MacUK

Not unbelievable though. When I go to gigs here in Glasgow I often meet up with a couple who regularly travel to the U.S. for concerts. Even literally flying all the way over there to just spend a few hours in the States to see the show then getting the next flight back home. When the events you want to see can only be seen by travelling long distances then that's what you do. After England managed to scrape their way to the rugby world cup a few months ago a friend of mine was seriously costing out the options for flying to Japan for only a couple of days just to watch it on a big screen outside the stadium and then fly back the next day. Other than not seeing my kids for years, one of my huge regrets over screwing up my VWP is that I'll probably never tick off those "bucket list" concerts with artists who never tour outside the U.S.

You being a U.S. citizen has nothing to do with it, it's not you that is applying. You have to look at it from another point of view. All of her immediate family are in the U.S., you said yourself that the reason she isn't there also is because she was over 18 at the time. I don't know why you mention asylum seekers, people use tourist visas all the time to "visit" family and forget to return home. I don't know the statistics but I imagine there are far more cases of tourists abusing their visas than there are asylum cases. No one is saying that's what you're doing but that's the way the consular officers look at it. They don't know your stepdaughter and have to guess her intentions based on what is in front of them. That all sounds quite negative but you shouldn't let that stop you trying. People get approved all the time but it's always best to remember that it's not guaranteed and there's very little you can do to help other than give her advice to think more about what her reasons are for returning to Honduras and less about her reasons to want to be in the U.S. They don't care why people want to visit, they only care that they'll go home again afterwards.

The verdict would likely still be the same, you can thank the thousands of people (from all over the world, not just Vietnam) who told the COs all about their plans to return home and then forgot about them 10 seconds after leaving the airport. It's good that you had a realistic expectation and I'm sorry your wife had high hopes only to be disappointed. I went in to my last B2 interview thinking I had a remote possibility of an approval and my 214(b) was a kick in the teeth. Next time I'll go in expecting the worst.

Different situation for me but the sentiment is the same. When I overstayed on VWP I didn't think it was a big deal, at the time I didn't have much choice about overstaying but the length of time I stayed was completely on me. I figured that it wouldn't matter much, I'd just go back to my home country, maybe pay a fine and then everything would be OK..... It didn't work out how I hoped. This was 16 years ago, I got banned for 10 years, I've been denied a B2 three times and I might never set foot in U.S. soil ever again. One stupid mistake I made half a lifetime ago will have repercussions for the rest of my life, I've been 100000% honest in all my dealings with the U.S. authorities since then but once you lose credibility it's near impossible to regain any trust. Actions have consequences.

I disagree, for most people that have no previous experience with tourist visas, "common sense" would tell you that having a U.S. spouse would have a positive effect on an application. Most people think that the tourist visa is all about proving why you want to go to the U.S., not about why you would leave. Most people on this site understand how it works and when you understand the presumption of immigrant intent law then of course you can say that obviously a spouse or significant other would be a negative. But your average person on the street wouldn't think that wanting to visit family members could be a bad thing.

Can you show us the link to the official U.S. website where you got this information please?

I'll admit, I have personal issues regarding this story. The OP admits to knowingly breaking the rules once before but was fortunate enough to be given a second chance, given the opportunity to learn from previous mistakes and continue to enjoy the benefits of travel to the U.S. And then they decide to ignore the laws again. I made that first mistake myself, many years ago. Thanks to that I haven't seen my children in 14 years. I have applied 3 times since then, asking to be given that second chance. I have zero desire to live in the US, I only want the chance to be able to visit my children but I have been refused 3 times. And now the COs have even less reason to believe that someone who's lost their VWP privileges can be trusted to learn from their mistake. OP, I doubt you'll have any issues in leaving the States. But when you do leave, be sure to say your farewells to anything or anyone there that you care about, I doubt you'll ever set foot in the US as a tourist again.

What would be the point of having quotas for denials? All countries love genuine tourists who show up, spend money, then sod off! There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why any country would restrict genuine tourists by having quotas.

Then presumably she's wealthy enough to be able to hire someone else to do the day to day running of her businesses and doesn't need to be there? It's a silly thing I know, but when it comes to ties to home countries and tourist visas you have to do some real mental gymnastics. Every thing you think of as a concrete tie you have to then think of how it could possibly be turned around and used against them, see it from the COs perspective as someone who by law has to think that everyone coming up to their window is lying. Documents mean nothing thanks to the ease of forgery. It's all down to a gut instinct decision based on a single questionnaire and a conversation that can be anything from 2 minutes to 10 minutes long and whether or not the CO thinks the person in front of them is trustworthy.

There is absolutely nothing you can do to prove that someone else will do anything. You can provide any amount of letters saying you will guarantee they will leave but other than physically carrying them onto a plane and strapping them to a seat how exactly can you guarantee it?

I beg to differ, or at least add another perspective. The U.S. Government is very happy to take action against those who overstay AND LEAVE the U.S. I speak from personal experience as someone who (significantly) overstayed VWP nearly 20 years ago and has been unable to visit the U.S. ever since and probably never will be able to again. The ones the government seem to have no will or desire to take action against are those who overstay and never leave, at least not as tourists.

Unfortunately there is no magic checklist of ties to home countries, thanks to the extreme lengths that other people have gone to just to get into U.S. soil, leaving behind children, homes, businesses, family. What it comes down to in the end is the personal opinion of the interviewing officer, based upon the information given on the ds-160 and on the how the applicant answers questions at the interview. The law says the officer must start with the opinion that the applicant is untrustworthy and it's up to the applicant to change that opinion. a Is it fair? Not really Is it ideal? Far from it Do they make mistakes? All the time Is it likely to change any time soon? Not a chance You could be denied today by one officer but be approved next month by another. Lots of people manage to convince the officers they'll return when they never have intention to and lots of honest people fail to convince the officer and get denied. It's an unfortunate aspect of international relationships

Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't mean they're laid back in enforcing their rules, merely their attitude when doing it. Very strict on the rules, especially when it comes to plant life and foodstuffs, but usually done with a smile and a bit of banter.

I've had many friends saying I should go to the newspapers with my tale of woe. They tell me I should spin a tale about me being a hard done by military hero (Army veteran) who is being kept from my children by an evil U.S. Government over a silly mistake. The Sun and the Daily Wail love stories like that, a photo with me doing a 'sad face' would be essential. My usual response is that no, I screwed up, I broke the rules, I have to live with the consequences.

I love the Australian version, they're so laid back about everything, even the serious stuff. The U.S. version shows the officers being very stern and by the book. The U.K. version is more about bureaucracy. The Australian version? "Two kilos of cocaine in your bag? Not smart mate. No worries, we'll just arrest you, wait for the Feds to get here and you'll go to prison for years. Do you want a drink while we wait?"