mike101

It was a surreal experience waiting for my SIL to finish her interview. You could tell if people were approved or denied based on facial expressions and body language.

I was happy for people comming out with smiling faces and could feel the pain of those comming out with tears in their eyes.

She is not married so we'll see how it goes...

I know it looks like we dont have good odds but in March of this year my wife's aunt and cousin were approved for tourists visas.. Her aunt is also not married, earns a little more than the minimum salary and also traveled with a child...

Update:

Sister-in-law was denied a tourist visa as the CO said there was not enough links to her home country. We are all disappointed but life goes on.

Sad to report my sister-in-law had her visa denied today in Colombia. The CO said she didnt have enough ties to her home country and denied the visas for her and her daughter.

We are all disappointed about the whole situation.

About 3 weeks only. I'll be visiting a friend. I'm staying at their house with his family

I am no expert on this but I would expect that one should show enough money to cover all your expenses to the USA.

Example if your estimated expenses for flight, food, hotel, etc will cost $3000 USD you should have enough money in your account to cover the expenses.

You will have to apply for a K1 visa. It does get a little complicated because not all states recognize same sex marriage for example its not recognized Texas.

It's not about any red flags. It's about immigrant intent. I do agree that it is arbitrary most of the time, however they still have to take into account the ties that you have outside of the US. My aunt could have easily been denied because she has a son and a brother in the US, but she wasn't because the CO felt that her ties outside of the US were stronger.

Like I said in my post, financial ties are only one part of the equation. Anyone can have property or money in the bank, that doesn't mean squat. Property can be sold and money in the bank can be transferred or withdrawn. A job can be abandoned just the same.

In my aunt's case her job was taken into account because she is a few years away from retirement, 60 years old, and she is unlikely to put that at risk to stay here illegally in the eyes of the CO. Again, if the CO would have felt that the ties were insufficient or that the ties in the US were stronger, then she would have been denied.

If he were in a bad mood, he could have denied everyone that day as well and no one would bat an eye. She was denied twice already, she is divorced, those are also negative factors and she could have been denied based on that as well.

Although the process is arbitrary and unfair, there are certain situations that make you look more unfavorable, plain and simple. As for your friend, are you 100% certain of what she put on her application? I doubt that she put that she had a sister who is here illegally on the DS160. And in the unlikely event that she did, she probably has other ties that were more favorable. Again, financial ties aren't the big picture. And who was talking about grandma having another child???

Again you also have to take into account the statistics. Ian H. In 2013 over 41% of B visas from the Dominican Republic were denied. That also must play some role in your grandmother being denied. These embassies must be getting direction on how many visas are Available each day or have some type of quota..

There are some situations that are less favorable but it seems like the political situation with the USA of a country is a heavier weight than socioeconomically situation of the individual in some countries.

that list is not accurate by any means. 2.6% of South Africans are denied, really? Does anyone with a brain think that is true? 97% of South Africans are not granted tourist visas. 9 out of 10 Mexicans get tourist visas whereas slightly more than half of Canadians are granted them? the numbers are skewed and presented in a way to encourage people to apply in order to fund the scam.

I agree... The numbers do seem to be skewed for some countries..

That list is BS, just a marketing tool to get more people to apply and includes renewals, which are almost always approved. If it were true, are you basically trying to say those that don't get it are losers and somehow not worthy of a visa and shouldn't be complaining? Is that your point? only the most degenerates are rejected so no time should be wasted on them? Like I said, I don't belive those numbers one bit and quit insulting people with that list.

I posted this list for information purposes and was not trying to disrespect anyone. I was simply pointing out that not everyone gets a fair chance at getting a tourist visa based on your "ties to your home country."

The example I used was in 2010 the denial rate in Colombia was over 30% and in 2012 it dropped to 11.2%.. Just simply stating that there was a change in the political relationship between the US and Colombia and it correlates to a drop in the denials.

I never said that anyone was a "looser" or not worthy. Just stating that COs don't just take the persons ties to their home country into consideration when making their decisions. Politics also play a role in this decision which explains why COs don't bother to look at documentation in some interviews.

There's a list that gives the exact denial percentages by country as well.

http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/RefusalRates/FY13.pdf

Those links are on the last page in the document I posted.. It appears these decisions are mainly political which is why these COs make an approval or denial decision in less than 30 seconds in some situations. The outcome appears to be already determined before the interview....

They have people thinking its their work and family situation when it likely plays a small role in the overall decision.

Surprised that canada has a 43.1% rate. Is this for tourist visas applied for at consulate or at POE I wonder.

Im not sure where that number comes from as Canadian citizens dont need a visa to come to the USA.

Hi All,

I'd like to share some stats from the US State department. the document has links to B visa refusal rates based on countries.

It appears they most definitely place countries in categories that are used to decide visa approvals. It appears that African and Arab countries have the highest rates of denial with most having 50%+ denial rates.

One thing I noticed that my wife's native country Colombia went from having denial rates of about 30% from 2006-2010, to around 10 - 15% from 2011 - present. The drop came right around the time when tourist visas were extended to 10 years for those who were approved.. You cant tell me that between 2010 and 2011 double the rate of Colombians can now prove strong ties for a B category visa...

Looking at these stats its like they have very clear categories of denial rates and this explains why they approve and deny people in seconds without looking at their documentation. They mention one thing regarding "proving ties to your home country" but these statistics tell a different story.

Here is a link to the reports. They are on the last page of the PDF document.

http://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/refusalratelanguage.pdf

They're damned if you do damned if you don't. If aos wasn't possible in country people would cry that it's in humaine to separate those while waiting for a visa or to have to possibly wait out bans. Some think that the k1 class is a ridiculous visa as just as much fraud seems to come through with it.

There has got to be a better system in place for visiting. People don't understand getting turned away if you have a passport.

I agree people shouldn't be allowed to adjust to an immigrant status if they traveled to the USA on a non-immigrant visa and especially a tourist visa. If they do get married that should have to return to their home country and file for an immigrant visa.

I do realize there is a problem with people abusing tourist visas and the main problem is that there is no way of tracking people once they get to the USA or forcing them to return home if they overstay a visa. It costs money to enforce this so they then have to rely that the people will go back home on their own based on property and family ties.

Just because someone does not have a lot of money or property doesnt mean that they have no intentions of traveling back to their home country once their visa expires. Example my sister-in-law doesnt have a lot of money but is an honest person and just wants to visit her sister and see the USA.

I propose that people who fall in a "High risk" category be required to put up a refundable bond to secure their visa. similar to how credit card companies require a deposit to issue a credit card for people with bad credit. Example a person in a high risk category would be required to buy a $5,000 bond to secure their tourist visa. If they return before the visa expires they get their money back. If not, the US Govt keeps the money and its used to track and deport the person.

Thay way the USC that sponsors the immigrant would also have an interest in them returning home to get their bond money returned.

Sorry to hear about your experience.

I am now nervous as I am sponsoring my Sister-in-inlaw and her daughter for a B2 visa to visit my family in the USA. As the sponsor I am paying for the visa application fee ($160 * 2 = $320) and their travel to Bogota ($415). I've got $735 invested in this and we will all be truely disappointed if they get denied. It will especially be hurtful if they get denied in the first 30 seconds without taking a look at the documents.

If these applications are decided based on the application then I feel there should be an addition step to reject applications before an interview is scheduled. The interview should truely be an interview where one has the opportunity to prove their case and not just a formality.

Im of the opinion that it should not be a negative mark if the applicant has a family member who is a citizen. If anything that should be a positive mark to help the USC be with their family members.

The system does need to be changed and either way I plan to write my representatives in congress.

No. It was back in 2010. I applied to visit my then-boyfriend (my now husband) and got refused. The CO then write down "file for I-129F" one of reasons for the refusal. Though I brought a bunch of papers the CO did not even look at these.

Sorry to hear that. My sister in-law is scrambling to get employment verification documents, enrollment documents, permission from her child's father, etc and its troubling to know that the decisions are made within seconds without taking everything into consideration.

Was Your Tourist (B1/B2) Visa Approved? Please vote or reply to share your experience.

I want to bring my 72 year old father to the US on a tourist visa from Vietnam. He's had hip replacement surgery on one hip, and the other hip is very painful also. He's very reluctant to make the long journey alone, given his condition. I've heard that in such cases, an adult child (my brother) can accompany him on the trip. Is this correct, and if so, what is the procedure for applying? Do we submit two separate applications, or do they just have to explain the situation at my father's visa interview?

As others said they with both have to apply for their own visas for the travel. They may be able to both schedule their interviews at the same time but there is no guarantee.

Congratulations

What country did she apply in?

Her Husband is staying behind or does he have a visa?

She is not married so we'll see how it goes...

I know it looks like we dont have good odds but in March of this year my wife's aunt and cousin were approved for tourists visas.. Her aunt is also not married, earns a little more than the minimum salary and also traveled with a child...

Hi all,

I'd like to start this thread to start a discussion for experiences with tourist visas (B1/B2) at the US Embassy in Bogota Colombia.

My sister-in-law applied for one and has an interview in January. Here are some observations that may help others with the process.

1) We were worried about how much advanced time would be needed when scheduling the interview. We originaly thought the needed to be scheduled within a 30 day window but there were open dates on the calendar going out 4 months and possibly beyond.

2) There are actually two apointments that are needed. One appointment for ASC Biometrics (Photos & fingerprints) and the actual consular interview. The way the schedules are set, both appointments can not be done in the same day so we will need to arrive in Bogota one day earlier for the biometric appointment. Keep this in mind when scheduling your interview

My sister-in-law has been on her job for about 1 year, makes a little more than the minimum salary, is also in a university and will be traveling with a child.

I'll report to let you all know how it goes.

If you have gone through this process please share your experiences with tourist visa interviews at the consulate in Bogota.

Update:

We finally applied for the Tourist Visa (B2) in Bogota and at there were plenty of open dates to schedule an appointment. I took the calendar out until March which is 4 months in advance. It probably went further but I didn't go that far.

One thing that I found out that I didn’t know is that there are actually 2 appointments. The first appointment is for biometrics (Picture, finger prints, etc) and the second appointment is for the consular interview. With the way the times are set the biometric apointment needs to be atleast 1 day ahead of the consular interview.

We’ll be applying in January and I’ll report back with an update. Hopefully they get approved..

Jose cuando tu pediste su cita en la Embajada, cuantos dias en anticipacion habia? Por ejemplo 30 dias, 60 dias?

Gracias

Buenas noches a tod@s!

Llevo ya unos mesesitos en el foro y he aprendido bastante, en el momento no hemos iniciado el proceso de visa pues estoy en tratamiento odontológico (brackets) y quisiera saber mas o menos desde que el prometido envía la documentación hasta que se recibe el noa 2 cuanto tiempo se tarda? Mi dentista dice que termino el tratamiento a mas tardar agosto del próximo 2015 y nos gustaria estar preparados para despues no demorarnos mucho.

Agradezco a quienes nos puedan ayudar!

Hola Ana

En mi caso duro como 1 mes. Ahora veo mi firma y lo escribo mal en ese parte :-(. Tambien es bien de terminar su tratamiento alla en Colombia. Mis brackets me costo $4,000 USD y son mas barrato alla en Colombia.

Si quieres ustedes pueden hacer el proceso ahora para sacar la visa. Tienes 6 meses de entrar EE.UU y despues 90 dias de casar.

Nosotros empezemos el proceso en Dec 2009 y aprobaron la visa en Junio 2010.

Pregunta,

Cuando se escojes su fecha de la cita por la visa K-1, cuantos dias adelantado se puede escojer su fecha? Por ejemplo 2 semans, 30 dias, 60 dias?

Favor perdona mi Español :-)

What it boils down to is "do you trust this woman?"

If the answer is not yet, then you should get your own accomodations and there is no problem with this.

Personally I would get my own acomodations for the first visit as I cant trust someone I have never met in person.

I did the same thing with my wife when I first went to meet her in Colombia. I didn't actually stay at her place until my 3rd visit.