Can a J2 dependent invite parents to visit?

[pyridot]

Hi,

I am a J2 dependent with an EAD. Both my visa and EAD are valid for this whole year. I work on contract with a large corp and am deputed for a short term assignment at their location that is different from where my spouse, who is my primary J1 holder, lives. I plan to invite my parents over for a visit. This would be their first visit ever to USA. My mother works at a firm back home and my father is retired. With this back ground, I have the following questions regarding the chances of my parents' visitor visa application:

1) Is a letter of invitation required? if yes, can I invite my parents to visit for a month or two? If any documents (like financials/ employment detail etc) of relatives in USA are required, then can I send mine? Or do you advise that I send my spouse's documents instead? or both our documents? Does this matter?

2) Would my location with respect to my spouse matter? Or should I wait till I can move back with my spouse after my assignment is over and then ask my parents to apply for their visitor visa? 

3) Can we visit any other country, say Canada or Mexico during their stay (assuming , of course, that we all have valid visas for that country)? Or does one require to apply specifically for a USA visitor visa that allows reentry?

Thanks.

[pontevecchio]

1. NO

2. NO

3. Yes. For short stays less than 30 days in Canada or Mexico, they can use Automatic Visa Revalidation in which the existing I94 is the key to coming back.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1218/~/automatic-revalidation-for-certain-temporary-visitors

They should apply on their own recognizance .

[Provence]

1.Nothing from the US is required, nothing. 2.Nothing from the US is looked at during the interview, nothing. 

Applicants are approved or denied on their own merit. If they're honest and confident of their ties to India, their odds are better. 

[pyridot]

Thank you all for your answers. This is indeed helpful.

@Noah Lott Visa of ANY country is a privilege extended to the ones visiting. And we intend to fully respect that. We have lived in other countries where it mattered who invited whom and their backgrounds. Also, the purpose of visiting neighboring countries is not to 'reset' anything. Travelling all the way to a new continent and not visit other must-see places would be a wasted trip since my parents can't travel that often. 

@pontevecchio Thank you for the crisp answers and the link. 

@Provence I don't agree when you say 'nothing from the US is looked at'. I personally know of cases where this is not true and visas have been denied even when the applicant had reputed conference invites, speaker profiles, letters of leave sanction and a resuming date from their employer and lots of proof of ties back home, simply because a sibling was a legal US work visa holder at the time of application! And the applicant was not even going anywhere close to where the said sibling lived or even visiting them! The applicant had only truthfully answered the question of 'do you have relatives in USA' which was the only reference to it.

I know where you all come from with your answers. Misuse by some has caused anyone with a question to be suspect of doing the same. Rest assured there are still a LOT of people who respect the laws and my questions certainly come with that intent.

Thanks for your time and answers. 

[Provence]

 

@pyridot I think Noah above just about covered along the lines I was going to respond with. 

There are quite a few countries where invitations are required for a visit visa, UK I believe being one of them. The US, is NOT one of them. COs are not required to look at any supporting documents; they adjudicate primarily based on the ds160 and interview. A majority of b2 applicants do have genuine intent to visit and return, but COs are not mind readers and view all applicants as intending immigrants until proven otherwise. That is by Congressionally-mandated US law.

Of course you're free to send any number of documents as you wish. FedEx won't mind your business. And fyi, travelling all the way to a new continent and visit must-see places is unlikely to be accomplished in a month or two. 

[pyridot]

@Noah Lott and @Provence Great! The take away is that there are no additional documents required. That's all I wanted answered.

Just wish you had restricted yourselves to just saying that rather than patronizing and being downright condescending towards me. You don't know anything about me to comment on my intent or my ability to travel. And no, questions on this forum are not insight enough, however experienced you may be. Even COs are not mind readers right? 

I will also save you a few keystrokes, I will not be returning to read responses nor turning to this forum for help again. Thanks for you time and answers so far.