Best way for US citizen to invite a friend over for a tourist visa?

[StringTheory]

I spent 2 weeks in DR and met a really cool girl. We want her to come to NYC and visit.

Myself - 28, US citizen, working and living in NYC. I'll be paying for her trip.
Her - 23, student, all family in DR.

We are just friends though she could potentially become my girlfriend. What are the chances that she gets approved? Is she more likely or less likely to get approved as a friend vs as a girlfriend? And what can we do to convince the consulate that she will be going back to DR?

 

[cavok]

She has to be able to qualify for a tourist visa on her own basis. Her being your friend or the fact that you are paying for the trip is not of any help, nor is it considered or given any weight by Immigration.

 

[jd426]

You will be paying a lot more than her trip to Nueva york...
Have fun, enjoy the ride.... use protection.

chances of B1 B2 visa ? if she can afford the price to do all the paperwork, around 5-1 against
is she stable, has a job, no kids ?
If she admits she is visiting a boy friend, her odds will be more like 100-1 , against .
its an automatic red Flag.

but lately the odds are a lot better if she is smart about it .

K-1 visa, used to be a lot closer to 100 % , in favor , but you better read up on that one and the qualifications thereof, its a FIANCE Visa, and you got 90 days.
good luck .
Do some searches on DR1 right here ,good threads already on this topic talked about many many times.

 

[ROLLOUT]

Ditto what JD said.

 

[Fulano2]

Same post 2x

 

[The Professor]

I can give you some advice from experience. First, you will need to be in an actual relationship with this person for it to be considered in her visa application; "friends" just won't cut it. The State Department will most likely verify that you're really together using social media, etc. Her chances of being approved are also greater is she has a job and can demonstrate a normal, stable life in DR.

Prior travel experience (which I'm sure she doesn't have) counts the most. What the US wants to know is if the person is going to return to their country after visiting. Having a job, apartment, stable life, a history of leaving their country and returning all count towards getting a visa.

A young student without too much else going for them has more to gain by going to the United States and just staying.

 

[Riva_31]

She has to be able to qualify for a tourist visa on her own basis. Her being your friend or the fact that you are paying for the trip is not of any help, nor is it considered or given any weight by Immigration.

You forgot to mention that the invitation only tells at the consulate why she wants to visit USA.

 

[windeguy]

The way you invite a friend from the DR to the US is this.

The friend either already has or applies for and gets a US visitor's visa on their own.

Then you invite them and they visit you. It is that simple.

There is no such thing as an "invitation" that does anything for their chances to visit you. It is entirely on them and their ability to prove they will return to the DR before the visa time is up.

 

[AlterEgo]

The way you invite a friend from the DR to the US is this.

The friend either already has or applies for and gets a US visitor's visa on their own.

Then you invite them and they visit you. It is that simple.

There is no such thing as an "invitation" that does anything for their chances to visit you. It is entirely on them and their ability to prove they will return to the DR before the visa time is up.

Yep. And I'll add that if the US knows there is a friend or SO in US, it hurts more than helps.

 

[bienamor]

I will say that a B2 visa seems to be easier to obtain right now! House keeper just got one for 10y multi entry. No Property, no bank account all family here in the DR.

 

[SKY]

Young girls applying for a Visa, odds about 15-1 against. If she were 50 years old a lot better chance.Don't waste your time and money. Just visit her here.

 

[jd426]

I think the KEY is if she has a JOB, a REAL job with like insurance etc ... not a waitress Job, and Solid Family with no History of problems ... but then also people get turned down a LOT for no real reasons at all, and IF they have the money to RE APPLY the 2nd time , often they get approved, but what regular Dominican ,even with a JOB has that kind of money ? Its like close to $300 USD .. IMHO, approvals are done randomly, even IF you meet the qualifications.. and even then it may take 2 or even 3 attempts.. I am also hearing that the lawyers who fill out the paperwork, are making mistakes , not sure if that is on purpose , so they can collect again ?
Its an absolute Crap shoot . and not worth it for someone you just met less than a month ago, .. Do your Homework young Buck, and go buy a plane ticket with that $$, and go see her over there and get to know her better before you jump into this thing so deep.
This is the DR, they cant just fill out a form and jump on a plane ,it just dont work like that .

 

[StringTheory]

Appreciate all the responses, well the helpful ones haha.

I don't mind spending the money if there is a chance but if the likelihood is 10 to 1 against her getting it then I'll probably pass.

 

[Aguaita29]

I spent 2 weeks in DR and met a really cool girl. We want her to come to NYC and visit.

Myself - 28, US citizen, working and living in NYC. I'll be paying for her trip.
Her - 23, student, all family in DR.

We are just friends though she could potentially become my girlfriend. What are the chances that she gets approved? Is she more likely or less likely to get approved as a friend vs as a girlfriend? And what can we do to convince the consulate that she will be going back to DR?

Invitation letters and offering to pay for someone else's expenses, etc, seems to work for Canadian visas but not for US visas. You paying for her trip won't help her, and as a boyfriend, that would be worse.

For a young college student, the best way to get a visa is through attending a conference, exchange or event abroad. That would help her get another type of visa and get some travel experience.

 

[Aguaita29]

Young girls applying for a Visa, odds about 15-1 against. If she were 50 years old a lot better chance.Don't waste your time and money. Just visit her here.

Age is irrelevant if you have a good salary. For example, I know someone who is 24 who recently got a 10 year visa. She's single, , no kids but is a teacher and has a good salary.

I know another one around the same age, works in the justice field, same thing. There are plenty of cases like these.

 

[AnnaC]

If your posts have nothing to do with getting a visitor visa to the US it will disappear. This is not a relationship advice forum.

To the original poster. All she can do is try. Here is a link you can apply online https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/visit/visitor.html

Good luck

 

[bienamor]

I will say that a B2 visa seems to be easier to obtain right now! House keeper just got one for 10y multi entry. No Property, no bank account all family here in the DR.

To expand on this my housekeeper is part time, 1 day a week. she has 3 other employers that I know of so going by what I pay her she is making about 8-10k RD a month. she has no car, no bank account, all family here in the DR, 2 children under the age of 18 and 1 older. She got her visa on the first try, this flies in the face of all the advise given so far.

Another friend of mine's wife has tried twice, turned down both times, married for 4 years, housewife. No desire on the spouses part to go back to the US, just wants to be able to take the wife for a visit.
Getting a visa is about the same a going to Vegas never know if you will win or not.

 

[windeguy]

To expand on this my housekeeper is part time, 1 day a week. she has 3 other employers that I know of so going by what I pay her she is making about 8-10k RD a month. she has no car, no bank account, all family here in the DR, 2 children under the age of 18 and 1 older. She got her visa on the first try, this flies in the face of all the advise given so far.

Another friend of mine's wife has tried twice, turned down both times, married for 4 years, housewife. No desire on the spouses part to go back to the US, just wants to be able to take the wife for a visit.
Getting a visa is about the same a going to Vegas never know if you will win or not.

They rarely if ever give visitor's visas to the spouse of a US citizen. I was going to say never, but there might be a few exceptions.

As for the single person, the odds are higher at this time that they can get a visa. Any connections to anyone in the US will be considered a negative on their application.

 

[SKY]

Bottom line, as I said earlier an older lady can get a Visa. But a 22 year old girl, 15-1 against.

 

[cavok]

If you really want to play the "visa lottery", it's only going to cost you $160 to try. Like others have said, if she doesn't have a good job, or have a bank account, or own property - chances are slim, but some Dominicans have been approved with not even a "pot to p*ss in". Others with good jobs have applied 3-4 times before finally getting approved. Go figure.