Process For Argentines Obtaining A U.s. B1 Visa Changed?

[citygirl]

It is super easy for a renwal. Martin just did his renewal a few weeks ago. Went to ICANA to do the forms - he had some documentation but not needed. Then he did his fingerprints at a place on Santa Fe a few days later (right by Godoy Cruz) which took 10 minutes. Then he went to the embassy and they didn't even interview him. The whole process took about a week.

 

[Frinkiac7]

Yup, only a week or so. Maybe two if there is a lot of demand.

Does it give you a selection of dates to pick or must you pick the date it gives you? Mother-in-law is traveling from Salta and would ideally know a week or two ahead of time so she can make the trip.

 

[Icabod]

I find it a bit childish when people are denied a visa and attribute it to "passport stamping Foreign Service officers" who "had a bad lunch" instead of to the possibility that they didn't qualify for the visa. Just maybe it had to do with the fact that your girlfriend had weak links at the time of the interview (like maybe, uhhhh, an American boyfriend who wants to take her to the US???), or weak employment, or a bad economy?

At any rate, the process takes two days and there is zero wait time for a tourist visa. This means Day 1 make the appt online and pay, Day 2 you can go to Santa Fe for enrollment, and Day 3 to the Embassy for the interview. Buenos Aires is in the top ten worldwide for US visa issuance (right up there with the big boys in China, Brz, Mex, etc) and they will still get you in and out in under two hours on most days. Not too bad considering they sometimes interview more than a 1000 people in a single morning. You pick the dates you want from what is available. Easier than paying a cable bill in Argentina (if you don't have a local bank account). The Embassy twitter feed receives a lot of positive feedback from the Argentines about the process.

You will not be speaking to an "immigration" official at the Embassy. Immigration will be at the airport when you arrive in Miami, or wherever.

Also, even if you are "transiting" to Mexico, or where ever else with just an "escala" in the US, you are still getting a tourist visa. A transit visa (C1) does exist but is totally different - it is for crews of airlines and boats, etc. Two hours at the airport in Houston waiting for a flight to Cancun requires the same visa as someone going to Miami for three weeks on vacation.

Visa Waiver Program? Maybe if you move to Santiago...

 

[DontMindMe]

I will tell you, as someone currently neck-deep in U.S. immigration procedures, what everyone else who knows anything about U.S. immigration procedures will tell you: Meet the requirements, fill the forms out correctly, don't conceal anything, and all should be fine. Every time, and I mean every time, someone on Visa Journey posts about getting denied for any sort of visa, once pressed for information, it's always because they did something wrong or they did not meet the requirements, plain and simple. My husband was granted a tourist visa to the U.S. in 2009 in Buenos Aires. He had no Argentine family, no property, no car, no kids, just a job and bank statements. He's from a country still known for drug trafficking more than anything else, and was expecting all sorts of scrutiny because that's just how they're treated everywhere (don't get me started), but he got it, no problem. They asked him what they always ask-- What do you plan to do there, how long will you stay, nothing weird.

He renewed it this year in Bogotá and now it's good for 10 years. He printed out a bunch of stuff he thought he'd need, but they didn't want to see a thing. The process took 20 minutes.

So I repeat: Meet the requirements, fill forms out correctly and do what you're supposed to do. Leaving your righteous anger at the door also helps.

 

[Frinkiac7]

Even between the unnecessary snark, I think we were able to garner some useful information from those replies. Thanks, gang.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I will tell you, as someone currently neck-deep in U.S. immigration procedures, what everyone else who knows anything about U.S. immigration procedures will tell you: Meet the requirements, fill the forms out correctly, don't conceal anything, and all should be fine. Every time, and I mean every time, someone on Visa Journey posts about getting denied for any sort of visa, once pressed for information, it's always because they did something wrong or they did not meet the requirements, plain and simple. My husband was granted a tourist visa to the U.S. in 2009 in Buenos Aires. He had no Argentine family, no property, no car, no kids, just a job and bank statements. He's from a country still known for drug trafficking more than anything else, and was expecting all sorts of scrutiny because that's just how they're treated everywhere (don't get me started), but he got it, no problem. They asked him what they always ask-- What do you plan to do there, how long will you stay, nothing weird.

He renewed it this year in Bogotá and now it's good for 10 years. He printed out a bunch of stuff he thought he'd need, but they didn't want to see a thing. The process took 20 minutes.

So I repeat: Meet the requirements, fill forms out correctly and do what you're supposed to do. Leaving your righteous anger at the door also helps.

Still, as a US citizen, I think the requirements are far too rigid. Obliging someone who lives in Ushuaia or Jujuy to make a special trip to Buenos Aires is simply preposterous.

 

[DontMindMe]

Still, as a US citizen, I think the requirements are far too rigid. Obliging someone who lives in Ushuaia or Jujuy to make a special trip to Buenos Aires is simply preposterous.

I can't say I don't agree. They could at the very least have some sort of field office in other provinces, or a way to do it by Fedex and/or online or something. You will note that I did not share my opinion on how I feel about any of these bureaucratic processes in my first post. All I will say is that I got my spouse visa in one day; my husband's for the U.S. will most likely take a year. We don't exactly go through this stuff with smiles on our faces, whistling while we work. If the snark comment was directed at me, I was not being snarky. It really is a waste of energy to think about how unfair you believe this stuff is, even if you're right. If you have to do it, do it and move on with your life. The requirements will only get stricter as time goes on.

 

[Icabod]

I may have been a bit snarky but the comments from original poster about consular officials having upset stomachs being the reason his gf didn't get a visa warranted the response. A consular "field office" is called a consulate, and granted Argentina is the largest country in the world by land mass that does not have one outside of the Embassy in the capital. But the policy requiring fingerprints taken by a US official isn't going to change and has nothing to do with Argentina - it I world wide policy. If there was a consulate ever opened I imagine it would be in Mendoza, but that is speculation. The lack of applicants and citizens in Patagonia could not justify the costs. Plus opening a consulate requires significant cooperation with a host government. So...