Visa granted on second attempt - only child

[ss92]

My mother got her visa on March 3rd at Chennai. Earlier on Feb 15th her visa was rejected cos (a) I am the only child (daughter) (b) my dad is no more and they didnt think she had enough ties to return. I struggled for 2 weeks to get another apt. for her with a Tamil translator so that she could say that she didnt quite understand the counsellor's questions because of the accent. I managed to get an apt for March 3rd. This time she was interviewed by an Indian gentleman. He was very nice to her and actually read through the letter I had written to the counsellor highlighting the reasons why she would go back to India and also the fact that she had been here before and left much before the stipulated time. The officer asked the same questions she was asked before and she was better prepared this time. Funny thing is, when my mother went up to the counter, he said there was no translator and that they would try to manage somehow. That sounds odd to me especially after I struggled so much to get a Tamil apt. through the world's most user unfriendly site (VFS).
So only children, do not lose heart. Its just a matter of luck. If you get the right officer luck is on your side. Also if your parents are going for a second interview, do write a letter to the counsellor. They may or may not read it - but if they do, in most instances, they react positively if you word it well.

[LalithaSahasra]

Congratulations!!! My case is similar to yours. I am the only child and my parents' visa was rejected twice. How did you manage to get an appointment so soon. I dont see any regional language appointments now.

It gives me some hope after reading your experience.

Thank you so much.

[ss92]

Getting a lang apt itself is next to impossible cos you always get the 'Interview dates are not available' message. I tried pretty close to nonstop during the day in the US all the way up till 11:00 pm in the night. During the day in India, our travel agent tried for dates. Ironically, I got the first open date of June 29th to get into the system and fill out those 2 forms. Needless to say, by the time I was done the day was gone. Then I tried same as before over and over again and got June 6th confirmed. The travel agent said that to be on the safe side I should first check if a date is available before I pull up the application to reschedule. I kept doing this and suddenly I saw March 3rd available. By the time I pulled up the application, the date didnt show. For whatever reason I kept trying again and again through the reschedule link and March 3rd showed up there. Its really a very cumbersome process. All 3 times I got the dates towards the end of the day here in the US - between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm. I dont think the time matters.
Did you write a letter to the consulate when your parents went the second time? If not, do it for their next attempt. My mother put my letter, the auditor's affidavit and a letter from an organization she is associated with in India, in the flap containing the passport and visa app copy and handed them over to the officer. She had copies of all 3 documents in her hand too in case the officer failed to read any of them and she had to hand them over to him later. The officer was patient enough to read through all 3 documents. All were 1 page and concise.
Good luck. Its all a matter of getting the right officer no matter what people say about documentation. You can have everything in your hand and not have him/her glance at even one additional piece of paper and reject the app outright. The process plain sucks....

[sejal77]

Hi ss92
Can u share the letter u wrote to CO of which u mentioned.
My parents are also going for third time on Mar. 28th
So, pl. can u send me as soon as possible.
Thanks
Sejal

[ss92]

From
...

To
..

Dear Sir/Madam,

RE: Re-application of tourist visa for my mother

I <name>, work at <company> with an annual income of <amount>. I would like to invite my mother, <name>, to visit us for 3 months.
On <previous apt date>, my mother's visa was rejected under 214(b). <state what has changed since that apt> I am writing this to convince you of her return before the expiration of her authorized stay.

1. During her last visit to the US in <year> she did not overstay her visit and left for India within the stipulated time.
2.
3...

I hereby assure you that she is definitely not a potential immigrant. I promise you that she will leave the United States before the expiration of her authorized stay. Kindly grant her a tourist visa.

Thanking you...

Keep the letter to 1 page. Your points should be brief and to the point. I highlighted key phrases so they stood out. Make sure the points you list are the same things your parents will tell the officer if asked.
Again this is NOT a guarantee for a visa and also there is no guarantee that the officer will even read it. The first interview my mother attended, the lady kept aside everything. If they do read it, it provides a quick and concise summary of your parents case.
Another thing that helps is confidence. My mother was extremely nervous even though we had prepared her for reasonable and unreasonable questions. But the minute the officer smiled and said hello, she relaxed and was extremely confident and to the point in her responses - which I think helped. Sounds like a job interview doesnt it?

[HurricaneBay]

Well, "... the fact that she had been here before and left much before the stipulated time ..." was the clincher in your case, which clearly proved non-immigrant intent in you mom's case. I guess that doesn't apply to lot of other cases who were never approved and the issue of proving ties in case of only child still exists.

[sejal77]

From
...

To
..

Dear Sir/Madam,

RE: Re-application of tourist visa for my mother

I <name>, work at <company> with an annual income of <amount>. I would like to invite my mother, <name>, to visit us for 3 months.
On <previous apt date>, my mother's visa was rejected under 214(b). <state what has changed since that apt> I am writing this to convince you of her return before the expiration of her authorized stay.

1. During her last visit to the US in <year> she did not overstay her visit and left for India within the stipulated time.
2.
3...

I hereby assure you that she is definitely not a potential immigrant. I promise you that she will leave the United States before the expiration of her authorized stay. Kindly grant her a tourist visa.

Thanking you...

Keep the letter to 1 page. Your points should be brief and to the point. I highlighted key phrases so they stood out. Make sure the points you list are the same things your parents will tell the officer if asked.
Again this is NOT a guarantee for a visa and also there is no guarantee that the officer will even read it. The first interview my mother attended, the lady kept aside everything. If they do read it, it provides a quick and concise summary of your parents case.
Another thing that helps is confidence. My mother was extremely nervous even though we had prepared her for reasonable and unreasonable questions. But the minute the officer smiled and said hello, she relaxed and was extremely confident and to the point in her responses - which I think helped. Sounds like a job interview doesnt it?

Hi
Thank u so much

[VisaChief001]

Congratulations!

[ssv01]

ss92,

Did you have to pay the visa application fees again before taking the appointment the second time?

Thanks,

[ss92]

Yes. We had to pay again.

Granted my mother had been here before and did not overstay. But that was the case when she appeared in feb for her interview too and she still got rejected. What the letter helps do is highlight the ties to India - if the officer chooses to read it. Its all luck unfortunately

[svmain]

hi .. Congratulations..!

Can u tell me after how many days did u reapply?

thanks.

[ss92]

In about 2 weeks. We were extremely lucky to get an apt that early.

[svmain]

thks for ur reply . Also can u tell the duration of stay that you put in application? was it 6 months or less?

[ss92]

We put 3 months on the form. Nonetheless she got 10 yrs mulitple entry. At that point I just wanted to play is safe.