Difficulties and opportunities: how Russians can get to the USA, given the new restrictions - ForumDaily
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Difficulties and opportunities: how Russians can get to the US, given the new restrictions

Since the beginning of a full-scale war in Ukraine, more and more entry restrictions Russians to EU countries. At the same time, a number of states, including Greece, the Czech Republic, Malta, Portugal, Germany and others, canceled program of "golden visas" for Russian citizens, allowing to obtain a residence permit in exchange for investment. About whether the restrictions will affect those who plan to obtain visas to the United States, ForumDaily spoke with immigration lawyer Ekaterina Muratova.

Photo: IStock

Investor visa

According to Ekaterina, the sanctions did not affect the possibility for Russians to obtain an EB-5 investor visa in the United States, but the key condition here is the need to show the legal origin of the funds and that these funds legally entered the United States.

«Due to the fact that many banks in Russia are disconnected from the SWIFT system, potential investors may have a problem in order to show the money flow in the US. In such conditions, it is purely technically difficult to make the investment itself. It is also important to show that the enterprise, which is the source of the investor's income, is not under sanctions.", - explains Ekaterina Muratova.

According to the immigration lawyer, in practice, those who have earned their capital in the defense or oil and gas sector are not so many, and ordinary commercial companies are not subject to sanctions. The situation is more complicated with the withdrawal of funds from Russia. Particularly prudent Russians who kept money in another country can also become investors, but, like everyone else, they must show the legitimacy of the emergence of capital and its transfer abroad. Ekaterina also recalls that not all Russian banks have been sanctioned. Another popular way to transfer money has recently become cryptocurrency.

Green Card Lottery and Family Reunification: Problems of Bureaucracy

According to Ekaterina Muratova, Russians, as before, can apply for the green card lottery and win in it. However, there are difficulties here in practice. By the way, applicants for a fiance/groom visa will have the same problems.

«And in case of winning the lottery, and when applying for a bride or groom visa, Russian citizens will need to undergo an interview at the American embassy. Since this has not been possible in Russia itself in recent years, there remains a very small list of countries where Russians can sign up for an interview. In these countries, there are very long queues at the embassies, and therefore it is very difficult to schedule an interview.", - shares the lawyer.

According to Ekaterina, the State Department has not given any specific instructions as to which country's embassy will receive Russian citizens. Such an instruction exists only for family reunification visas - these cases have been transferred to the American Embassy in Poland. In other cases, Russians themselves choose a suitable country for themselves.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that Poland has closed its borders even for holders of Schengen visas from Russia, and the issuance of a humanitarian visa for a visit to the American embassy is not provided. As a result, people are physically unable to get even to an interview that has already been scheduled for them. As for visa-free countries, Russians there also face a standard problem: in each embassy, ​​priority is given to citizens of the country where it is located.

«Accordingly, people have to spend time and money to make an appointment at an embassy in another country, but as a result, all these efforts may be in vain if they fail to get an interview", - explains Ekaterina Muratova.

On the subject: Vouching for a refugee: what are the responsibilities and risks of those who are ready to vouch for new immigrants

In the case of green card lotteries, the situation is aggravated by the fact that if a person does not pass an interview at the embassy within a certain period, he loses his right to a green card. At the same time, all arguments about closed borders or the inability to sign up for an interview in another country are not taken into account. The situation with family reunification is similar - with the only difference that in case of missing the deadline, the right to reunification in this case is not lost. However, it is clear that the ability to move to the United States quickly in this case is significantly reduced.

«As a result, it affects entire families. Often, not only adults suffer, but also children who are forced to experience separation from one of the parents while he is trying to get to the embassy. Now, even after the petition is approved, a person may need another six months, or even a year, just to get to the embassy in one of the countries and get a visa", - says Catherine.

Immigration lawyer Ekaterina Muratova. Photos from the personal archive

A similar problem, she said, is faced by holders of nonimmigrant work visas already in the United States. In case they have a desire to go abroad, they need to get a new visa upon their return.

«In this case, the person will have to look for which embassy will receive him on time so that he can stamp the visa. During this time, his vacation may simply end, and he will simply lose his job. That is why lawyers advise such people not to travel outside the country before receiving a green card."- explains the lawyer.

Ekaterina Muratova emphasizes that in this case, the rights of not only Russian, but also American citizens are affected: American employer companies that are interested in attracting talented employees.

Political asylum: is the fear of mobilization enough?

Unlike some European countries, in the United States there is no way to obtain a humanitarian asylum visa, so asylum seekers are left with two standard options: come to the country on any other visa and apply here, or try their luck by applying for asylum in the southern US border. Given the difficulties in obtaining visas, the flow of refugees at the US-Mexico border has increased significantly.

«At the moment, as far as I know, people are not detained for long periods and let through quickly enough. Lonely people in this regard are somewhat more difficult: they can be kept in “immigration prisons” from several weeks to several months. However, mostly clients report to me that they were released 4-5 or maximum 8 hours after crossing the border. Of course, this is a kind of lottery, which depends on a variety of reasons, including the availability of places in temporary detention centers for immigrants."- explains the lawyer.

The criteria for obtaining asylum also remained the same - the applicant must be related to one of the five categories, that is, persecuted for his race, nationality, religion, political opinion or belonging to a particular social group. Based on this, a simple desire to avoid mobilization in order to obtain a status is not enough.

«Refusal to mobilize matters if it is part of the expression of a political position. Therefore, in this case, a person needs to prove that he has this position, and show what it consists of. Simply put, we need evidence of public anti-war statements, and not just the fear of dying if everything was fine before that person. It is important to show that a person refuses not just to be drafted into the army, but to participate in a specific war", - explains Ekaterina.

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A fairly common situation is when a person did not express his views in any way in Russia, explaining his silence by security reasons, and began to openly speak out against the war only in the United States.

«I cannot guarantee that in this case he will definitely receive asylum. Each case is considered depending on many subjective factors, and there is no universal approach. Of course, the ideal case for a good case is examples of the fact that a person faced persecution back in Russia. But a public statement of one's position, even without it, is better than nothing. At least in this case, the person has a reasonable fear of future persecution upon returning home. Much depends on how exactly a person expresses his opinion: for example, whether he regularly and publicly participates in anti-war activities, or wrote just one post on Instagram”, explains the immigration lawyer.

In the case when a person arrives on a visa and then applies for asylum, the timing of the call for an interview is also impossible to predict.

«The order is very chaotic, and there is no golden mean in it. As a rule, either a person can be called for an interview within the first three months, or he waits his turn for 2-3 years, or even more.", - says Ekaterina.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Vouching for a refugee: what are the responsibilities and risks of those who are ready to vouch for new immigrants

Refugee problems on the southern border of the United States: an immigration lawyer explained how to solve them

Bail for refugees at the US border: attorney clarifies the risks of guarantors and asylum seekers

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