Keebleman

Success: visa approved! She's one of the 87%! I've only had a couple of texts from her so I don't know yet what factors were different from the previous interview, except that the documents she brought were looked at this time. Maybe this sort of thing does depend a lot on the mood of the particular CO at the particular time.

Anyway, thanks for all the advice.

Keebleman - if she goes to Belfast and doesn't get a visa, and then she goes to Warsaw, they might think she's REALLY desperate to get one and she has to have an ulterior motive to go to the States, so they might refuse her again.

But maybe she'll get a visa in Belfast, who knows. Good luck to her!

Thanks. She's in Belfast now, appointment is tomorrow morning. She hasn't seen this discussion: I'd have told her about it only if there had been an absolutely splendid suggestion she hadn't thought of, or if the general tenor of the posts had been optimistic. I'm sure she'll take note of the warnings about trying too often, and the pitfalls that can await at POE even if she's successful. Thanks for your advice. I'll post the decision when I hear it.

My Polish Fiancee applied 8 months ago for tourist visa to the US... at that time she was solely intending to visit her sister who is a doctor in New york for 2 weeks and to come visit me which wasnt even mentioned in her application and so wasnt an issue to the CO... She has been in London for 6 years and has a GREAT job she has held for over 2 years.... She has no strong family ties here in London because they are in Poland , and owns no property....but at the time had every intention of returning... she had a detailed letter from her work that stated her income and that they fully believed that she would return.... she had a letter from her sister stating her intentions to stay for 2 weeks with her in her flat in new york and that she would pay for her return home if money became an issue... so basically I am saying she was fully prepared for the interview and felt the same way as your friend...meaning that she was sure that she had no issues..... so when she went to her interview the officer asked her a couple questions and cut her off within 3 minutes into the interview by saying your application has been denied.... you do not have strong enough ties to this country or Poland and I do not believe you intend to return..... That was that.... I believe like the person above said, that if she is young there is way to big of a chance of her finding a US citizen to marry and never returning.... not that they think she is, but rather that it is extremely possible... I contacted Lawyers and did research and all that I found was that this is what you should expect as a polish citizen.... there is ongoing efforts in the states to get Poland into the Visa Waiver program, but it is far from happening....

I hate to say it, but I do not believe your friend is going to be accepted the second time around..... especially if nothing has changed..... one lawyer I spoke to stated that she shouldnt even try again for at least a year.... So basically I came here to London instead and 5 months later we applied for a Fiance visa after we decided to get married..... even this process takes a long time..... sorry to hear this happened... I know the frustration is huge, and she must be pretty pissed and disappointed...... good luck though.... I did hear that the us embassy in warsaw is the best bet!

That's very close to my friend's situation, even to the 3 minutes it took for the application to be turned down (I know it's not my friend though: she would never describe her job as great, let alone GREAT). Certainly isn't promising, but thanks for the Warsaw suggestion; I'll put it to her should the Belfast visit not work out (assuming she has the stomach and/or funding for another go).

Reapplying for a visa, without knowing precisely why she was denied in the first place will not change the outcome. In order to apply again and hope for success she needs to be able to mitigate the circumstances under which her visa was denied in the first place.

The consulate in London should have given her a letter explaining the reasons for the denial and that should be her starting point, to present evidence that may satisfy the requirements.

She needs not go to Belfast for that. She can reapply in London.

She would have done, but time is an issue, and they couldn't offer her an appointment soon enough. And in a few months, or even weeks, it wouldn't be relevant anyway cos she'll be a Brit!

As I mentioned in one of the earlier posts, the very first thing she'll mention will be her UK citizenship application-in-process.

At least this time round she is prepared for disappointment! It was a total shock the first time.

They have her in their system and that she was denied.

I don't think she'll get a visa, but good luck to her.

13%? I don't think it was that much. Where di you get that info from?

I got the info from this link: http://www.travel.state.gov/pdf/FY09.pdf

She's going to Belfast because it's the only consular office where she could get an appointment before the holiday starts.

She didn't mention the citizenship application last time - the CO immediately asked about her ex-boyfriend and I think my friend was rather thrown by this - but it's going to be front and centre in Belfast.

I don't think she was nervous for the London interview, she regarded it as a formality. I've looked it up, and in 2009 only 13% of visa applications from Poles were refused, which I assume were people with something dodgy in their past (of course, there could be something she's not telling me...). She'll certainly be nervous next time, though.

And my references to 'Marriageable age' and lying to the CO were sarcastic responses to post #2.

Just to clarify, she's 32, so not really a girl, though I concede that still might be considered 'of marriageable age'. Also, she has applied for British citizenship (cost up front: £800+), a process that started months ago. If it had already been approved then none of this would have been necessary as UK is part of the Visa Waiver Program. And as I mentioned she has a permanent job.

What really astonished her at the time was that the official refused to even look at the documents and testimonials she had brought with her. Apparently the idea that a Polish national might want to simply go on holiday on the US for a few weeks with some friends (inc at least one American) is too absurd even to consider.

Oh, and as far as I'm aware, she didn't, and nor does she intend to, lie to a Consular Official.

I've a query on behalf of a friend of mine, a Polish national who is planning a three-week road trip in the USA in September together with half-a-dozen or so others (a mix of UK and US nationals). A couple of weeks ago she had her visa application refused by the consulate in London, a development that came as a complete - and extremely distressing - surprise to her: she has been resident in the UK for 8 years, has a permanent job, a large social circle and ample financial means to support herself for the duration of the holiday.

She went to the interview armed with many documents to support her application, but it seems the consular officer she saw didn't even ask to see them. The officer asked my friend why, once she had separated from her British boyfriend (the reason she had come to Britain in the first place), she hadn't returned to Poland. My friend told her about the job and her friends, and that her life is in Britain now, but the application was promptly and curtly turned down on the grounds that she has left one country once so may well do so again. Her hopes now lie with another interview (in Belfast this time) later this week.

Do you think she simply came up against the wrong official on the wrong day, or is her application fundmentally flawed? She has been planning for and looking forward to this holiday for months and months. Any advice anyome can offer to make the second interview a success would be very gratefully received.