Confused family situation

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sarahdujmovic

Registered Users (C)
This is a bit complicated, but we really need some advice.
My two grandchildren (5 and 7 years old) were refused F-1 visas because their mother has a green card. They have a scholarship to a top sports academy. They have lived with me all their lives. Their mother has no intention of getting US citizenship as she wants to live permanently in Switzerland once they have done a few years training in USA - she owns land there, has a business and rents a house already and travels all the time. The plan was that she and I would take care of the children in turns, along with a nanny, so we can both continue to travel.
I tried to explain all this at the consulate but the officer wouldn't listen. He said there was nothing he could do. Is there something we can do now?
 
sarahdujmovic said:
This is a bit complicated, but we really need some advice.
My two grandchildren (5 and 7 years old) were refused F-1 visas because their mother has a green card. They have a scholarship to a top sports academy. They have lived with me all their lives. Their mother has no intention of getting US citizenship as she wants to live permanently in Switzerland once they have done a few years training in USA - she owns land there, has a business and rents a house already and travels all the time. The plan was that she and I would take care of the children in turns, along with a nanny, so we can both continue to travel.
I tried to explain all this at the consulate but the officer wouldn't listen. He said there was nothing he could do. Is there something we can do now?
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The primary premise for a F-1 visa is to prove / show that you have strong ties to home country. In your case, since the mother is a permanent resident in the US, it is naturally going to be hard to prove how / why the kids alongwith the mother will eventually exit the US and not become permanent residents as well.

Well, what can I say visa officials are very arbitrary in their decisions in US consulates abroad and there is very little you can do once they make up their minds. All that I can say is that try applying again, but not too soon as that is a red flag. Also try to prepare as strong a case as possible to show that the family is not planning to settle down in the US. Like I said, in your case it is going to very hard to overturn this as the mother has already become a permanent resident in the US.
 
Thanks for that. As it happens the children had to change passports after that application because they were expiring. Does the refusal show up on a new passport number? And does the mother's residence and all the other information on the form also show up? It was obvious that the guy who made the decision understood the situation (he could see that we really don't want immigration to USA - we could have done it years ago if we wanted) but he was unable to make another decision given the information he had.

Would it help if the mother gave up her residence?
 
sarahdujmovic said:
Thanks for that. As it happens the children had to change passports after that application because they were expiring. Does the refusal show up on a new passport number? And does the mother's residence and all the other information on the form also show up? It was obvious that the guy who made the decision understood the situation (he could see that we really don't want immigration to USA - we could have done it years ago if we wanted) but he was unable to make another decision given the information he had.

Would it help if the mother gave up her residence?
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I assume they would have some sort of database to track previous applications. In any case there is a question on the visa application form that specifically asks "If you were ever denied a visa before".

I think it would definitely help if the mother gave up her permanent residence. Your case would become very strong then. I am not sure how you go about that (giving up the green card).

Good Luck!

BTW: Can you tell me which country (consulate) you applied the visa from ? How easy / difficult is it to immigrate to Switzerland ?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Applied from New Zealand.
To immigrate to Switzerland depends on where you come from as it's not easy to get started there unless you have lots of money, or a highly paid job, as far as I can see. They are very strict and organised. Then you need to live there 10 years to get citizenship.
 
sarahdujmovic said:
Applied from New Zealand.
To immigrate to Switzerland depends on where you come from as it's not easy to get started there unless you have lots of money, or a highly paid job, as far as I can see. They are very strict and organised. Then you need to live there 10 years to get citizenship.
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hmmm ... Interesting. I hear that a lot of people are immigrating to NZ as well.
 
New Zealand was one of the easiest if you have the right skills. It still only takes 5 years to get full citizenship - here it's mainly a question of getting a job offer and there's plenty of work for a wide variety of different jobs - just as long as there aren;t enough New Zealanders.
 
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