Any battle-hardened veterans who dealt with visa issues with the Italian consulate? I'm a US citizen, and my uncle is an Indian citizen and a green card holder who lives in our house when he visits the U.S. for a few months at a time. I am his sponsor, and my uncle needs a tourist visa for an upcoming family summer holiday to Italy, which I will be paying all expenses for. All of his paperwork is correct for the visa application, but the Italian consulate is saying they require very specific proof that he is dependent on me. Namely, they say that without my uncle being listed on my tax returns, I cannot claim his dependency on me (even though he spends half the year in America at my residence and all expenses are handled by me); they also say that the only proof of address they will accept are utility bills to my address in my grandfather's name, which is again not practical.

Proving this dependency and address seems excessive! They refuse affidavits, notarized documents, and anything else. Shouldn't the green card address be enough? And what other proof of dependency will the Italian embassy accept for a green card holder?

The issue is just proving dependency on the sponsor and the address; everything else in the visa application is fine.

This is a very weird situation, if anyone has had to deal with a similar difficulty with the Italian consulate and was able to get around it, could you let me know what kind of documents they accepted from you? Thanks everyone!

I'm not at all sure that anyone here can force the Italian consulate to do what something they don;t want to do. They are a sovereign state and control issuance of their own visas.

If you really want this to work I would consult an attorney that specializes in this type of issue who may have additional information that will help.

No one here can answer these sorts of questions. Consult an attorney.

Sometimes a commercial visa agent can obtain a visa more easily than an individual, as they make a bulk application. You pay for their services of course.

while the green card is a valuable asset in the USA I don't think it has any value in the EU. Seek Italian expertise, a visa agent is the most obvious.

"and my uncle needs a tourist visa for an upcoming family summer holiday to Italy"

How long are you staying in Italy that you are even talking to a consulate there?

I'm Chilean a 22 years US permanent resident with a green card and I've been in Italy thrice at least 6 weeks at a time, once in Europe 9 weeks. I never needed a Visa, my green card is ONLY required to enter the USA.

If he has an Indian Passport he will enter Italy with it and come out with it, not a green card from the USA, that has no value in Europe. I cross countries with my Chilean Passport I only use my green card when I come back home to USA.

Check this

http://vistoperitalia.esteri.it/home/en#BMQuestionario

I forgot that most Immigration attorneys have a 30 mins free consult some over the phone. I would call around and ask an attorney to fill the papers for you, if he really needs a Visa you want it to be requested properly.