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Visitor visas for parents/in-laws

Discussion in 'Immigration Matters' started by iyerponnu, Jan 24, 2013.

  1. iyerponnu

    iyerponnu Gold IL'ite

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    Hi...

    A brief background: We moved to the US from the UK last year. We are now thinking of sponsoring both sets of parents here for a brief visit. My husband - he is the only child of his parents. (My in-laws are both above 70). They have visited us in the UK before. My dad-in-law is retired, and my mom-in-law is a home maker. We were hoping to get them here to celebrate their 40th anniversary with us..

    Me - I have a sister, who also moved to the US recently. (with her family). My dad is a CA, who has his own firm. My mom is a home maker, though technically all my dad's business is on her name.. My aged grand father lives with them, and they are his primary care givers. My mom has visited us in the UK before. My dad could not as he was unable to get time away from his firm at that point.

    Now, my questions are:

    1. Will it be an issue if we sponsored their visas, given the fact that we just moved here. (It s been 8 months now)..
    2. Both sets of parents have property that they own and live in.. will that count as 'binding ties to the home country'? My dad-in-law draws a pension, and my mom-in-law also has a house in her name.. and my dad has his own audit firm.
    3. Will that fact that my sister also just moved here cause any problems with my parents' visa?
    4. In the application (DS-160), there's a question about other relatives in the US. My mom-in-law has a brother (who is a US citizen), but the two are estranged and have probably not spoken to each other in about 20 years at least.. do we need to mention that? My parents-in-law also each have a nephew who live here. We are unclear as to what we should do here...
    5. Will it hamper their chances for a visa if we say that wwe are sponsoring for 2 couples.. (though they arenot going to be visiting at teh same time!!)
    6. Also the primary reason for my in-laws visit is going to be that we want to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary here. I want to mention that in the 'Invitation letter'.. but my husband thinks that is not necessary..any inputs on that?

    Pardon me for this lengthy post, and something that s probably been discussed as well..but we are so new to the US visa process. I used to hold a B1/B2 visa before, and when i applied, it was my cousin who sponsored it. And when we applied for visas to move here on work, it was handled by my husband's employer..

    Any info will help..

    Mythili

     
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  2. Ranchu

    Ranchu Local Champion Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    HI Mythili,

    Glad to know u have moved to US.

    Yes you can sponsor both parents . it should not be a problem as long as you are able to show some docs and proof.

    1) No problem at all. They are coming here for Tourism. Simple answer. Stick with it
    2) Yes this proof should be good enough.
    3) May be, but since "you" are sponsoring your parents can just say they don't have any relatives in US . They can say they are visiting you(mythili) only. Just dont bring your sister into the picture at all.
    But if your sister has sponsored them previously or is planning to sponsor them in future, then that may be a problem.
    4) Do not mention in DS 160. They are visiting you only ! thats it. Do not mention relatives , its not necessary.
    5) Not at all. They are coming for visiting US. to see new places thats it. No questions should be asked here as long as you show enough funds in USD to support their travel & Accomodation.
    6) NO do not mention this. It is absolutely not necessary !
    You just have to send an invitation letter asking them to visit you and visit lovely places in USA like Niagara, Miami, San francisco , New york etc.
    Thats it.
    There is a chance Visa interviewer may ask them if you are pregnant , just tell them to answer no.
    They should not be giving any elaborated answers like no , we are going for a function .. those will cause confusions on the motive for visit.


    Good luck !
     
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  3. iyerponnu

    iyerponnu Gold IL'ite

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    Ranchu,

    Thank u.. .for both ur answers and ur welcome :).

    We were getting a bit worked up about having to mention relatives in the application. Esp given the fact that my husband's mom and uncle are not even on speaking terms!!

    I know my husband is freaking out about how many people he can sponsor.. though technically, he's sponsoring his parents and me, mine..

    Thank u again :) :)
     
  4. sdiva20

    sdiva20 Platinum IL'ite

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    Hi OP- It does not matter how long you have been in US to sponser your parents. I have done this twice for my parents and believe me it is not complicated at all. You need to send an invitation letter and show funds available to support their stay. That is the main thing IMO. Elderly parents are not really potential immigrants for visa officers to worry. You can put your sister's name and I dont believe if will cause any problems. You really dont need to mention relatives that are estranged or specify anything more than they are coming to visit your family and see US.

    I will add that prepardness is good meaning they should also have documents showing their ties to home country. However, chances are very little that they would ask for all that. Whenever I went for F1 or H1 or parents went for B2, we had as much documentation but we were rarely asked for anything. All that seems overkill but always good to be over-prepared, is all.
     
  5. Sendeepa

    Sendeepa Silver IL'ite

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    Never ever lie on the forms since it is documented. The form will ask for the details about immediate relatives and hence true information has to be provided irrespective of whether your MIL is in talking term with her brother or not!!! They have all available resources to find out the truth and if it is found she will be barred from entering into US. Try to project the family, financial and social ties of your in-laws and parents. For your in-laws, ask them to carry few pictures with extended family, proof of pension, CA statement on value of property and proof of other savings, fd's etc. If they are involved in any charitable/social activities carry proof for that. Same for your parents like your father's proof of running a firm, pictures with your grand father and highlight the fact that your parents are taking care of him all this while and for few weeks they will ask some body to take care of him until your parents return. Always ask for a shorter duration may be 6 weeks. Since your are inviting both parents and in-laws financial aspects may crop in. You can ask them to tell that they will be taking care of their tickets(if they have sufficient income and savings in their account) and you will be taking care of their expenses in US. The fact that your sister is also in the US HAS to be mentioned in the form and if they are asked if they are visiting her and if your parents indeed have plans to visit her tell the truth that they will be spending 2 or 3 weeks with you and 3 weeks with her (They need to carry proof of your sister's status documents too) or that your sister will be visiting you at your place when your parents are visiting. The fact that your in laws and mom have returned to India after their UK trip will also establish that they do not have any plans to settle outside India which can also be highlighted.

    I was previously practicing US immigration with the Chennai branch of Maryland based US Law firm and this is what I could suggest - BE TRUTHFUL ON THE FORMS!!!
     
  6. iyerponnu

    iyerponnu Gold IL'ite

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    Thank you Sendeepa. You have given me a clear picture. The one thing that concerns me though is having to disclose information about my husband's uncle. We dont have any other detail apart from his name and probably address....

    We are not thinking of getting both sets of parents in at the same time... just thinking of getting my parents' visa processed at the same time as well..
     
  7. hgulla

    hgulla Silver IL'ite

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    Its best to not lie about presence of your immediate family, false information can lead to many problems. The fact that your father has his own firm is a strong tie back to India.
     

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