Hola!

We are planning already in getting married in September when Irina arrives (mostly for Medical Insurance purpose), now, we are planning the wedding Ceremony for October 20th.

We would like to invite her sister & 3 of her friends to the wedding (of course from Russia), Does anybody has done this before? Do I need to write a letter inviting them so they can present it in the Embassy at the time they request the visa? Or with the wedding invitation will be enough?
Does anybody has an example or tips for this letter?

They will need 3 weeks to obtain the visa, so we would like to have a jump start.. any will be greatly appreciated..

Thanks!!

Luis & Irina

No one can tell you more than you already know. Some here have had success, some haven't. It is up to the individual applying for the visa, not much that you can do.

Getting a US tourist visa is two pronged.
1. You must actually be a tourist.
2. You must have proof of ties to your home country.
You are focusing in on the first one. Which by the way is not usually an issue. Going to a wedding, visiting a family member, or going to Disneyland are all valid reasons for a tourist visa and are rarely questioned.
You really should put your focus on the second prong which is what kills the majority of the visa applicants from Russia. Your invitees should have high paying jobs, property, cars, health insurance, membership to organization, friends, and family waiting for them in Russia. As well as documentation to back up all their claims. The more convincing they are of proving these ties the better their chances of being approved.
You as the American can't really do much about the ties. The more you come out as the generous wealthy American willing to do anything; the more it looks like you will help foster their eventually visa violation by helping them stay in the US illegally.

Have them submit tourist visas and hope for the best.



But be prepared to burn some extra picture CDs. Also, if you're planning on getting married in October, they better hurry up and submit their papers, they'll probably need an interview and all that, so time is getting shorter by the minute.

I also wish to invite my mum for the wedding.she has a great job and she is not willing to leave Russia.But even if she gets this visa how many entries it allowes?since we both plan to work we wont be able to travell much,but is it possible for mum to visit sometimes?Or each trip needs different visas?

Currently in terms of visitor B2 visas the US embassy and consulates give out 1 year multi entry visas or for an additional $100 2 year multi entry visas. In the past 5 or perhaps even 10 year visas were given out. And perhaps holders of those visas are still allowed to renew under those conditions.
Sources:
http://moscow.usembassy.gov/consular/consu...ecord_id=nivfaq [see #13]
http://yekaterinburg.usconsulate.gov/en/co...s/VisaTypes.php

Thank You for the information:)