If denied a green card can you still get a tourist non-immigrant visa?

You need to consult in depth with an immigration attorney and he fact that you are experiencing problems in bringing your father to the US may be due to your choice to do things on your own. First, not all convictions result inadmissibility and even those that do may and often provide avenues for a waiver. Though unaware of the specifics of your father's conviction, an assessment of an aliens' eligibility to come to the US will be based on recent or near recent conduct, not a conviction that took place several decades ago, particularly if a competent attorney prepared an excellent waiver package. As to why his request for tourist visa is denied, the obvious answer is that since he previously applied for permanent resident in US, his subsequent request for a tourist visa is an uphill battle due to his already expressed immigrant intent. You may now be at the point where you should seek competent legal counsel.

Grant of a visa is so much within discretion of a consular officer that the outcome of a particular case is nearly impossible to predict with any accuracy. That being said, in this case, I would estimate your father's chances as very low. The problem is not even his old criminal history, although for the USCIS and State Department, no conviction is old enough, and no criminal is ever sufficiently rehabilitated. Convictions of certain crimes make a person barred for life from any legal entry into the U.S. You have said, though, that your father did visit the U.S. after his conviction; this would seem to indicate that he is not subject to such a life-long bar. The problem is that every applicant for a non-immigrant visa must prove to the U.S. consular officer that he/she has no "immigrant intent" - meaning that the applicant has such a strong ties to his country that he fully intends to return there, and has no desire to stay in the U.S. If absence of "immigrant intent" is not proven, a non-immigrant visa application must be denied. By applying for a green card, you father demonstrated his desire to stay in the U.S. - so he cannot prove lack of "immigrant intent". Does it mean that there is no hope whatsoever? Of course, it does not. If your father shows the consular officer that he has an established life in Bulgaria (real estate, business, good job, family, etc.), that he did travel to the U.S. and to developed European countries and always came back, that it is important for you to have him with you on the day of your wedding - well, it is possible that he might get a visa. As I said, granting a visa is largely within a consular officer's discretion. My advice to you would be to write a really good letter to the U.S. consul general in Sofia explaining everything about the situation. Don't try to sound official or legal; the person who might read your letter is somebody's child and, possibly, somebody's parent; try to make that person relate to you and your need to have your father with you. My advice to your father would be to go to the visa interview without any fear whatsoever. What is there to fear, a visa denial? It would be unpleasant, but your father will survive it. Absence of fear is unbelievably liberating. It will allow your father to tell the consular officer his story, to relate his need on a very personal, human level, and to come across as a sincere, truthful, genuine man - a man who deserves a break. And the break just might be granted.

If your father is inadmissible to the U.S. based on a prior criminal conviction, he should file Form I-192 at a U.S. Consulate along with his business visitor application. He should also follow the instructions for Form I-192 on the USCIS website to ensure he submits all of the appropriate supporting documentation. With the visitor visa application, he should submit strong proof of ties to his home country including residence, employment and family connections, etc.

You might want to try to apply for a waiver. There are some other means to deal with this problem. However, it will be hard for you to deal with it without help of an immigration attorney.

Unfortunately, he will likely be denied because, in the eyes of the U.S. Embassy/Consulate, nothing would stop your father from overstaying and remaining in the U.S. That stated, he can certainly try to get a tourist visa, but do not get his hopes up.

I cannot give you an exact answer without knowing the type of crime & its classification based state law.