Fiance/Tourist visa Reapplication

I heard that if a Dominican applies for a tourist visa and gets rejected they can't apply again for one year. However, does that one year restriction also apply to the Fiance Visa?

For example: I would like my girlfriend to come here to visit the US before getting engaged. If she applies for a tourist visa and is rejected would we have to wait an entire year to start the fiance visa process for here to come here to get married?

ooooh, be careful!

My brother tried to do what you did, and have his girlfriend go and apply to the consulate to visit first. They told her that because she has a boyfriend in the US, there was no way she was going to get a tourist visa.

He eventually applied for the K-1 fianc? visa and it was approved, though the interview has not been scheduled yet. I learned from his mistakes and just went straight to the K-1 route.

If she is wealthy enough on her own to qualify for a tourist visa then she may get one, though not to visit you, and she would basically have to prove she was going back. It seems though that the are no way going to give her a visitors visa if the purpose is to see you, or if they even know she has a boyfriend in the US.

>>>>>>For example: I would like my girlfriend to come here to visit the US before getting engaged. If she applies for a tourist visa and is rejected would we have to wait an entire year to start the fiance visa process for here to come here to get married?

More likely than not, INS would figure you are trying to circumvent the process and deny the visa

Tom

Indicating you even KNOW someone in the USA is a bad mark when applying for a USA tourist visa. It is one more indication you might not come back. However, sponsership by a local from the host country is a GOOD thing for most European destinations. Most of the locals I know that have been to Europe did so by presenting letters of invitation.

Jim Hinsch JimHinsch@CSI.COM

Re: Fiance/Tourist visa Reapplication - Thanks

Thanks for your insights!!!

Hello Vincent,

I am in the process of getting a fiance visa for my girlfriend in the D.R. The form number is I-129(F). You can get a set of applications from INS on the net at <A HREF="http://www.ins.usdoj.gov">http://www.ins.usdoj.gov</A>/

The form specifically asks if you and your girlfriend have seen each other at least once in the past two years. If she has been denied a visitor's visa to see you and she is not finacially able to prove that she will return to her "valuable assets" visiting you, then you will have to visit her. No way around the requirement to have seen eachother at least once in two years.

Denial of of a visitor's visa in no way affects the processing of a fiance visa. Because: in one case she is denied a visa because she can't show she will definetely return and in the other case you will have to submit an affidavit of support and so they don't care if she doesn't return because you bear the burden of her support for two years. That means, if she leaves you and winds up on the welfare rolls for any reason you will be expected to repay the system. Your declaration of support must be notarized.

If you need any more information let me know.

Irv Siva irvs@hotmail.com

One correction: YOU BEAR THE BURDEN OF SUPPORT UNTIL, SHE BECOMES A US CITIZEN OR LEAVES YOU AND RETURNS TO THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN!!! IF SHE ABANDONS YOU AND RUNS OFF TO LAS VEGAS, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE, FOREVER!!!! THE FORM I-864 IS NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY! YOUR CLOCK CAN GET TAKEN TO THE CLEANERS!!!

Re: Fiance/Tourist visa Reap - Please Clarify

Loren, How are you responsible forever if they abandon you? You hope that the person cares for you as much you do them but if it's a sham and they abandon you, how are you responsible for them? How do they determine your liability??? Also, if it is a sham and they just married you to get into the country, isn't that viewed as immigration fraud and they are deported and you possibly fined or imprisoned if you had prior knowledge??? Please clarify.

Thanks, for the info.

We see each other several times a year. (Usually every month or so) So the seeing each other in person is not problem. I wanted her to see the US first hand before committing to coming to live here. I think the US is great (not perfect) but great none-the-less. However it is different from the DR and would take some getting adjusted to. I was worried that if she tried for a visitor visa and got rejected she would not be able to apply for the Fiance visa either for a year. From your answer it sounds like we don't have to worry about that. Thanks again.

Re: Fiance/Tourist visa Reap - Please Clarify

Ok, I'm no lawyer, but I am pretty confident in my understanding. If I am wrong, someone please correct me.

When you sign the I-864 Affidavit of support, you are entering into a binding contract with the US government that basically says "I accept liablity for any burden this person may cause on the people of the United States." So, what happens, is if this person goes on welfare or something at some time in the future, the feds send you the bill. To prevent shams, her first green card is only good for 2 years. After that she gets regular permanent residency, and even if she dumps you, you dump her, etc... she is under no obligation to leave. However, the government says it was your idea to bring her here in the first place, so you are still responsible. If she becomes a citizen or abandons her residency, you get out of your oblication. thats the only way.

My brother tried the same thing, but it didnt work. They told her she would have to get a K-1 visa.

Re: Fiance/Tourist visa Reap - Please Clarify

Hello Vincent,

The answer to your question is: you are responsible for her welfare for two years from the date of her entry into the US. How you will be responsible is simple. You will have given them account numbers of your liquid assets, addresses of your real estate holdings and the name of your business ownership. All this information and your notarized promise on the affidavit of support and the DOJ has all it needs to seize your property in the event they have to keep you to your word.

Understand??

Irv

Re: Fiance/Tourist visa Reap - Please Clarify

Don't get me wrong. I agree with being financially responsible for someone you petition the government to bring here (within limits of course). I was unsure though of how they determine the bill they sent you.

I don't doubt there ability to collect!!!

Thanks

Disagree with a lot of the posts here

When you sponsor any immigrant these days you have to sign an I-864. That document specifically states that "a sponsor's obligation continues until the sponsored immigrant becomes a US Citizen, is credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work, departs the US permanently or dies."

I don't know where the 2 year guarantee number came from. This is a 10 year guarantee IF your sponsored immigrant works for all those ten years.

It should be noted that you are liable to reimburse the government for welfare benefits, so it is not like that is a ton of money (you are far more likely to be forced by a divorce court to pay more in alimony or child support).

Secondly, I totally disagree that having applied for a tourist visa has no impact on the K-1 visa. They may tell you that, but that is utter nonesense. The consulate is very careful about visa fraud since the DR has one of the highest rates in the world. If you have already been denied a tourist visa they put your application under extra scrutiny (more then even the incredible amount they normally do) since they will make an assumption that the person was denied one visa and is trying to get another one as a result. They will question their motives and stall as much as they can in issuing the visa.

Unlike the US where you are innocent until proven guilty, in the immigration process you are guilty until you can prove yourself innocent.

BTW- if you want to see a copy of the I-864, you can download it from here:

<A HREF="http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/forms/download/i-864.htm">http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/forms/download/i-864.htm</A>

Greg & Vincent

Amen, brother! (smile) you are right 100%. The one thing I wonder though, is if they come after you for the welfare bill, we know that 30 cents out of every dollar that goes into welfare gets to the recipient. Do you get billed for the amount disbursed, or the whole amount required by the system?

I also agree with being financially responsible for anyone I bring to the US. The only thing that is the least bit scary is that if your foreign spouse leaves you after 2 years, she (or he) can stay around indefinitely, and maybe go and sign up for benefits just to spite you and make like trouble for you. As far as I can tell, you don't have any recourse. After 2 years, they are not required to be married to you to stay in the country.

And yes, the US gov. WILL try to think that you are running a scam on them if you got denied for one visa and came back for another type. I think its rotten, but they do have some (though not complete) justification.

Are these "Guarantees" actually enforced

Greg

You make soem good points.

I do have a question: When a certain US Senator inquired on behalf of a friend of mine, he was told that the INS puts little faith in these "Guarantees" as they are near impossible to enforce. If they were an accceptable form of guaranteee, many people would not have the visa problems they do.

No disrespect meant to anyone here, but does anyone know of one of these guarantess actually being enforced agains a US sponsor? I ask this in all honesty as INS claims they don't put any weight into the forms as they don't enforce them

Thanks

Tom

Re: Are these "Guarantees" actually enfo

My undertanding, and I read this in INS lit somewhere, I dont remember, is that because the states administer welfare and some other programs, the feds pass this information through to them, with whatever legal authority to do something. It could very well be that the forms are more to scare you, and it wouldnt surprise me if there were very little enforcement. Its one of those things that the Justice department can decide to enforce one day in the future. Its like the gun laws, they are more interested in having the laws on the books than enforcing them.

It would probably vary state to state, if this is true, as to how dilligently the states pursue I-864 signatories. I have never heard of any actions, so I dont know one way or another.

This information can be totally inaccurate, I am going by memory, and I saw this somewhere on a government site on line.

Re: Are these "Guarantees" actually enfo

>>>>>. I have never heard of any actions, so I dont know one way or another.

I guess that goes to my original question: if these "guarantees" were enforceable, or enforced, what would be the reasoning for denying 90+% of Dominican visas?

Tom

FYI Dominican visa stats

for Santo Domingo Consulate 1998: Out of 51917 immigrant visa cases, 12553 approved, or 24% Out of 95466 visitor visa cases, 61504 approved, or 64%

Source, US Santo Domingo Consular news Vol. 1, Issue 2 CY1999

Re: FYI Dominican visa stats/64%apprved

Lren

Convince ANYONE on this board that 6 out of 10 visitor visas to the US are approved

Tom