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I am trying to get a visa to the USA. But I have problems in my home country. I want to get a visa in the USA and apply for asylum because the Russian authorities have claims against me.

The problem is that I have a Ukrainian passport and this country is interested in extraditing me to Russia in exchange for their benefit. When I try to get a U.S. visa in Poland, then the embassy makes a request to the Ukrainian services to check for criminal records. Ukraine responds that I am mentally ill. But this is not true, I do not have any mental illness. Thus, I cannot get a visa because I am allegedly sick, which is not true.

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  • You cannot get a visa to apply for asylum. They will only give you a nonimmigrant visa if you intend to briefly stay in the US and then leave. Why didn't you apply for asylum in Poland?
    – user102008
    Commented Nov 9 at 21:15
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    I don't think Ukraine and Russia have the kind of relationship that provides for extradition at this point of time....
    – littleadv
    Commented Nov 9 at 21:20
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    @Evgeniy: So your intent is not a temporary stay, and therefore you do not qualify for a nonimmigrant visa.
    – user102008
    Commented Nov 10 at 0:06
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    Is Poland really extraditing Ukrainian citizens to Russia? Or do you have multiple citizenships? More information please.
    – gerrit
    Commented Nov 11 at 8:09
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    @gerrit Some exchanges between Russia and Ukraine happen. Poland is an ally of Ukraine because of the war. My region of Ukraine became occupied by Russia at the beginning of 2022. In the fall of 2023 I received a Russian passport, since it is impossible to live in these territories without it.
    – Evgeniy
    Commented Nov 11 at 17:25

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As I understand your question and the comments, you are

  • a citizen of Ukraine and/or Russia (having accepted a Russian passport during the "passportization" campaigns in occupied parts of Ukraine),
  • currently in Poland,
  • who has requested a visa for the US from Poland, and has been denied (possibly because of the response to a criminal record check), and
  • who now wants a visa for the stated purpose of asking for asylum in the US.

The way Western governments interpret things, refugees are expected to stay in the first safe country they reach and to apply for asylum there. (As Relaxed points out in the comments, this is a self-serving interpretation which keeps them from having to accept many refugees. Ukraine was not a typical case because it is next to the EU. Refugees from other places need expensive smugglers and risky boat journeys.)

So you would have to explain that you are persecuted in Poland, and the US does not generally believe that Ukrainians are persecuted in Poland. While it is possible that you are an exception, it would be difficult to convince the American officials.

Since the US now has your first attempt in their database, any future application will become even more difficult.

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    – ouflak ♦
    Commented Nov 15 at 7:05

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