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Hello,
I'm asking some questions here on behalf of a friend who is in the process of trying to secure a F-1 Student Visa, but was unfortunately rejected under 214(b). He is from the Philippines and was caught a little bit unaware, as up until now the school he applied for, the application webpages he was using, etc. never really said much about how many people get rejected, about preparing lots of supporting documentation, etc.
The embassy interviewer told him that he did not have sufficient funding and ties to his home country. He wants to try again, but isn't sure how to show strong ties to his home country, nor how much funding they are looking for.
For funding, at the time of the application he had 110% of the required amount as calculated by the university on the I-20 form. That cost was inclusive of housing, tuition, fees, books, supplies, and misc. He had enough to cover 110% of the cost for the full duration of his studies. He had an official bank letter stating the this balance was available in cash in his own standard checking account, so I assume it was the amount they worried about rather than how it was stored. If 110% is not enough, how much does the Embassy want to see? 120%? 150% 200%? Are they looking for other paperwork than just the costs per year as given on the I-20 form? For example, is it helpful to look up the room and board, tuition, fees, etc. on your own and put together your own spreadsheet....or do they want to see some other, more official, paperwork?
The other thing they mentioned was showing ties to your home country. He has prepared the following so far for the next interview, any comments on the validity, strength, etc. of these? Is there anything else you would recommend?
-Letter from his religious organization stating his strong ties, leadership, and their belief that the education will be an asset to the church on his return. They may also write a letter offering him full-time employment, but it hasn't been decided yet.
-Medical records confirming serious condition of his elderly parent, and his continuing financial support of that parent.
-Records showing family owns property (not in his name though), and records showing that he has been helping to maintain that property through extensive repairs & furnishings purchases
-Further bank records showing 150% of required funds (i.e. the amounts that the school says are required incl. tuition, books, boarding, misc. living expenses, etc.) in cash in a personal savings account
-Records showing he has a few thousand USD worth of precious metals stored in a bank (was thinking this would count as 'investments'?)
-Records showing he previously went abroad to another country (not America) for work and studies, and came back at the end of his contracted term there
-Records showing his family members have studied in America and returned from their programs in the past
-Records showing his position in the tribal hierarchy and how he will be assuming a leadership roll as the generational head
Most of these documents are issued by some group or person, but he is concerned about how official they would have to be to be accepted. Does everything have to be original copies? Notarized? Does the embassy care about these things at all?
Also he wants to show more about why he is studying in America, so he came up with this:
-List of companies in his city that require the expertise he hopes to gain
-List of salaries ranges at those companies for the positions his studies will qualify him for
-Academic studies showing that this field leads to higher salaries in third world countries.
-A more detailed course of study and supporting reasons for why he choose this particular university, field, etc.
But none of these documents are 'official' in any sense.
Some key notes:
He is not married
He has no kids
His family is not wealthy, and thus cannot offer him a large amount of financial support
His current job is very good, but it likely would not offer him a conditional letter of employment, so he cannot get that from them...although he may be able to get job offers from other companies he can bring to the embassy.
Roughly speaking, how good is his chance? Is there anything else he can do? It's really hard to find good information about this stuff.
I'm asking some questions here on behalf of a friend who is in the process of trying to secure a F-1 Student Visa, but was unfortunately rejected under 214(b). He is from the Philippines and was caught a little bit unaware, as up until now the school he applied for, the application webpages he was using, etc. never really said much about how many people get rejected, about preparing lots of supporting documentation, etc.
The embassy interviewer told him that he did not have sufficient funding and ties to his home country. He wants to try again, but isn't sure how to show strong ties to his home country, nor how much funding they are looking for.
For funding, at the time of the application he had 110% of the required amount as calculated by the university on the I-20 form. That cost was inclusive of housing, tuition, fees, books, supplies, and misc. He had enough to cover 110% of the cost for the full duration of his studies. He had an official bank letter stating the this balance was available in cash in his own standard checking account, so I assume it was the amount they worried about rather than how it was stored. If 110% is not enough, how much does the Embassy want to see? 120%? 150% 200%? Are they looking for other paperwork than just the costs per year as given on the I-20 form? For example, is it helpful to look up the room and board, tuition, fees, etc. on your own and put together your own spreadsheet....or do they want to see some other, more official, paperwork?
The other thing they mentioned was showing ties to your home country. He has prepared the following so far for the next interview, any comments on the validity, strength, etc. of these? Is there anything else you would recommend?
-Letter from his religious organization stating his strong ties, leadership, and their belief that the education will be an asset to the church on his return. They may also write a letter offering him full-time employment, but it hasn't been decided yet.
-Medical records confirming serious condition of his elderly parent, and his continuing financial support of that parent.
-Records showing family owns property (not in his name though), and records showing that he has been helping to maintain that property through extensive repairs & furnishings purchases
-Further bank records showing 150% of required funds (i.e. the amounts that the school says are required incl. tuition, books, boarding, misc. living expenses, etc.) in cash in a personal savings account
-Records showing he has a few thousand USD worth of precious metals stored in a bank (was thinking this would count as 'investments'?)
-Records showing he previously went abroad to another country (not America) for work and studies, and came back at the end of his contracted term there
-Records showing his family members have studied in America and returned from their programs in the past
-Records showing his position in the tribal hierarchy and how he will be assuming a leadership roll as the generational head
Most of these documents are issued by some group or person, but he is concerned about how official they would have to be to be accepted. Does everything have to be original copies? Notarized? Does the embassy care about these things at all?
Also he wants to show more about why he is studying in America, so he came up with this:
-List of companies in his city that require the expertise he hopes to gain
-List of salaries ranges at those companies for the positions his studies will qualify him for
-Academic studies showing that this field leads to higher salaries in third world countries.
-A more detailed course of study and supporting reasons for why he choose this particular university, field, etc.
But none of these documents are 'official' in any sense.
Some key notes:
He is not married
He has no kids
His family is not wealthy, and thus cannot offer him a large amount of financial support
His current job is very good, but it likely would not offer him a conditional letter of employment, so he cannot get that from them...although he may be able to get job offers from other companies he can bring to the embassy.
Roughly speaking, how good is his chance? Is there anything else he can do? It's really hard to find good information about this stuff.
