Your parents may be able to get visitor visas in their own right but now as parents of a F-1 student.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 11/30/2011

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Your parents cannot obtain dependent status based on your having a J-1 or F-1 visa. Your parents would have to qualify independently for a B-2 visa in order to travel to the US, or else, if they are from a visa waiver country, they may not need to get a visa before-hand.

Answer Applies to: New York
Replied: 11/15/2011

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They need to apply for the B-2 visitor visa. They need to prove up that they will be visiting only and not staying in the US. They should be prepared to show ties to their home country and that they have sufficient funds to pay for the visit. Go to the DOS website at www.travel.state.gov for more details.

Answer Applies to: Texas
Replied: 11/15/2011

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Yes. They can apply for B2 visa at the US embassy in their home country. Check the embassy website for visa application procedures. They need to show they they will return to their home country after the visit and they have sufficient tie with their home country. You also should provide proof of your status in the US.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 11/15/2011

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The answer depends upon many factors. The U.S. Embassy/Consulate has a lot of discretion when deciding when to issue an immigrant visa. There are no bright lines rules for approving or denying a non-immigrant visa if the applicant is eligible. Your parents need to be truthful and disclose your presence in the United States. To increase their chances of getting a non-immigrant visa, they should be prepared to show ties to their native country. The U.S. Embassy/Consulate will not issue a non-immigrant visa if he or she believes your parents will not return. They should also be able to show sufficient funds to support themselves while traveling in the United States.

Answer Applies to: New York
Replied: 11/15/2011

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They can apply for a visa at the U.S. Consulate in their country of residence.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 11/14/2011

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They need to find someone to sponsor them into the US for a visit. In the alternative, they need to convince the Consular Officer that they will only come to the US temporarily and money in the bank and roots in their country of origin help. They should start with the US consulate website in their country of origin for information on how to obtain a visitor visa to the US. Your F-1 will be one of the elements but a weak one in the grand scheme of things.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 11/14/2011

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They may be able to apply for a B-1/B-2 visitors visa.

Answer Applies to: Illinois
Replied: 11/14/2011

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They can visit you under a B-2 tourist visa.

Answer Applies to: Florida
Replied: 11/14/2011

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Your parents can attempt to obtain a tourist visa to visit you. The tourist visa is for individuals who seek to enter the U.S. on a temporary basis for tourist intentions. In order to obtain the tourist visa, they must demonstrate that they have nonimmigrant intent and that they will return to their home country at the expiration of stay in the U.S. (up to six months). They can demonstrate nonimmigrant intent by showing connections to the home country: ownership of property, significant family ties that will remain behind, a job awaiting them on return, car registrations, bank accounts, stock ownership, retirement plans and social security, etc. They must also demonstrate that they have the financial capability of funding any trips to the U.S. This can be done by demonstrating their financial worth, or by a letter from a "sponsor" with whom they will stay in the U.S. and who will provide them with room and board during their trip. Tourist visas are very difficult to obtain but with proper documentation, can be approved.

Answer Applies to: Colorado
Replied: 11/14/2011

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There is nothing that would legally stop them from getting a nonimmigrant B-1/B-2 visa to visit you in the U.S., and if they are a citizen of one of the several visa waiver program countries, they may not even need to take that step. They do, however, need to be able to overcome the legal presumption that they are intending immigrants, and must show, to the satisfaction of the Consular Officials, that they have a bona fide nonimmigrant intent; that they have a home abroad and have no intention to abandon that home, and that they can support themselves in the U.S. without having to accept employment here.

Answer Applies to: Illinois
Replied: 11/14/2011

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