U.S. Tourist Visa for lady?

Is she your wife?  Did you mean a tourist visa or permanent immigration?

No, a tourist visa.

They mainly want to make sure you are GOING BACK after your trip.

Having a strong tie to Vietnam (a young son/ daughter) who is NOT going with you works 90% of the time.

My girlfriend with a young daughter is already on her 2nd visa.

Thanks Zepo, good info

For the UK she would need to prove she has the funds for her stated budget in the application. This needs to be in her account 6 months prior or they can turn around and say you just transferred the funds to get the visa. Likewise is true if they are being financially sponsored by yourself.

Someone I helped, transferred the funds from her trust fund a couple of weeks before submitting the application. Rejected for that, but on the next application a supporting signed letter from the source of the funds explaining it was a non refundable gift for her trip made everything ok.

I know someone who made similar mistake in her US application but failed for other reasons. She said it was not a reuirement which I found hard to believe. It's true, people can just borrow funds to support their application and then return it after securing a visa. Now, it might not be much to someone in the US in monetary value but it is a lot when you've been earning it in a developing one like vietnam. They can then potentially work illegally to support their stay. Not suggesting anyone would do that but in the eyes of immigration that's what they are thinking.

What's the typical amount for the US?  Is there a posted link on the US embassy site?  Thanks in advance.

There is no set amount because In the UK application you state how long you're staying for and what you plan to spend on flights and the total budget. You then need to show this amount in an account by providing 6 months of bank statements. Any sudden large deposits just before the application have to be justified or it's an instant fail.

Bearing in mind a UK tourist visa can be upto 6 months, the amount depends what you budget per day and how long your staying.

For the US application my friend just sent her bank account summary showing the funds. Failed but apparently not because of that. I did look it up for her and there is nowhere that says you actually need too provide 6 months of statements so maybe UK immigration rules are stricter.

Diazo:  You didn't answer my first question which was the most important.  

It seems a little harsh compared to other countries but if she is your wife, she will never get a tourist visa to the US.  This is because if she came on a tourist visa, she could immediately apply without questions for what is called "change of status" and become a temporary resident followed by permanent residence and eventually citizenship in effect jumping the line.  You may object and say this is not your intention but if they gave out tourist visas for overseas US wives, it would soon be the most common means of immigration.

THIGV wrote:

Diazo:  You didn't answer my first question which was the most important.  

It seems a little harsh compared to other countries but if she is your wife, she will never get a tourist visa to the US.  This is because if she came on a tourist visa, she could immediately apply without questions for what is called "change of status" and become a temporary resident followed by permanent residence and eventually citizenship in effect jumping the line.  You may object and say this is not your intention but if they gave out tourist visas for overseas US wives, it would soon be the most common means of immigration.

My VN wife was granted a B2 without issue.

For the B2 each applicant is judged on a case by case basis. She should apply and be honest. The consular officers are very good at spotting frauds.

If you need additional information i suggest going to visajourney.com

@THIGV
  No she is not my wife. Just a friend asking for help.

Diazo wrote:

@THIGV
  No she is not my wife. Just a friend asking for help.

Fair enough.

I do not doubt tsshapiro that his wife got a visa without issues.  I should have been more clear that what I said is the general rule but not absolute.  It's just that the economic proofs and the interview process will likely be exceptionally stringent.

By the way the process supposedly gets a lot easier for older people.  In fact the interview is waived after age 79.  If this lady is elderly that might actually be a good thing.

Has anyone heard you must have one billion in an account in order to get a tourist visa to the USA?

No, and it's not true. There are no clear guidelines for a tourist visa.

Each customs officer is instructed to look at each visa applicant as a potential migrant.

The visa petitioner has to demonstrate 'strong ties' to Vietnam to overcome this view.

These strong ties can manifest themselves in many ways:

Relations/Dependants
Jobs
Property
Income
Bank Balance

There is no magic bullet or one way to get the B2 visa. A single young man with 1bn in his account may still be denied. How did he get that money? How long has the money been in his account? What reason is there to come back to Vietnam (as money could be transferred or sent)?

The B2 petitioner needs to show a good reason for going and returning and there are many ways to do this.

Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy as the custom officials are professionals and are quite good at detecting frauds and falsehoods.

If an applicant is denied they should recieve a letter stating why they were denied. They are also free to apply again, although (I think), they'll need a new DS-160 and another $160 application fee.

I hope this helps to clear up any misconceptions.

Yeah, I had never heard of such a thing. I know that you must present a roundtrip ticket, and they often want to know if you have funds for the stay. But I had not heard the one billion. This girl just wants to go to the USA for a bit. She owns a seavan company here, owns a home and has two children who will not make the trip.

No, that is incorrect. The embassy is very clear on this. You should not purchase your tickets until you have visa in hand.

tsshapiro wrote:

How did he get that money? How long has the money been in his account? What reason is there to come back to Vietnam (as money could be transferred or sent)?

Excellent point.  It was for a different but related purpose (I-864 Affidavit of Support) but my wife deposited a lot of money into a joint account but did so over a period of nearly three years.  This was to counter the absurd obstacle that my income was too low as I was living in Vietnam.  The permanent immigration system is set up on the assumption that the petitioner is in the US but that's another whole story.  Recent large deposits are suspect.

tsshapiro wrote:

Honesty is ALWAYS the best policy as the custom officials are professionals and are quite good at detecting frauds and falsehoods.

This is the best advice anyone could give to any visa applicant in any category.  I told my wife going in that the interview is not really for them to find out about you.  It is to see if you are telling the truth about things that they already know about you.  Too many Vietnamese immigration coaches teach applicants to give canned answers.  If you don't know the answer to a question, just say so.