- Sergey Ivanovich, who has been applying for visas to the American embassy recently?
- There are different categories of such citizens. First of all, these are relatives of those people who left for America for various reasons: due to marriage to a US citizen, as refugees, through the family reunification program, winners of the Green Card lottery, etc. And now, often after many years, their relatives seek to see them. The second category of people is schoolchildren and students, that is, those who dream of seeing America up close, discovering for themselves a country about which so much interesting is written. As a rule, young people are interested in the possibility of obtaining higher education in the US, studying the language, and communicating with peers. And finally, the third, most numerous and problematic category, which should be especially noted, is people who are looking for solutions to their financial problems specifically in America. It is no secret that even low-skilled labor there provides an opportunity to live quite well. Therefore, many strive to the US precisely for this purpose. As a rule, at home, in Ukraine, these people either have no work at all or work for very little money. Naturally, they are attracted by the opportunity to earn money in America.
But, unfortunately, the whole difficulty is that Ukraine has not signed an official employment agreement with any country in the world. So talking about “legal employment in America,” as some firms sometimes claim, simply means deceiving our fellow citizens. Basically, such firms are engaged in selling guest invitations on behalf of our former compatriots, who for a small fee will confirm the fact of close acquaintance or even family ties. Naturally, having a guest visa to the United States, one cannot legally work there. There is, however, a temporary employment visa - H1B. But all documents for obtaining it are prepared in America within three to four months. Two ministries are involved in the processing of documents: the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice and the Department of Labor. At the same time, Americans annually give a quota of places for such visas. For the 2002-2003 fiscal year, it amounts to 115 thousand jobs. But it should be borne in mind that this quota is “selected” by specialists from all over the world. Citizens of Ukraine can also try their luck under it - but only specialists with higher education and good work experience in the specialty required in the US. And in general, at present, getting an American visa has become quite difficult.
- But there was a time when it was done relatively easily. What has changed?
- The fact is that now in America the problem of illegal immigration is so acute that in January 1997, the US Congress adopted the Jackson-Vanik amendment to the Nationality and Immigration Act of 1952, concerning Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and other countries of the former Soviet Union. So, according to this legislative document, every citizen of Ukraine applying for an American visa is initially considered a potential emigrant.
- That is, we haven’t done anything yet, but we are already guilty in advance?
- It turns out that way. Therefore, applying to the American consulate should be regarded as a serious exam, and accordingly, you need to prepare for it. Unfortunately, many of our fellow citizens often try to get through at random, but this does not bring the desired result, and then they seek help.
- Do people often come to you for advice?
- Quite often. The fact is that “Kyivvneshtur” was created back in 1991, and in 1997 it was reorganized as a Ukrainian-American information and tourist center. And to this day, in our activities - which include booking air tickets and hotels, insurance, and tourism - the share of consulting services regarding the US remains large. The fact that American partners treat us seriously and respectfully is evidenced by the following fact: a well-known American immigration lawyer, member of the US Board of Immigration Lawyers, Boris Krivonos, often consults with us on certain issues! Ukrainian citizens also turn to our specialists. In particular, we have advised many representatives of the Ukrainian show business regarding organizing trips to America. These include the singer Viktor Pavlik, the famous “Golden Gusaks”, members of the Ukrainian national figure skating team, the Numismatic Association of Ukraine, and many others. In addition, in 2002, “Kyivvneshtur” was appointed the official agent from Ukraine for the Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, USA.
- And what does the consulting consist of?
- I would like to emphasize: the main thing is individual consideration of each specific client request. There are no ready-made clichés for all occasions. If you come to a consultant and they hand you a piece of paper with the words: “Do everything as written here, and your visa is guaranteed” - this is not a consultation. In every case, there are always many nuances that can be decisive. This is precisely where the consultant’s experience and qualifications are needed. I, for example, have been working in this area for six years, and I immediately “see” a person, so I always advise being honest with the consultant. I listen to the client, clarify all unclear points in their story, give a list of necessary documents and advise what else should be done to increase the chances of obtaining a visa. Then we go through with the client again what and how they will answer at the interview. It is very important to present yourself in a favorable light: to emphasize something, to remain silent about something.
- What mistakes could you draw our readers’ attention to?
- Among common mistakes, I would include the habit of our citizens of taking a whole pile of documents to the interview. And as a result, they don't have time to even take them out of their briefcase. At the interview, the visa officer devotes no more than 3-4 minutes to the visa applicant. And the outcome of the case depends on his impression. Of course, this is a fairly subjective approach, but visa officers are people with vast experience and good psychologists. Often they sense deception. Another thing is that our mentalities are very different. Americans, for example, believe that if a person has nothing to hide, he should behave calmly and at ease. They do not understand why our citizens sometimes almost faint while waiting to be called. They attribute this anxiety to a "guilty conscience" and, as a consequence, refuse the visa.
- Does refusal to issue an American visa threaten our citizen with anything?
- There are no legal consequences. The same cannot be said about financial losses: the cost of applying for a visa is $100. In the event of refusal, this amount is not returned. Accordingly, no one will return the amount paid for the guest invitation either. And that already amounts to about $500. The number of refusals is sometimes simply frightening. For example, here are the figures for one day: 160 people entered the consulate, received visas... two.
- Can "refused applicants" contact you?
- Yes, we take such cases into consideration and try to find out the cause of what happened. For example, in November I had nine people with whom we filed appeals. Seven of them received visas. This just goes to show that people do not prepare for the interview seriously enough. So, you will agree, it is better to spend time and money on a consultation with a specialist and preparation for the interview at the consulate than to throw away a far from small amount of money.
Reader mail shows the lively interest of our citizens in the "American direction," and the specialists of "Kievvneshtur" are ready to continue the conversation. We await your questions!