<p>I am in the process of filling up a financial support form (I-134) so that my sis can visit me for 2 months during the next Summer. </p>
<p>The problem with this form is that I have to disclose ALL my financial information (salary, savings, stocks, bonds etc)… it wouldn’t be much of a problem disclosing all this information if I had to hand it over to US Consulate in India directly. The problem is that I have to provide this form to the applicant who has to submit the form together with her tourist visa application to the consulate.</p>
<p>Knowing how things work in India, I am really afraid that once she gets this form, all my financial details are as good as ‘public knowledge’ in the entire close-knit community. </p>
<p>As much as I value my privacy, I do want to be able to get my Sis to visit me (for the first time!) Any of you have advice on how to resolve this predicament?</p>
<p>Please keep in mind that I have absolutely no experience in this area but my first thought would be to fib. Do they actually check up on these things? Or is there a service you can hire to walk the paperwork through and then destroy it?</p>
<p>I’ll be interested to hear what others have done.</p>
<p>Just tell your sister that this information is confidential and that no one but the consulate personnel should open the envelope. Then I would put your information in an envelope and put something like ‘Confidential. To be opened by Consulate personnel only’ at the flap and then seal it and tape it over so it will be obvious if it has been opened.</p>
<p>I’ve seen this being done by my D’s school if a recommendation or official transcript is sent to her to be mailed together with grad school applications. They stamp the school’s name across the flaps so one can tell if the envelope has been tampered with.</p>
<p>You really don’t have much choice. The financial information is required so that the US consulate is assured you have the means to support her.<br>
Do NOT fib. The paperwork cannot be walked through and then destroyed.<br>
Remember that the visa is a privilege not a right. You have to follow the instructions if you want to obtain the visa.
Do as cbreeze suggested but that will not guarantee confidentiality.
Also, please be sure that she doesn’t overstay her visa for any reason without going through the channels to get an extension. If you overstay your visa it can be very difficult to obtain a visa again.</p>
<p>Thank you for that information, ebeeeee. As I said, I had no idea and I certainly do not want for things to go badly for pharmagal or her sister.</p>