PBH / colombia (travelguide, pictures) / post

sponsoring a tourist?

my friends say that they are going to "sponsor" their grandmother with a tourist visa to come and visit from mexico. can i "sponsor" a very close "friend" to come and visit me from colombia? stability, financial and etc. would not be a problem and violation of the visa terms would not be an issue either. just looking to give my friend a great summer experience in the usa.

By M7 on Apr 18, 2006, 11:09 in Visa & paperwork.

Crazy4Cali says on Apr 18, 2006, 11:28:

I'd be interested to know... I'd be interested to know how many people are successful with this approach. My guess is that the sponsorship is incosequential, if not detrimental, to a tourist visa application.

Read the embassy's web-site. The Colombian site says, flat out, they assume every tourist visa applicant is going to go to the U.S. to stay. It's up to the applicant to prove to the very skeptical, "has heard it all before" consul that they would rather return to Colombia than stay in the U.S.

Good luck, but don't get your hopes up.

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M7 says on Apr 18, 2006, 11:42:

yeah, i was surprised to hear this too. but my friends described it as more than just writing a letter but actually filling out proof documents etc.. i dont know maybe it is just for family members or something. ???

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utopiacowboy says on Apr 18, 2006, 12:01:

Based on some recent experiences, the knowledge that the "tourist" will have an existing support structure in the US is a minus not a plus. A true tourist does not need a sponsor and it is mixing and matching the terminology between immigrants (who do need a sponsor) and non-immigrants like tourists who don't.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Gator says on Apr 18, 2006, 14:15:

Really Will Not Help, But... you might write a "looking forward to seeing you and Disney is great this time of year" letter but it has been our experience this does no good. The only sponsor I know of is when you can add you name to a pending permanent visa application to help meet the income requirements to sponsor an immigrant.

"SIC FRIATUR CRUSTUM DULCE. OBESA CANTAVIT."

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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M7 says on May 4, 2006, 22:09:

confirmed "sponsoring" a tourist is total BS. it does not exist. my friend was completely off. they are sponsoring grandma as a family immigrant to get a green card - even though she will just come and visit periodically. i have looked into this matter and checked the laws. also your are correct in that writing a letter does not help in any way. thanks for the responses.

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