Visitor visa for my wife

[cavok]

Quote Originally Posted by cavok View Post
Are you sure that is a standard, normal, approved procedure? Just get residency visa and write to them and say you changed your mind and want a 10 yeqr tourist visa instead?
I am sure it is not. *I am sure it did work.*

I just did some quick research. You have to renounce your residency and apply for the tourist visa. There are other ways you can lose your residency visa, too.

I'm sure it has been approved in some cases, but it seems like a risky ploy to me. Even if my wife were to be approved for the 10 year visa, I seriously doubt they would ever give her a residency visa again if and when I decided to move back(?).

 

[windeguy]

Quote Originally Posted by cavok View Post
Are you sure that is a standard, normal, approved procedure? Just get residency visa and write to them and say you changed your mind and want a 10 yeqr tourist visa instead?
I am sure it is not. *I am sure it did work.*

I just did some quick research. You have to renounce your residency and apply for the tourist visa. There are other ways you can lose your residency visa, too.

I'm sure it has been approved in some cases, but it seems like a risky ploy to me. Even if my wife were to be approved for the 10 year visa, I seriously doubt they would ever give her a residency visa again if and when I decided to move back(?).

The method was recommended to me by a person in charge of the agents who do the interviews at the US Embassy during a meet and greet at Sea Horse Ranch. *My step daughter also had her visa exchanged for a visitors visa. *She now lives in Florida after I applied for and she received her residency again. *

 

[cavok]

The method was recommended to me by a person in charge of the agents who do the interviews at the US Embassy during a meet and greet at Sea Horse Ranch. *My step daughter also had her visa exchanged for a visitors visa. *She now lives in Florida after I applied for and she received her residency again. *

Well, that sure is interesting.

 

[Aguaita29]

At this very moment, they are giving out USA tourist visa like candy. My daughter's grandfather's brother (what would be the name for it?) just received 10 year visa. He is like 65 or so and only has a small colmadito in one of the Barrios of Haina. Not even a car to his name, though he has some land and other properties.

True! I've done several applications for people with no car and no house of their own. They all got 10 year visas!

 

[Aguaita29]

If you get an appointment for say April, can you still get processed by waiting in line? Are those all walk-in applicants?

Thanks for the info folks, I think we were going on a wild goose chase..

You can get a VAC appointment for a close date, but the consular appointment is the one you have to wait longer for. Having said that, it is possible to pick a date and later reschedule your appointment to an earlier date.
This can be done online or over the phone. Just be careful, if you do this online, you'll lose the date you had, and might end up with a further date.

If you pay with a credit card, the dates will be available to you right away, but if you do it via deposit at Banco Popular you'll have to wait about 24 hours. A lot more if you pay on a Saturday.

 

[Derfish]

Yes, I could get a residency visa no problem and, if I ever move back to Florida, that's what I'll do. I just want to be able to take her there on vacation. If I get the residency visa and don't move back, my understanding is she will lose it - I can't use it like a multiple entry tourist visa.

That is correct. If she is not within the USA for any period of 6 months or more she loses it, if I remember right.
Der Fish

 

[windeguy]

That is correct. If she is not within the USA for any period of 6 months or more she loses it, if I remember right.
Der Fish

Correct. *Before it gets removed, trade it in for a visitor's visa.

 

[PeterInBrat]

Tried to fill out the online form and there was some bug that wouldn't let us upload the photo.. thought it was an Android issue so tried on a PC and still can't upload. This of course is the last step after filling out ten pages.

 

[bienamor]

You can take the photos to the interview and they will attach them there. there is an option to not add the photos when you are filling out the forms.

 

[PeterInBrat]

OK figured it out. The page has you select a file, but it doesn't upload until the next page. After all that they say they'll take another photo when they do the fingerprints.

 

[rafael]

I had heard the same. *The question in this particular case is if visitor's visas for spouses of US citizens are now also being granted. *They used to be virtually impossible to get. *I personally know this for a fact.* The only way was to get a residency visa and exchange it for a visitor's visa.*

That is our screwed up immigration system for sure. I have been with my wife for 8 years. Was never able to take her on trips to US until we married and got her residency.

Things got complicated as I got laid off the day after she got residency, so our pans to move to US were delayed.

She has been staying in the states and studying english and also was helping with my mother who was ill and her mother also had an accident.

I am hoping by next spring we at least get a small apt in the states to gradually move. My case is a bit different as I did DCF and part of my job is travel througout latam. My new employer is flexible and had added parts of US to my region. They just realigned my territory so that it includes texas which is where we eventually plan to live. Problem is this year I will make maybe half of what I was because of horrible economies in most of latam. I will hopefully be starting a small company in Miami that should supplement our income and 2017 is looking to be a better year. Even if we get a place in US I will be traveling back and forth here for at least a year or more as I have lots of stuff that would need to be moved poco a poco and not in a container. Worst case we can swap for 10 year tourist visa but then if we have to move a year or two down the road, we have to change it back to residency. Nutty.

 

[PeterInBrat]

One thing I'm curious about is if her going to my home town instead of NYC will help. The Hispanic population in Ithaca is under 1% as far I know.

 

[cavok]

One thing I'm curious about is if her going to my home town instead of NYC will help. The Hispanic population in Ithaca is under 1% as far I know.

They pretty much couldn't care less where you go. It's being able to satisfy them that she will return that counts.

 

[windeguy]

One thing I'm curious about is if her going to my home town instead of NYC will help. The Hispanic population in Ithaca is under 1% as far I know.

All of the US is considered Neuva Yolk. The more relatives in the USofA that they know about, the lesser the chance of a visitor's visa, because they would recognize a potential support system for an illegal alien.

 

[windeguy]

That is our screwed up immigration system for sure. I have been with my wife for 8 years. Was never able to take her on trips to US until we married and got her residency.

Things got complicated as I got laid off the day after she got residency, so our pans to move to US were delayed.

She has been staying in the states and studying english and also was helping with my mother who was ill and her mother also had an accident.

I am hoping by next spring we at least get a small apt in the states to gradually move. My case is a bit different as I did DCF and part of my job is travel througout latam. My new employer is flexible and had added parts of US to my region. They just realigned my territory so that it includes texas which is where we eventually plan to live. Problem is this year I will make maybe half of what I was because of horrible economies in most of latam. I will hopefully be starting a small company in Miami that should supplement our income and 2017 is looking to be a better year. Even if we get a place in US I will be traveling back and forth here for at least a year or more as I have lots of stuff that would need to be moved poco a poco and not in a container. Worst case we can swap for 10 year tourist visa but then if we have to move a year or two down the road, we have to change it back to residency. Nutty.

Similar to my story. The only way I could get my wife a visitor's visa 8 years ago was to first get her residency and then surrender that residency in exchange for a visitor's visa. This was actually recommended to us by a member of the staff from the US embassy during a meet and greet in Cabarete at the restaurant at Sea Horse Ranch (the one that burned).

Now it seems possible on occasion for a US citizen living in the DR to get a visitor's visa for their spouse. No idea on the odds of that, but at least it is possible. One thing is for certain, the more ties to the US the worse the chances and the more ties to the DR insuring a return back to the DR the better for getting such a visitor's visa.

The reason for the difficultly is all of the fake marriages set up by Dominicans to gain entry in the US. The visa denials are not without merit. It is more the fake marriages and deceit by Dominicans than it is the screwed up US immigration system. This I have come to learn over time.

 

[zoomzx11]

Married four years and had a few trips to Panama etc. kids, property, business, long list of ties to the DR. Four or five hours in embassy. Asked her four questions (apparently its the minimum required). One of the questions was how old are you? They knew all of it from the paperwork. Then a quick NO. No explanation other than "in the opinion of the interviewer your wife is not qualified." Made me so mad we got her a green card and moved to Houston. Wife is now a US citizen, US passport and they can go to hell and rot. I am still mildly annoyed about the whole process. I have never been treated in such a dishonest fashion by a government agency in my life. Do not count on getting anything no matter how well qualified your wife may be. It appears to be random. They give out a few so it cannot be said they do not give out visitor visas. You might be lucky but do not expect much. The interview is private, no cell phones allowed inside, just your wife, you wait outside. I asked my wife in the hours you waited did you see anyone get a visitor visa? "No". Since this time I have read that most Dominicans who get a visitor visa and set one foot in a first world country do not come back. Nearly all overstay. Dominicans are prisoners on this island other than visiting countries no one want to see. I understand limiting visitor visas. What I do not like is the deception. Took me three days to get a embassy staff person on the phone. Read my list of my wife's ties to the DR. Consisted of 25 items. Asked him "what else she could do to become more qualified". "Cannot tell you as the decision is up to the interviewer." Hope your experience is better than ours.