Personal experience. How I moved from Belarus to the USA on a visa for a bride

Maria Anderson with her husband. Photos from the personal archive

My story began quite banally: a divorce, a small child in my arms, a large amount of work... In general, a fairly standard situation. Personal life? Don't be ridiculous. The maximum I had enough strength and desire for was online communication on a dating site, where the goal was not even acquaintance, but only a non-binding conversation. After some time I abandoned the site. And I was very surprised when, 8 years later, a letter arrived from a long-forgotten site. This is how my story of a foreigner’s bride began.

My prince turned out to be an American who, in the early 90s, came to Belarus through a charity program and, out of curiosity, learned Russian on his own. To get married in the USA, we began to apply for the so-called “fiancé visa” - an American visa of the K1/K2 category, which allows you to immigrate.

And so began the paperwork. First of all, my future husband had to confirm his financial viability and file a petition so that I could get a visa.

But if everything was limited to just that. I, my son and the groom wrote letters to the Citizenship and Immigration Service, in which each of us described our love story. We added joint photos to it, which confirmed that we met in reality.

The documents went to Citizenship and Immigration Services, from there they were supposed to be sent to the National Visa Center, and then to the consular section of the US Embassy, ​​which, in fact, was supposed to make a decision on issuing a visa. For citizens of Belarus, by the way, the consulate is located in Warsaw.

And so, the petition was submitted, letters and photos were sent. The wait for the treasured package from the visa center began. There was only one question in my head - how long to wait. A month, two, three?

For an answer, I went to the forums of K1 brides, who had already changed their status and country of residence. What I saw was not at all pleasing: “from five months or more”, “if the petition gets to the processing department in California, it’s a big deal - wait 6-8 months.” And everything like that. After that, my fighting spirit—to go through all the “hardships and hardships” in the struggle for happiness—somehow died down. But I had to gather my will and wait.

From Belarusian to American. Photo from personal archive

Fortunately, it was not long to wait, despite all intimidation, even though our documents were in California. I submitted documents to 24 February, and received a package with the approval of further actions in mid-May. It was necessary to continue to collect documents. From that moment began running around in many instances. However, I will not say that it was difficult.

At the registry office I took a document confirming that I was not married, and at the police - a certificate of no criminal record. It was also necessary to undergo a medical examination, and in all of Minsk this can only be done at the office of the International Organization for Migration. The entire process costs $160 per adult and $130 per child.

The next step is filling out the form DS-160 to obtain a visa. In addition, I translated from a certified translator, and then notarized the birth certificates (mine and child) and all the certificates.

A month of vigorous action plus 800 dollars was spent on everything. I am proud to say that I have not paid a single ruble over and above the tax set for each required document.

And here we are at an interview at the US Consulate in Warsaw. My son and I sat in the hall and watched as people approached the windows, handed over the documents, and again sat on the chairs, waiting for the interviews. When our number was highlighted on the scoreboard, my hands were shaking.

A Russian-speaking clerk checked document after document. And here…

— Please give me your child’s profile.

- What form? He's a minor.

It turns out that the form DS-160 is also filled in for minors. Own! Separate!

“I don’t have this document,” I mumbled, realizing that this was the moment when everything could collapse.

The answer was unexpected:

— Go to the hotel, fill out the form and at 15.00 the consul will be waiting for you for an interview.

Just imagine how fast we flew to the hotel, the road to which took twenty minutes.

Having filled and printed the form (electronic variants are not accepted), we were already at the consulate in 13.30.

Having read the forums, I imagined the interview as something very similar to partisan interrogation. But it turned out not so at all. In the booth sat a charming smiling man, next to him stood no less charming girl-translator. The consul scanned all our documents and began to ask questions. There were very few questions, and without a trick.

- How did you meet?

— On the Internet, and then we started communicating on Skype.

—Have you met in real life?

- Yes, we saw each other. My fiance came to visit several times.

—Have you been to the States before?

— I’ve never been to America, but I was going to participate in the USAID Belarus program, which provides grants to Belarusian entrepreneurs for training and advanced training. Since my plans for life have changed somewhat, this has become irrelevant.

The last of the four questions that the consul asked me was a little unsettling and made me think. However, even in a stressful situation, the answer was found rather quickly:

- Why did you choose this man?

- Love is an unpredictable thing!

— Your visas have been approved!

I almost burst out: “That’s it? Maybe you should ask for something else?”, but I stopped myself in time.

New Belarusian-American family. Photos from the personal archive

The very next day we received the cherished passports with visas.

After returning home, we began to pack our bags and, less than a month later, flew off to a distant unknown country called the United States of America.

We flew from Minsk through Helsinki and Chicago to Minneapolis, where our husband was waiting for us at that time. And after a month and a half, in August 2015, we got married.

And then the paperwork process began anew.

After receiving the marriage license, my son and I applied for a green card, plus I applied for a work permit. All this cost us about a thousand dollars, although initially we were targeting an amount of more than two thousand. We managed to save money because the work permit did not cost us anything - when it is submitted along with the application for a green card, they do not charge money for it.

And again, waiting for three long months. At this time no other documents could be made.

The husband and son of Maria Anderson. Photos from the personal archive

As soon as the green cards and the work permit came, we immediately went to issue my social security numbers to my son. A little later, I received American rights, which are also an identity card.

Despite the fact that I had twenty years of driving experience in my home country, in the USA I had to take both theory and practice. Unfortunately, there were no rules in Russian in Minnesota, and I had to study them in English (and my “English,” unfortunately, is not very good), but it was possible to take the exam in Russian, which made me incredibly happy. The practice was given to an English-speaking instructor, but this also did not become a problem, since the United States is a multinational state and everyone has long been accustomed to “languageless” foreigners. The instructor made do with a couple of phrases and a dozen gestures.

Thus, the long process of my legalization in the USA is completed. Now, as the spouse of an American citizen, after a year and a half, I will be able to change my temporary green card to a permanent one, and then, a year later, I will receive US citizenship.

See also:

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