Minor Obtaining U.S. Visa from Sri Lanka

[Dreamless]

Hi. So I have a friend from Sri Lanka who is 17, thus a minor and applied for her U.S. Visa for the convention called Book Expo America which takes place for three days next month. She'll also be on a couple panels for it (a fact I don't think she mentioned and wasn't shown on the Book Expo website yet). She would be traveling alone without her parents.

She was denied a visa for being "too young". Since then she's re-applied but hasn't heard anything back yet. I was wondering if anyone had heard of a case like this, where a minor was denied a visa for being too young?

Why she would have been denied a visa and is there anything she can do to help get a visa?

I'd appreciate any comments, thanks.

[Libra_14]

Hi. So I have a friend from Sri Lanka who is 17, thus a minor and applied for her U.S. Visa for the convention called Book Expo America which takes place for three days next month. She'll also be on a couple panels for it (a fact I don't think she mentioned and wasn't shown on the Book Expo website yet). She would be traveling alone without her parents.

She was denied a visa for being "too young". Since then she's re-applied but hasn't heard anything back yet. I was wondering if anyone had heard of a case like this, where a minor was denied a visa for being too young?

Why she would have been denied a visa and is there anything she can do to help get a visa?

I'd appreciate any comments, thanks.

Did she produced consent letters from her parents, that they are fine having him travel alone to a totally different world?

[daggit]

Did she produced consent letters from her parents, that they are fine having him travel alone to a totally different world?

Female applicant.

OP.. did the rejection letter specifically say "too young"?

[Dreamless]

Female applicant.

OP.. did the rejection letter specifically say "too young"?

I don't know what the rejection letter specifically said, only that she said that they said that she was too young. I guess I could ask her to type up most of what it said. I don't know if there was a letter or a phone call.

[Dreamless]

Did she produced consent letters from her parents, that they are fine having him travel alone to a totally different world?

I'm almost positive that at least her mother was present during the interview if both her parents hadn't written consent forms. There would be an adult (another friend of ours, a bit older than I am, at 24) who would be responsible for her. I know she actually wrote a letter for the Visa people, but I don't know if they read it or anything, but she was as clear as she could be on what was going to go on with the girl. She'd be staying in a hotel room under the the adult's name which would be right next to the girl's hotel (with three others).

Would it help if she and the adult roomed together?

[daggit]

Would it help if she and the adult roomed together?

No.. that has nothing to do with the visa outcome.

[Libra_14]

She is too young to travel to a new country. She need a strong reason to travel & consent from parents that they are aware of the visit & they have no objection.

It would be better if she applies along with her parents for the visa & later travel alone (without parents)

[Dreamless]

No.. that has nothing to do with the visa outcome.

I didn't think it did, but I thought it could help. Okay.

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She is too young to travel to a new country. She need a strong reason to travel & consent from parents that they are aware of the visit & they have no objection.

It would be better if she applies along with her parents for the visa & later travel alone (without parents)

Even though she's only a year from becoming a legal adult in the U.S.? Hmm, the parents are aware of the visit, I believe they're partially paying for at least a little bit of the trip, if not the Visa applications. Okay, thanks for the comment.