Us Visa Helpful Suggestion

[bostonboy]

I am new to forum and i thought i'd give a little helpful suggestion that i think helped tremendously in my wife getting her 10yr US B1/B2 visa

we contacted my local congressman and they wrote a letter of support on US Congress letterhead.

they actually send the letter directly to the Consulate General and give you a copy to bring with you to the interview

My wife said that the interviewed spent some time reading the support letter.

Just a thought people might want to try for themselves. it can't hurt, that is for sure

[430xc]

Great idea. Thanks for sharing. I think I will do this when the time comes.

430xc

[Thanyaburi Mac]

Actually, it can hurt. No one, including ConOffs, really appreciate pressure brought from On High. Such might just make the interviewing ConOff look more carefully at a questionable case and if there's a flaw that might have skated by, notice it and result in a visa denial.

I reckon the pressure is better brought to bare in case of a denial.

Mac

[bostonboy]

Actually, it can hurt. No one, including ConOffs, really appreciate pressure brought from On High. Such might just make the interviewing ConOff look more carefully at a questionable case and if there's a flaw that might have skated by, notice it and result in a visa denial.

I reckon the pressure is better brought to bare in case of a denial.

Mac

pretty valid point Mac

but i was more confident with her going in with that support letter being in her documents than not

the letter was more about my family history in the community so i guess more about me than her

again, i think it helped in our case and maybe an idea for some

but your point is a good one to think about also

[JLCrab]

Without commenting on the OP's particular situation I tend to agree with Mac. If you and your family really have standing in the community, you should be able to document that without the intervention of a Member of Congress. The people at the US Embassy in Bangkok are savvy and know that the letter was actually written by a person on the Member's staff and signed by the Member without reading it or maybe even by an automated signature machine.

[daboyz1]

I found out while going through the immigration process with my wife, that each congressperson has an immigration liaison on staff. They must get alot of inquiries. They even had a standard privacy release form to fill out. I've rarely seen them get any results though. At least in immigrant visa cases. Not sure about non-immigrant visas.

[ubonjoe]

About 10 years ago contact from a congressman did not help my wife get a visa while I was in states working.

Since I was not staying here full time they turned her down for being what they considered an immigrant.

Edited April 10, 2013 by ubonjoe

[bostonboy]

Without commenting on the OP's particular situation I tend to agree with Mac. If you and your family really have standing in the community, you should be able to document that without the intervention of a Member of Congress. The people at the US Embassy in Bangkok are savvy and know that the letter was actually written by a person on the Member's staff and signed by the Member without reading it or maybe even by an automated signature machine.

that was 100% my experience

my wife got the visa and seem to think it helped, but i guess i will never know