Tourist visa to US - URGENT

utopiacowboy says on Jan 24, 2006, 21:25:

I have no advice but I am curious to see how this plays out. Please keep us posted on how his interview goes.

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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Crazy4Cali says on Jan 24, 2006, 22:28:

I don't know.... but I'd guess that unless you can pull some pretty high strings, or present some sort of dire emergency, if he doesn't have a visa already, I'd be pessimistic about getting one on short notice with an immigrant visa application in the works.

Heck, for a non-US citizen to just get into the embassy can take a couple of months.

While pursing the visa options (maybe there is some sort of educational visa?) I'd also be pursuing alternate plans.

Either way, best of luck!

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tgdavis_01 says on Jan 27, 2006, 08:33:

Here is what I found out My friend tried to get a tourist visa for a 2 week trip to visit me here in the states. He was denied because he did not have enough to show that he would return. He had bank statements, a letter of invitation from me with the exact dates, and some letters from people in colombia. None of this was good enough. He waited 6 hours at the Embassy and the interview took less than 2 minutes. They only asked him one question and denied the request. My suggestion is to get letters of invitation from the places where he is speaking (though this only lends credibility and not actual consideration value), with exact dates. Bank statements and letters from the bank are good and so is proof of property holdings. Get a letter from his employer stating that he has X number of days off from work and that he is needed back, or if he owns his own business, have paperwork to prove it. He has to be able to prove that he has enough reason to come back to Colombia at the end of the trip and not remain illegally. If you were staying in CO, and he was travelling, that would be a good sign, or if you have kkids that will be remaining there, that would also help.

Do not buy the plane tickets before you have the interview. You will be taking a HUGE risk on that, and it really will not prove his intentions. You are better to wait. According to the statistics of the Embassy in Bogota, they see approximately 1500 people a day, and they deny over 90% because of lack of sufficient reason to return.

You could try for a work visa instead, and then the invitation letters for a set time might help. Just my opinion, but the US has really cracked down on visas from anywhere, but it seems very difficult to get from Colombia lately.

Best of luck!
TD

TD

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Peter Miami says on Jan 27, 2006, 11:25:

This is very good advice by tgdavis_01.

Peter Miami

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alexyy9 says on Jan 28, 2006, 08:59:

Thanks tgdavis_01 That's a lot of good info...I think we've got everything in order...the only real problem I think is that I live in the US, and he lives in Bogota (for the time being while we get the K3 processed), and even though he has his bank statements, owns property, has a job where he IS needed back, and a letter from me explaining our working relationship and our personal relationship (with mention of the K3 petition), plus invitations, it could still be a challenge...

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