Passport and Visa

[Wesley Irwin]

Hello Expats,
I´m trying to return to the US for a couple of weeks with my Argentine girlfriend who has never left Argentina. We´re sharting from scratch, without either a passport or US visa for her. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[armbou]

I am assuming you know you will need both, the argentine passport —the least complicated, although longer process— and the visa which another story. It takes time, there are several fees involved and she needs to prove, among other things, that she: has a full time job here in Argentina, has a return ticket, won't be staying at friends or family (prove by showing hotel reservations and must say I am not sure telling the Embassy she is going with her boyfriend who's family lives in the states is a good idea...) and that she has a return ticket purchased, did I already say that? She will also go through an interview process.

Bottom line, it is a long process and many people, although meeting all requirements, are denied the visa every day. Then there are many who get through with just two or three questions. A lot depends on who conducts her interview at the Embassy. Not been discouraging, just stating the facts. My advice is that she begins the process as soon as possible.

 

[Wesley Irwin]

Thanks. Does that mean that she can go through the US Embassy here in BA (Palermo I think) in order to obtain the US Visa?

 

[fifs2]

But she needs her passport first as she cannot complete any visa documentation without a passport number!

 

[Katie]

Wesley,

I went through this exact process last October with my naturalized Argentine fiance. We wanted to go to the U.S. for Christmas together. A passport is required at the time of the visa interview, so you need to get on that first. Yes, she does have to go to the U.S. embassy in BA for the visa. After she gets her passport she'll need to:

1.) Call at specific number at the embassy and pay U$15 for a PIN. Or she can go to a Pago Facil location and pay, in pesos, the same and receive a PIN. That will give her a time and date for her visa appointment.
2.) Before the appointment you have to pay the visa fee at a Banco de la Ciudad. In October it was about U$130 (if I remember correctly) but that may have changed, so check it out.
3.) Collect all the documents they might ask for. A basic list would include her passport, deeds to any properties/cars in her name, a school transcript showing she is enrolled, work contract showing that she is employed, and any documentation her parents have showing their ties to Argentina. If she's planning on staying with someone in your family that person should write a letter of invitation. Basically, you need to prove to the embassy that she will return to Argentina before her 90 days are up.
4.) Obviously, show up to the embassy the day of the interview. You need to be there about 15 minutes early. You, as a U.S. citizen, CAN GO IN WITH HER. Just be sure to bring your passport. That's exactly what I did and I was part of the interview and answered a lot of the questions myself.
5.) Answer all their questions honestly, show as many documents as they ask and hope you get someone nice.
6.) If she gets the visa (and you'll be told at that moment) she'll have to leave her passport at the embassy so that they can put the visa in it. It will be mailed back to her within a few days, so you'll have to pay DSL at the embassy as well.

Our experience was a very good one. Like I said, I was part of the interview and even answered all the questions in English. The interview took about 10 minutes and my fiance was given a 10 year tourist visa, even though he has no property or car and is working en negro, so he doesn't even have a legal work contract. We stayed at my mom's house, so she wrote a letter of invitation talking about how important it was for my fiance to come to the U.S. to meet our family and spend Christmas with us.

People might say that she shouldn't mention you or say she has an American boyfriend, but IMHO you shouldn't lie to the embassy. Also, my fiance didn't buy his plane ticket before the interview because we didn't want to pay all that money if he didn't get it. So, it is kind of a crapshoot, but it is certainly doable. All the information you need (phone numbers, etc) is at http://argentina.usembassy.gov/non-immigrant_visas/how-to-apply.html.

Good luck!

 

[HenryNisental]

Actually it is the US Consulate (located on Colombia St), not the US Embassy,which is located on Libertador Av.

 

[celinaLA]

I went to the States in Feb with my argentine boyfriend, who had already been in the US once,10 years prior. Definitely start the process ASAP and she will need the passport first. She will have to request a pin number, use that to pay a fee at a Pago Facil in order to get the interview which wont be for about another 6 weeks. It is quite the process, need to plan ahead, be prepared with aaall the docs (apt lease, bank statements, job info, salary, car title, etc), to basically show that she has strong ties here and will be returning to Arg.

I agree that she should NOT say that shes going with a boyfriend but rather to visit friends (no argie relatives), perhaps American and have that info also, telphone, address... My bf said the same. After only a few questions he was approved no prob, but only after seeing that he earns well and has had the same job for 6 years. Although, the older lady behind him, who wanted to visit her children was denied and she left crying with no explanation. Good luck!!

 

[sharkbait08]

I have to say the best way to go with the embassy is always tell the truth. My boyfriend told the embassy he had an american girlfriend and my mother wrote him a letter of invitation. They gave him the visa but they made it clear that they were giving him a tourist visa and that we could not marry and then have him apply for residency while in the US (for that, you need a fiancee visa). What surprised me the most is how much the embassy knew about me... I guess since I was listed on his application, they decided to investigate me... they knew why I was here, when my Argentina visa expired, what university I was studying at, etc. I found it kind of creepy. Nonetheless, I believe the truth is always the best option... esp. since they seen to have pretty good investigative resources (I know, they had my name and passport number so I gave them a jump start but the visa is getting turned for sure if they catch her in a lie)

 

[azure]

Katie provided a lot of great information!

I'd also like to stress that it is great if you or your parents/someone from the US write a letter of introduction for her. I did this for my boyfriend and it helped a lot; before he showed his interviewer the letter, the interviewer seemed a bit wary. I think it also helped that my boyfriend had previously been to the US 10 years ago and also to South Africa and Europe.

Good luck! It's a long and annoying process, but hopefully once she does get it it will be good for about 10 or so years.