1

So my boyfriend was refused his tourist visa to the US today as he allegedly doesn't have strong enough ties. They asked him if he had kids (no, he's only 26 afterall), where he lives and read his letter of employment. That's pretty much it. The lady said he would only get a visa if his situation changes considerably.

So he's obviously going to reapply with more documents. Here's the thing: he does not own or rent property (stays with his dad and grandparents), doesn't have a spouse or kids (again, he's 26 I don't know how they can expect that really).

So what else can he use to demonstrate strong ties? We were thinking cell phone contract, obviously the employment stuff that was presented, possibly taking out an investment? His car is in his name but is paid off. We were thinking maybe if he enrolls in a course next year that should prove that he needs to come back.

He also helps look after his wheelchair bound grandmother and contributes financially to the household. He has two dogs that are basically his kids whom he is solely responsible for.

I suppose the only considerable change would be one of property and/or marriage. We are in a long term relationship so I suppose its not totally out of the question. Seeing as I don't want to get married at all I would really not like to just for a holiday haha

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Update: after the initial visa refusal he went to see a visa specialist and reapplied. He just took a lot more documentation with him than the first one, no other changes and he was given his visa :)

Improve this question
10
  • 10
    More documents are not going to change the underlying reason he was refused, lack of ties. More is not necessarily better. He's heading for another quick refusal. The lady said he would only get a visa if his situation changes considerably. Nothing has changed nor will change considerably in the short to medium term for the average 26 year old.
    – Augustine of Hippo
    Aug 21, 2017 at 15:50
  • 1
    See travel.stackexchange.com/q/99216/58919 for more information on how to handle this situation.
    – Jacob Horbulyk
    Aug 21, 2017 at 16:32
  • 3
    You seem to be hung up on the question of his not having children. Millions of childless people visit the US every year; nobody's "expecting" him to have kids. But a 26-year-old with children is perhaps more likely to be strongly tied to his place of residence than one without. There's nothing you can do to change that.
    – phoog
    Aug 21, 2017 at 16:39
  • 1
    You should really read the question and especially answers that @JacobHorbulyk linked. The first bullet point under "What can I do to improve my odds in the future? How can I break the pattern?" in the accepted answer seems especially pertinent to your situation.
    – 1006a
    Aug 21, 2017 at 19:41
  • 1
    No university instruction?, no real estate ownership, no significant savings, low paid job, working age, no kids, RSA? - problematic country....seems pretty standard the refusal, I am afraid. I visited the USA under a Portuguese passport around that age, however was "randomly selected" and had a talk with the FBI upon arrival. I only had a suit in my suitcase, three shirts and some underwear, told them was there for a computer conference, they let me go. As he is already in their list, I doubt that even marrying and using a PT passport he will be able to make it in the near future.
    – Rui F Ribeiro
    Aug 22, 2017 at 1:48

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

I guess the best option would be a stable, well-paid job. Something where he makes so much that it would not be rational for him to overstay instead of returning home to resume his job.

Improve this answer
6
  • 1
    Seems like the job isn't enough (we provided certificate of employment, leave granted and pay slips). We're at the point now of does he try again with further info as I mentioned above or not waste the cash. Our trip is planned and flights are booked (they are refundable at least) so he would like to try again
    – RoxC
    Aug 21, 2017 at 18:11
  • 1
    @RoxC, I don't know how much he earns (and you shouldn't tell strangers on the net such details), but is it close to the average salary in the US? Or even the average salary for people of his age?
    – o.m.
    Aug 21, 2017 at 18:47
  • @o.m. If the user tags hold any clues, and coupled with her question, the average salary for his age is probably less than 10k-15k USD per year for an office job, and lower for menial jobs.
    – Rui F Ribeiro
    Aug 22, 2017 at 2:00
  • @RuiFRibeiro, there are many countries where the average salary for a middle-aged professional is lower than that. People like that might be seen as potential illegal immigrants.
    – o.m.
    Aug 22, 2017 at 4:46
  • Yeah he earns I would say average just above for RSA. He's a landscape designer so I'm not sure what that's like in the US in terms of earnings.
    – RoxC
    Aug 22, 2017 at 9:20

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .