Visitor Visa - B2

 Thanks for all the information. My father is a widower. im his only daughter. I want him to visit US by feb 1st week. when will it be a good time to apply for visitor visa in chennai? He is 68..so he can use the drop box facility. I dont have my birth certificate? Kindly answer my queries..

my parents got visitors visa for 10 years(multiple entry) in the first chance. We were actually worried cauz my sister sent the papers on may 7th and they were applying in october. They took appointment for 15th october. Two days before we left for chennai my sister scanned and sent new bank statements and green card processing copy and a new affidavit of support. We took the print outs and made an extra copy of the entire set for safe side. My parents went into the consulate at about 8.30( their appointment was at 8.45). At about 9.30 like that they were called and the person at the counter asked my dad for his no objection certificate(my dad works in Central Government). He then asked my dad his monthly salary. My dad told him. He asked them my sisters house phone number. My dad said that he didnt know. The consulate guy asked him how they will get in touch with him. He said ki they talk to my sister when she calls up or chat thru messenger. He then asked my dad her email id. My mom said that she clicks on the reply button and sends mails and that she doesnt know their mail id. My dad then gave him my sister's and my brother in laws visiting card. That person went inside and came out with a lady. They spoke in hushed voices for about 5 minutes and then they asked my parents to pay the fee at the counter. My parents got 10 years multiple entry visa after 5 days. Thank you immihelp.

this site is awesome. thanks to all those who posted their experiences at this site-found it really useful.

my parents recently got visa from the kolkata consulate. this would be their second visit and they were asked the following questions:
1. where did you stay last time?
2. what is your son's and daughter-in-law's(DIL) visa status?
3. what does your son(and DIL) do/where is he(and DIL) working?
4. did both of you visit last time too?
5. why did the visa get rejected last time? (they got the visa on second try last time)
6. what do you do/whats your background? (asked to both dad and mom)
7. how many days did you stay last time?

also, i heard someone else was asked a few days back why all the "letters to the consulate" and "invitation letters" looked the same- just wanted to point this out as a word of caution.

thanks again!

Hi All,

My parents' visit visa was approved on Oct 22nd. We were a little apprehensive as my father's visa application was rejected twice in 2001. But by grace of God, both of them got a 5 yr visa this time.

For the benefit of other applicants, I am including the prep outline below.

Documents Sent to Consulate Before the Interview
Scheduled interview online at VFS web site. It is best to send as many docs as possible along with the application. This reduces the chances of follow-up questions during the interview and hence any unexpected request. We sent following docs:
- Visa Schedule Confirmation: 2 copies
- 1 Demand Draft for Rs. 10120 (one draft for both)
- 2 Demand Drafts for Rs. 2300 each
- 2 completed DS-156 forms (my father is 45+ and hence did not require DS-157)
- 2 Notarized Affidavits from me, addressed to consulate, stating that i wish for them to visit me here and I would pay for their expenses
- 2 Form I-134's from me, notarized
- Letter from my employer, with current date, salary, title, employed since date
- 2 recent pay stubs
- 2 most recent bank statements (from investment bank showing $$ available for paying their expenses). Should have bank account open date, change in $ value since last month/year. If ur statement does not has this info, get a letter from the bank.
- Proof of my status (h1 visa copy, I-94 copy, 140 approval copy, 485/EAD/AP/FP receipt, EAD/AP approval, copy of EAD card, copy of driver's license).
- My ORIGINAL birth certificate (yes, they need the original - if you dont want to send the original, ask ur parents to get a 'duplicate' copy from ur local municipal office)
- Copy of my passport

Documents carried along with on Visa interview day
It is important to categorize all docs for ease and speed to retrieve them during the interview. All docs were categorized by my mother in financial/status/reasons to come back groups. Each group was held together by paper clips. Here is the list of docs:
- Notarized affidavits from my parents, stating they would come back as (a) their parents depend on them (b) have property in india and (c) have business in india
- Pictures with my grandparents and other relatives, to prove family ties in india
- Medical certificate from family doctor, stating that my grandparents depend on my parents for medical help
- Parent's Property papers
- Parent's Business Tax returns, news articles on their business
- A formal letter of invitation from me
- Copy of all docs sent to consulate earlier
- Copy of my 12 months pay stubs
- Copy of my tax returns for 2001/2002
- Copy of my sister's passport and her original birth certificate (my sister also lives in US)
- Copy of my wife's and my sister's husband's passport

Interview day
- Made sure that my parent's understood each and every doc sent by me (485/140/ead/ap/fin support etc) and categorized them for ease of retrieval. The consulate officers are impatient. If the interviewee cannot retrieve a doc quickly, it can lead to rejection.
- Prepared answers for possible questions. U can find most of the questions on this website: http://www.immihelp.com/visitor-visa/visitor-visa-interview-guide.html
- Dress formal

Getting the visa is nonetheless a luck factor. However, as thomas jefferson once said "i am a strong believer of luck, and the harder i work, the luckier i get".. So best to over prepare than under prepare.

Goodluck!

-ab

My cousin has sponsored his mom to come here and she got her visa. She went for interview in calcutta and there she was asked so many questions. Wanted everyone to know some of those questions because you can never expect such type of questions.

1. Why do u want to go in winter?
2. When did u last see your daughter(she said last year)so why do u want to again see her so soon?
3. What visa do u want social or tourist?
4. If your daughter would not have been in US would you have thought of going there?
5. Why are you not taking your husband with you? 6. How far is your son-in-laws office from the house can he spare time to show you different places?
7. Do you remember your daughters address?

And many other questions for nearly 15-20 mins. But my aunty was very good in answering and she got her visa. So if anyone is going to calcutta for visa now, be very prepared the officer there is asking lots of questions. All the best everyone....

My mother got 10 Yr Multiple entry visitor visa in Chennai. I did "EXACTLY" what this awesome site told. At the consulate
Mom - Namaskar, Good Morning
Officer- Namaste
What do you do for a living?
Mom- I am a xxxx working for yyyy. (She pulled out her No Objection Certificate, Employment letter, leave sanction letter etc but officer said keep it with you)
Officer-Why is your husband not accompanying you ?
Mom-He is the head of the institution he works for, has many responsibilities due to which can not get long leave. Hence I decided to travel alone. Also our second daughter is studying in undergraduate degree whom we dont want to leave behind alone. (Mom pulls out my sis's college admission documents, photos but again asked to keep it with her )
Officer-Where does your daughter live?
Mom-She lives in xxx,xx.

Mother got in at 8:30 & came out at 9:15.

Kindly answer my question. All the sponsor docs were returned which she did not check there but later after coming home found out to be someone else's. So all our (sponsor) bank statements, affidavit of support, salary slip are missing. Should I be concerned because as it might reach someone else ? Is it ok for my parents to contact the consulate and request them what happened with our documents ? Any input is highly appreciated.

Thanks
JaiKannada

The information in this site is wonderful & would be enough to get a visa.My parents applied to chennai consulate & got visa for 10 yrs (multiple entry visa).They asked my father only 3 questions
1.what is your purpose of visiting?
2.which company is your son-in -law working?
3.when did he join that company as a permenant employee?
     My father answered the questions exactly to the point & the officer said to pay the visa fee.we recd passports the second day & found that they got visa for 10 yrs.

Friends,

Thought to share this information with all of you who are trying for Visitor visas for their parents and in-laws.

I applied for Visitor visas for my Mom and Dad at Chennai Consulate. My mom is 58 yrs old and my Dad is 62 Yrs old. Initially, enquired with TT Services by sending an e-mail if they could use drop box facility. TT Services replied asking me to re-direct the question to Consulate. Sent an e-mail to Chennai Consulate. Got a reply stating that, since one fo them is < 60 yrs both should attend the interview and cannot use the drop box facility.

Fixed up an appointment in the web for my parents in early August and got an interview for 1st October 2003 @ 12:00 p.m. I sent them the following documents :

SPONSOR's DOCUMENTS :

1). DS-156 for both my Mom and Dad completed by me and affixing my signature stating that I am the preparer of the forms
2). Invitation letter to my Parents
3). Letter to Consulate requesting them to grant a visitor visa and stating that my parents would stay with us for 6 months and the reason for inviting them (Visit their son, spend time with grand children, visit places in the US etc.)
4). Copies of my Recent paystubs for the past 6 months
5). Original Bank statement for immigration purposes clearly indicating when the account was opened and what the balance is.
6). Notarized I-134 form (Affidavit of Support) each for my Mom and Dad
7). Copy of my Passport (Including the blank pages)
8). Copy of my I-797
9). Copy of my I-94 (Front and back)
10). Original Employment verification letter clearly stating my designation, salary, and the start date of my employment with them
11). Copies of last three years tax returns
12). Copy of my Birth Certificate

VISITOR's documents :
Folowing are the documents that I asked my parents to prepare
1). statement from the Bank indicating their balance amount.
2). statement from a Chartered accountant indicating the value of the property, jewels and stocks (if any) and also the total toether. The CA was superb guy, he converted everthing to dollars and finally gave the report indicating the totals in both dollars and reports.
3). Copies of their ration card, Voters identification card, Property documents etc
4). Personal affidavit duly notarized, one each for my Mom and Dad indicating that they would return to india after a temporary stay in the US, also indicating that they have an unmarried son and other things to take care of back in India
5). Copy of Brother's birth certificate to prove that they have a Son back at home and also his photograph.
Other than the above mentioned documents I alao asked them to take all the originals with them.

They had a cover sheet for each of the document and three separate folders (one for Sponsor's documents, one for Visitor's documents and the other one for Originals).

On 1st October, 2003 they went to the consulate at 11:45, was allowed to enter inside. At the first counter, they were checked if they had all the Demand drafts. At the second counter the lady took the demand drafts for the reciprocity fees and asked them to pay the fees for TT Services (For TT Service you could either pay by demand draft or by cash and they have increased the rate to Rs.400/- from Rs.300/- per passport).

They handed over the documents to the lady at the third counter. She took both the DS -156 forms, both the I-134 forms, My Employment verification letter, and the Copy of my Passport pages, Copy of my I-797 and my I-94 and returned the other documents. As per my Dad, She did not even go through the other documents.

They were given a token and asked to go into the Main area to be seated and wait for their turn. They were finally called at 2:40 p.m. to the counter. There was this American Officer and an Indian lady with him (She was the translator as My parents chose the Regional language as the choice for interview). My parents wished them both and was sked the following questions :

Q1. Officer : How many ons do you have?
A1. My Dad: Two sons

Q2. Officer : Which son is in the US?
A1. My Dad: My Eldest son

Q3.Officer : What's your younger son doing?
A3. My Dad: He's working here in India

Officer : We have granted you the visa. Pay the visa issuance fees at the other counter and you should get your passports through courier in a couple of days.

My parents paid the fees and came home. Today on the 3rd Ocotber they received their pasports and were given a 10 year Multiple Entry visa valid till 2013. Remember, this is their first visit.

I really don't know how the Visa validity period or the decision to give or deny a visa is decided.

But anyway I am happy they got a Multiple entry visa. Thought to share this info with you guys.

In case of any questions, please let me know and I will try to assist you.

Thanks.

My mother-in-law attended Visitor Visa interview in chennai on Oct 6 2003.
the cosulate officer asked a question(what is the age ur daughter) she answered it wrong.
then he rejected the Visa, but he didnt mention the reason for the rejection.

I heard that they used to give small slip which shows reason rejection, but my mother-in-law didnt get any slip of that kind.
on passport they just stamped as application received.

does any body know how to call/contact chennai consulate to check the reason for the refusal.
any information is highly appreciated.

I have been preparing the visitors visa section on this website immihelp.com over past several years and I believe that it provides good amount of information on visitors visa.

But my own parents recently applied for visitors visa at Mumbai consulate and there were couple of little complications.

My parents had visited US about 3.5 years back and they are below 60, they had to go for personal interview at Mumbai consulate. I had sent all the necessary documents as a sponsor and they too had all the required documents.

At the time of handing over the documents to Blue Dart in Ahmedabad, somehow they missed to send the demand drafts for the visa issuance fee and sent only visa application fee. After VFS Mumbai received the documents, they called father's office in Ahmedabad but as my father was not there, they called our home asking them to send visa issuance fee demand draft. VFS also asked several questions regarding my father's business (whether it is partnership or he owns it etc.) and my sister-in-law answered their questions.

They had interview on September 29, Monday. Officer asked following questions(not in any particular order)?

Q. Have you been to US before?
A. Yes, once before.

Q. Which one of your relative is in US?
A. Our son.

Q. Is he sponsoring you? If yes, show sponsor letter.
A. Yes, and they showed I-134.

Q. Why would you like to visit USA?
A. Tourism.

Q. How long would you like to go?
A. 6 months.

Officer: OK. You are granted 6 months visa. But make sure you don't stay there more than 6 months, otherwise your son will be in trouble!

Blue Dart guy came to our house in Ahmedabad next day itself on Tuesday but my parents had not yet returned back to Ahmedabad yet. Therefore, he went back. After my parents returned back on Wednesday, he showed up again on Wednesday. To the best of my knowledge, a person is required to hand over only the airbill to Blue Dart that they gave earlier at the time of handing over the application to get the passports back.

But Blue Dart guy said that in addition to the airbill, he also needs the red color stamp on the photocopy of the passport indicating that visa has been issued and told them that consular officer stamps the passport copy at the time of personal interview.

I myself called Blue Dart in Ahmedabad and I was told the same thing. I was told that this kind of requirements come from VFS itself. Now I wonder how does Blue Dart know whether this is interview applicant or drop box application and ask this kind of document as drop box applicants would not have got this kind of document.

I asked my management level contact at VFS in Mumbai about this and he told me that he was not aware of day to day procedures and as Oct 2 and Oct 3 are holidays due to Gandhi Jayanti and Dashera, he would get back to me on Monday. Today, I got the resonse that only courier airbill is required.

Meanwhile, my parents also went to VFS Ahmedabad and explained the problem to them. They checked in their computer and issued a letter saying that my parents really have been issued visa. After producing that letter alongwith the airbill, my parents were returned the passports. They have been issued 10 years multiple entry visa.

VFS Mumbai and Ahmedbad themselves are not in sync and telling different procedures. I guess VFS Ahmedabad might have been given this kind of instructions.