Russian coming to visit me

[ECOCKS]

I can not see the point in arguing about how many RW can of have a visa. The #'s are there for visa's approved but this is useless without knowing how many were rejected.

I personally think that it has become much easier for Russians to get visa's. My wife and I have business acquaintances with quite a few Russians(more than 10) that come to the states 3 or 4 times a year. Many times they bring their wives with them also.

The last time I had an ad hoc estimate from the Embassy in Kyiv they estimated roughly 30% success on a visa application, overall. For the K1 and K3 applications they said the number ranges from 40% to 70% with the biggest difference being based upon the age of the woman.

Also, keep in mind that a large percentage of these visa issuances are specialized. a work/travel visa is single entry for a specified period of time, as are single entry business visas for training, student visas for HS and college attendance, single entry personal ones for a vacation trip and, of course, the multiple entry visas for family include many married, family members of permanent residents would probably not be too interested in dating while here.

Along that note, for those who wish to increase the odds of acceptance there are many things that can be done. None of which involve anything illegal or terribly tricky. They do require planning and time though.

1. One good thing about meeting your GF outside the country, especially in Schengen countries, is that it establishes her "track record" for going and coming back. Once you have the first one the second one is easier and so on. Multiple Schengens to more developed countries are considered indicators of stability and show a pattern of intention to return.

2. A well-written invitation letter which provides explanations while avoiding blustering about your political connections and pleadings of putting up deposits and letting the government hold your passport will be taken more seriously. Like any profession or worker group, the consular service and Embassy staff have their little emails of crazy things people put in their letters to support these visa requests. Try not to make their next years pass along emails of stupidest things stated in an invitation letter.
3. While having a bank statement and proof of ownership of property  and/or a business assist in showing stability, state this simply in the letter and take along a file folder with basic information regarding the property, account or business. They don't have time to go through the folder and will only ask if the applicant is "on the edge."

4. Be patient and take the long view. If your GF has never had a visa out of her country and is at all marginal, plan your visits and build the pattern they wish to see. Think of building credit for your teenager or taking jobs to gain enough experience to prepare your resume for that perfect job you are targeting. These steps will also stand you in good stead when you are laying the foundation for the K1 or K3 application down the road.

[HiTech]

Did some stat looking on visas after reading this thread.

The one that really surprised me was that only about  1000 K visas are issued from Kiev a year. It just put things in perspective how few men every really find a woman from the FSU.

HiTech

[ECOCKS]

There was also a study about 2 years ago that indicated almost 10% of the K-1's do NOT get married and of those that do, 41-42% end in divorce which was slightly below the national average.

[HiTech]

There was also a study about 2 years ago that indicated almost 10% of the K-1's do

This conflicts with numbers I hear from some lawyers handling K-1s who put the return rate at about 40 - 45%, the numbers I have are not necessarily accurate so I am wondering what type of study was it?

Dale

[Ronnie]

Did some stat looking on visas after reading this thread.

The one that really surprised me was that only about  1000 K visas are issued from Kiev a year. It just put things in perspective how few men every really find a woman from the FSU.

HiTech

So few men get the butts on a plane.  What's that term, "keyboard Casanovas?"

I personally think more than 10% of the K-1 don't result in marriage, but also don't think it's as high as the lawyers estimate.

[ECOCKS]

This conflicts with numbers I hear from some lawyers handling K-1s who put the return rate at about 40 - 45%, the numbers I have are not necessarily accurate so I am wondering what type of study was it?

Dale

Have to look for it. Will post it when/if I can track it down again. That 40-45% may be the attempt to range across the 42% or so figure. The main point of the discussion surrounding it was that the K-1's (and they also MAY have been lumped with the K-3's) worked out slightly more favorable than the US divorce statistic.

[SANDRO43]

So few men get the butts on a plane.  What's that term, "keyboard Casanovas?"

Keyboard Romeos .

[kievstar]

Need to remember that the number of UW marrying men from Western Europe and other areas of the World (not including Eastern Europe) is more than ten times that of USA.  This means leaving the country and living somewhere else.  USA is only a small piece of the foreign marriage industry within Ukraine. 

50% of all K-1's end in failure within 3 years for USA and UW.  This includes women who return within 3 months.  K-3 has a higher success range but not by much.  International marriage is not easy.  Easy part is getting her to the USA.  Hard part is making it work.  For guys out there thinking it is easy once she goes over the pond - you have a lot to learn. 

[JR]

Easy part is getting her to the USA.  Hard part is making it work.  For guys out there thinking it is easy once she goes over the pond - you have a lot to learn. 

Very, very well said.

[Ronnie]

Keyboard Romeos .

As a life-long Alfista, I refuse to associate the name Romeo with anything unbecoming.

[Sculpto]

As a life-long Alfista, I refuse to associate the name Romeo with anything unbecoming.

Crap, now I have to like you..

[SANDRO43]

As a life-long Alfista, I refuse to associate the name Romeo with anything unbecoming.

You should visit Alfa's historical museum at the now abandoned Portello plant (Arese, 15 Km NNW of Milan), then.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkTv5wwyenE[/youtube]

You may get a quick glimple of the pedal arrangement in the older models: the gas pedal then was placed BETWEEN the brake and clutch pedals, and looked like an oversized nail, which made me understand the origin of our old expression "Schiaccia il chiodo!" for flooring it .

[mies]

It's RARE to find FSU citizens, particularly young, unmarried females with multiple entry US visas.

my sister has one  

and my 5 female friends - all in the range of 20-30 have multiple entry 5year visas for USA too. They pay for their tickets to USA. Girls have been here several times, my sister so far once.

[ECOCKS]

Great!