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Need advice on my mother's B2 Visa
Hi All,
I am looking to apply for my mother’s visitor B2 visa, so that she can spend a couple of months every year with us (me and my brother). My father passed away in May 2016 and my mother is living alone in India. Three of my sisters (all married) also live in India, and my mother occasionally spends time with them. I need guidance on applying visitor visa for my mother while showing that she has strong ties in India. So here is the situation:
~3 years ago, my parents’ B2 visa was denied. I really don't know the reason but at that time I was on F1-student visa and my brother was on OPT. My father had retired from a govt job. The invitation letter was sent from me to visit US. In that letter, I had indicated that I will sponsor their trip. The one and only question that visa officer asked my father was about his job. My father truthfully told him that he had retired and that might have been the reason for the denial of their visa.
Now my mother is a widow and all 5 children are married (4 daughters and 1 son). We have a house in India and a portion of it was recently leased. My mother is currently getting my father's govt. pension. My brother and his wife are in US and rest of my 3 sisters live in India with their families. I have a green card and my brother is on H1-B visa.
I am considering following options to make my mother's case strong and show that she has strong ties with India:
1) My elder sister and her family apply for US visitor visa along with my mother. The whole family wants to go abroad to travel and visit family in US for few weeks during summer vacation. My niece will finish her high school board exams in March and the family is planning a trip to relax and spend quality time with family in the US, plus do some touristy things. My sister’s husband works for a private company and he has travelled to Europe on business. My sister is a housewife with two kids.
2) The second option is that my mother applies for her visitor visa as an individual. In this case, my brother can invite my mother as he is on a non-immigrant visa. My mother will be sponsoring her own travel. We can present our house papers, lease document and father’s pension as sources of substantial income. However, my mother doesn’t speak English at all and may need wheelchair support to go the embassy (her both knees are affected by osteoporosis, and sometimes she has problem getting around). I am not sure if these things will have a detrimental effect on getting her visa.
3) The third option is that we first take her to a trip abroad (e.g. Dubai or Singapore) to illustrate that she has traveled abroad and returned to India, and is therefore of low risk of staying back in the US.
I would also like to ask if Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata locations differ in their outlook.
Finally, just want to say that I am very worried about my mother living alone and just want her to spend some time with us every year. Please advise on the options above or suggest a better one.
Thanks!
I am looking to apply for my mother’s visitor B2 visa, so that she can spend a couple of months every year with us (me and my brother). My father passed away in May 2016 and my mother is living alone in India. Three of my sisters (all married) also live in India, and my mother occasionally spends time with them. I need guidance on applying visitor visa for my mother while showing that she has strong ties in India. So here is the situation:
~3 years ago, my parents’ B2 visa was denied. I really don't know the reason but at that time I was on F1-student visa and my brother was on OPT. My father had retired from a govt job. The invitation letter was sent from me to visit US. In that letter, I had indicated that I will sponsor their trip. The one and only question that visa officer asked my father was about his job. My father truthfully told him that he had retired and that might have been the reason for the denial of their visa.
Now my mother is a widow and all 5 children are married (4 daughters and 1 son). We have a house in India and a portion of it was recently leased. My mother is currently getting my father's govt. pension. My brother and his wife are in US and rest of my 3 sisters live in India with their families. I have a green card and my brother is on H1-B visa.
I am considering following options to make my mother's case strong and show that she has strong ties with India:
1) My elder sister and her family apply for US visitor visa along with my mother. The whole family wants to go abroad to travel and visit family in US for few weeks during summer vacation. My niece will finish her high school board exams in March and the family is planning a trip to relax and spend quality time with family in the US, plus do some touristy things. My sister’s husband works for a private company and he has travelled to Europe on business. My sister is a housewife with two kids.
2) The second option is that my mother applies for her visitor visa as an individual. In this case, my brother can invite my mother as he is on a non-immigrant visa. My mother will be sponsoring her own travel. We can present our house papers, lease document and father’s pension as sources of substantial income. However, my mother doesn’t speak English at all and may need wheelchair support to go the embassy (her both knees are affected by osteoporosis, and sometimes she has problem getting around). I am not sure if these things will have a detrimental effect on getting her visa.
3) The third option is that we first take her to a trip abroad (e.g. Dubai or Singapore) to illustrate that she has traveled abroad and returned to India, and is therefore of low risk of staying back in the US.
I would also like to ask if Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata locations differ in their outlook.
Finally, just want to say that I am very worried about my mother living alone and just want her to spend some time with us every year. Please advise on the options above or suggest a better one.
Thanks!
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