see any red flags for our case? Do you think it is worth re-applying? Is there anything specifically in the DS-160 that needs particular attention so that we can improve our chances of an approval?

Long time since I filled in a DS160 but I do not recollect any subjective questions they were all factual 

 

Think of it like going to the DMV it is a data collection form.

[millefleur 5,037]

The "visit Disney" advice is terrible, will just make everything look more suspicious and weird. 60 year old men don't "visit Disney" by themselves either, so obviously the actual reason for going to the US is to visit family there. 

[Timona 3,948]

Not sure why you would think a state representative would care/ vouch for a foreigner. They may as well write for all the foreigners who get denied. I honestly have never understood why people run to this option.

 

60 year old at Disney????

[Redro 4,601]

10 hours ago, GABRIEL F said:

Do you see any red flags for our case? Do you think it is worth re-applying? Is there anything specifically in the DS-160 that needs particular attention so that we can improve our chances of an approval?

1. How did your wife obtain her green card? Did she apply for an immigrant visa (K1/CR1)  and consular process OR did she adjust status from tourist visa/student visa?

2. When did your wife's mother and sister obtain their visas? Before or after your wife received her green card? 

3. Sometimes, consulates will not give the entire family tourist visas as they use that as a means of making sure no one overstays... if entire family receives a tourist visa they are more likely to overstay as a family. Now, mother will be more motivated to return to Brazil as she has a tie to Brazil. If father is able to visit the US. Mother has no reason to return to Brazil. 

[SalishSea 16,806]

12 hours ago, GABRIEL F said:

I was planning on writing to my state representatives to have a letter sent to the Embassy in support of his visa. If we obtain the letter, is this a good idea, or would it hurt his chances?

Missed this until @Timona pointed it out.

 

OP, this is absurd.  Congressional representatives represent their constituents.  Is your FIL a constituent?  NO.  Please don't waste taxpayer dollars on something frivolous. He has NO rights to a tourist visa.  He has the right to apply, and that's it. Even if there were grounds to contact the rep for a legitimate reason, they will not interfere in a consular decision.  

 

I feel like you don't really understand the process here.

[SalishSea 16,806]

1 hour ago, Timona said:

I honestly have never understood why people run to this option.

Lack of understanding of one of the many roles of elected reps: assisting US citizens (their voter base) who live in their constituency with federal agencies.

[PaulaCJohnny 712]

Basic question but can make a huge difference in Brazil. Is he original from São Paulo or any other State? Like he was born in SP?

 

[African Zealot 1,453]

There are absolutely no red flags I see with a financially comfortable retired 60 year old man wanting to visit his child and grandchildren in the USA 🇺🇸. People sometimes like to manufacture flags even when they don’t exist to justify consular officers sometimes asinine decisions.

 

I have family and friends who fit his profile who are less “financially comfortable” who routinely obtain visas to visit me here, and my country is even less affluent than Brazil.

 

I keep saying for people coming from developing countries/emerging economies, US visa interviews have a degree of “luck”. Brazil has an adjusted refusal rate of around 15% versus 27% for my original country, Ghana.
 

He should reapply with the same reasons (no need to manufacture the Disney excuse) and he will probably be successful unless there’s something we don’t know. It’s only $185.

Edited December 28, 2023 by African Zealot