Tourist Visa from Russia to US

[mjoy61 0]

Is there anyone on this forum with positive first hand experience at obtaining a tourist visa to USA for a Russian citizen? Is there anyone who can give me concrete information on the income, property holding and familial obligation minimums required for getting a visa? Can anyone refer me to a reputable travel agency in Russia that can assist in obtaining a visa without ripping off me or anyone else involved?

I have been communicating with Masha for several months and we would like to make arrangements for her to visit me in USA.

[russ 1]

Is there anyone on this forum with positive first hand experience at obtaining a tourist visa to USA for a Russian citizen? Is there anyone who can give me concrete information on the income, property holding and familial obligation minimums required for getting a visa? Can anyone refer me to a reputable travel agency in Russia that can assist in obtaining a visa without ripping off me or anyone else involved?

I think we covered this pretty well in the other thread, but here we go again.

Every Russian I know that was issued a US Tourist visa had:

1) Over USD 2,000 in monthly income

2) Was married

3) Had already been outside of Russia on many occasions

4) Was over 30 years old.

Satisfy these conditions and you will probably be okay. Otherwise, meeting in Jamaica, Egypt, or possibly Greece (this is an EU visa that is not impossible to get - also allows for travel in the rest of Westen Europe).

There are no concrete numbers, it is up to the judgement of the CO at the embassy. By law, he must assume the applicant has immigrant intent until they (alone) can prove otherwise to his satisfaction. If you don't believe me, here it is from the horse's mouth: http://moscow.usembassy.gov/consular/consu...ecord_id=nivfaq

It is in English and Russian.

[mox 298]

Why are you starting a new thread with exactly the same question? You're going to get the same answers.

FWIW, my answers in the previous thread:

Agreed that chances are almost zero that she can visit here.

If this is your first meeting I would strongly recommend meeting her in her home town, even if it's the dead of winter. You want to meet her family and friends because if things work out for the both of you, those people are all going to be a big part of your life. You are going to want to see where and how she lives, and you're going to want to give her the opportunity to play hostess to you. These are all really important, especially to her. It shows that you care about more than just her. She's going to want to have the chance to show you off to her friends and family and get their blessing.

Also, Russia is a fantastic trip. You'll be glad you went.

I didn't see anyone so far identifying yourselves as Russian travel agents or consular officials. Debating each other about a trip to Russia that I am not planning on taking is not helping me much.

Nobody identified themselves as Russian travel agents or consular officials because that's not who you're going to find here. But you will find a lot of people who have a lot of experience in dealing with the immigration system.

We've already said that her chances on visiting the US are negligible, and why. I'm sorry this isn't the answer you wanted to hear, but it's based on a *ton* of incidental evidence. Just do a search on the VJ forums. We've also given you alternatives, and reasons for those alternatives. This advice is given freely. If you need more professional advice you should probably talk to a travel agent or a consular.

When you are done with your research, please let us know how it turns out. I can already tell you that, based on the information you've given, if you want her to come to the US then you are going to have to do some traveling first. Best of luck to you.

Still would like to know what your aversion is to visiting your lady in her home country.

[Satellite 1]

See the answer to your question here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=95043

[russ 1]

Can anyone refer me to a reputable travel agency in Russia that can assist in obtaining a visa without ripping off me or anyone else involved?

Anyone assisting you with a US tourist visa from Russia is ripping you off, by definition. It is one of the easier visa types to apply for, fill out application, pay $100 at the embassy. Reputable Russian travel agents can help with Russian buerocracy, not the other way around. The vast majority of young, single women from Russia end up overstaying visas in the US, which is why they are almost never approved.

As I mentioned before, I would be happy to arrange for a former Moscow CO to speak with you about why this is not possible. Russians who have been married and living with Americans for YEARS in Moscow routinely can not get tourist visas.

[russ 1]

One more point - how many people have you ever corresponded with on the Internet that would travel internationally to your home? Does that strike anyone else as strange?

How did you meet "Masha?" Where does she live? What does she do? Do you speak on the phone?

I've spoken with lots of Russians on the phone that I've met online, Russian practice in exchange for English practice. Not once have I ever been asked about visas or travel to the US. That information is readily available in Russia, on the internet, in Russian.

[mox 298]

I've spoken with lots of Russians on the phone that I've met online, Russian practice in exchange for English practice. Not once have I ever been asked about visas or travel to the US. That information is readily available in Russia, on the internet, in Russian.

Oh I've been asked about Visas. Usually it works like "I know this guy who can get me a Visa to visit you, I just need you to send me $500 to cover it." That will be followed closely by "I got the Visa, just need you to send $1,500 for the plane ticket. They have to be purchased here because the airline has to personally view my Visa." It's usually the same girl whose mother will die unless she receives $200 for an operation, and oh, she just lost her job at the factory and will lose her apartment and be kicked out on the street unless I send her $200. I think I've killed about 5 mothers and gotten 7 different girls kicked out of their apartment over the last couple of years. Also, I've left a couple of widows of deposed Nigerian Finance Ministers with absolutely no way to reclaim their $10 million in personal assets that she was going to give me a $2 million cut of, and all I had to do was give her a couple grand in "processing fees." I really am a heartless #######.

[russ 1]

Also, I've left a couple of widows of deposed Nigerian Finance Ministers with absolutely no way to reclaim their $10 million in personal assets that she was going to give me a $2 million cut of, and all I had to do was give her a couple grand in "processing fees." I really am a heartless #######.

I bet your ####### is smaller than it should be and you could have more hair too I hate spam.

[Jason-Sasha 1]

I've spoken with lots of Russians on the phone that I've met online, Russian practice in exchange for English practice. Not once have I ever been asked about visas or travel to the US. That information is readily available in Russia, on the internet, in Russian.

Oh I've been asked about Visas. Usually it works like "I know this guy who can get me a Visa to visit you, I just need you to send me $500 to cover it." That will be followed closely by "I got the Visa, just need you to send $1,500 for the plane ticket. They have to be purchased here because the airline has to personally view my Visa." It's usually the same girl whose mother will die unless she receives $200 for an operation, and oh, she just lost her job at the factory and will lose her apartment and be kicked out on the street unless I send her $200. I think I've killed about 5 mothers and gotten 7 different girls kicked out of their apartment over the last couple of years. Also, I've left a couple of widows of deposed Nigerian Finance Ministers with absolutely no way to reclaim their $10 million in personal assets that she was going to give me a $2 million cut of, and all I had to do was give her a couple grand in "processing fees." I really am a heartless #######.

Hahahahaha!!! Pretty funny. Though, it does sound like you might have been shopping for Russian love for a long time.

Edited November 12, 2007 by Jason-Sasha

[mox 298]

Hahahahaha!!! Pretty funny. Though, it does sound like you might have been shopping for Russian love for a long time.

Actually I got pretty lucky and met my girl relatively quickly. I wasn't so much looking for a Russian girl, but I'm glad that's who I found. But you don't have to be in the online dating space that long to start getting bombarded with emails from "girls" (most are men) who profess their undying love and adoration for you on the second email. These were fun to string along with fake Western Union numbers and bank account numbers. It's funny because good 'ol mom never seemed to quite succumb to her disease. She was able to hold on just a little bit longer until we could get that pesky little Western Union number de-scrambled. Heh. Of course at some point they would catch on, usually after about their 5th trip to the local WU office. At that point there was no mention of poor mom, but there were a lot of profanities.

[mjoy61 0]

Are you the only two jack offs on this site? All you did was debate each other and feed me the most negative counter productive ####### I could have imagined. Step aside and make room for someone who may actually be able to help me.

I sent the link to this page to Masha and she was offended. Do not respond to anymore of my posts. I have heard your opinions already. I do not need top hear them again.

[russ 1]

I sent the link to this page to Masha and she was offended. Do not respond to anymore of my posts. I have heard your opinions already. I do not need top hear them again.

The information provided here has been complete and factually accurate. Getting a US Tourist visa involves:

Filling out this form online https://evisaforms.state.gov/ds156.asp

Going to an interview 14-21 days later.

Paying $100.

Answering a handfull of questions.

That is it. If the visa isn't approved, you can:

Apply again.

Apply for another visa type (F-1, J-1, L-1 are all very good candidates)

If you just want to meet, go someplace else (Several countries have been pointed out.)

[slim 1,530]

You could try to PM BluesFairy who was once upon a time issued a tourist visa or Kazan' Tiger who has a little inside information about "visa service companies" inside Russia. The two of them have first-hand knowledge.

The rest of us simply have thousands and thousands of man-hours wrapped up in research, applications, completing paperwork, posting our lives away on VJ, and one last thing.... oh what was it..... it's on the tip of my tongue.... shoot.

Oh, COMPLETING THE VJ PROCESS AND ACTUALLY GETTING OUR LOVED ONES HERE!!!!!

If that's not first-hand enough for you I don't know where you're going to find anything more reliable. Please share when you do because even though we all love VJ and love wasting our time here posting "first-hand knowledge" to help others through the process as well, I'm sure the VJ Russia forum would shut down if we could simply pay $250 and get our current e-mail interest over here. After all, I didn't do much research when it came to paying my $250 to get my Russian visa. There was no forum for that one. Just a quick Google search and voila! I was on my way.

Once again, I'll say it. I sincerely hope you've found a good girl and are involved in a legitimate relationship. If you are, that's awesome and we'd all love to help. But, there's only one person on your threads being counterproductive........

[russ 1]

You could try to PM BluesFairy who was once upon a time issued a tourist visa or Kazan' Tiger who has a little inside information about "visa service companies" inside Russia. The two of them have first-hand knowledge.

I believe BluesFairy's advice was the same, have ownership of something in Russia (new car in her case), letter from your employer showing income of 50,000+ rubles a month, a healthy bank statement, and talk a lot about your job. Otherwise, she paid the $100 and did exactly what was described above. No agency involved.

[mox 298]

Are you the only two jack offs on this site? All you did was debate each other and feed me the most negative counter productive ####### I could have imagined. Step aside and make room for someone who may actually be able to help me.

Wow, I'm going to ignore the insult because clearly there are more than 2 jack offs on this site. At last count there were dozens of jack offs on this site. We're very proud of that fact, so please have some respect. We try hard to be the primary source of Visa-related jack offs on the internet. Two indeed. Pfuh.

Anyway, if you can bring yourself to stop wearing your heart on your sleeve, help us to help you. You never answered many of the very pertinent questions you were asked, namely why you are unwilling to travel to her country. And why do you consider the advice given so far to be unhelpful? What question was left un-addressed?

I sent the link to this page to Masha and she was offended.

I don't know why she would be offended. The question you asked sounds a lot like the Visa scam that is played out over and over on unsuspecting men. You should be happy that we brought it up. Your girl may not be a scammer, but nobody here knows that because you won't answer questions about your situation, leaving us to speculate.

Do not respond to anymore of my posts. I have heard your opinions already. I do not need top hear them again.

Well at the very least then, stop creating new threads asking the same question. Your question has been answered to the extent possible, given the very limited information you have provided. I'm sorry it isn't of use to you.