Hi again from Gary.

In this post I’ll describe for you an excellent and fun way to improve your odds for your fiancee to be granted her K1 or K3 visa. This is not to imply that your odds are poor to begin with. It’s just an idea to help things along. But keep in mind that what I’ll describe here will be productive ONLY if all paperwork filed by both of you is complete and accurate. There’s nothing that will help you if your paperwork is messed up. Assuming you’ve got that all done well, then your last hurdle for her to get her visa is her interview with the consular officer at the American Embassy.

Understand that this whole visa process is for the U.S. authorities to determine if the visa request is for legitimate purposes - - that her entry into America is truly for the purpose of becoming married to you, and for the two of you to create a home and life together in America. This is why they require proof (photos of you two together, receipts, etc.) showing that you’ve actually met each other in person and not just through correspondence. In other words, they want proof of a relationship.

Here’s what Alla and I did.

We met on the Internet through a private introduction (see our “About Us” page). After writing back and forth for several months, we met in Kiev and stayed together there and other places in Ukraine for several weeks. We knew we wanted to marry and when I returned to America, I started her request for visa process. From all that we learned about the process we figured it might take at least a year for her visa to be processed.

To think of being separated for a year from one you love and want to marry was too much. So we planned another meeting and 3 months later ended up spending 2 weeks at Feodosiya on the Black Sea. That was a fantastic trip and I’ll describe more about it in future posts. Then, after another 3 months we were in the process of planning to meet again since we figured we had at least another 6 months before her visa would be ready. By this time it was October and turning cold in Ukraine. So our idea was to meet in Spain so Alla could get some Mediterranean sun. Then, and I swear this is the truth, I was 8 hours away from making all reservation for our Spanish adventure when Alla sent me an e-mail to tell me that she had received document requests from the American embassy. This happened much faster than we expected so we cancelled our trip to Spain. We thought it not wise to be lounging on a beautiful sun-drenched beach while the embassy may be trying to contact her. That was a wise decision because very shortly thereafter she received her interview date from the embassy.

So our next meeting together was when I flew to Kiev to be with her during her interview at the embassy. We met there toward the end of the “Orange Revolution” (see my Dec 30, 2006 post “New Year’s Tree - Orange Revolution Style). On our appointment date we went together to the American embassy for her interview.

Perhaps I’ll describe the whole interview in detail later but again, maybe not. There’s not too much to describe. The consular officer asked Alla a few, easily answered questions. And then after a quick glance at his computer, he turned to me and asked “you’ve come here to visit this woman 3 times?” **. I replied “yes sir”. He turned back to his papers, stamped something and then told us to confirm our address at the outer desk so the visa could be delivered  - - end of interview.

Like I said earlier, the whole process is to confirm the existence of a true relationship. The fact that I had travelled 3 times to be with Alla was the icing on the cake. Of course if you’re already married and applying for a K3 visa there’s not really an issue of intent. But for a K1, the icing helps.

So if you’re desire is to find and marry a Russian woman, plan on making at least 2, but preferably 3 or more trips to be with her in her home country. It’ll cost a few bucks, sure; but it’s an opportunity for travel and fun together as well.

If you can only make time or money available for two trips, then arrange for your second trip to be with her at her visa interview. Put yourself in her position. How would you feel about going into the “lion’s den of foreign dignitaries” on your own? Be there for her. You’ll score points with her as well as with the consular officer who has the power to grant or deny the visa request for your Russian bride.

** Just as an aside, I don’t recall that any papers we submitted described how many times I had visited Alla. But the embassy computer knew. Interesting, yes?

O.K. I close for now. I have 1 further suggestion to describe about the visa issue but I’ll hold off for now. I’ll get to it soon though because it’s important.

Until next time, good luck, good health, and much wealth to you.

Gary.

Technorati: