Visitor Visa (b2) Denied three times at Mumbai consulate, India.

[coolsachin]

Hello

My parents have been denied visitor visa (B2) at mumbai consulate three times. All three times no documents were asked at all. "My whole purpose of this visa was only to be with them for a month time and to visit some places in California."

My father is retired from state govt ( Age 65) , mother is homemaker (Age 60), and I have 1 younger brother (Age 20) who lives with my parents and taking education in Mumbai. And my sister is married and settled in Pune, India. And my father has 2 houses in India, plus they have excellent bank balance in his own account. However he doesnt get pension as he got VRS (volunteer retirement) so in that case he is getting monthly income through interest on his FD's (fixed deposites) ,plus he gets rent from properties.

I m currently on H1b since last 5 years and haven't applied for GC and my wife is on H4. I m too having good bank balance in US. Never had any immigration,job and financial issues. I too have house in India. I am planning to return to India in Nov 2013 itself.


My first attempt : In Nov 2010, they all went for visa interview, visa interview was in English, VO asked some questions to my parents

1.Why do you want to go to USA ?
Ans : tourism and visiting my son.

2.What do you do (to my dad)?
Ans: Retired from govt(organisation name)

3.What do you do (to my mom)?
Ans:home maker

Thats it !! VO gave 214g .

Second attempt : In Dec 2010, again they all (my dad,mom and brother) went for interview. This time VO didnt ask any question and upright rejected with 214g.

Third attempt : Jan 7th 2013. Interview was in my native language (Marathi).This time my mom and dad went for visa interview. We thought if we don't include my brother they might get visa. So we didnt apply for my younger brother. But still they didnt get visa and VO issued 214g.

Questions were almost same.Only one extra question they asked is
"When did you last time meet you Son? "
Ans : Jan 2012. Thats it . They rejected.

All three times I was sponsoring my parents. We didnt make any change in the situation.
My questions are :
1.How much time should I wait before reapplying visa for the 4th time?
2.Would self sponsoring option make any change in my situation to get the visa done ?
3.Should my parents visit some other nearby country before reapplying 4th time ?
4.Should I send them individually for visa interview ?
5.Can I take help from any attorney in US ? If yes, do you know any good attornies ?
6. How to make changes in my current situation ? How would they know my situation has been changed without asking any documents (because 214G says apply if there is any change in situation) ? (I can not ask my father or mother to get a job to change situation , but is that what expected to change the situation ?).

I have only 6 months left on my 6 years h1-B duration. And before that I really want to bring my parents over here for a short visit. Please advise.

[peace999]

It is sad how the officers decide on B1/B2 applications.
People like your parents with no real intent to immigrate are denied repeatedly.

No attorney can help because by law , B1/B2 s are designed to be discretionary decisions.
Meaning the officers can deny as they please.

You do not have much time on your H1b, so there is no point for them waiting too long
or sending them to another country for travel.

Sending them separately for interview does not make sense,
as they will ask the first parent , why the other parent is not going and they cannot say
he will appear later. ( not allowed, people traveling together should apply together).

Write a letter addressed to the Consular officer , explaining your situation;
that you are returning after the expiry of your H1b in 6 months. Show proof of property
purchase in India and best will be if you can show proof of arranged job after you return to India.
Explain that you wish your parents to see US before you return , so the visa be granted to them.

Send the letter to your dad, so they can present it right when the interview opens.
Let your dad open the inteview by saying,"could you please read this letter from my son in US?"

With B1/B2 , you can only try again and again. There is no process for appeal or anyother recourse
in case of denials.

[coolsachin]

Hi peace999 - I really appreciate your suggestation. Here are some question regarding your suggestation

1. I can definitely write a letter to consulate but wouldn't it sound rude if my father asks VO to read letter right when interview kicks off ? I mean I read on some formus that you should show/ present any documents if and only if VO asks for it. Infact second time when they were rejected I gave them such letter, however VO made decision even before my father would present document to her. When my father tried to present document ,she said I am sorry decision is made.

2. And how about changing the sponser, would self sponsoring make any difference.

3. And I read on some forums about letter from senator/ congressman , would that help ? And if yes then how to get a letter from senator / congressman ?

4. And any idea how many times I can send them for a visa interview in one calendar year ? And what's the wait time between two interviews ?

Thanks Once again and I really appreciate your quick response.

Regards,
Sachin

[peace999]

1. You have no other option.
The worst they can do is deny the visa. And how much trouble and waste of money they have caused your parents
for no fault of your parents. So your parents should be bold and present the letter right at first.

2. For self funding they ask about income and can deny when they will hear
retired and no pension. They may not give them a chance to explain that they have savings also. So this is risky.

3.I have read some posts of successes and even denials after cong.man/senator letters. Do not know much about it.
In the end it is the officer's discretion that cannot be questioned.

4.No limit on number of attempts/yr and one can apply again after 3 business days .

If you had more time on H1b ( thinking of extension after 6 yrs?), I would have advised your dad to have made a trip to singapore etc.
start some private business or job even on a small scale ( to show ties and not show himself as retired) and reapply
one year later.

[pmanya]

Did the situation change CoolSachin?

Did the situation change CoolSachin? Did your parents get a visa now?