About the DENIED "Tourist Visa" in Ukraine for visit to U.S (Part 2).: Do you approve of this policy?

Question

Close female friend denied "Tourist Visa". She makes more than U.S. median family income. Has son and family in Ukraine; owns her apartment, car, etc. Wanted to visit U.S. as vacation. AFTER her interview at U.S. Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine the interviewer handed her a 2-page document that had been on the desk the entire time: a letter DENYING her the visa! It was a photocopied FORM LETTER, addressed to "Dear Applicant" and stamped (i.e., rubber stamped) with the date. In short, they had decided BEFORE the interview to DENY the visa! She makes more money than most Americans and recently bought (paid in full with cash - that is how they do things there) a new apartment for her and her son. (Since her degrees would not be recognized here, she makes far more money there than she could here!! A foreign M.D. degree is useless in the U.S.) But U.S. policy is to DENY young females from former Soviet areas ANY visas, according to a Congressional aide I spoke with. Is this fair or stupid?

Answer 1

Unfortunately what is right and fair doesnt isnt always what happens.

From a frequent international traveller, I am sorry to hear that things went so wrong.  I am glad that the Ukraine consulates dont work this way, just got my visa to come visit you guys in july.

Answer 2

Have you actually been to the Ukraine to visit her and verify all this great information you're touting about her?  I'll be honest, all this information you've posted sounds like the Ukraine version of a Nigerian investment scam.

Answer 3

Unfortunately,so much about the "written rules and requirements"are bogus. I believe "someone" just has an issue about letting too many Ukrainians out of the country. Who and why I do not know.

   Even if the Ukrainian tourist is sponsored by a family,which requires that that family will take financial responsibility for any event,illness,death(not the U.S. taxpayers as stated in another "what is your question"similar to this one). The sponsoring family even has to show proof of their financial stability.

    I went to visit my relative in Ukraine,after she was denied several times. I went to the U.S. Embassy and  Consulate office. I was fortunate to speak with a young American man

who liked the Ukrainians(he married a young Ukrainian girl who was in the United States while on a student visa.)

In fact,this young man left the US to follow her to Ukraine because she did not want to be separated from her family and chose her country over love.

   He was kind enough to show me the file,and explain my relative needed proof,such as ownership of property, a job to return to, money in the bank,basically all the things the close female friend was able to provide.

   He also told me that the applicant receives an "interview" that lasts 2-3 minutes,as was confirmed by by my relative.

He even wrote in her file, that after meeting her family HE DID NOT CONSIDER HER A RISK TO DEFECT. However, this did not help as she was denied the next time.

     People who  reside in Ukraine( and many people in Kiev are not Ukrainian,but can speak Ukrainian ) are hired by the US Consulate and are present in the room during the interview to translate. I am beginning to think it is possible that the American Consulate employee is at the mercy of the translater to rely on them for accurate information.

If you think about it, why would the US that has helped Ukraine financially ( especially in the first 10 years of its independence when the country was so poor and had depended on the USSR for financial help) so it would not fail and fall back under Soviet rule,have an issue with Ukrainians coming to visit relatives in the US.

  Why is it that other countries,Poland, India, China do not have the same visa problems.

    Someone stated the consulate workers have a difficult job making a decision. What's difficult? They spend 2-3 minutes with the applying person and then rely on the information and perhaps advise from the translater.Unfortunately,many people do not understand the Ukrainian people and their culture. Sometimes the Ukrainian person,knowing they have only 2-3 minutes will passionately plea their case. This part I could see becoming unpleasant. The Ukrainian applying for the visa desperately want to visit their relatives in American and see the wonderful country they have heard so much about. They after being denied could possibly to yell louder,in a foreign language,many the poor American consulate thinks he will be attacked! A previous "Russian leader",Nikita Khrushchev,who was actually Ukrainian by birth,when impassioned in talks with President Reagan,took off his shoe and banged it on the table in full view of a television audience to try and make his point.

  Is it fair or stupid? I suppose it  could be any or none. It just is what it is! Wow,looks like got carried away !

Answer 4

Why is there a Part 2?  There is nothing new here that wasn't in Part 1, other than the congressional aide's comment which is not altogether accurate, but lets his boss off the hook from your complaints.  Also, there is no need to be incensed by the prepared generic refusal letter - they would have also had a stack of prepared generic 221(g) letters requesting more information from the applicants, and if the applicants were successful, then no letters would have been given - it's just a matter of  being efficient.  

The bottom line is that your close female friend did not overcome the burden of demonstrating that she is not an intending immigrant, or there is other information available to the US officers to compel them to deny her a visa (for example,how does a single mom working as a nurse/part-time dermatologist, pay US$150,000 cash for an apartment?).  

See the following site for more details on visa refusals:

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/denial...