Does UK spouse of UK citizen need a visa to travel to NY for 1 month?

[britanecs 0]

Hi ladies and gentlemen,

Apologies if this topic has already been discussed elsewhere - I couldn't find any references hence starting a new thread.

Long story short, the situation is as follows:

1) I'm UK citizen and have traveled to the US on two business travel occasions (via ESTA visa)

2) I need to travel to the US again for a month and this time round I want to take my wife with me

3) My wife is Ukrainian-born, I married her in the Ukraine few years ago and now we both live in the UK

4) She holds UK spouse visa (valid until 2015)

My question is - does she need a visa to travel with me? If so, what kind of visa would you suggest?

I read somewhere that spouses of UK citizens do not require visas as long as they travel with their respective husbands/wifes at the same time.

I wonder if the same rule applies in the US and would appreciate your help in finding out.

Thanks in advance for your comments,

Artem

Edited September 10, 2014 by britanecs

[Ian H. 207]

Hello,

Europe is very different on immigration than here in the US. Generally, if you have a valid visa or resident card in one of the EU countries, it's valid for travel between those countries. However, the US is much more strict.

Since she is a Ukrainian citizen and not a UK citizen, she would need a visa to enter the US. Ukraine isn't part of the VWP like the UK is so she cannot travel on ESTA.

She has to apply for a B1/B2 visa in the UK since that is where she lives and has to prove ties to the UK. I would assume it should be easier to qualify for a visa as a resident of the UK, than if she were still living in Ukraine.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

She needs to apply for a B2.

[Ian H. 207]

Here is a link on how to apply for the visa. It looks like there's a 9 day wait in London.

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/visit/visitor.html

[Ryan H 3,826]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Tourist Visas forum.