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Green Card ot Tourist visa for my mother- HELP-

I am a naturalized citizen of the United States. My mother (age 62) lives in
Colombia. Since I came to America, she has never been able to visit me, and I have
wanted her to be able to visit for a short vacation. In an attempt to do so, she
went to the US Embassy four years ago to apply for a tourist visa, but she was
declined. I know that she could get obtain residency if we choose to apply for it,
but she only wants to visit for a few days.

My question is, with me having my citizenship would it make a difference if I
accompanied her for a second interview? Please advise me of what would be the best
way to handle this.

Thank you,

By jaxicol on Oct 24, 2008, 11:46 in Visa & paperwork.

sanandressi says on Oct 24, 2008, 12:26:

Were you a citizen four years ago when she applied for tourist visa? If not, then have her apply for tourist visa and maybe get a US senator or Congressman to write a letter for her. no guarantee but it can help I hear.

"This train will stop in Tucumcari"

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Jlove says on Oct 24, 2008, 12:45:

I was en the embassy yesterday and yes I believe that it will help. I saw someone in the exact case and she was with her mom. Her mo received the visa in possibly 5 minutes after reaching the window. A large number of people who were along did not recieve their visa. One lady was on her 4th try. Make sure that you have all of the paper work and blank copies if something goes wrong. I had to pull out a blank copy because the requested form DS230, which was sent in earlier but they had it again ont he list of needed papers.

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Mononoke28 says on Oct 24, 2008, 13:27:

No one really knows for sure if it will be approved or not, only the CO. You being a US citizen doesn't mean much to them because all they care about is that your mom doesn't use her tourist visa to stay, that's their main focus. You can TRY, but if you're denied, don't be upset about it.

From what I've heard more tourist visas have been approved in the past few months, the embassador said on an interview that it used to be only 10% and now they're trying to approve up to 60%. That seems a little far fetched but you never know.

As a side note, if you and your mom decide to go for permanent residency, keep in mind that she can only stay away from the US no more than 6-12 months or they'll take away her residency.

Diana

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drvannostren says on Oct 24, 2008, 14:23:

do they honestly believe that people will go to the us and all manage to find a place to hideout or stay in the states? I geuss being a Canadian and being able to go wherever I want I suppose I can't really wrap my head around the idea of not being able to.

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lpdiver says on Oct 24, 2008, 17:10:

drvan...thousands do.

ts

"cook some rice!"

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rjstuff says on Oct 25, 2008, 11:13:

I know of several greencard holders whose mom alone or both mom and dad came here on visitors visas for 3 or 4 months - one of them has been here twice and is coming back again with her husband next summer - to go fishing. It seems to me that visitor's visas are not a problem from talking to them - none of them did anything special to get the visas. My guess is try again with full supporting documentation. Good Luck

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