Ukraine B-2 visa denied

[VladC280 0]

Hello guys this is extremely disappointing my girlfriend from Ukraine was denied a visa today because she did not have good enough evidence that she will come back. I wrote a letter of invitation explaining that due to my police academy in a week I wont be able to come over. My girlfriend explained that as one of the reasons why she wants to come over for 2 weeks. I mean she brought her job pay stubs, she has perfect English and she lives with her parents what more evidence is needed and what can we do now??

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

Has she travelled before? If not, have her get a visa to some European country and travel there once or twice for a weekend.

Ultimately, it will always be difficult for a young single woman with a US boyfriend to get a tourist visa though. Police academy won't last forever and maybe you can go see her after you are done.

[VladC280 0]

Yes she has traveled to other European countries, unfortunately police academy is 6 months and as soon as graduation occurs i have field training officer and patrol training we don't get a week off we start right away. I'm just angry because as an american i can go there with no visa but she cant even come visit. If she gets more evidence if it okay if she applies again? Will it hurt for a future k1 visa?

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

It's ok for her to apply again, but without significantly more evidence, I'd wait at least a few months to try again.

Tourist visa denials will not impact a future K1 unless she lies (such as saying there is no US boyfriend, or that she is married to increase her ties).

[VladC280 0]

Thank you very much so when next time they ask why do you want to go to USA should she talk more about her strong ties in Ukraine such as her bank account, full time job and that maybe her parents will pay for her visit? I think she mentioned that I will pay for the ticket to US this time so can we change it up?

[Cathi 5,784]

It's ok for her to apply again, but without significantly more evidence, I'd wait at least a few months to try again.

Tourist visa denials will not impact a future K1 unless she lies (such as saying there is no US boyfriend, or that she is married to increase her ties).

Just to clarify lying to immigration is NEVER a good idea. Lying is misrepresentation and if caught could lead to a ban from the US

Thank you very much so when next time they ask why do you want to go to USA should she talk more about her strong ties in Ukraine such as her bank account, full time job and that maybe her parents will pay for her visit? I think she mentioned that I will pay for the ticket to US this time so can we change it up?

having her parents pay wouldn't matter, the fact us she has a US boyfriend.

[VladC280 0]

I see so if she brings more evidence like bank accounts and more about her job should that help out more?

[Khal_Drogo 50]

Has she travelled before? If not, have her get a visa to some European country and travel there once or twice for a weekend.

Ultimately, it will always be difficult for a young single woman with a US boyfriend to get a tourist visa though. Police academy won't last forever and maybe you can go see her after you are done.

Not to question you or anything, but it was pretty easy for my wife to get one, and at the time we were just boyfriend and girlfriend.

We paid the fee, scheduled the interview, filled out the paperwork, and voila, it was done, easy (the process itself was obviously frustrating, but looking back on it, step-by-step, it really wasn't that hard).

I think it all depends on the evidence presented:

I mean she brought her job pay stubs, she has perfect English and she lives with her parents what more evidence is needed and what can we do now??

I'm gonna pay Devil's Advocate here and try and explain it from an immigration official's perspective.

"Oh, she can quit this job easy enough. Oh, she knows perfect English? That makes it much easier for her to immigrate illegally here. She lives with her parents and doesn't have rent to pay or own her own home? That means she can stay in the U.S. without any problems then."

So the evidence doesn't really work towards her favor when a good amount of scrutiny is applied.

Take my wife for example, when she came and visited me. She was in school at the time with almost perfect grades, so I think that's what tipped the balance in her favor. Also, she had just moved away from her parents to another city and into an apartment with one of her girlfriends to be closer to school.

So once again, Devil's Advocate:

"Oh, wow, she's double majoring and has straight-A's? That shows real effort and a dedication that she doesn't plan on leaving behind She JUST signed a new lease with a roommate? She obviously plans to live there for a while. Her boyfriend's in the military and sent her a letter of invitation? He knows he is SCREWED if he facilitates illegal immigration. There's no way she would overstay her visa."

You have to take every piece of evidence you plan on submitting and pick it apart on an atomic level yourselves before you submit it and an immigration officer gets the chance to. If there's ANY weakness, you have to be prepared to explain it to an extent that it is untouchable. To me, the fact she lives with her parents and is having them pay for it is actually a weakness that works against her visa-wise when compared to someone who handles their own rent or owns a home and lives under a binding contract that would be much harder to leave behind. I don't think however that you paying will hurt her chances (I paid for my wife's, it didn't hurt us). I'm not saying that it is an automatic no-go, just that if the evidence is already lax, it's just gonna add a hole to an already sinking ship.

Edited February 25, 2013 by Khal_Drogo

[steelwood 0]

My girlfriend was also denied a tourist visa last week. She had all her documents. She is 44, is buying here own flat (bought it in 2006) and has a very good job. In the interview they asked her if we intended on filing a k-1 visa soon which we replied yes. He advised us to wait because issuing a tourist visa might delay the k-1 application. I have read online posts and I don't see any one saying they were delayed. My personal option is that either he is doing us a favor and what he said is true or he just didn't want to mess around with it. He didn't even look at here documents. I thought that maybe the next time I go to see here we would apply again and I would go with her. We did file for a K-1 visa but I'm sure she could get a tourist visa but it will take a lot of convincing that it is her intention to return. Keep in mind that a tourist visa is good for 60 months. Most likely his counsel is best. Just wait and get the k-1. I just wanted her to come and visit for a couple of weeks so she could get a feeling of USA.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hello guys this is extremely disappointing my girlfriend from Ukraine was denied a visa today because she did not have good enough evidence that she will come back. I wrote a letter of invitation explaining that due to my police academy in a week I wont be able to come over. My girlfriend explained that as one of the reasons why she wants to come over for 2 weeks. I mean she brought her job pay stubs, she has perfect English and she lives with her parents what more evidence is needed and what can we do now??

Typical. Most tourist visas from Ukraine are denied.

I would suggest she apply for a Shengen visa to visit one of the EU countries, Poland works. Go there for a short visit and return. Try again. No guarantees. Evidence of having traveled to the west and returning is better than anything else she can offer. Your invitation is not needed and probably did not help. However she should not lie about having a boyfriend in the US.

Speaking fluent English is not to her advantage. Having a friend in the USA is not to her advantage. Her job is of little advantage unless she earns more money than she could possibly make in the USA. Very unlikely. Illegal immigrants come here for jobs, a job in their home country means nothing.

Her denial will not affect her K-1 visa in the future. If you have not met her in person and need to for a fiancee visa, best suggestion is a third country she can travel to without a visa...Dominican Republic for example. If that makes it any easier for you. It does not matter WHERE you meet her in person.

Otherwise you will wait until you can travel again. The consulate issuing the visa could not possibly care less that you are in a police academy and cannot travel right now.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

My girlfriend was also denied a tourist visa last week. She had all her documents. She is 44, is buying here own flat (bought it in 2006) and has a very good job. In the interview they asked her if we intended on filing a k-1 visa soon which we replied yes. He advised us to wait because issuing a tourist visa might delay the k-1 application. I have read online posts and I don't see any one saying they were delayed. My personal option is that either he is doing us a favor and what he said is true or he just didn't want to mess around with it. He didn't even look at here documents. I thought that maybe the next time I go to see here we would apply again and I would go with her. We did file for a K-1 visa but I'm sure she could get a tourist visa but it will take a lot of convincing that it is her intention to return. Keep in mind that a tourist visa is good for 60 months. Most likely his counsel is best. Just wait and get the k-1. I just wanted her to come and visit for a couple of weeks so she could get a feeling of USA.

Tourist visas have no affect on fiancee visas. None at all. -0- His advice REALLY means "Don't bother me again, I noted you intend to immigrate to the USA and any future attempts for a tourist visa will be denied. Save your money"

Going with her for a tourist visa will not help.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I see so if she brings more evidence like bank accounts and more about her job should that help out more?

Not likely. They usually do not look at it. Here is an example...

Ours son's girlfriend had an invitation from us, and was enrolled in a very prestigious university with a full scholarship. DENIED. Only question asked..."have you ever traveled outside the former Soviet Union and had any foreign visas?" No. "Denied".

She got a Shengen visa and traveled to Poland and Germany, came back and applied again. Same question. "Yes" APPROVED. In neither case did they even look at her evidence.

The consulate ASSUMES she will immigrate illegally. She has to show them why she will NOT. Why would a scholarship to a top university not matter? Simple, before she used her tourist visa she also applied to the University of Houston for a scholarship and got that! Students with high GPAs are valuable everywhere. She ended up with a student visa instead. Now she has both.

My wife had a job paying more than 5 times the average income for Ukraine. DENIED. Not only denied but "treated like a reptile". She as being sponsored to come to New York for her employer as an interpreter for a trade show, had round trip tickets. DENIED. "Tell then to hire an interpreter in New York, we have plenty of interpreters"

Ukraine is very easy on people applying for K-1s but very difficult on people applying for tourist visas.

[steelwood 0]

but I'm sure she could get a tourist visa but it will take a lot of convincing that it is her intention to return.

I agree that he means "don't bother me". But like I said it would take "a lot of $$$$$$$$$convincing"

[Khal_Drogo 50]

One of the reasons I hound my Congressmen relentlessly. Guilty until proven innocent. Pathetic.

Then again, I'm just an angry Libertarian, ignore me lol.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

but I'm sure she could get a tourist visa but it will take a lot of convincing that it is her intention to return.

I agree that he means "don't bother me". But like I said it would take "a lot of $$$$$$$$$convincing"

One of the best "convincers" she will return is that she HAS returned from prior trips. Shengen visas are easier to obtain (usually) and the fact she has traveled out of the FSU and returned is a good indicator.

Young (working age) women have it particularly difficult to get tourist visas from Ukraine.

That said, there is little value in having a prospective fiancee from Ukraine visit the US for a couple weeks to "see how she likes it"

After two weeks she will either...

1. Hate it

2. Love it, but only because you were both on vacation and "lived a life" that in no way resembles normal life.

The first few months, actually first year, of your fiancee/spouse's life in the US is probably the most difficult time of her life. I think just about anyone with an FSU spouse will tell you that.

If she is in love and committed she will do OK eventually. If she is not, you will just scare her off.