Mother-in-law visa

[AllenB]

Hello Gents:

I have posted a few replies here from time to time but now I am asking for your help.  My wife Anna is pregnant with our first child which is due in March and I would like very much to have my mother-in-law here during or shortly after the birth of our new baby.  I know that most would not want to have the mother-in-law around and happy that she would be in a different country but mine is very nice I am happy to say.

My question is what is the procedure to bring her her on a tourist or other visa.  I am a citizen born her in the U.S. and Anna is a conditional permenant resident.  I looked on the BCIS site but everything is geared towards us going there and bringing back spouses or fiancees.

I know she needs an internation passport and that is already being done as well as I have her going to the oblast police authorities in Dnepropetrovsk to get her criminal background papers and working papers but what else does she need?

Does she need to go to Kiev to the U.S. Consulate to apply for a tourist visa or can I do that on her behalf from her?

Any information that can be provided would be greatly provided.

BTW I did check the archives also and found some stuff pertaining to Columbia but not Ukraine.

Thanks,
Allen

[Apk1]

... in response to Mother-in-law visa, posted by AllenB on Sep 27, 2003

My Moscovite 65 y.o. mother-in-law gave her application and international passport to the "ELF" office in Moscow, paid $100(for embassy) and 500 rubles (for ELF) waited for 3 weeks and received her passport and visa by courier directly to her home.
 All that I did to expedite her visa was to send her an invitation letter, explaining my address and contact information. (no letter of support)
 There was not an interview, just a waiting period....
she automatically received a multi-entrance 1 year visa for the $100...each visit for 90 days max. (although the airline tickets have a max 30 day return for the cheapest rate).

 
 

[Dan]

... in response to Mother-in-law visa, posted by AllenB on Sep 27, 2003

Start Here -- http://usinfo.usemb.kiev.ua/visa_faq_howtoapply_eng.html

You will find an on-line registration form that YOU can fill out and submit for your MIL to request an interview.

You will also find the list of documents needed at the interview. The most important is Form DS-156 which can be found here -- http://travel.state.gov/DS-0156.pdf. I suggest you complete the form in English and fax a copy (or e-mail a PDF - which is what we did) so that she can sign it. We also completed it in Russian so that my MIL understood what was written.

The only thing they requested from us that was not on the list (an unhappy surprise that required my MIL to travel to Kyiv a second time) was copies of my last 3 years tax returns.

We submitted the documents in late-April (the first set), and she arrived here for the baby's delivery on September 24th - BUT - we had plenty of time to spare. By that I mean, she received her 5-year multiple-entry visa more than a month ahead of the time she planned to travel. We did nothing to expedite matters - only followed the routine process and it worked very well for us.

I should add that we also provided my MIL with instruction letters (in English) for her to provide to Customs and Immigration authorities when she entered the US. This was to insure that, if they had questions, they knew the answers to the questions from the letters and also had contact numbers for my wife and I to call. Of course, this also presumed they would not have a Russian translator handy. I don't know if these letters helped or not, but my MIL did use them.

I hope this helps.

- Dan

[SteveM]

... in response to Just Did It . . ., posted by Dan on Sep 27, 2003

The letters for use at customs and immigration are a great idea, and worth considering for those of you bringing fiancees over.  My wife stayed behind after getting her processing done to help another fiancee who spoke no English and had no idea what they needed her to do.

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Just Did It . . ., posted by Dan on Sep 27, 2003

n/t

[AllenB]

... in response to Just Did It . . ., posted by Dan on Sep 27, 2003

Thank you very much Dan, I appreciate the help greatly!!!

[Dan]

... in response to Just Did It . . ., posted by Dan on Sep 27, 2003

Follow-up to my earlier post.

In addition to those documents listed on the US Embassy in Kyiv's website, we also sent copies of the following:

* Last 3 years tax returns.
* My Wife's K-1 visa stamp in her passport
* Our marriage certificate
* Copy of wife's green card.
* Invitation letter stating reason for visit
* Copy of my passport photo/information page
* Letter of financial support
* Copies of the airline tickets in my MIL's name and showing the dates of travel

At the interview, she had to provide:

* her international passport
* completed Form DS-156 - she had one in English and one in Russian, and they took only the one in English.
* Her son's birth certificate - to show connection to Ukraine
* My wife's birth certificate - to demonstrate direct lineage.
* photograph
* filing and visa fees ($165)

We had heard that on entry into the US, Immigration authorities are blanketly authorizing only 30 day stays for tourists, but the tickets were issued for a 6-week stay. The letters we provided to my MIL to give to the Immigration authorities asked them to grant a 6-week stay to coincide with her travel plans - and they actually granted it for 60 days.

- Dan

[AllenB]

... in response to Additional Documents . . ., posted by Dan on Sep 27, 2003

Thanks again Dan, you have gone above and beyond which is what makes this board so great for all of us.  If I can ever be of help I will surely do so.

Again, thank you very much.

[SteveM]

... in response to Mother-in-law visa, posted by AllenB on Sep 27, 2003

Allen,

Others may have more Ukraine-specific information, but here is what I know from our case.  You do not file for the visa; she must do that herself.  You can provide a letter of invitation for her--including the reason for the visit (in your case, the obvious) and stating that you will cover all her expenses while she is here.

As far as what she needs, no reason to get a police report, which is not needed for a tourist visa.  What she will need is documents and proof that she has compelling reasons to return at the end of her visit.  In order of preference, those include:

1.  Previous timely returns from visits to Western countries.

2.  Other children/grandchildren (and/or spouse) still living there.

3.  Good job/business that requires her return.

4.  Ownership of property (apartment, dacha, car).

In our case, my MIL was rejected the first time.  She had never been out of Russia, has no spouse or other children, and is retired.  We needed Congressional assistance to get them to consider the fact that she was the sole live-in provider for her now 90-year old mother.

The visas are now multi-entry for a year, but with a 30-day limit for a single stay unless you request (and show cause for) granting a longer duration visit.

Hope this is still mostly correct and helpful...

Steve M.

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Re: Mother-in-law visa, posted by SteveM on Sep 27, 2003

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the information... I was wondering if you could talk more about the Congressional Assistance that you got? Did you have to be declined before you could seek it?

Our situation is somewhat similar in that Victoria's father is the sole support of his mother, but he's never been to the United STates before, so I think we would have some resitance for his Visa.

Also, how long did it take over all? We're shooting for a year from March, so we have some time, but I would love to know what (and when) I should start with...?

Thanks!

[SteveM]

... in response to Congressional assistance?, posted by MarkInTx on Sep 27, 2003

Not sure what to tell you on this one, Mark.  My MIL was told when her application was rejected in Feb 2001 that she could not reapply for a year.  However, when she did reapply 12 months later, the Embassy told her that there was no such waiting period.  So I guess it is possible to apply, be rejected, get help, and re-apply in the span of a few months.

As far as the Congressional help, it differed from office to office. However, the common thread was that they were responding to the previous visa denial.  One senatorial office was not interested in helping, but was able to get a reply from the Consulate that her file did not have any documentation of her ties to Russia--which means they did not look at or copy the material she had brought to the interview.  This helped us because the other Senate and House offices could write letters that said "Please give this a fair hearing".  If they gave her a fair hearing, made copies of the documents she brought, and still turned her down, I do not think they would have been willing (or able) to do much.

The only advice I can give is for your FIL to apply early, make sure he has statements from whoever about providing essential care and support for his mother (we had letters from the doctor and my MIL's sister who was coming to stay with her until she returned).  Also, proof of income/work/property ownership.

They may carefully review all of this at his interview (if he is asked to appear for one, they now decide to grant some visas on the basis of the initial application), then turn him down.  In that case, it is a tougher fight.  However, in many cases, the Consulate people are rude and abrupt, and dismiss the application out of hand without looking or taking any of the evidence offered.  This is the scenario that provides you with an entree into the Congressional assistance mode.

Hope this helps,

Steve M.