Unclosed K-1 and tourist visa to US

[tfcrew]

Getting a visa for you to visit Russia or Ukraine is not a big deal (if you do the right things), but for a young single Russian woman, visiting you, is for many western countries not even possible, for example the US and Canada (but there are more). These countries only allow single Russian women to enter using a K1-Fiancée visa or a Spouse visa.
For us it is impossible to publish all information about these complex visa-rules and keep it up-to-date. For this reason we give you high-lights and many links to official (Government) websites about visa, immigration and naturalization.  

http://www.russian-women-info.com/visa-immigration/visa-immigration.htm

I've never asked anyone to 'just take my word for it'.
Why are there so many of these marriage agencies if a foreign woman can just walk up and request a visa?
If a RW is married...has a big bank account..looks like the rear-end of a goat...she can probably get a tourist visa.

[roykirk]

Well, my wife was only my girlfriend at the time, and she certainly doesn't look like anyone's rear end.   :seething:  She did make more money than most of her friends, and she owned her own flat, so I wouldn't doubt that part helped her out a lot.  Her experience from her day at the consulate was that she met 7 other women standing in line around her.  Four were young single women going for a tourist visa, two were young single women going for a student visa, and one was an older woman trying to get a tourist visa to visit her daughter and grandchild.  All of the young women got their visas (including my wife obviously), but the old woman trying to visit family was denied.  What irritated my wife was the two young women who were going for the student visas.  They confided in her that they had no intention of ever returning to Russia. 

[ladyR]

Hopefully you will but don't get your hopes too high on the November interview. The consulate seem to operate at it's own very slow pace.

Thanks, I think I"ll need a solid piece of luck . I think I relatively meet other criteria - of course I'm not an owner of oil shaht , but I have a good job+additional family business+property+several trips to Europe (Shengen visas)+close relatives here.

On the Pony Express site they have a kind of "service" which shows the date of future interviews if you bring them the papers this day. For example for today the date for potential interviews is November, 20 - that's why I'm thinking about the end of November.

The US government are the worst violators of their own laws.
One consolation is that there will be a judgment day and the bureaucrats can choke on their own hypocracy.

But it's me who want to visit the country, so I have to play by the rules. But if US governnent will want to visit me I think I'll be more friendly and a little more logical - I'll never force them to marry someone from Russia ).

[tfcrew]

Hi RoyKirk...
I did read your thread here with interest..

http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?topic=8145.msg148062#msg148062

..along with the others since your intro last year.

While I still think about the exception rather than the rule perhaps there are others here who managed to get an other than K-1 visa?

***PS By all means did I wish not to insinuate that one's lady or any lady here  at RWD was anything short of georgeous !!
Super good luck........................
Karl

[roykirk]

While they may jump in on their own, I believe Blues Fairy received a tourist visa.  I also think it was Jooky who has had more than one woman visit him on a tourist visa (but I could be wrong on that name).  

You may be right that it's still the exception.  I couldn't guess how many RW who apply for a tourist visa actually get one.  If they meet all the criteria I listed, I'd bet it's around a 70% approval rate.  If they don't, I'm sure it drops off dramatically.  What probably kills a lot of them is #2 and #5.  Most RW who are single and young seem to live with their parents or other family, thus they probably don't own much, if anything.  Most RW who are single and young probably don't travel much either, or at least to countries outside the FSU. 

[Kunstkammer]

My fiancee just got a good for 1 year multi-entry tourist visa for the United States with very little trouble, nobody else she saw there got denied either.  She is single never married, 28, and only the part owner of her flat.  She does have a good paying job with a long tenure. If you look at the items required for the visa they have changed in the past year.  Less stuff is required - remember there is a new presidential administration that sends new types of guidance to the consulates, so stuff that was happening a year ago, is different now.

She brought: a notarized print out of her bank account - did not need to show it; her work book showing all of her employment history - was not looked at; an itinerary of what she wanted to do in the USA - was not asked about it; a paper showing her % of ownership of her flat - told it was not needed.

The consulate looked at her passport with 4 years of visas (also 3 Finland Shengen Union Visas) and was asked what she did in Israel and Egypt, then asked a few standard questions, and said she would get her visa in 2 working days.

Since we live, and plan to continue living in Russia, I can't offer any advice about K1 visas, but "tourist visas are impossible for young Easter European women" is a not true statement. 

Although I can see if it is a young single woman from a village with no money and a low paying job and nothing worth wild to return to her not getting a tourist visa - as tourism requires money.

[ladyR]

Kunstkammer, thank you  for the interesting information about the interview!

From what I've read by this moment I think that in consulate they have a kind of "preliminary" selection and divide people into three groups according to the questionnaire. 1st - high risk group (relatives, friends in USA, no job, too young etc.). If for example a person is a very young single girl with friends in USA, not a student, no work, living in a small town, no Shengen visas - I think that they will ask just " formal" several questions but the answer will be no in any case. 2 group - people who have some positive and negatives scores - in this case the decision will be based on the results of an interview and in this case they can ask to show property papers, papers from work etc. 3 group - people with more positive scores (I think that your fiancee was in this group), they just ask several formal questions and the answer is "yes".

I sent my papers to consulate for now and I'll have an interview at the end of November (as expected). I also asked my former fiance to write and sign a letter about visa cancellation and wrote such letter myself too.

[dogspot]

Best of luck to you, ladyR. I have my fingers (and toes) crossed for you. Please let us know how it goes.

[Ronnie]

The prior petition for a fiancee visa can easily be, and should be, considered evidence of intent to immigrate.  The fact that the petition was cancelled doesn't change alter the evidence of intent.  First of all, it is not she who cancels it, its the US citizen who must do so.  Second, as the cancellation says is that maybe she found a bigger better deal.  Nothing to mitigate the presumption of intent to immigrate, in fact the fact that she now seeks a different type of visa is pretty strong evidence against her.

As to the stories of others getting visas of various sorts, they are not supportive of anything.  As Kunstkammer pointed out, prior travel outside the FSU helps the situation where there is no apparent intent to immigrate.

My opinion is that the OP will likely be rejected in her quest for a tourist visa.

[ladyR]

Hi everyone and thank you again for you comments and advices!

I got it!! Today I've received my passport from Pony Express. But I think that it was a very big portion of luck and the interview in general was funny, because we were speaking about dating sites with the consulate person ). He told me that he met his wife on Eharmony . Speaking about other questions - I explained my situation with K1 plus I told him about my work - that's all. Still don't beleive, but should go searching for a flight to NYC! Very excited

[Faux Pas]

Congrats ladyR! I hope you enjoy your trip 

[Kunstkammer]

Hi everyone and thank you again for you comments and advices!

I got it!! Today I've received my passport from Pony Express. But I think that it was a very big portion of luck and the interview in general was funny, because we were speaking about dating sites with the consulate person ). He told me that he met his wife on Eharmony . Speaking about other questions - I explained my situation with K1 plus I told him about my work - that's all. Still don't beleive, but should go searching for a flight to NYC! Very excited

See, this nonsense about Russian single women getting automatically denied is just not (or no longer) true.  It depends on your situation, as it should.

Now make sure you don't buy a 500 dollar car in Brighton Beach to drive to Chicago in to meet your brother.  You might have to hitch a ride with a truck driver and rescue a prostitute from the streets or something.   

[Gylden]

Big congratulations!
I hope others here take note in your experience.
My wife also got both a shengen visa and a multi entry business visa to the US. At the time she was getting plenty of negativism from forum posters who said it was not possible.
Probably the most important item during this process is to be truthful and not to get trapped into thinking you can out smart the immigrations people. They like honesty and dislike scammers.

 

[kievstar]

If a woman can speak good English, has a good education, and has a job with some money in the bank.  Very easy to get visa toursit to USA.

[JohnDearGreen]

2. What are the signs that K-1 is closed ? Our case disappeared from USCIS site? I should wait for the invitation to the interview in Moscow and send them a letter with my refuse? !

A letter will be eventually sent.  But like everything at USCIS, it can take a very long time. I would suggest that you just tell the truth, that you were in the K-1 process, and the cancellation is now in the process queue.  If your ex has a copy of the form he submitted to cancel, maybe you could get a copy of it from him, in case they question you.

[Ronnie]

Be careful what you say when you arrive and are inspected.  A girl from Russia was recently refused entry by CBP because her words were interpreted as an intent to immigrate.  I know the family so this is not hearsay.  What they did was take her passport, put her up overnight in a hotel and arranged with the airline for her to continue to her destination the next day. She was given a notice to appear in 30 days before an immigration judge to determine her deportability.    She were able to get her passport back and the hearing waive and she returned to Russia a week later.

Bottom line, you got lucky at the interview as you acknowledge.  You should be okay at the port of entry unless you do or say something to make them suspicious.