Hi all... starting my journey

[Satellite 1]

She had a nice job... not great paying job, but a teacher at an art university..

She has a two room flat in the middle of St. Pete.. shows ownership..

No car.. bad there..

TWO children.. that were not coming on the visa...

But, unless I can appeal... it is water under the bridge...

Texas Proud, you just don't get it? It isn't about having a car, kids, husband, and flat. It's about having the things that you will want to return to in the eyes of the US consulate. To them her low paying job as an art teacher is something worth abandoning for any higher paying blue collar US job. The point is that, the things she has are all not worth keeping in the eyes of the US consulate and thus they issue a routine denial.

[snz1802 0]

Welcome to VJ, and good luck on your journey

[Neonred 3,564]

but I read the US site saying the things that you 'needed' to show you would return home and she had them... so I guess the site is not telling the truth.. lesson learned..

The site is telling the truth. Like you said you need to prove there is something to return to.

Returning to a $200 a month salary/job?

Returning to a small one bedroom flat?

Return to an old Russian Car?

In the eyes of the American consulate those are not the things a single young woman would want to return to.

However, if she presented documents stating:

She had a 5 bedroom cottage.

Husband and two young kids.

She is an executive of a Russian oil company making $5000+ a month.

Now those are things a US consular officer would consider having strong ties to which you certainly would want to return to.

Invitation from a boyfriend in America...and she has to prove she is not a potential immigrant just doesn't go together.

She had a nice job... not great paying job, but a teacher at an art university..

She has a two room flat in the middle of St. Pete.. shows ownership..

No car.. bad there..

TWO children.. that were not coming on the visa...

But, unless I can appeal... it is water under the bridge...

Yes, we need to visit a few more times to get to know each other better.. I will see about getting another visa to visit her.. or see if she wants to meet at a neutral site.. but I would like it to be with her children... I want to get to know them also..

Oh well, Memorial weekend!! Things will wait until next week..

How about.....Labor Day weekend??

[Texas Proud 0]

How about.....Labor Day weekend??

Hmmm... well, I guess.. if you MUST... I did not even know it was a holiday until Wednesday of last week...

[slim 1,525]

CALENDAR!!!!!

[Marc and Olga 0]

CALENDAR!!!!!

My calendar would not show Labor Day on it...then again my calendar says it is cентябрь. =P

[Texas Proud 0]

CALENDAR!!!!!

A calendar is like instructions... not to be read at any time by a man!!!

[slim 1,525]

Agreed.

But, you'll see that pretty soon, that calendar becomes really important on VJ. You may even start counting days!!!

(By the way, I don't ask for directions either. God invented GPS for a reason, and that reason was so men would never have to ask for directions again!)

[akdiver 3]

Is it true what they say? If you were about to respond with the "Yep, everything is bigger in..." I'll cut you off and let you know that I was going with the "Only steers and...." Anyway, just kidding. (I've got a few buddies from Texas, so I've heard all that stuff before... as I'm sure you have too!)

They talk about big things in Texas - but the fact is, Texas is so small that even if you cut Alaska in half, Texas would be only the third largest state. (;

Cheers!

AKDiver

[Texas Proud 0]

Is it true what they say? If you were about to respond with the "Yep, everything is bigger in..." I'll cut you off and let you know that I was going with the "Only steers and...." Anyway, just kidding. (I've got a few buddies from Texas, so I've heard all that stuff before... as I'm sure you have too!)

They talk about big things in Texas - but the fact is, Texas is so small that even if you cut Alaska in half, Texas would be only the third largest state. (;

Cheers!

AKDiver

Heard it all before... but we do not count ICE as land down here

Now, the trivia that some get.. but most miss... What are the states that are the farthest North, fartherst South, farthest West and finally, farthest East???

[akdiver 3]

Heard it all before... but we do not count ICE as land down here

Only because you don't have any.

Now, the trivia that some get.. but most miss... What are the states that are the farthest North, fartherst South, farthest West and finally, farthest East???

Well, Alaska is the furthest north, east, and west. Hawaii is the obvious choice for furthest south.

Cheers!

AKDiver

[Chuckles 0]

Heard it all before... but we do not count ICE as land down here

Only because you don't have any.

Now, the trivia that some get.. but most miss... What are the states that are the farthest North, fartherst South, farthest West and finally, farthest East???

Well, Alaska is the furthest north, east, and west. Hawaii is the obvious choice for furthest south.

Cheers!

AKDiver

Humm... good trivia question, but I don't quite understand how Alaska is farthest east, how is that determined? The international date line?

[russ 1]

I convinced her that she could get a tourist visa to come visit, to see how Texas is, to meet the family etc... if thing worked out we would then start the fiance visa.. Well, she was refused the tourist visa... I do not know why as it just happened today.. I will get more info when she cools off..

It is exceedingly difficult if she does not have fairly substantial financial resources in Russia.

Meeting in a third country is a far more convenient option. We met in Paris.

I met my wife in the US, so seeing the states wasn't an issue in our case.

I would say that by far, the best all-around option (except for the expense) is an F-1/J-1 visa. Your fiance gets to study in the US, can see you as much as they like, and spend time getting acclimated here. The cost is tuition, payed in advance by you. I would guess at least $10,000-20,000/yr. They may be suspicious why you are paying for it, though.

If you do not intend to marry yet (sounds like this is true), you are not breaking any rules.

Getting married while holding such a visa is frowned upon, but possible. (K-1 would be the favored way)

All this being said, the most practical thing to do is get a K-1 visa when you are both ready.

[akdiver 3]

Humm... good trivia question, but I don't quite understand how Alaska is farthest east, how is that determined? The international date line?

Basic geography man. The Prime Meridian running through England splits east and west (equator splits north and south). Everything east of the Prime meridian is east, and everything west of it is west. The International date line doesn't split east and west per se, but it is 180 degrees from the Prime Meridian, and is the furthest you can go in either direction. If you cross it, then you're actually pretty far east/west, coming from the other way.

Semisopochnoi Island is part of the Rat Islands group in the western Aleutian Islands. At 179°46'E, it is the easternmost location in the United States and North America, as it sits only 14 minutes west of 180°, and therefore in the Eastern Hemisphere. NOTE THE "E" after the longitude. That means EAST. The western most point is Amatignak Island, 179'10'W. Note the "W" after the longitude. That means WEST.

So, Alaska is far more west than Hawaii, and is far more east than Maine.

Cheers!

AKDiver

[slim 1,525]

It's the obvious winner for North too..... now what about South???