Mom's visa appt while i am in india, does it affect?

[anuiskewl]

my mom;s visitor visa appointment is at the same time when i am in india for vacation. the purpose of me being there in india is, if she gets the visa, she can come along with me.

the reason given by her to visit US is tourism.
is it better to have her appointment when i am in usa?
my being there, does it in anyway affect the chances of getting visa?

by the way, i am the only kid and my mom is a widow, i have a gc and have been is usa for pretty long.

please advise.
thank you all.

[saisai]

is it better to have her appointment when i am in usa?
my being there, does it in anyway affect the chances of getting visa?

No.

by the way, i am the only kid and my mom is a widow, i have a gc and have been is usa for pretty long.

Doesn't matter as long as she is well prepared to face the interview and show some ties in India like parents, sisters, brothers, property, job, income,...

[anuiskewl]

saisai,

thanks for replying.

i am sure VO can ask a question,
1. Since your son is already here, why do you need to go to US to visit him?

She will answer, she is going for tourism to visit different places. I am not sure if this answer is convincing enough. any thoughts on this??

Besides this they would also ask, for how long are you going there?

my understanding is, if someone is going for tourism alone, they should'nt be going for more one month or so. If someone is going for about 2 to 3 months, that means they are going there for something other than tourism i.e to stay with family and tourism.

therefore, given that she is giving tourism as the main reason, should the time period for stay be about 2 months? 1 month? 3 months? any thoughts on this??

thanks

[saisai]

my dad put only 3 weeks in his application for visiting me/touring. they don't mind how long you are going to tour. they only care if you are going to return to home country. prepare her answers based on this.

why you want to go to US? - touring and experience snowfall.

how long you want to stay? - mention 2 months in all her docs.

hope you get more help from other members with similar experience.

Good Luck!

[jaya06]

Ask your mom to NOT NOT NOT mention that you are in India unless she is asked about it. (I don't think she will be asked that question). Please make a photo copy of your passport before you travel to India and send it along with her. I remember reading in this board about someone's mom who was either denied a visa or given a very short time frame solely based on the fact that 'she had just seen her son, why does she have to go to USA to see him again' - though the purpose of visit she mentioned was primarily tourism.

Also, please mention only 2 months. Make sure she takes all the documents from her end to prove that she has 'enough ties' with her home country. Ask her to mention about her brothers/sisters/cousins/neices/nephews who are in India along with showing their pictures.

(My MIL has 5 children in India and only one son in USA. Her visa was denied 3 times in the past 2 yrs. This time, today, we applied again with EVERY possible document from her end and she is given the visa. We learnt, in a hard way, that all the documents from her end are the only ones which are important. The documents from the sponsorer will only be reviewed to make sure the sponsorer is in USA "legally". The applicant's documents are very very important)

[anuiskewl]

jaya06,

i understand that she will NOT mention that i am in india at that time, unless asked. However, if VO looks up my passport number, a copy of which is included in the sponsor's documents, VO can easily find out that i am India at that time.

hearing all your views, i am still debating whether i should prepone her visa interview date, so that she goes for Visa interview, when i am still in US. It surely looks like a better option.

as far as documents from her side are concerned, she is taking along with her the following documents -
1. Chartered Accountant's certified affidavit with property details and assets.
2. Property documents (photocopies).

As of now she does not have any documents showing family ties. But we can prepare a few Affidavit;s on stamp paper from my relatives who live close by. would that be a good idea? also, what should i mention in these affidavits?

i can get pictures of her with her family and relatives, but i am not sure if VO sees them?

can you please let me know what other documents you had included for your MIL. thanks so much.

Another question is,
all the papers, that a visitor visa seeker takes, are never submitted with the Embassy (if am right). The only time when VO can see those papers are at the time of interview. Therefore, i do not understand how taking pictures and everything, is more convincing?

in your MIL's case, did the VO look at all the documents and pictures before the interview or during the interview?

thanks.

[jaya06]

1) Ask your mom to take 'original' property documents. You can also get your properties apprised by a surveyor so that the value of the property will be higher than what is written in the original property documents (with rising real estate prices)

2) The support documents will only be seen at the time of interview. Visa officer will spend about 2-5 minutes per applicant and hence they can quickly browse through the documents that we take with us. Your mother can take just 4-5 pictures to quickly show her family members. The album shouldn't be a big one like a wedding album as they don't spend time to see so many photos. Just 4-5 pictures with family members, one picture of her home etc. My MIL took a family picture of her (8X10 size picture that she can't fit in an album - hence she put it in the folder and stapled it to her other documents so that when the VO opens the folder he can see the picture right away). Her interview started with questions based on the picture. Hence, I understood that picture(s) are very important

3) My MIL also took her property tax bills, electricity bills, water bills etc which have her name on them to prove that she is really living in that home and that she owns the home.

[anuiskewl]

purpose of visit : tourism
stay period : 2 months
visa interview date : 1st week of january.
DS 156 Q 22. when do you intend to arrive in US?
15 jan 2007.

based on these facts, they can ask 2 questions:
1. why do you want to go at this time of year i.e winter, specially since you are going only for tourism?
2. since your interview date and intended date of arrival are close, do you have tickets? she doesnt have tickets yet. would it make sense to have tickets?

my answer to 1st question would be -
1. will get to see snow and will visit california where weather is not cold.
2. having return tickets will make more sense since interview date and intended date of arrival are close by.

please advise.
anu

[anuiskewl]

another question -
my mom is widow. she has been a house wife all her life.

DS 156 Q21. Present occupation.
what should be the answer to this question? for now i have put in housewife?

please advise.
anu

[anuiskewl]

please give advice on the last 2 questions

[saisai]

another question -
my mom is widow. she has been a house wife all her life.

DS 156 Q21. Present occupation.
what should be the answer to this question? for now i have put in housewife?

please advise.
anu

housewife / home maker is fine.

[saisai]

purpose of visit : tourism
stay period : 2 months
visa interview date : 1st week of january.
DS 156 Q 22. when do you intend to arrive in US?
15 jan 2007.

based on these facts, they can ask 2 questions:
1. why do you want to go at this time of year i.e winter, specially since you are going only for tourism?
2. since your interview date and intended date of arrival are close, do you have tickets? she doesnt have tickets yet. would it make sense to have tickets?

my answer to 1st question would be -
1. will get to see snow and will visit california where weather is not cold.
2. having return tickets will make more sense since interview date and intended date of arrival are close by.

please advise.
anu

1. Fine

2. Tickets are not required at this time.

I read in this same forum where VO had asked if the tickets are purchased and what if they don't get tickets. The answers given by the applicant "we will buy the tickets after getting the visa approved and will fly on the date when tickets are available."