Address on B2 Application Issue

[frodolives 7]

3 minutes ago, millefleur said:

A non-issue. Although, I'm a bit confused as to why he'd be putting down an address in the US as his home when he doesn't even live in the US? Are you talking about the "Home Address" line on the DS-160 or the "U.S. Point of Contact" address?

 

DS-160 example for reference: https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/PDF-other/DS-160-Example_11012019.pdf

I’m sorry for the confusion. I mean the address where he will be staying is our address. The guy in the past did the same. He was just a friend but he was denied due to dishonesty. We eventually lost contact. Now my boyfriend who I’ve been with for three years, wants to come meet my family. He will be listing the same address. That’s where the worry came from. I was concerned that the visa officer would see the address, and think we are just randomly bringing strangers over here. Which is absolutely not true. 

[millefleur 5,047]

2 minutes ago, frodolives said:

I’m sorry for the confusion. I mean the address where he will be staying is our address. The guy in the past did the same. He was just a friend but he was denied due to dishonesty. We eventually lost contact. Now my boyfriend who I’ve been with for three years, wants to come meet my family. He will be listing the same address. That’s where the worry came from. I was concerned that the visa officer would see the address, and think we are just randomly bringing strangers over here. Which is absolutely not true. 

It seems weird they'd deny him for dishonesty merely because he put an address down in the US? I feel there's more to the story of the first guy than just the address. People put down addresses of friends in the US all the time (in that "U.S. Point of Contact" box). The other guy could've been denied for reasons beyond the address, or maybe he merely misunderstood the reason for his denial and was denied for more typical reasons (such as lack of ties). Maybe the Indian guy put the US address as "Home Address" and got denied because of it?

 

In any case, it's totally irrelevant to the case of your boyfriend applying for a B or even a spouse visa. Your boyfriend just puts the US address in the "U.S. Point of Contact" box, no big deal. In the case of a spousal visa, he puts whatever US address he intends to live at when he eventually immigrates to the US. The DS-260 (used for spousal visas) has actually slightly different questions, such as "Present Address" (i.e. address abroad) and "Do you have an address where you intend to live in the US?"

 

And just to clarify, he doesn't have to disclose any addresses where he merely stayed as a tourist to for the spousal visa. They're only interested in where he actually lived and was a resident.

[Boiler 45,912]

Is there not a bit of a wait for Tourist Visa applications from Russia?

[HRQX 4,145]

22 hours ago, frodolives said:

We’ve been discussing getting married the next time I go visit him.

How is the marriage process in Russia since you're not from there? Maybe it's more straightforward to marry in the US. He's allowed to marry in the US while visiting:

 

[millefleur 5,047]

3 hours ago, HRQX said:

How is the marriage process in Russia since you're not from there? Maybe it's more straightforward to marry in the US. He's allowed to marry in the US while visiting:

For marriage in Russia for USC's, you have to register your intent to marry with local authorities and it also involves getting a special notarized letter from the US Embassy in Moscow for the American party, I don't even know if they're doing that now given the covid situation. After you complete all those steps (which used to take 2 weeks-month to complete, before covid) then you have to wait 32 days to get married.

 

https://ru.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/marriage/

 

It is doable of course (I'm a USC and I did it, but I also lived in Russia at the time), but it's not straightforward. I would imagine marriage in the US is easier.

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by millefleur

[frodolives 7]

15 minutes ago, millefleur said:

For marriage in Russia for USC's, you have to register your intent to marry with local authorities and it also involves getting a special notarized letter from the US Embassy in Moscow for the American party, I don't even know if they're doing that now given the covid situation. After you complete all those steps (which used to take 2 weeks-month to complete, before covid) then you have to wait 32 days to get married.

 

https://ru.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/marriage/

 

It is doable of course (I'm a USC and I did it, but I also lived in Russia at the time), but it's not straightforward. I would imagine marriage in the US is easier.

 

 

 

Thank you for your response! My concern is that  if he is denied the visitor visa for whatever reason, I am not sure how else we’d be able to marry. I’m planning on visiting him for a couple of months...would that be enough time to get everything in order if we decided to marry abroad?  We are waiting to see what happens with the embassy and whether or not he’s approved. 

[frodolives 7]

14 minutes ago, frodolives said:

Thank you for your response! My concern is that  if he is denied the visitor visa for whatever reason, I am not sure how else we’d be able to marry. I’m planning on visiting him for a couple of months...would that be enough time to get everything in order if we decided to marry abroad?  We are waiting to see what happens with the embassy and whether or not he’s approved. 

Oh and also, we want to be married in a Catholic Church, as we are both Catholic. I read that a religious ceremony is not recognized by the state. If that’s the case, what do we do?

Edited July 26, 2020 by frodolives

[millefleur 5,047]

21 minutes ago, frodolives said:

I’m planning on visiting him for a couple of months...would that be enough time to get everything in order if we decided to marry abroad?

I think it's enough time, but you have to physically travel to Moscow for a few of those documents (the US one and then there's one on the Russian gov't side) so I hope that will be doable depending on where you are staying in Russia. Also, given the whole Covid situation, you really need to find out if those agencies/government offices are even working right now or what the wait times are, as things could be backlogged even more.

 

6 minutes ago, frodolives said:

Oh and also, we want to be married in a Catholic Church, as we are both Catholic. I read that a religious ceremony is not recognized by the state. If that’s the case, what do we do?

You can marry in a third country if either the Russia or US route don't work out. It's a common strategy here on VJ and many people do it.

[frodolives 7]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

I think it's enough time, but you have to physically travel to Moscow for a few of those documents (the US one and then there's one on the Russian gov't side) so I hope that will be doable depending on where you are staying in Russia. Also, given the whole Covid situation, you really need to find out if those agencies/government offices are even working right now or what the wait times are, as things could be backlogged even more.

 

You can marry in a third country if either the Russia or US route don't work out. It's a common strategy here on VJ and many people do it.

Would the Ukraine be doable? I know that most other countries are not allowing American tourists at this time, but the Ukraine is, if I am understanding correctly. If this is going to happy, it would be closer to the end of the year. So hopefully things will be open by then. Also, I did read they may allow you to expedite the process? So maybe that’s a possibility if we have to. 

Edited July 26, 2020 by frodolives

[millefleur 5,047]

29 minutes ago, frodolives said:

Would the Ukraine be doable?

I just checked and according to the US Embassy website "Getting married in Ukraine can take from several weeks to several months." But expedite is possible? More research is needed I suppose.

https://ua.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/marriage/

 

I have heard the marriage process in Russia can also be expedited but I don't know what circumstances qualify for that. I'd suggest having your boyfriend research all of this very thoroughly because you don't want to plan for it only to show up and it not work out.