US Tourist Visa for Ukrainian friend/girlfriend.

[PallasAthena 101]

Hi Jekt, I'd give it a try. If she gets denied, cross that bridge when you get there. By the way, does your gf also have a job in her home country? That could help too. Otherwise, have her try with the evidence she already has.

Some friends of mind who were LPRs had a mom that applied for a visa to visit the US and was denied. They gave her a letter similar to yours and she went back and was approved for the tourist visa. She is also from an Eastern European country. Good luck!

Edited March 25, 2014 by SofiaIsabella

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

Would that drastically improve her odds of being approved? If she had a return plane ticket.

The return flight ticket means nothing. My fiancee tried for a tourist visa and we booked her a return flight as well. She was denied. She has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she will return. A CO is going to already be thinking, "Why the heck would anyone want to return here now, when it's way better in the USA?"

[MacUK 983]

Given the current state of affairs in the Ukraine, her chances of getting a B2 visa are roughly the same as the sun burning out tomorrow.

You're going to be soooooo embarrassed if the sun burns out sometime today!

OP, there's no one on this website who can give you a 100% accurate forecast about if your gf will get a B2 or not.

There's only one way to find out and that is to apply for it.

It is solely down to the opinion of the interviewing officer on the day. You have to accept that there is very little that you can do to influence it either way. It is purely down to her proving her intentions on her own.

All you can do is wish her luck.

[Boiler 45,486]

Agree

[BastillaShan 30]

You are extrapolating your unusual situation and assuming it is the norm.

Most 'interviews' last a few minutes and the decision has been made well in advance.

This is absolutely the case.

OP, I want to strongly urge you not to include the letter you wrote, it is an almost absolute guarantee that they will deny based on the use of 'girlfriend' alone.

[batallion9 50]

You can try, but things are bad there now. My wife is from ukraine. I tried to get get a tourist visa( Dec 2011) before we married. She owned a flatt, had good jod as a doctor, had bank accounts , had a 11 year old daughter, parents in Ukraine, etc. Still got denied! Even had letter from my congressman, didn't help. I offered to get assurance bond, but no dice.

[Brian&Larissa 73]

I agree with MacUK...you won't know definitively until you try. My fiance tried, similar to batallion9, and was denied. Then I see other people who are approved with less ties than what my fiance had. No ryhme or reason. I do know that the letter you wanted to submit should NOT be sent. As someone else pointed out: single girl being invited by single boy...definite roadblock that you don't want.

Each of us has similar experiences, but all we can offer is advise! no guarantee she will be approved or denied.

This I know: If she is denied for a tourist/student, this will have no affect on a future K visa if you go that route. One has nothing to do with the other.

Good luck!!!

[RhettVoe 282]

Examine Batillion9's situation...how is your GF's better? Again, the current state of affairs in the Ukraine begs the question: why would anyone return to a country undergoing all of this turmoil rather than stay put in the US with their USC BF or GF, get married and live happily ever after? I doubt that the OP's GF has the magic answer to this question. And even though it is snowing where I live, there is little doubt that the sun is shining somewhere and has not yet burned out.

[dgalster 1]

I'm not an expert and probably I shouldn't even open my mouth (or move my fingers). What I heard in Ukraine is you need a letter from the bank verifying your financial means or some such thing if you want a tourist visa. Most people in Ukraine don't have enough to qualify, so it's pretty hard to get a tourist visa.

[Jekt 0]

Some of her friends that work at the Greek Embassy have told her that she should not even bother applying because the liklihood of her being denied is very high, and if her passport has been stamped denied by the US Consulate then she will be denied visa to other counties. Now she's really afraid, is this just hearsay or is this true?

I'm not an expert and probably I shouldn't even open my mouth (or move my fingers). What I heard in Ukraine is you need a letter from the bank verifying your financial means or some such thing if you want a tourist visa. Most people in Ukraine don't have enough to qualify, so it's pretty hard to get a tourist visa.

She has 3 bank accounts, 2 personal with some money deposited, and 1 for a scholarship she was granted.

[Jekt 0]

You can try, but things are bad there now. My wife is from ukraine. I tried to get get a tourist visa( Dec 2011) before we married. She owned a flatt, had good jod as a doctor, had bank accounts , had a 11 year old daughter, parents in Ukraine, etc. Still got denied! Even had letter from my congressman, didn't help. I offered to get assurance bond, but no dice.

That's pretty depressing news What did you end up doing? How did you work things out in the end?

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I have never heard of a "denied US visa" stamp.

[QueenComley 295]

Examine Batillion9's situation...how is your GF's better? Again, the current state of affairs in the Ukraine begs the question: why would anyone return to a country undergoing all of this turmoil rather than stay put in the US with their USC BF or GF, get married and live happily ever after? I doubt that the OP's GF has the magic answer to this question. And even though it is snowing where I live, there is little doubt that the sun is shining somewhere and has not yet burned out.

Its nice and sunny in good ol' Mississippi today

[Jekt 0]

She says they stamp your passport from other countries if you're denied, maybe it's different in the US, I don't know. Can more people confirm that your passport doesn't get tainted by a denial stamp if you're denied?

What do they do if you're denied? Do they put you in the system as being previously denied if you reapply for another tourist visa or any other type of visa?

[MacUK 983]

Some of her friends that work at the Greek Embassy have told her that she should not even bother applying because the liklihood of her being denied is very high, and if her passport has been stamped denied by the US Consulate then she will be denied visa to other counties. Now she's really afraid, is this just hearsay or is this true

I've been denied 3 times so far for a B2, just had a look through my passport and there's no stamp in there.

Maybe it varies between embassies, I don't know. All I got in London was a letter explaining why it was denied.