Did anyone bring/sponsor distant relative to USA ? Help needed

Even with mother/MIL visiting everything is fine as long as nothing goes wrong. If pissed off MIL calls up cops, unmentionable will hit the fan!!! Just because having mother/MIL over for help with babsitting, delivery etc is the norm with Indians, doesn't make it 100% safe and right.

And if we are talking about doing the 'right thing', then, when mother/MIL go for visitor visa interview, they should state that they are going primarily for babysitting, and have already seen Grand Canyon, Niagara.. : ) so no tourism involved beyond local Hindu temple, and if there was no babysitting involved, they wouldn't be going to the U.S. : )

 

Having distant relative over is legally as OK as having mother/MIL over. Providing mother/MIL lodging, food and taking care of their day-to-day expenses is legally considered payment. So, legally both are subject to same scrutiny, both are sort of breaking the spirit of the visitor visa's purpose, and both could land visa sponsor in trouble in situations like 911 call/police chat.

Well-known immigration attorney Sheela Murthy's site has similar advice from her and her team of attorneys.

Whether or not to mention the P word (daughter/DIL's pregnancy) in visa interview is a whole discussion. And it is a discussion for a reason. A lot depends on the discretion of the consular officer and how he interprets the laws.

OP, I am assuming this is not hijack, and discussion helps your query!

 

Sandhya, maybe I am not very familiar with immig. laws, visitor visa and 911 calls.. and I am not trying to suggest meticulous sticking to the law.

If documents to invite distant relative are same as for mother/MIL, visa is the same, how will a call to 911 from either be treated as different? One is dispute between family members, and other is dispute between visa sponsor and visitor who came of her own free will. What written proof will pissed off distant relative aunt have that she is an illegal worker being denied employee privileges? won't the first thing to happen be that aunt will be deported if she says she is here on visitor visa and 'working'?

How is gold coins to SIL different from money to distant relative? Op's friend gifted gold coins to SIL in return for coming over and helping. OP is thinking of giving money thru her mother to distant aunt for coming over and helping.

I needed help for 4-6 weeks during a surgery as leaving our toddler daughter with babysitter even for 3-4 overnights was not a feasible option, and didn't want to impose on friends. I had a relative come over on visitor visa, I had helped this relative previously with money and did so again after the visit, things did get sticky during the visit as relative did not like having to really do the work that we do here (no maidservant...), so relative returned before the planned date. but, overall, it worked out fine. I think.

I do get what you are saying about well-known politicians who got into troubel for cheap nannies from S.American and other countries, but I still don't see difference having SIL over and gifting her gold coins, vs distant relative and mom give her money in India.

Anyway, hopefully OP has got enough feedback to be able to do her due diligence. Whether or not the risk is worth it depends on person and distant relative and other things.