NEWS AND VIEWS

U.S. visas for Ukrainians: help us continue to improve

by Lauren Marcott

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has listened carefully to the many comments we have received from Americans and Ukrainians on improving our visa services. We are working hard to deliver fast, reliable and equitable services that meet the test of American law and uphold American values. I want to share with you some of the improvements we have made and ask for your input on how we can do our job even better.

For years, Ukrainian visa applicants were interviewed on a first-come-first-served basis. If an applicant did not make it through the door after the first three hours, he or she would have to come back the next day. The visa line became an endurance test; some applicants would arrive the night before, and people of all ages were forced to stand outside in every kind of weather. Those with plenty of cash would hire people to hold their place in line; those with a more aggressive bent simply pushed their way in front of others. Ukrainians with fewer means, pensioners and parents with children were typically the ones who suffered. Clearly, we needed a better approach.

Eighteen months ago we instituted a new system that enabled us to schedule appointments for applicants on an individual basis, thus eliminating in one stroke the long, unruly visa lines of the past. Six months later we moved into a new, modern annex at 6 Pimonenko St. that has far more room than the cramped quarters we once occupied at the Embassy's main building and which affords more privacy for visa interviews.

Another challenge was the unprecedented increase in the number of visa requests that we experienced over last year's peak summer months. The workload simply outpaced our staff resources, and at one point the waiting time for appointments rose as high as seven weeks. To keep up with the demand, we added an American visa officer and several Ukrainian positions, expanded the range of visa applicants who were exempted from interviews and moved time-consuming work-visa interviews to a separate time.

While our visa system is still evolving, we now have the capacity to issue many visas without interviews or on an expedited basis. Travelers with previous U.S. visas of any kind in their passports should feel free to leave their documents in our drop box. In most cases, they will get their visas without an interview within three business days.

For those who must go through the appointment process, the time period between requesting an appointment and the actual visa interview is approximately three weeks, and we hope to reduce this even further. Still, we encourage anyone wishing to apply for a visa to request an appointment as early as possible. Normally a person found eligible receives his or her visa on the day of the interview. Occasionally an applicant will be asked to wait or to return with new information, but we now have Ukrainian-language handouts that better explain what the applicant needs to do.

Some applicants do not plan three or four weeks in advance. As a result, we continue to receive many requests for expedited visa interviews. To ensure fair treatment for everyone, we schedule expedited visa interviews only rarely. But we also recognize that there are circumstances in which jumping the queue is warranted: for instance, in cases of medical or humanitarian emergency, or even to correct our own mistakes when they do occur.

What are some of the other improvements that we have made? We now have an e-mail address for requesting appointments for visa interviews: [email protected]. Or, you can contact us via our English or Ukrainian website at http://www.usemb.kiev.ua, which also contains general information about consular procedures and a visa application form that may be printed for your use.

To make life easier for those applicants who arrive early for their interviews, we have opened a new visa waiting area with up-to-date facilities. More staff has been hired to respond to visa interview requests.

And, a badly needed upgrade of our telephone services has also been completed. As a result, we now have voice mail in English and Ukrainian, and additional telephone lines into the section, as well as a consular secretary and an additional public outreach clerk. We can now be reached via the Embassy switchboard at 490-4000 or through the Consular telephone line at 490-4422.

In short, we believe that we have been moving in the right direction. But we want and we need input and suggestions from the public, and in particular from members of the Ukrainian American community.

While the question of an individual visa issuance or refusal will continue to hinge on the particular circumstances of an individual's application, we want to continue to improve our work and our services as a whole. To this end, we have established a special e-mail box for public comments and suggestions: [email protected].

Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your suggestions for how we can continue to do better. We look forward to hearing from you.

Lauren Marcott is chief of the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 25, 2001, No. 12, Vol. LXIX

| Home Page |