I am on F1. My wife is coming on B2 from India. Who should we mention as sponsor?

[pavan8085]

Question 1:
I am doing my Masters in Computer Science @ Stony Brook University, NY. I am going to California this summer for my internship. I want my wife to be with me @ Cali during these 3 months. Because of some problems with applying an F2 visa, we are applying a B2 visa. One standard question asked to people coming to the US on B2 is "Who's sponsoring your trip?". Initially I thought, the answer would be "my husband", as I have sufficient money to take care of her for three months. But would it raise red flag in the interviewer's mind as I am studying here? My internship also gets me around $8K per month. My wife also has sufficient funds in her savings account back in India. So I thought "I will be sponsoring myself" would be a better answer. We've also thought of this -"Me and my husband, both of us are sponsoring for the trip"
Which one would be the best answer?

Question 2:
I study in New York but my internship is in Cali. Hence I've booked my wife's tickets to SFO,CA. Would this cause any problems? Like my wife is also a SW engineer, would they be suspicious that she is going to Cali for jobs?

Question 3:
My internship offer letter doesn't have the company's seal. I'm sending the same to to my wife to carry to the visa interview. Is it fine?

[pb2au]

She should be prepared to answer why she isn't going on an F2 visa.

She can certainly apply for a B2 visa if her intention is only a short visit to spend time with you.

As for "suspicious" - by default every B2 applicant is assumed to be a potential immigrant. So yes, every single applicant is viewed as "suspicious" in the above sense, and it is up to the applicant to dispel that notion at the visa interview.

As always, my advice is - be forthright and don't lie to the consular officer or in the DS-160.

[pavan8085]

Thanks but...

Dear pb2au,
Thanks for your reply. All the details I've provided are truthful and we've no plans of lying to the VO. The only thing that concerns me is the situation. I am studying in NY and my wife is travelling to SFO. This is a real genuine situation as my internship is in Cali. Also, my offer letter doesn't contain a seal. This is also a real situation. Not sure whether this will cause problems.

Can you please go through my individual questions and throw some light?

[pb2au]

I didn't mean to imply that you were going to be untruthful in your application. I am sorry if it came across that way.

Your case looks pretty solid.

On Q.1, if you are going to earn $8000 a month on an internship that would more than satisfy the funding requirement. So put yourself as the funding source. It is highly unlikely that the funding source is going to be an issue here.

On Q.2, I don't think that would be an issue at all. People travel within America all the time. After all, she could land in New York and then later take an internal flight to any other place in the US, can't she? So this is a non-issue, so far as I can see.

On Q.3, why can't you get an official letter on a company letterhead? Every company here issues it. Typically these letters state that you have been employed since such&such date (or will be joining on such&such date) and the salary is $XYZ per year or per month.

As I mentioned earlier, she should have an answer to the question asking why she isn't applying for the F2 visa. Just be straightforward with the consular officer and she would be fine.