Canada denied me a visitors visa because I am too poor | Hacker News Reader

Canada denied me a visitors visa because I am too poor

marcgayle.com

8 pointsmarcamillion7 comments

How long was the proposed stay? If it is a wedding, a few hundred dollars in the bank for a week or two of travel should be sufficient, but maybe you put 6 months? That would be a red flag as someone looking for work.

As an interesting aside, too much money in the bank is also a red flag. As a DSO (designated school official) for Kaplan, I used to be in charge of I-20 applications for international students coming to the US to study. One doctor from Nigeria (listed by USCIS as a high-risk country) who applied and was rejected provided bank statements showing USD 6.2 million while his mailing address was a farm in Nigeria.

I put 20 days and showed them a few thousand dollars over at least 4 - 5 bank accounts, both here in Jamaica and US banks.

So not sure what happened.

I think the main reason is that you applied for a 'Temporary Residents Visa'. If you're just coming for a wedding in July then why apply to be a temporary resident?

That is what they call it.

Their 'visitors visa' is a 'Temporary Residents Visa' - as far as I could tell.

I guess it depends on what country you are coming from. Most of the US/UK/common wealth countries can just use their host country passport and show up.

Yeh...I am coming from Jamaica. I have to get a visa to go.

It appears to be the only type of visa a Jamaican can apply for, whether it be to visit or transit through Canada:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp

It's a remarkably long list of countries that Canada requires a visa for.

I suspect it's an attempt to reduce the number of refugee claims Canada receives -- this is NOT to imply that Mr. Gayle would claim refugee status.

A visa requirement was enacted in 2009 for Mexican nationals to visit Canada to cut down on refugee claims, and they're a NAFTA partner.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com