Bringing someone from Ukraine with a child to US

[cameraguymn]

What is the best route?

Considering it would be preferable not to separate the gf and her child. K1? I-130?

For those of you who has gone through the process what is the best route to get both child and mother here to US? If I-130 both mother and child can come together or will there be two petitions?

[Goombah]

I would recommend the Fiancé K1 visa, a K2 will come along with it for the child (presuming its under 18 years of age).


This presumes you have not already married her and adopted her child.


Back when I did it back in 2005 it took about 8 months to get her and her child here - and there were no shortcuts.  K3 (married) took just as long.


I would highly suggest visiting http://visajourney.com to get an estimate of current processing times.


The process is not quick or easy, nor should it be.  It use to be about 80% around protecting you, although that has shifted a bit since then with IMBRA passage.


Make sure you keep every scrap of physical evidence you have been to visit her - airline ticket stubs, hotel receipts, photos with both of you in them, etc.  We also submitted all 640 e-mail messages we had exchanged.


The K1 process starts with the I-129F form.  Guessing the K3 is the I-130?


Anyhow, the K1 protects you a bit as well.  It grants her a 90 stay in the USA, extended ONLY if she marries you during that time and applies for a temporary residence card afterwards.  Many folks (myself included) shoot for a marriage around 60 days into the process.  Enough time to get to really know each other (presumably living together), and a buffer to handle any last-minute delays.

[cameraguymn]

Thank you!

I didn't know you can bring both mother and child for the 90 day visit.

Of course this is a little early on our journey but I just wanted have some plan in place because I understand that the process can take time.

[2tallbill]

Thank you!

I didn't know you can bring both mother and child for the 90 day visit.

Of course this is a little early on our journey but I just wanted have some plan in place because I understand that the process can take time.

It sounds like this is far too early for a fiance visa.

A K1 visa is a finance visa not a 90 day visit. It's so that you can plan a wedding
they fully expect you to get married at the end of the 90 days.

I would advise getting some nice visa's and stamps in their passports.
With Angel Eyes and Smiley Girl we got Schengen visa's and they went
to Spain, then Angel Eyes got a tourist visa to the USA (Smiley Girl stayed
home) and came to meet in the USA and went home. Getting valuable
US exit stamps in her passport.

Later on both Angel Eyes and Smiley Girl got tourist visa's to the USA.

You can read more of my story in the Trip Report section.

[Boethius]

Ukrainians don't require a Schengen visa to go to EU countries.  However, they do need to provide proof of sufficient finances.

[ML]

It sounds like this is far too early for a fiance visa.

A K1 visa is a finance visa not a 90 day visit. It's so that you can plan a wedding
they fully expect you to get married at the end of the 90 days.

I would advise getting some nice visa's and stamps in their passports.
With Angel Eyes and Smiley Girl we got Schengen visa's and they went
to Spain, then Angel Eyes got a tourist visa to the USA (Smiley Girl stayed
home) and came to meet in the USA and went home. Getting valuable
US exit stamps in her passport.

Later on both Angel Eyes and Smiley Girl got tourist visa's to the USA.

You can read more of my story in the Trip Report section.

This is very good advice.
Be sure you want to marry the gal and she wants to marry you  . . . before she arrives on 90 day fiancee visa.
Don't rush this, even as we know you want to have a hot chick in your bed ASAP.

[cameraguymn]

This was pretty unexpected for me. Lately I've been leaning towards my correspondences with Russian ladies more with nary a thought for Ukrainians till I got a lovely response from this Ukrainian woman. We've been on whatsapp for the past 3 weeks and it's looking very promising.

She is a bonafide 10 and probably a tad younger than what I was searching for but it feels right - as right as it can be through virtual communications-phone calls and video chats.

I would not even broach the topic of marriage till the second trip to see her. I hope our first trip will be several days in Kiev and perhaps a vacation in Greece, Italy or France wherever she can go freely.  I'll go back the fall and see the rest of the family.

I'm hopeful to get vaccinated and when the borders open I'll book the first flight to see them.  Hoping for June or sooner. Here's to hoping for the best but keeping my feet on the ground with being smart about things.

[ML]

Are you the same Cameraguy who was around on these discussion sites 15 or more years ago, and who had brought a FSU gal over already that didn't work out ??

[Goombah]

Hmmm.  Young 10's... everything a man can want... starts to raise the "If its too good to be true... it probably is" flag.  Unless, of course, your prime man material:  30-35 years old with a great income or independent wealth and at least an 8.


That said, 1st priority is to get on a plane to meet her.  A week visit worked for me... long enough to know if she is real, and really interested in you, short enough not to blow all your vacation time.  So emphasis the need for vaccination (and perhaps check into others) and remember the golden rule:  Never send money to a lady you have never met (and its close friend:  Don't fall in love with a picture)[size=78%].[/size]


Have a backup plan.  I really enjoyed Kiev once I figured out the subway system (super cheap, just don't have cameras or other goodies hanging lose - you will lose them.  Likewise, suggest carrying your wallet in your front pocket, with your hand over it.)


I suggest you don't offer a fancy vacation.  Your going there to get to know her, not provide her with a vacation.  That comes later.  Your first trip is designed to spend time with her - buy her dinner (of course) every night your there.  Ask her to show you her town.  If your meeting in Kiev (or some other city), suggest you spend a few days exploring the city, then go to her town.  If you get the "my family doesn't know I'm dating an American", run.  The end point is marriage, not keeping a secret from her family.


Once there, buy her flowers and other trinkets.  For a first trip, I'd recommend avoiding anything super expensive ($100 is fine, $1000 is not).  At the end of the night, if she is not staying with you, offer to pay for cab fare, or better yet, take the cab with her, then just return to your hotel.  That will give you extra talk time, and perhaps a bit of body language communication as well (does she sit close, or as far away as possible?  Does she engage, or just nod off?).


In the meantime, start taking Russian lessons if you have not already.  Even knowing a few words can go a long way - say enough to be polite but not enough to carry a conversation.  It shows that you care, your looking to integrate your world and hers, and not expecting her to forego what she knows and learn everything your way.


If I'm sounding harsh, sorry.  My recently passed brother spent 10 years being scammed by woman from Africa, despite my best efforts to educate him (we actually stopped talking for about 5 years).  When he passed, he was dead broke and his friends told me he sent every dollar, to the tune of $500,000, to his three scammer girls that he was absolutely convinced where real.

[cameraguymn]

Not me. This will be my first time though I've had a few Russian and Ukrainian girlfriends when I visited those two countries.

Are you the same Cameraguy who was around on these discussion sites 15 or more years ago, and who had brought a FSU gal over already that didn't work out ??

[cameraguymn]

Yeah I hear you. The funny thing is that her beauty actually made me not want to pursue her. I'm looking for a pretty teacher type not someone who looks like a model everyday. From experience - too much drama, guys hitting on her, jealousy issues, insecurity issues. But as we communicated we gradually discovered that we share many similar values and outlook on life and relationships. The greatest thing is that she has an American sense of humor. Well I'll go into this with an open mind.

As for a vacation - I would like to take her out of the Ukrainian society and mindset and see how she adjusts to Western life - plus I'd like to have a nice vacation too.

Being practical (although I will have pangs of guilt) I'll probably visit plan B and C too.

Hmmm.  Young 10's... everything a man can want... starts to raise the "If its too good to be true... it probably is" flag.  Unless, of course, your prime man material:  30-35 years old with a great income or independent wealth and at least an 8.


That said, 1st priority is to get on a plane to meet her.  A week visit worked for me... long enough to know if she is real, and really interested in you, short enough not to blow all your vacation time.  So emphasis the need for vaccination (and perhaps check into others) and remember the golden rule:  Never send money to a lady you have never met (and its close friend:  Don't fall in love with a picture)[size=78%].[/size]


Have a backup plan.  I really enjoyed Kiev once I figured out the subway system (super cheap, just don't have cameras or other goodies hanging lose - you will lose them.  Likewise, suggest carrying your wallet in your front pocket, with your hand over it.)


I suggest you don't offer a fancy vacation.  Your going there to get to know her, not provide her with a vacation.  That comes later.  Your first trip is designed to spend time with her - buy her dinner (of course) every night your there.  Ask her to show you her town.  If your meeting in Kiev (or some other city), suggest you spend a few days exploring the city, then go to her town.  If you get the "my family doesn't know I'm dating an American", run.  The end point is marriage, not keeping a secret from her family.


Once there, buy her flowers and other trinkets.  For a first trip, I'd recommend avoiding anything super expensive ($100 is fine, $1000 is not).  At the end of the night, if she is not staying with you, offer to pay for cab fare, or better yet, take the cab with her, then just return to your hotel.  That will give you extra talk time, and perhaps a bit of body language communication as well (does she sit close, or as far away as possible?  Does she engage, or just nod off?).


In the meantime, start taking Russian lessons if you have not already.  Even knowing a few words can go a long way - say enough to be polite but not enough to carry a conversation.  It shows that you care, your looking to integrate your world and hers, and not expecting her to forego what she knows and learn everything your way.


If I'm sounding harsh, sorry.  My recently passed brother spent 10 years being scammed by woman from Africa, despite my best efforts to educate him (we actually stopped talking for about 5 years).  When he passed, he was dead broke and his friends told me he sent every dollar, to the tune of $500,000, to his three scammer girls that he was absolutely convinced where real.

[ML]

The greatest thing is that she has an American sense of humor.

Red flag there !!

Could be you are communicating with an American man.

[cameraguymn]

We videochat through whatsapp, I've seen her daughter, her entire apartment, seen her in the morning, before they go to sleep, while they eat - in short I've basically been there with her virtually without actually being there with her.

Yeah if I were just emailing...that would be a red flag for sure. I've emailed a few women who I knew were scammers but only reinforced it with American idioms and phrases that usually not known to most foreigners.

Red flag there !!

Could be you are communicating with an American man.