Visitor Visa

[Zachary And Lychee]

My wife's mother applied for a visitor visa today. The VO asked her three questions and denied her. He did not even take or look at any of the documents prepared for him when she offered it to him. The questions asked where:

 

How many children do you have?

- Two, one in america and one at home in school.

 

How long has one been in America?

- Over two years.

 

How much money do you make a month?

- (Told him how much - It's not much)

 

So all the work done preparing evidence and writing a letter to him addressing the weak and strong points in her case were ignored and thrown to waste. Apparently because she doesn't make enough money or Lychee hasn't been in America long enough. I feel those should NOT be the only determining factors in a case. I also feel that for someone who traveled several hundred miles and spent a lot of time preparing for the interview, it's a slap in the face to not even look at the supporting evidence they brought and base whether or not she can see her daughter and grandson on 3 questions.

[Randy W]

Yes - some tire of the trips to the consulate and the $100 donations to the Dept of State. Others breeze through on their first try.

 

So sorry this happened to you.

[Urkidding]

We sent all of that BS with my mother-in-law before... and she was hoping that it would be easy. Too easy, in fact that asked for other documentation, like how much $ do you have in the bank and where is the income coming from, etc, ect. - DENIED.

 

We sent her back the next month, got another VO and VISA GRANTED!

 

Go figure!

 

Maybe the guy was pissed off that day.

 

Others seem to believe that the decsion is made even before they step into the office.

 

(editor's Note) My wife has been here over 10 years and her mother has been her 3 times already. The first time was the time that her VISA was denied.

 

Her brother has been here over 10 times and has a kid going to college in an school in New Jersey. He owns several companies and has never been denied. We think its because he has to return to China sooner or later...

Edited September 18, 2009 by Urkidding (see edit history)

[Zachary And Lychee]

Well perhaps we'll try up to two more times... I really want her to come here and see her daughter and grandson.

[Jaseball]

I really do believe it is the CO having a bad day/week/month/life and luck of the draw. Some are power tripping. Some just want to be an a-hole and some actually do due diligence and their job and grant visa's or at least have very good reasons for denying.

 

Having a child/husband/family at home and owning property/business in China seems to be the main criteria.

 

This area and having relatives in a country so far away, with visas to the US so hard to obtain, and the costs so high was a detrimental factor for me

 

What is even a bigger concern is the US/China relationship for all intents and purposes is good right now. They are sort of co-dependent, neither side wants to piss the other off, China is enjoying prosperity, etc.

 

I can't even imagine if we were in some sort of armed conflict, the Chinese dumps US treasuries and sinks the dollar, or there is some other problem that would make visas, much less immigration impossible.

[SleepyGuy]

Well perhaps we'll try up to two more times... I really want her to come here and see her daughter and grandson.

 

Sorry to hear about your experience, but it is good to know you are not giving up yet. We have had our share of successes and frustrations over the years. It seems more transparent and less arbitrary than it used to be, nevertheless stories such as yours illustrate how the system defies logic sometimes: in three years your wife will become a US citizen and be able to sponsor her mother for IR-5 anyhow, what's the point of denying the old lady a visitor visa now? Similar things happened to friends of mine a few years back, one couple were USC/LPR, the other were both LPRs. Their respective mothers did eventually overcome the visa denial when they tried again. They visited and left on time.

 

I wonder if your mother-in-law happens to be from Fujian. That might have put her at a disadvantage right from the start, given the large number of illegal immigrants from there. But then as I said earlier looking at the bigger picture it should be clear the likelihood for her to overstay is slim, regardless of what everyone else in her neighborhood does.

 

The level of her income and the length of time she has been separated from your wife are not real problems. I know people with little income and owning no real estate getting B-2 visas (and just for the record absolutely no fraudulent information was provided); on the other hand, some years ago I also met someone whose parents were denied B-2 visas because they had not seen each other for several years (7) and the long separation actually worked against them (there were doubts about an on-going relationship).

 

Once she overcomes it, comes for a visit and then departs on time, she will never have any difficulty again (but it is still a hassle to travel to the consulate, I know...).

[Zachary And Lychee]

Yes, she is Fujianese. We're well aware of the fraudulent cases that pass through successfully. The fact is, they did not weigh the case properly. The three questions they asked were not sufficient enough to weigh the responses against her ties to her country. The evidence we brought was ignored. It was not even looked at. The letter I wrote to the VO pointing out the weaknesses in her case and addressing the strengths was rejected when handed to him. When she attempted to hand him a carefully constructed and well-organized folder of evidence he put out his hand and said no, and proceeded to ask the three questions. This denotes a predetermined outcome or a biased view, which is not how our policies should be. We are not China. We strive to be better and less corrupt then their government officials by a system of checks and balances and treating cases on a case-by-case review basis. Every case is unique and the evidence, all of it, should be weighed before a fair decision can be made. However, this is not how things are now and they need to be corrected. We need to voice our opinions to our representatives until they investigate things. I told my congressman about this and he was appalled by what happened. He is writing a letter to them to reevaluate the case and take every favorable consideration into account. (He included my copy of the letter to the VO in his response.)

Edited September 19, 2009 by Zachary And Lychee (see edit history)

[Inailit88]

which consulate did you go to? the one in GZ? My in laws got here from Shanghai a month and half ago. They were asked a few questions only and none of the documents i provided for them was looked at and they got their visas. (Shanghai consulate). It seems that everything in GZ consulate is more complicated and harder to get a visa ( any kinda visas). Just keep trying buddy and maybe you ll get a kind VO in a good mood.