Red tape and long waits: US visas remain out of reach for Ukrainian refugees
Nastia arrived at the Warsaw bus station late at night with nowhere to go. The 25-year-old had made the difficult decision to leave her home and family in Vinnytsia oblast in west-central Ukraine. Russian missiles had destroyed Vinnytsia’s airport, but her father could not leave because he is of fighting age, nor could her mother because she needed to care for Nastia’s two grandmothers, who are too sick to travel.
Now in Poland, terrified and unable to reach her mother, Nastia used Telegram to message someone who might be able to help: Caitlyn Simmons, a former Peace Corps volunteer who had been Nastia’s English teacher a decade earlier. From her home in Columbus, Ohio, Simmons booked her former student a hotel room for the next day, then kept her company over Telegram while she passed a lonely night at the bus station. In the morning, Nastia’s first stop was the US embassy. Even with an American willing to host her in the United States, there was no way for Nastia to get a visa.
As millions of Ukrainians flee their homes, the European Union has opened its doors to them, offering visa-free entry and temporary protection for at least one year. Canada is fast-tracking visas for Ukrainians and the United Kingdom has promised visas to Ukrainians who have hosts there.
[insert U.S. red tape, red tape, and more red tape here]
Ultimately, Simmons helped Nastia apply for a visa to Canada, a common destination for Ukrainians who have reached a dead end trying to get into the US. Nastia has an appointment scheduled to be fingerprinted and photographed soon. Simmons still hopes to bring Nastia to Ohio to stay with her family, but wasn’t hopeful the US government’s announcement would make a difference for her former student. “I think they’re feeling a bit of pressure from people so want to make it look like they’re doing something,” she said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/ ... n-refugees
Photos from a Ukrainian lieutenant taken in real-time moments ago as we spoke. He described the situation as “madness.” 
recognized by the international community.
