ASK THE CONSUL: VICE CONSUL TONYA GENDIN DISCUSSES THE USE OF THE VISA INFORMATION SERVICE

Hello, this is Tonya Gendin. I'm one of the vice consuls at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. I'm also the Public Liaison Chief.

In order to keep our doors open to international visitors, the State Department, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, has implemented many new procedures over the past few years that help facilitate legitimate travel, while keeping our borders secure. With our new Visa Information Service (or Call Center), which began operating last March, it is easier for travelers to obtain information about new visa procedures and requirements, both for non-immigrant and immigrant visas.

Our visa process is unique and, while we try to keep it simple and easy to use, it can at times be complicated. For example, applicants for non-immigrant visas to the United States are expected to know the type of visa they require and to prove to a consular officer in a short interview that they are eligible to be issued the type of visa they are applying for. Therefore, it is very important that visa applicants have access to information about the specific requirements for each type of United States visa in order to prepare for their interviews with a consular officer.

While information about both non-immigrant and immigrant visas is available on the State Department website at http:// travel.state.gov as well as on our Embassy's website at http://kyiv.usembassy.gov, most Ukrainians are more comfortable obtaining information from a person rather than the Internet. The operators of the Visa Information Service can provide information in English, Ukrainian and Russian.

In addition to providing information about United States visas, our Visa Information Service also schedules all interviews for non-immigrant and immigrant visas. These interviews were previously scheduled by the Consular Section.

The Visa Information Service is open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for Ukrainian and American public holidays. To access the service, callers first need to purchase a special eight-minute calling card for a fee of the Hryvnia equivalent of 12 USD. The card is valid for 8 minutes and can be purchased at Pro-Credit Bank or at Reiffeisen Bank Aval. A list of branches selling the visa information calling cards can be found on our website. If you are calling from Ukraine, please dial 044-207-7071. If calling from the United States on behalf of relatives in Ukraine, the telephone number is 1-888-889-3780.

We would like to note that the Visa Information Service is the only authorized source of United States visa information in Ukraine. U.S. visa information is also available free of charge on the United States Embassy's website at http://kyiv.usembassy.gov as well as the Department of State website at: http://travel.state.gov.

Again, we are very pleased to have this improved, streamlined process to better meet the needs of all visa applicants in Ukraine. We urge everyone who has plans to travel to the United States to take advantage of this new information service and to apply for your United States visas well in advance of planned travel dates.