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hi all,
i'm so pleased to post this thread...my mother got her visa last night at the Chennai consulate(3rd attempt)...here is our background/story..
we applied for her the first time in May 2006, put in as self sponsor and deposited a big amount a month before..obviously, we were not aware that the whole visitor visa process was tidious and difficult. she got rejected that time. second time, we did more research online and read about every experience and thread that's ever posted and learned a LOT. we applied again in May 2007, with my husband, who is an native born American, as her sponsor. neatly organized all the papers..she was only asked 2 questions, how many children, where are they and was told, " sorry we cannot give you visa". she got rejected without looking at any documents. and the telugu translator said to my mom, "sorry, we are not able to give you visa. you daughter should plan on coming to see you instead." we did not know if that meant that the only way for my mom to see us is if we went to India ourselves. anyway, after so much disappointment, we made another appointment for July 24th, 2007, and was determined to do everything possible on our end to make all the difference this time. so i contacted both our Senators, (we live in Hawaii), one of them said they will inquire the consulate thru email before the appointment date and ask for extra consideration for the case. the other Senator's office was more personal and helpful and asked me to send them all the documents for review. so i did, pretty much ALL the documents both sponsor and visitor, they reviewed and faxed everything to the Chennai consulate and inquired why her visa was rejected. the Chief director of the Chennai consualte replied to the Senator and said that every application will be looked at by the interviewing officer individaully and determined at the time, and also said that he noted her next appointment date and time. when i heard this, was a little relieved that they received all the papers and noted when her next appointment date and time was. this gave me a little hope. also this time, we wrtoe a cover letter with the bullets of reasons why she would go back. so, my mom went to the consulate on the 24th, 2007, 8:45 am...i told her to put the cover letter on top of all the main documents that she hands over to the officer initially, when she approached the window. she did, and the officer read the entire letter and smiled at her and asked her few common questions. the officer was actually American, very pleasant, friendly and spoke a little telugu and did the interview in telugu himself.
1. how many children?
a. two. my daughter that lives in Hawaii and son that lives here in India.
2. what does your son in law do?
xxx
3. where does your daughter and son in law live?
4. is your son married? how old is he?
5. why do you wnat to go to USA?
that's all. he said, ok great..you got visa and we will send you the passport in a week.we have yet to find out for how long the visa is for..my mom said, the officer actually got a call before she approached the window, so don't know what that was about...not a single document was looked at...or perhaps they saw it all in advance when the senator faxed it...who knows! all in all we are very happy that it all worked out at the end...
for all of you out there, that've been rejected a visa more than once, do not loose hope and do everything you can on your end and pray for the best. also be patient for the right time. if anybody has any questions, please post them here, i will try to help as best as i can. and thank you all for your replies and support and time.
much aloha.
i'm so pleased to post this thread...my mother got her visa last night at the Chennai consulate(3rd attempt)...here is our background/story..
we applied for her the first time in May 2006, put in as self sponsor and deposited a big amount a month before..obviously, we were not aware that the whole visitor visa process was tidious and difficult. she got rejected that time. second time, we did more research online and read about every experience and thread that's ever posted and learned a LOT. we applied again in May 2007, with my husband, who is an native born American, as her sponsor. neatly organized all the papers..she was only asked 2 questions, how many children, where are they and was told, " sorry we cannot give you visa". she got rejected without looking at any documents. and the telugu translator said to my mom, "sorry, we are not able to give you visa. you daughter should plan on coming to see you instead." we did not know if that meant that the only way for my mom to see us is if we went to India ourselves. anyway, after so much disappointment, we made another appointment for July 24th, 2007, and was determined to do everything possible on our end to make all the difference this time. so i contacted both our Senators, (we live in Hawaii), one of them said they will inquire the consulate thru email before the appointment date and ask for extra consideration for the case. the other Senator's office was more personal and helpful and asked me to send them all the documents for review. so i did, pretty much ALL the documents both sponsor and visitor, they reviewed and faxed everything to the Chennai consulate and inquired why her visa was rejected. the Chief director of the Chennai consualte replied to the Senator and said that every application will be looked at by the interviewing officer individaully and determined at the time, and also said that he noted her next appointment date and time. when i heard this, was a little relieved that they received all the papers and noted when her next appointment date and time was. this gave me a little hope. also this time, we wrtoe a cover letter with the bullets of reasons why she would go back. so, my mom went to the consulate on the 24th, 2007, 8:45 am...i told her to put the cover letter on top of all the main documents that she hands over to the officer initially, when she approached the window. she did, and the officer read the entire letter and smiled at her and asked her few common questions. the officer was actually American, very pleasant, friendly and spoke a little telugu and did the interview in telugu himself.
1. how many children?
a. two. my daughter that lives in Hawaii and son that lives here in India.
2. what does your son in law do?
xxx
3. where does your daughter and son in law live?
4. is your son married? how old is he?
5. why do you wnat to go to USA?
that's all. he said, ok great..you got visa and we will send you the passport in a week.we have yet to find out for how long the visa is for..my mom said, the officer actually got a call before she approached the window, so don't know what that was about...not a single document was looked at...or perhaps they saw it all in advance when the senator faxed it...who knows! all in all we are very happy that it all worked out at the end...
for all of you out there, that've been rejected a visa more than once, do not loose hope and do everything you can on your end and pray for the best. also be patient for the right time. if anybody has any questions, please post them here, i will try to help as best as i can. and thank you all for your replies and support and time.
much aloha.
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