Cykotronic

My fiancee's 14 year-old brother wants to visit Disneyworld. He lives in Brazil. I'm moving down there in the fall and I would like to take him there in January. I was wondering how difficult is it for a minor to get a visa? Will he need parental permission? What documents does he need himself?

This is the situation:

*His family is middleclass by Brazilian standards, but I (a US citizen) am willing to sponsor him. I will have enough funds for the entire trip.

*He's 14 and attending high school, so he has that to come back to, as well as his family. He has no job, obviously.

*It will just be me and him since it's too hard for my fiancee and the rest of her family to get the visa.

I can't see why he would be denied. He has no intention of immigrating to the US, especially at his age. Anything I'm missing?

Thanks!

crg

'

The question is does he have strong ties to Brazil? They may see it as a bad risk because his sister just immigrated, he has family in the US, and no reason to go back to Brazil. They may be worried that he'll end up in the local US high school.

Cykotronic

All his family is in Brazil. I will be moving to Brazil to marry my fiancee and will remain there, so she will not be an immigrant. She will not be applying for a visa (and even if she did, she will get rejected). Just him.

crg

That sounds a little better. It will take $100 US to find out from the consulate. They'll look at the whole application in its entirety. It may come down to how well off the family is. Even if you'd be paying the expenses, they may want to see what kind of future the boy is looking forward to in Brazil.

Does the boy have any other foreign travel? Has he taken visits to other western countries and returned?

On another note, why would your fiance be denied a visa? Do you mean tourist visa, or fiance visa?

Good luck.

Cykotronic

Thanks for the response.

As I mentioned, the family is middleclass by Brazilian standards. Really, they don’t live too different a lifestyle than the average American family, but remember that the cost of living there is quite different. So, they’re not wealthy. I was told by my friend who is an immigration attorney that people from poorer countries, like Brazil, will have a difficult time getting a tourist visa unless they come from very wealthy backgrounds.

Nope. He’s never left Brazil.

My friend also told me that young South American women are given a lot more scrutiny when applying for the tourist visa, so it’s almost always a rejection unless they are wealthy – and even if they’re wealthy, it’s still a difficult process, according to some friends of mine. I called the US Consulate last time I was in Sao Paulo and the lady who spoke to me wasn’t too reassuring. I think she will have a better chance of getting it after we are married and if I’m living in Brazil. And I don't think we'll be married by January, when I want to make this trip.

I thought about the K1, but that is much too time-consuming and I don’t want to continue having a long-distance relationship. My fiancee seems to want to stay in Brazil to be close to her family anyways. So at least for a few years, I’ll be there. Should we decide to move to the US, I will take the DCF route which is much quicker.

Gross50

you'll have to prove your ties to him. might be better to wait, as you have just married his sis. and if you've lived there a while they less likely think you are planning on taking him to the US.

his application will be better off if done by his sister, rather than bro-in-law.