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Long story short, my parents are from a very traditional Hindu background and would be very hurt if they learned that I married someone from outside our caste, let alone an atheist foreigner. I thus decided to never tell them. They’re very old in their seventies and I just don’t want to them discover this fact and lose their tranquility in the last few years of their life. For the sake of this question, please assume this decision as given. I’m still in touch with my parents and we talk once or twice every month.

The problem is, they may want to visit the US. I wouldn’t have to invite them; they have the financial means to apply for a visitor’s visa and come here by themselves. In this case, they would have to provide information about their son which includes my marital status. They will be putting it as “single”, and I’m guessing the immigration officer will most likely catch the inconsistency and reject their application.

Do I need to worry about this? If yes, will the officer let them know exactly why it was rejected, thus revealing my true marital status to them?

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  • 53
    It seems to me that if your parents show up in the US you're going to have a much bigger problem concealing your marital status than just the visa form. It might be worth a question on Interpersonal Skills to see if someone can suggest a way to tell your parents about your spouse without upsetting them.
    – user105640
    May 13, 2020 at 21:52
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    @Arthur'sPass As an Indian, I can understand his problem. You cannot even remotely compare it with US situation. He can only understand the family situation. Ultra orthodox with very strong caste system makes it a very difficult choice.
    – Anish Sheela
    May 14, 2020 at 0:11
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    @anish I'm not comparing anything. If the OP's parents come banging on his door and asking to stay, is he going to hide his wife jn a motel for three months? I'm not trying to understate the scale of the problem, just suggesting that there might be a better way.
    – user105640
    May 14, 2020 at 1:46
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    Honestly, how are you planning on hiding the fact that you're married from them once they arrive in the US? Is your wife aware that you're planning on passing her off as a roommate or something?
    – nick012000
    May 14, 2020 at 14:20
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    Given your situation, wouldn't it be best for your parents not to travel to the US at all? You can do it the honest way by persuading them, or you could sabotage their visa application (possibly underhanded, but so is not telling them about your marriage). If the goal is for your parents to have a nice holiday, perhaps with you joining them, there are many other countries to choose from.
    – dbkk
    May 14, 2020 at 19:26

1 Answer 1

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The DS-160: Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application does not ask for your marital status.

It will ask the applicant if they have any immediate relatives in the US, for which they will answer Yes. It will then ask for your surname, given name, your relationship to the applicant (e.g. child), and your status in the US (US citizen, permanent resident, etc). These are the only questions on the visa form that will be about you.

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    What if OP's actual status in the US doesn't match what his parents think it is? I can imagine that if for example the application says he's on long-term non-immigrant visa while he actually became a LPR through marriage to a US citizen, that might raise some questions. OP, what's your status in the US?
    – TooTea
    May 14, 2020 at 8:55
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    @TooTea It feels OP can just lie to them and tell them that they became a LPR in some other way? It's not like OP is on a "no white lies" basis, and I doubt that their senior Indian parents would be able to tell whether the story they tell them is plausible or not.
    – xLeitix
    May 14, 2020 at 12:03
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    @xLeitix Sure, but perhaps it might be good to let the parents know beforehand (whatever the explanation) so that they put the right status into their applications. I'm just guessing, I don't know whether getting that field wrong could actually jeopardise the application (I've never had to apply for US visa myself).
    – TooTea
    May 14, 2020 at 12:40
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    @TooTea it appears to me that if they put that field wrong and that jeopardizes their visa application it would be a win for the OP. I don't see why he needs to make special arrangements for their theoretical visa application if he'd rather avoid/not risk revealing his status.
    – Dan M.
    May 14, 2020 at 17:22
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    I think this is the best response. It's absolutely critical that the parents submit correct information on their application, and they should generally know their son's current status in the US. So this can be communicated in some way even as the marriage is hidden. Yes, this definitely counts as weaving a more tangled web, but it's probably the way forward given the constraints.
    – CCTO
    May 14, 2020 at 17:34

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