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TIPS FOR OBTAINING A VISITOR'S VISA
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
How does one go about getting a visitor's visa?
How does a person increase his chances of getting his application
for a visitor's visa approved? In my opinion, there are only a
few, simple requirements:
1. Tell the truth.
2. Make sure all of your documents are true, genuine,
and legitimate. (As opposed to forged, altered, or counterfeit.)
3. Prove to the Consular Officer that you have "reasonably
good and permanent employment, meaningful business or financial
connections, close family ties, or social or cultural associations,
which would indicate a strong inducement" or reason for you
to return to your country of residence, after you have visited
the U.S., and before your period of authorized stay expires.
4. Come back to the Philippines before you become
a TNT.
There are two basic types of visitor's visas:
1. Visitor for Pleasure. This means
that a person is coming to the U.S. for "legitimate activities
of a recreational character, including tourism, amusement, visits
with friends or relatives, rest, medical treatment, and activities
of a fraternal, social, or service nature". In other words,
you are coming to visit family or friends, Disneyland, etc.
2. Visitor for Business. This refers
to "conventions, conferences, consultations, and other legitimate
activities of a commercial or professional nature." This
would include taking orders for goods manufactured abroad, negotiating
contracts, consulting with business associates, etc.
Visitor's visa do not allow a person to work in
the U.S. So, do not think that once you arrive in the U.S. you
can start working. If the Consular Officer believes that your
true intention in going to the U.S. is to find work, this alone
may be sufficient grounds to deny your visitor's visa.
To be eligible for a visitor's visa (whether for
business or pleasure) you must prove to the Consular Officer,
among other things:
1. You have a residence in a foreign country (such
as the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, etc.), which you
have no intention of abandoning.
2. You intend to enter the U.S. for a period of
specifically limited duration (i.e. one month, six months, etc).
3. You are going to the U.S. for the sole purpose
of engaging in legitimate activities relating to business or pleasure.
4. You have made adequate financial arrangements,
so you can demonstrate to the Consular Officer that you will be
able to support yourself (and your family while you are away)
and/or carry out the purpose of your trip. This would include
showing that you have enough money for hotels, food, etc, for
your trip, so you will not have to work in the U.S. in order to
be able to support yourself while you are here.
5. You should have specific and realistic plans,
not just vague and uncertain intentions, for the entire period
of your contemplated visit. In other words, the Consular Officer
will want to know where you will be going, where you will be staying,
how long you will be staying at each place, how you will get from
place to place, etc. If you have absolutely no idea of what you
intend to do once you get to the U.S., the Consular Officer may
get the impression that you are planning to stay and become a
TNT.
A Consul's mere suspicion that a person may remain
in the U.S. after they arrive is not a sufficient ground to refuse
a visitor's visa, so long as the alien's current intent is to
return to a foreign residence. However, if you have quit your
job, sold your property, closed your savings account, etc., in
anticipation of your "brief" vacation, the Consular
Officer will undoubtedly conclude you are not taking a short vacation.
Similarly, if you present fake or forged documents, and are caught,
you will most certainly be denied a visa, and this will be a permanent
part of your record with the Embassy.
I can tell you that the Consular Officers at the
U.S. Embassy are very nice people. There is no reason for you
to be nervous, start crying, or faint, when they start asking
you questions. But please understand that they have a job to do,
and rules and regulations to follow. There are various requirements
that must be met. The Consular Officer must be fully satisfied
that you meet those requirements, before a visitor's visa can
be approved. Unfortunately, some people who apply for visitor's
visas promise to return to the Philippines. But, after many years,
they are still in the U.S. "visiting". That is why the
Consular Officer wants to make sure that if you go to the U.S.,
you will come back to the Philippines.
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