I very happy..

[ndalessandro 0]

No no, my fiance did not get her K-1 yet. That would be quite impossible... and a miracle if it was approved that quick LOL... or even to get an NOA2 that quickly.

But for now, what she did get, will do quite nicely until that process is over.

She just got her B1/B2 Visa from the US consulate in Yektainberg.

The amazing thing is though.... when I got a Tourist Visa to visit Russia in July, it was only for 30 days. Her tourist visa, is good for 1 year. It's crazy. Her expire date on visa is September 19th, 2009.

Anyway, she is coming to visit me in October and she is planning on staying for 25 days. We are going to visit my parents. The rest of time , she will be staying with me in Florida.. joy joy!!

Yes yes, I already told her to bring all her documents with her, that she sent to the consulate, such as her Certified letter from her job stating her title, salary, and she would return to work. her financial statements, that she owns a flat, and that she has a significant amount of family.

I am still amazed though that she got it, because she is single and childless. But, maybe because she is a lawyer for the republic of bashkortostan government, our government looked favorably on her and issued the visa.

She said the whole interview was very short. She waited in the lobby longer than the interview took.. and the gentlemen who interviewed her was very pleasant and friendly. Something else I did not expect.

Anyway, wanted to share my joy. Maybe give someone else a little hope that their fiance can get a Visitor visa also. Who knows, maybe our government is loosening the leash a little on single russian women.

Nick

[ndalessandro 0]

I also wanted to add. Even though I was surprised that the visa is valid for 1 year, I made it very clear in my letter of invite I gave to her, to give to consulate that she is only staying 25 days.

The reason why?

When you intend for someone to stay longer than 1 month, consulates and CBP's start getting suspicious.

They are not stupid. They have been doing this for a long time. If you write down that your 'friend' is going to visit for 3-4 months... pretty good chance, your going to be denied visa. And if your not denied visa, than at POE, the CBP will give a I-94 form, limiting her visit to 1 month.

It is almost tempting. You have a visa valid for 12 months.... hey, why not let her stay for 12 months with me? Whatever you do, do not do it. Do not take the bait LOL.

Later on down the road, you will thank yourself when your fiance goes to interview for her K-1, and they see she left the country and did indeed return before 1 month. It will look favorably on her, that she is trustworthy and respectful.

Nick

[Satellite 1]

It is almost tempting. You have a visa valid for 12 months.... hey, why not let her stay for 12 months with me? Whatever you do, do not do it. Do not take the bait LOL.

You are indeed very lucky. I would suggest you review the law and vast options available to you which were not given to others becasue we had our requests for US tourist visas denied.

First of all, no matter how long the visa is valid for, you are only going to get a maximum of 6 months of status on the I-94. And most folks actually get the 6 months once they get passed the POE.

Next, if your "girl friend" and I would call her that if you want to exercise all her options is just coming over for 25 days to see if you two are going to be a compatible couple then you do have the legal option to actually apply for Adjustment of Status here in the US and by pass the entire K waiting period if you realize you are indeed compatible.

Things to remember:

You cannot have immigrant intent when you enter the US on a tourist visa. You can have the intent to visit your significant other to check for compatibility issues. Do not leave your home country by rapping up all loose ends like quiting your job, moving all your belongings, selling your property, and taking all your money.

Make the decision to stay in the US and get married a spur of the moment thing rather than preplanned. If you get my rift, then you need understand how the immigration officer will be adjudicating your adjustment of status application.

If you apply for OAS within 30 days of arrival it is presumed you had intent to immigrate. If you apply more than 60 days after arrival it is presumed you did not. Between 30 and 60 can go either way. You can look it up in their public procedural manual. FAM X.XX something, I'm not going to research it for you.

For those of you that think K1 / K3 is the only valid and most common way of adjusting status or that the method I described above is a likely denial, you are only kidding yourself.

[mox 298]

I agree that it's good to know all your options. However, if I understand correctly, she can only adjust status after they get married. Which means that if AOS is denied, his wife will have to leave the country and they will then have to file K3/IR1. And when their interview comes up 6-8 months later, they're going to have to explain why they married on a tourist visa and why she was denied AOS. An initial AOS denial would probably indicate the adjudicator felt there was fraud. During the K3/IR1 interview, the consulate would very likely conclude the same. Seems to me a very risky strategy that could end up with the FSU spouse not being able to obtain a visa.

A K1 would be the safer way to go, and you'd have a nice bonus under your belt in that the consulate would see that she came over on a tourist visa and left when she was supposed to. That goes a long way towards proving bona fides.

As Sat points out though, do the research and know your options.

[ndalessandro 0]

Next, if your "girl friend" and I would call her that if you want to exercise all her options is just coming over for 25 days to see if you two are going to be a compatible couple then you do have the legal option to actually apply for Adjustment of Status here in the US and by pass the entire K waiting period if you realize you are indeed compatible.

No no. I do not want to bypass anything. I submitted the 129f roughly around the same time she submitted her DS156 for tourism. We have already decided that she is only coming for 25 days. No more. She is mainly coming to meet my parents and to see the USA way of life. I can not say I blame her. I am asking her to move to the USA, she should at least see it first.

Plus, she has business of her own to finish in her country. Such as giving her job ample notice of her leaving (she works for the government, so if she screws them, who knows... maybe they make it difficult for her to visit her family on vacations LOL) and selling her flat. So, she has to back anyway.

Do not leave your home country by rapping up all loose ends like quiting your job, moving all your belongings, selling your property, and taking all your money.

No no, of course not. That is why she is going back. To begin the process of wrapping up her loose ends, while we wait for the K-1 process.

Make the decision to stay in the US and get married a spur of the moment thing rather than preplanned. If you get my rift, then you need understand how the immigration officer will be adjudicating your adjustment of status application.

No no, I understand what you are saying. I also know, from reading other people's past experiences... if your Significant other intends to enter the USA and stay for more than a month, they get suspicious.

Even though the consulate and Homeland security do not answer to the same person.. the Customs officier isn't going to just deny someone at POE, without a valid reason, if the consulate just issued a brand new visa to enter.

Customs begins denying people when they have already visited before, and now they try to visit again to soon. Or for too long. Example being, if she visited me for 4 months. Left. Than tried coming back again in 2 months, to visit me for another 5 months. They would probably become very very wary of her motives... no matter how innocent they may be.

Nick

[ndalessandro 0]

I agree that it's good to know all your options. However, if I understand correctly, she can only adjust status after they get married. Which means that if AOS is denied, his wife will have to leave the country and they will then have to file K3/IR1. And when their interview comes up 6-8 months later, they're going to have to explain why they married on a tourist visa and why she was denied AOS. An initial AOS denial would probably indicate the adjudicator felt there was fraud. During the K3/IR1 interview, the consulate would very likely conclude the same. Seems to me a very risky strategy that could end up with the FSU spouse not being able to obtain a visa.

A K1 would be the safer way to go, and you'd have a nice bonus under your belt in that the consulate would see that she came over on a tourist visa and left when she was supposed to. That goes a long way towards proving bona fides.

As Sat points out though, do the research and know your options.

I have no intention of bypassing the system or process. We are very resolute to do this the honest and legal way. She is seriously just entering for 25 days to visit my parents and check out where and how I live in USA.

1 months has gone by now. When she visits in october.. and I visit her in russia again in January... before we know it, it will be almost ready. So no... no need to risk anything.

I am sure it will be a stark contrast of weather in january though, from when I visited her in July LOL. Brrrrr.

And your right. As I said in my first post.. reading other peoples experiences, the consulate will look favorably upon her when she visits the USA.. and she did leave the USA when she said she would.

But if she overstayed her visit or we tried doing something shady because we lacked resolve.. who knows what could happen later on down the road.

Nick

[mox 298]

Even though the consulate and Homeland security do not answer to the same person.. the Customs officier isn't going to just deny someone at POE, without a valid reason, if the consulate just issued a brand new visa to enter.

Actually, you'd be surprised. Immigration (not customs) is the law at POE. They can deny entry because they had a fight with their wife last night. It happens all the time, and they don't need a valid reason, or let's just say they can come up with a reason if they need to. I don't say this to scare you, but there are all kinds of stories on VJ where this has happened, and not just from FSU countries. I recall one instance of it happening to a British citizen.

Given that your situation is atypical (single FSU woman entering on a tourist visa) it could be prudent to have an immigration attorney on standby when she arrives. Also make sure she has a cell phone that works in the US when she disembarks. That way if she has problems at POE, she can immediately call you, and you can immediately call the lawyer, who can start working on her behalf to make sure they don't stick her back on the next flight back to Moscow.

Edited September 28, 2008 by mox

[slim 1,530]

Given that your situation is atypical (single FSU woman entering on a tourist visa) it could be prudent to have an immigration attorney on standby when she arrives. Also make sure she has a cell phone that works in the US when she disembarks. That way if she has problems at POE, she can immediately call you, and you can immediately call the lawyer, who can start working on her behalf to make sure they don't stick her back on the next flight back to Moscow.

Totally unnecessary.

[mox 298]

Totally unnecessary.

Probably. At least one VJ member in the last year was saved by this. ~$25 for a disposable cell phone, and $0 to call a lawyer and say "hey, you mind if I call you if we have any problems at POE?" Cheap insurance if you ask me.

[ndalessandro 0]

Totally unnecessary.

Probably. At least one VJ member in the last year was saved by this. ~$25 for a disposable cell phone, and $0 to call a lawyer and say "hey, you mind if I call you if we have any problems at POE?" Cheap insurance if you ask me.

disposable cell phone? I am intrigued? Could you tell me more about this, as I was worrying a bit about how she would call me if she got lost in the terminal.

Nick

[mox 298]

disposable cell phone? I am intrigued? Could you tell me more about this, as I was worrying a bit about how she would call me if she got lost in the terminal.

You can buy these at most grocery stores, drug stores, probably some consumer electronic stores, etc. Do an internet search too, you can probably get some good deals online.

[akdiver 3]

disposable cell phone? I am intrigued? Could you tell me more about this, as I was worrying a bit about how she would call me if she got lost in the terminal.

You can get them at Walmart for cheap. Last time I was there, they had AT&T prepaid phones with SIM for $10.

[slim 1,530]

Totally unnecessary.

Probably. At least one VJ member in the last year was saved by this. ~$25 for a disposable cell phone, and $0 to call a lawyer and say "hey, you mind if I call you if we have any problems at POE?" Cheap insurance if you ask me.

This wasn't a member of the Russia Forum, was it? As far as I know there've been almost no problems (other than delays and sitting in the room for "questioning") and everyone has entered without a problem. Which leads me to believe the Russian embassy makes sure the paperwork is in order and most folks can walk on through without a problem.

Totally unnecessary.

Probably. At least one VJ member in the last year was saved by this. ~$25 for a disposable cell phone, and $0 to call a lawyer and say "hey, you mind if I call you if we have any problems at POE?" Cheap insurance if you ask me.

disposable cell phone? I am intrigued? Could you tell me more about this, as I was worrying a bit about how she would call me if she got lost in the terminal.

Nick

We're talking about adults here, right?

It is still possible to make a phone call from a payphone. You have a cell phone, right? She has the number, right? She can get change and use a pay phone.... right?

Guys, I know there's a tendancy to want to try to make everything as hassle free and easy as possible, but keep in mind, your wife/girlfriend has been just fine without you for years and years. She should be OK at the airport without needing a disposable cell phone and an attorney on standby.

I'm not saying don't have a good plan and even a "plan B" but what I am saying is if you worry this much about her coming through the airport, how is she going to survive all day without you while you're at work?

[mox 298]

This wasn't a member of the Russia Forum, was it? As far as I know there've been almost no problems (other than delays and sitting in the room for "questioning") and everyone has entered without a problem. Which leads me to believe the Russian embassy makes sure the paperwork is in order and most folks can walk on through without a problem.

I don't believe it was a RU forum member. This was in the "case status" forum IIRC. I did a quick search but couldn't find it, but basically what happened was that the woman was denied entry, she called her fiance on the cell phone he had provided to her, and he called his lawyer who immediately got an injunction on deportation (before they had even decided to deport her) until a proper hearing could be scheduled. No hearing was necessary, and after a few hours she was allowed to enter on her visa. I recall that the lawyer agreed to be "on call" for no fee, but I don't recall what his intervention ultimately cost. It's even possible that the situation would have worked out in their favor had he not intervened, but if you ask me it was probably a couple hundred dollars well spent.

We're talking about adults here, right?

It is still possible to make a phone call from a payphone. You have a cell phone, right? She has the number, right? She can get change and use a pay phone.... right?

I don't know how available pay phones are at any given port of entry. I have come in through 3 different POE's over the last 10 years and can't remember if there were any or not. And more importantly, I don't know if there are pay phones in the particular area they're going to hold your fiancee in while they are trying to determine if they want to let her in or not. From what I understand, they put you in a room where you could sit for possibly hours.

If you are going to go the "hope there are pay phones" route, you should at least arrange for her to have some quarters. (I don't know if you can get change through airport currency exchange kiosks or not.)

Guys, I know there's a tendancy to want to try to make everything as hassle free and easy as possible, but keep in mind, your wife/girlfriend has been just fine without you for years and years. She should be OK at the airport without needing a disposable cell phone and an attorney on standby.

I post mainly in the RU forum nowadays, but I do still hop around and see what's going on with other people. And one of the things I've noticed is that couples here in the RU forum have had some mostly very good luck. But look outside the RU forum. There are some real horror stories. VJ is filled with sad POE stories, some of which you could have seen coming a hundred miles away, but some that were just completely inexplicable. Recall Kevin and Natasha's problem at the consulate...it's not a POE story, but if there was ANYBODY that was 100% prepared it was that couple, and yet they still got yanked around.

The fact is that USCIS rule their POE's like the State Department runs their consulates: like little fiefdoms. I'm sure most immigration agents are fair and straight dealers. But there is always going to be the inevitable joker in the deck. It's awesome that your lady didn't draw that joker, but if my lady draws the joker then I want to have some kind of backup. USCIS are overworked and short staffed. They pull your lady into the white room and a half hour later have a fax from her lawyer wanting to know just how much of their precious time and resources he's going to be able to use up for the next couple weeks, and all of a sudden she starts looking like more trouble than she's worth to them.

I'm not saying don't have a good plan and even a "plan B" but what I am saying is if you worry this much about her coming through the airport, how is she going to survive all day without you while you're at work?

That's not really a fair comparison. It's like saying "if you're going to use a GPS for your cross-country trip to grandmas, how are you going to survive all day without one when you get home?"

I don't have to tell you that a lot of time, energy, and emotion go into this process. But after all the paperwork and the interview and the medical, etc, etc, the absolute most critical piece, and the piece that is most out of your hands, is her getting past that immigration agent. He does not have to honor her visa, and he can come up with any reason he wants for refusing entry. So giving her a cell phone that she can use to call you in an "oh-####### they stuck me in a little white room and I don't know what's going on" situation doesn't seem like coddling to me.

In the case of the original poster, as far as USCIS is concerned all her visa gets her is the opportunity to stand in front of an immigration officer at the airport to justify her existence. If she were coming in on a K visa, I wouldn't be so concerned. But as a single FSU woman coming to visit her boyfriend on a tourist visa, she's going to get extra scrutiny at the very least. I would want to be very prepared.

[Ana&D 0]

Generally you are not allowed to use the cell phone in the holding areas, at least in JFK. I seriously wouldn't stress too much. Just tell your SO to be honest and carry proof of her ties to Russia and the fact that she is indeed leaving in 25 days.