Strategy for US Visa

N

Neargale

Guest
For a holder of Dominican passport and Canadian visitor visa:

is there a strategically better time to request a visitor visa to the US?

His passport expires in Jan 2021 so he can renew as early as 6 months before that.

I heard that visas are issued for the length of the validity of the passport. Any truth to that?

In other words is it better to wait till he renews his passport then request the US visitor visa? but then the Canadian visitor visa would not be in his new passport which would have helped in getting the US visitor visa I would think.
or go ahead and request the US visa now with the hope the US visitor visa will be given for a bit longer than 1 year.
 
W

windeguy

Guest
Does the person have long term bank accounts with moderate amounts of money, have a good paying full time job, own a property, own a car, have family and children in the DR and no immediate relatives living in the US? That and other things are what USCIS looks at when deciding to grant a visitor's visa to a someone. People say it is easier to get one now than recently. The Canadian visitor visa, if used and not abused could help, but not sure if they look at that.

The period of the visa is up to the USCIS Agent at the interview. It could be as much as a 10 year renewable mutli-entry visitors visa. I think the passport has to be valid for at least 6 months and that is the maximum time normally given for a stay in the US. That period, normally 6 months but could be less, is put into the passport upon arrival in the US, so one does not know ahead of time. NOTE: A visitor's visa holder should not stay anywhere near 6 months if you don't want to raise suspicions for the future.

Good luck, they are still hard to get, supposedly not has hard as before.
 
K

KyleMackey

Guest
A tourist visa application is wholly contingent upon the individual. Income, age, owner of real estate, assets, country of origin all come into play. I believe the maximum length of a tourist visa to the US is 6 months.
 
W

windeguy

Guest
For a holder of Dominican passport and Canadian visitor visa:

is there a strategically better time to request a visitor visa to the US?


Never heard of any time being better than another.
His passport expires in Jan 2021 so he can renew as early as 6 months before that.

Passport has to be valid for 6 months, but I am going from memory on that.

I heard that visas are issued for the length of the validity of the passport. Any truth to that?
No truth to it from personal experience.

In other words is it better to wait till he renews his passport then request the US visitor visa? but then the Canadian visitor visa would not be in his new passport which would have helped in getting the US visitor visa I would think.
or go ahead and request the US visa now with the hope the US visitor visa will be given for a bit longer than 1 year.

If he renews, make sure they staple the old passport with Canadian visa to the new passport and carry them both.

And see my previous comments about US visas. What "helps" as been inferred over time. USCIS does not state in detail what really helps, but they can say no for no reason at all with no explanation other than that no.
 
W

windeguy

Guest
A tourist visa application is wholly contingent upon the individual. Income, age, owner of real estate, assets, country of origin all come into play. I believe the maximum length of a tourist visa to the US is 6 months.

100% correct on your first sentence and more...Any connections to people already in the US, for example are a NEGATIVE in getting a visitor's visa.

Yes, upon arrival in the US the agent will state the length of stay and that is normally 6 months maximum. Just don't really stay that long....
 
W

windeguy

Guest
To schedule a nonimmigrant visa appointment, you must have the following information and documents available:

A passport valid for travel to the United States with a validity date at least six months beyond your intended period of stay in the United States (unless country-specific agreements provide exemptions. If more than one person is included in your passport, each person desiring a visa must submit an application;
Your visa application (MRV) fee payment receipt;
Your DS-160 confirmation page;
Your e-mail address; and
If applicable, required documents based on visa class (such as a petition approval for petition-based visas; more information about visa types and information about each can be found here).

https://www.ustraveldocs.com/do/do-niv-appointmentschedule.asp


All fees paid are non-refundable.
A visa does not guarantee entry into the U.S.
A visa allows a foreign citizen coming from abroad, to travel to the United States port-of-entry and request permission to enter the U.S.
Permission to enter can only be given by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official.
You may not enter the U.S. with an expired visa. The visa must be valid at the time you enter the U.S.
Registered Users
https://www.ustraveldocs.com/do/do-niv-appointmentschedule.asp
 
N

NanSanPedro

Guest
My experience with Haitians and Dominicans getting tourist visas is that the first one is generally 90 days and after that, they are renewed for 5 years, assuming there are no overstays with the first one.

This of course also assumes what was stated above, some money and a decent job in the DR or Haiti. There has to be evidence of a reason to return.
 
B

bienamor

Guest
Its somewhat like going to the casino and playing the roulette wheel. Mainly hope that your interviewer had a good night and is in a great mood.
 
K

KyleMackey

Guest
Its somewhat like going to the casino and playing the roulette wheel. Mainly hope that your interviewer had a good night and is in a great mood.

I know a Colombian woman who got a tourist visa to the USA. She is a nurse and she owned her condo/apartment.
She got off the plane in Miami and never went back lol. She is married to an American now.
 
W

windeguy

Guest
I know a Colombian woman who got a tourist visa to the USA. She is a nurse and she owned her condo/apartment.
She got off the plane in Miami and never went back lol. She is married to an American now.

That is an example of a legal change of status, unless they catch her for paying the man to marry her. They made a movie about that (Green Card) . And it still could be counted as an overstay because the visitor's visa data base might not catch up quickly to her being married now with a legal residency card.

Many Dominicans just overstay and work under the table. USCIS just put thousands of companies on notice that they have to produce papers showing their employees are legally eligible to work.

Now back to simple visitor's visas and the Yes or No response chances.

Many Dominicans marr
 
C

cavok

Guest
The guideline that the immigration officer uses is that you have to prove strong enough ties to the DR that you have a reason to return.

It is totally up to the immigrations officer's discretion as to what constitutes "strong ties".
 
U

USA DOC

Guest
Thank you all!

...If you talking a tourist visa few are being given...the last few days of the year, in Dec. is the time for your interview .....plan ahead with your application.to try any get these days...and make sure everything on your app. is 100% correct......Doc..........
 
R

rfp

Guest
...If you talking a tourist visa few are being given...the last few days of the year, in Dec. is the time for your interview .....plan ahead with your application.to try any get these days...and make sure everything on your app. is 100% correct......Doc..........

There is no strategy, you qualify or you don't. If you have at 50-150k equity its iffy, over and above that you are gucci and can hang out with the kids in Disney and shop at Sawgrass.

Being well dressed (without trying too hard) and speaking like an educated person gets you in. Cant fake it
 
W

windeguy

Guest
Not true. They can be issued for any length of time.

I do not know of any visitor's visa to the US that is longer than 10 years that a Dominican can get.

Shorter than 10 years, of course.
 
W

windeguy

Guest
There is no strategy, you qualify or you don't. If you have at 50-150k equity its iffy, over and above that you are gucci and can hang out with the kids in Disney and shop at Sawgrass.

Being well dressed (without trying too hard) and speaking like an educated person gets you in. Cant fake it

And you might not qualify at all and just get lucky that day. I know family members like that. They certainly did not have even 50K US in equity.