Inviting Friends and Family for a Short Visit

This document is for South Alabama students and scholars who would like to have information about visas for family members who are not eligible for dependent visa status. Your dependents are your spouse or unmarried children under 21. The following information is for students and scholars with a family member who wants to visit the U.S. for a short period and who is not a dependent and is therefore ineligible for dependent visa status.

Q1.	Can I bring my relatives as dependents (F-2, J-2, H-4 ) on my student /scholar visa?
A1.	Only spouses and unmarried children under 21 may apply for dependent visas. All other relatives must apply for their own separate visa.
Q2.	What kind of visa should my non-dependent relative get?
A2.	The most common visa category for people visiting the U.S. is the B-2 tourist visa. B-2 visa status allows an individual to stay in the U.S. as a tourist for an initial period of up to six months and may be extended, subject to Department of Homeland Security approval.
Q3.	What does my relative need to do to get a B-2 visa?
A3.	Your relative must apply for the B-2 visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. As an applicant for a B-2 visa, your family member must demonstrate to the satisfaction of consular officials that he/she has adequate financial resources to pay for his/her expenses while in the U.S. that he/she will be a bone fide tourist, and that he/she does not intend to become a permanent resident of the U.S.
Q4.	How can my relative demonstrate adequate financial resources?
A4.	Your relative must provide documents that indicate sufficient funding for the duration of the proposed visit to the U.S. Examples of such evidence are statements from your family member's bank or statements from your bank account along with a letter from you guaranteeing support.
Q5.	How much funding does my relative need to show?
A5.	There is no established minimum dollar amount that applicants for B-2 visas must show, so your relative may want to provide a list of expected expenses that he/she is likely to incur along with an explanation with documentation of how those expenses will be met. Remember to include costs for temporary health insurance.
Q6.	What else does my relative need to do?
A6.	The applicant must demonstrate that he/she intends to return to his/her home country. An applicant who is employed in the home country (or a third country) can obtain a letter from his/her employer verifying that the individual will be on holiday and is expected to return to his/her job by a certain date. If the applicant owns property (such as land or a house) in the home country, he/she can provide documents of ownership. If the applicant has traveled abroad and returned to the home country in the past, he/she can provide passport notations, used airline tickets, etc. If the applicant has close family members who will remain in the home country (e.g., a spouse, child, elderly parent), he/she can demonstrate close family ties.
Q7.	Can the Office of Enrollment Services help my relative obtain a B-2 visa?
A7.	The Office of Enrollment Services can provide a letter confirming the nonimmigrant status of students and scholars under our visa sponsorship and requesting that the U.S. embassy or consulate give due consideration to the family member's application for a B-2 visa.