The | US Embassy | Thread

[pugboy]

dunno if persons who did regular interview applications switched to
mailin renewals when they opened that up late last year hence the clearing up of walk-in interview applications

[Musical Doc]

i don’t think they ask for bank statements anymore
at least when i was there tuesday nobody was asked for any extra documentation to show

you guys aware of fatca right?

The only document they asked my wife to see is our marriage certificate. Just asked both our salaries, couple other questions and she was out of there. Even when I had gone for renewal years ago, they didn't ask for any documents. She asked how much money I had in the bank and I was giving her my statement but she didn't want to see it, just wanted me to tell her

[redmanjp]

^ so she took your word for it?

[Skanky]

The best piece of advice anyone can get when going for their US VISA is don’t lie. They know more about you than you know about yourself so just be honest no matter how bad you think it makes you look or how uncomfortable the question is.
When I went just before covid they didn’t ask a single thing about finances or ties but were really interested in my online presence such as Facebook and any other websites/forums I frequent.
It varies for each individual applicant.

[Chimera]

^ so she took your word for it?

they already see all those things. and know everything

they just wanna see if you lying.

[Dave]

They know things about you that you don't even know.

^ so she took your word for it?

they already see all those things. and know everything

they just wanna see if you lying.

[Chimera]

yeahhh so a lil more on my situation

i had really applied for the visa for having a visa sake, i didnt have any purpose or trip planned....
honestly i wasnt really taking it on, i just say it was a easy approval as usual.

the woman ask me where i work, my salary, how much times i use to travel to miami a month (use to be 4 times a month most times), what i usually travel for, then
blam.....denied.....give me a sheet of paper with a long list of potential reasons and tell me i could reapply down the line

[pugboy]

a few years ago there was a big uproar about the embassy wanting ppl to state their social media info on application
doesn’t seem that ever panned out at least in official manner

[pugboy]

hmm, when i went tuesday i had same frame of mind, did not have a direct plan to travel in place
she just asked me where i would likely travel to and for how long.

this was after she asked when last i travelled usa and i said a good few years.

there was a family with a child going on some sporting trip to compete and she questioned each of them on their background, even made second young child step up close and asked some casual questions, likely to see if child might answer suspectly.

yeahhh so a lil more on my situation

i had really applied for the visa for having a visa sake, i didnt have any purpose or trip planned....
honestly i wasnt really taking it on, i just say it was a easy approval as usual.

the woman ask me where i work, my salary, how much times i use to travel to miami a month (use to be 4 times a month most times), what i usually travel for, then
blam.....denied.....give me a sheet of paper with a long list of potential reasons and tell me i could reapply down the line

[Dizzy28]

a few years ago there was a big uproar about the embassy wanting ppl to state their social media info on application
doesn’t seem that ever panned out at least in official manner

In 2019 when I did my renewal there was a section asking for social media info. I gave my FB and Instagram since those use my real names already anyhows.

[Chimera]

when i did my application in 2022 the form asked for all social media handles

[VexXx Dogg]

They prob have tools to scrape data from your handles and run some analytics for possible flags.
Mailed in my shiz a couple weeks ago, just waiting for them to lmk what is the scene. Had a 10 year visa that last expired in 2022, and I mostly travel there for conferences/work more than leisure anyway.

[adnj]

The US only approves about 75% of visa applications. There is no quota for visitor's visas.

White House Office Rejects DHS Proposal to Collect Social Media Data on Travel and Immigration Forms

April 27, 2021

Earlier this month, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the White House office that reviews federal regulations, rejected the Department of Homeland Security’s proposal to collect social media identifiers on travel and immigration forms. OIRA concluded that DHS did not “adequately [demonstrate] the practical utility of collecting this information” and noted that the Muslim ban, which ordered the proposal, had been repealed.

The proposal, which the Brennan Center and our allies have opposed in writing, asked for authorization to require roughly 33 million people a year to register every social media handle they have used over the past five years on any of 20 platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. If approved, the measure would have required a wide range of individuals to turn over their social media handles to the federal government — including people eligible for short trips to the United States without a visa, those seeking asylum or refugee status, and permanent U.S. residents seeking to become citizens.

Halting the DHS collection is a big deal, and we welcome it. But it is only a first step. The Biden administration, which is now conducting a review of whether collection of social media identifiers “meaningfully improved screening and vetting,” should also end the State Department’s corresponding collection from about 14 million people a year who fill out its visa applications. Like the DHS proposal, this State Department policy was underpinned by the Muslim ban and was justified with practically identical supporting documentation. As OIRA’s decision signals, there is little evidence that social media screening is an effective screening tool. But we do know that facilitating dragnet surveillance of the modern public square harms free speech and privacy, imposing a disparate impact on people who have traditionally borne the brunt of government profiling in the name of national security.

It is unsurprising that DHS was unable to demonstrate the “practical utility” of its proposed collection. In fact, the agency’s own internal tests have questioned the benefits of using social media to screen people coming to the United States. In a 2016 transition brief prepared for the incoming Trump administration, DHS reported that in three of the four programs it used to vet refugees, information from social media “did not yield clear, articulable links to national security concerns,” even when an applicant was flagged as a potential threat through other channels. (The Department did not identify any derogatory information at all from the fourth pilot.) Among other observations, officials also pointed out the difficulty of understanding “with any level of certainty” the context and reliability of what they were reviewing. They concluded that “mass social media screening” was a poor use of resources, taking people away from “the more targeted enhanced vetting they are well trained and equipped to do.”

Indeed, the DHS Inspector General in 2017 reviewed the Department’s social media monitoring pilot programs and explicitly stated they could not justify scaling the practice because DHS didn’t define criteria for success against which to measure the programs. As OIRA noted, if there is any evidence that social media screening is an effective screening tool, the federal government certainly hasn’t provided it.


https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ ... ata-travel

[Kickstart]

The US only approves about 75% of visa applications. There is no quota for visitor's visas.

White House Office Rejects DHS Proposal to Collect Social Media Data on Travel and Immigration Forms

April 27, 2021

Earlier this month, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the White House office that reviews federal regulations, rejected the Department of Homeland Security’s proposal to collect social media identifiers on travel and immigration forms. OIRA concluded that DHS did not “adequately [demonstrate] the practical utility of collecting this information” and noted that the Muslim ban, which ordered the proposal, had been repealed.

The proposal, which the Brennan Center and our allies have opposed in writing, asked for authorization to require roughly 33 million people a year to register every social media handle they have used over the past five years on any of 20 platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. If approved, the measure would have required a wide range of individuals to turn over their social media handles to the federal government — including people eligible for short trips to the United States without a visa, those seeking asylum or refugee status, and permanent U.S. residents seeking to become citizens.

Halting the DHS collection is a big deal, and we welcome it. But it is only a first step. The Biden administration, which is now conducting a review of whether collection of social media identifiers “meaningfully improved screening and vetting,” should also end the State Department’s corresponding collection from about 14 million people a year who fill out its visa applications. Like the DHS proposal, this State Department policy was underpinned by the Muslim ban and was justified with practically identical supporting documentation. As OIRA’s decision signals, there is little evidence that social media screening is an effective screening tool. But we do know that facilitating dragnet surveillance of the modern public square harms free speech and privacy, imposing a disparate impact on people who have traditionally borne the brunt of government profiling in the name of national security.

It is unsurprising that DHS was unable to demonstrate the “practical utility” of its proposed collection. In fact, the agency’s own internal tests have questioned the benefits of using social media to screen people coming to the United States. In a 2016 transition brief prepared for the incoming Trump administration, DHS reported that in three of the four programs it used to vet refugees, information from social media “did not yield clear, articulable links to national security concerns,” even when an applicant was flagged as a potential threat through other channels. (The Department did not identify any derogatory information at all from the fourth pilot.) Among other observations, officials also pointed out the difficulty of understanding “with any level of certainty” the context and reliability of what they were reviewing. They concluded that “mass social media screening” was a poor use of resources, taking people away from “the more targeted enhanced vetting they are well trained and equipped to do.”

Indeed, the DHS Inspector General in 2017 reviewed the Department’s social media monitoring pilot programs and explicitly stated they could not justify scaling the practice because DHS didn’t define criteria for success against which to measure the programs. As OIRA noted, if there is any evidence that social media screening is an effective screening tool, the federal government certainly hasn’t provided it.


https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ ... ata-travel

This is a quota for banana Republics like Trinidad.

[adnj]

^^ That is a very reassuring thought.

[AlphaMan]

How did persons "demonstrate ties" in Trinidad to get a Visa in the first place but ended up staying in the USA?
DId they just abandon there assets?

That’s how they did it in the old days before globalization kicked in. Or they sold everything house land car after getting the visas. Convert everything to USD and fly out. Know people who did that started a new life and got deported and returned to nothing

Whats the safest and most legal way to obtain a Visa and migrate to the US?
No underhand thing..

[VexXx Dogg]

mailed in my docs first week of feb.
Got back passport/visa today.
4-5 weeks turnaround it looks like for the document stage.

Entire process from application submission to collection was approx 16 weeks.

[hover11]

The Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) says a proposed change to regulations governing US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fees could see people wishing to work in the United States having to pay anywhere from 33% to 137% increased fees for special permits and visas to do so.

For more: https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/ttcsi-c ... f6bbe23ab8

[pugboy]

collected my passport today, 7days from interview to collection

[The Bamboo Online]

How did persons "demonstrate ties" in Trinidad to get a Visa in the first place but ended up staying in the USA?
DId they just abandon there assets?

That’s how they did it in the old days before globalization kicked in. Or they sold everything house land car after getting the visas. Convert everything to USD and fly out. Know people who did that started a new life and got deported and returned to nothing

Whats the safest and most legal way to obtain a Visa and migrate to the US?
No underhand thing..

Fastest way

If single and got a visitor visa fly out and do biz wedding sit tight do a status change get work permit and wait for greencard interview

If married get divorce before flying out and take docs with you to prove divorce do biz wedding sit tight do a status change get work permit and wait for greencard interview.

Slower way

Can’t get visitor visa?
If you are single…hang out around local resorts find American willing to do a Biz wedding and then wait for greencard interview

If you are married…. hang out around local resorts when you find a American willing to do biz wedding get divorced and marry them then Go back to your life with your divorced spouse and Wait for greencard interview

[pugboy]

^or try the greencard lottery, I know 2 trini families who gt

[daring dragoon]

The Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) says a proposed change to regulations governing US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fees could see people wishing to work in the United States having to pay anywhere from 33% to 137% increased fees for special permits and visas to do so.

For more: https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/ttcsi-c ... f6bbe23ab8

just dont go. stay in TT an pick mango and orange or work in some restaurant. fork away with the US an they BS.

[redmanjp]

The Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) says a proposed change to regulations governing US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fees could see people wishing to work in the United States having to pay anywhere from 33% to 137% increased fees for special permits and visas to do so.

For more: https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/ttcsi-c ... f6bbe23ab8

this is only for work visas right? not visitors/tourist visa?

[shaneelal]

The Trinidad and Tobago Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI) says a proposed change to regulations governing US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fees could see people wishing to work in the United States having to pay anywhere from 33% to 137% increased fees for special permits and visas to do so.

For more: https://www.guardian.co.tt/news/ttcsi-c ... f6bbe23ab8

this is only for work visas right? not visitors/tourist visa?

The State Department said the fee for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition based NIVs, such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from US$160 to US$185.

https://guardian.co.tt/news/us-increase ... 4c2b0a0de7

[MaxPower]

Its only a $25 more.

Trinis love to spend unnecessarily so they won’t even feel that lil increase.

[bluefete]

For Clarity:

US Visa Fee Increases

March 29, 2023 Mahalia Joseph-Wharton

The United States has announced an increase in the cost of visa processing. These increases were published in the Federal Register on March 28, 2023 and will be effective on May 30 this year.

The fee for visitor visas for business or tourism and other non-petition based Non Immigrant Visas’s such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from one hundred and sixty US dollars to one hundred and eighty five US dollars.

The fee for certain petition-based non immigrant visas for temporary workers will increase from one hundred and ninety US dollars to two hundred and five US dollars.

The fee for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicants in a speciality occupation will increase from two hundred and five US dollars to three hundred and fifteen US dollars.

The fees for most non-petition based Non Immigrant Visas’s were last updated in 2012, and certain other related fees were last updated in 2014.

https://www.ttt.live/us-visa-fee-increa ... ix2L8_yrXI

[OracleTnT]

Hi all, a quick question,
I applied for me any my family, a few extended family members included. 9 in all.
1. Submitted forms online.
2. Paid fees and booked appointment.
3. My grand child, 3 yrs old, do not have to attend interview.
4. Five of the applications was for renewal as the last 10 yrs visa expired.
When I checked on their system it says everyone has to attend interviews.
If you already had a visa and traveled with it and never overstayed I heard you may not be called for an interview.
I just read in the news
“Receipts for fees paid prior to October 1, 2022 will continue to be valid until September 30, 2023. These applicants must schedule an interview or submit an interview waiver application before September 30, 2023. The Embassy advised that the interview doesn’t have to take place before that date.”

DO I HAVE TO SUBMIT AN INTERVIEW WAIVER APPLICATION?

Thanks very much.

[*Єʋρнoяιa*]

^^
My opinion (and I mean no offense) is that it may seem "suspicious" to them that you are all applying at the same time, giving off a "migrating vibes". Hence the face-to-face interview.
Also I think Visas need to be expired for less than a year for the interview waiver.

[paid_influencer]

they only did interview waivers as a covid measure. now that covid done, they going back to interviews and from next year every man jack will have to go for interview.

fwiw, my 80 year old grandmother did not have to go in for interview. everybody else I know who applied for renewal recently had to go for interview tho

[adnj]

......