Peru visa application denied - what to do?
 

The Peruvian consulate in Chicago just denied my friend's application for a tourist visa on grounds of insufficient economic resources! He is a grad student at UMich (his application included a letter from school stating his stipend), has $6,000 in his saving account at the time of application, which should be plenty for 7 days in Peru. This decision is really shocking to us!

I am wondering if anyone knows a specialized travel agency that might be able to help my friend obtain a visa to visit Peru. Or can you help us think of ways to make the case that my friend has enough money to cover this trip.

Our trip is at the end of May (5/24-31) but my friend is going to a week-long conference in Toronto so time is a bit tight.

Appreciate any advice you can provide. Thanks!

Just wondering what citizenship your friend holds. Some Latin American countries have a thing for citizens of other countries even if they are permanent residents of top tier western countries.

Ooops, sorry I forgot that piece of info. My friend is from Vietnam.

Could be the problem right there. A lot of Latin American countries are afraid of Asians, even though Peru had a lot of Japanese immigrants.

You'll notice that Peru isn't one of the countries mentioned by the Peruvian consulate in the U.S. so maybe no visas from those countries.

http://www.peruvianembassy.us/do.php?p=102

I hope that the Consulate will reconsider, getting a Peruvian visa should've been easy if he's in the US! Maybe Peru will consider doing like Mexico has just done and not require a visa for US visa holders...

And just in case, the complete list of countries for visa requirements is here at the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs site.

Maybe Peru is wary of "communist: countries though it has certainly leaned left domestically in the past.

As for possible xenophobia, my uncle who held a Singapore passport, resident in Canada, was denied a Costa Rican visa.

Thanks for the replies. My friend is resubmitting his application soon. I really hope he'll get it this time.