The Successful Visa

The applicant for a B2 visa must show:

• The purpose of their trip is to enter the U.S. for business, pleasure, or medical treatment;
• That they plan to remain for a specific, limited period;
• Evidence of funds to cover expenses in the United States;
• Evidence of compelling social and economic ties abroad; and
• That they have a residence outside the U.S. as well as other binding ties which will insure their return abroad at the end of the visit.

Other potentially helpful factors:

• High income level of applicant in home country
• Illiquid assets of applicant in the home country
• Prestigious occupation of applicant (sometimes, though rarely, the high profile status of the U.S. citizen sponsor can help)
• Modest purpose of trip
• Modest length of trip
• Previous travel to developed countries without overstay
• Dependent relatives in the home country
• Lack of relatives in U.S. or support in U.S.
• Lack of marketable skills in U.S.
• Poor English skills
• Lack of “red flags’

This is not a job for a checklist alone, however. One couldn’t write a computer program for this task, either. There are too many variables and they interact in different ways depending on their concordance or discordance. The application must be viewed as an integrated tapestry weaved to a common purpose, with nary a bad stitch, or the thing is lost.