My wife entered as a K1, from Colombia, and she is awaiting her AP. We want to travel to Europe, so we need to get her a Schengen visa (and maybe a UK visa).

Has anyone obtained a Schengen visa for their spouse, especially if the spouse if from a country where most other countries typically deny visas to visitors (like Colombia). In other words, if she wasn't married to a U.S. citizen, with her ability to enter/return to the U.S., she would typically be denied a visa to Europe (or U.S. for that matter) due to her risk of non-return.

Thanks!

You can apply the visa through consulate/embassy of one of the countries. There are some "rule of thumb" on which country you will apply your visa through (e.g. you should apply to the country where you plan to stay longer, etc). I think your wife will need to apply personally.

You can go to the consulates/embassy website from the country for more info.

As long as she is applying for AOS it is usually not a problem. As always there is a significant list of document that each country requires, but once you get everything most likely her visa will be approved. Don't worry.

Alex

In theory, the requirements for a Schengen visa will be the same for every country. (In practice, some are easier).

Before we were married, my fiancee and I spent a week in Paris (she is Russian). She had a visa in less than a week.

If you are married, and applying in the US, you should have no problem.

It seems this Schengen visa is for a single entry??

I travel to Europe 1-2 times per month, thus I'm hoping to obtain some visa so she can travel with me for various trips, without having to apply/purchase a visa per trip, or plan ahead for each trip.

Is the standard Schengen a single entry, or multiple entry visa? What might I do to get the appropriate type of visa so she can travel as I do, without advance planning and additional fees for each trip?

Thanks!

You pick what you apply for in terms of single/multiple entry. The fee is higher for a multiple entry visa, I believe.

My wife applied for a Schengen visa at the German Consulate in Atlanta last year (while in K3 status w/ AOS pending) and we had no problem with that at all. She's an Ethiopian citizen who would not stand a chance to obtain such visa w/o residency rights in the US. Since she has the latter, it was more of a formality to get the Schengen visa, really.

Thanks, I had called the consulate and they told me there was no such thing as a multiple-entry Schengen visa - I had a hard time believing that...

Hearing that there is a check box option puts me at rest, and I'll just make a few cancellable air reservations and hotel reservations to provide the needed "evidence" to show need for a multiple entry visa.

Here's the relevant part of the Schengen visa application form:


Schengen Visa Application Form - HTML

I had multiple entry Schengen visa in 2000

They still do have them, and when yo uapply they will ask you if you need it for a single entry or multiple. It really doesn't make any difference in documentation needed, for multiple all you need to show is that you are planning on going to any of the ocuntries multiple times. Also some countries do require more documentation than others.

Alex

If you guys dont mind: what is a Schengen visa?
Sorry, Anja

ok, found it - never mind.... should read before I ask....

i got a Shengen-Staten visa in 1999 from the netherland embassy and didn't have a hard
time getting the visa . i was invited by a couple who i met in thailand , they lived in a place
called the Philippine. that's how we actually got to talk, because i told them i am from the
philippines. they told me they had a letter sent to them by a friend one time and the letter
reached the philippines , my country and then sent back to their friend and resent to the
philippine, netherlands.
anyway, all they asked from me was a paid ticket and hotel reservations ( showed them
reservations in amsterdam and belgium ). they said they usually give single entries only
for tourists , i wasn't aiming for a multiple entry anyway. i am just really a travel bug.
although i was advised by my ticket agent to bring all necessary documents like work,
salary certification, blah,blah,blah. it's better to be armed.
didn't get any hassles in the netherlands immigration either, they were very friendly.