Home Ties Guide

If you are applying for a visa where the duration of initial stay is one year or less, you are required to demonstrate that during your stay in the US you will maintain strong ties with your home country. In other words, it is very important to demonstrate that if you are granted a visa to enter the US that at the end of your authorized stay you will definitely return home. This is because too many people simply fail to return to the US having fallen in love with the country. As a result, USCIS has now instructed their staff to presume that all applicants will abscond. The burden is then placed on the visa applicant to prove that they will return home at the end of their authorized stay. This does not mean that once in the US on a valid visa, you cannot switch to a longer-term visa if you are eligible and are approved. Instead, it means that if your initial visa application is deemed a short-term visa you must demonstrate with supporting documents that you intend to return home. This issue cannot be overstated.