Difference between Sponsorship and invitation

[hala108]

Hi I am originally from India but I am an Australian citizen. I am a Hare Krishna Devotee and I live in a ISKCON temple in Auckland, New Zealand at present.

I want to visit USA for 6 months to study vedic scriptures in a college.The college is called Rupanuga Vedic College (RVC) and it is an authorized ISKCON center. The RVC is ready to give me a invitation letter stating that I can go there to study and they will supply me accommodation and food for 6 months.

is it enough to have such a letter or do they have to sponsor me?

[peace999]

Religious study may not be under the scope of a visitor visa.

Please post;
1. Do you have any family ties or other( vocation, property) ties to australia?
2. How do you support yourself ( income) in ISCKON?

[hala108]

Thanks you very much for your answer. I dont have any family or property in Australia. but I do have family and property in India. ISKCON provides me all basic nesseciti for my living since I do fulltime service there.

[peace999]

I remember I replied to your post some time back about the same issue.

I suggest again that you use the visa waiver program split into two 3 month visits sometime apart. Like you have done before.

The activity ( religious study for 6 months ) you intend to pursue does not come under the scope of a visitor visa, so you will get a denial on that.
plus you do not have any family or vocational ties to australia so the officer won't be sure you will return to australia after the visit.

If you wish to stay long term you will have to use the "R" religious temporary visa for paid religious work in USA.
The ISCKON affiliate in US will have to file a petition for you in US and once approved, you can get the R visa in australia for 1 year.

[hala108]

Thanks a lot for your help. I really appreciate it. As you suggested me to split my trip into 2, 3 months visits. but I dont have so much money to do that. plus if I dont get 6 months visitors visa for religious study, which visa I would get for that?

I cant apply for R (religious visa) since i am not going there as religious worker.

could you also explain the difference between Sponsorship and Invitation?

thx

[peace999]

Sponsorship in reference to a visitor visa is a loose term used by common people to show funding support for the visitor. For that, the host completes an affidavit of support ( I-134) and the applicant presents it to the embassy at the time of interview.

If the traveller can show enough money of his own, he does not need an
affidavit of support (I-134) ( so called sponsorship) and only needs to show an invitation on a plain paper from the host.

Please understand that so called sponsorship covers only the funding part of the visa process
and is secondary.
The primary part is the ties to your country of residence.

Like I said before, in your case , you do not have any ties. And money forms an important part of the ties which you say you do not have.
The same holds true if you are applying for a student visa for religious studies ( you could apply for an M student visa, I think) . You have to show that you have strong ties to australia to which you will return after completion of your studies.