Victoria M., a 20-year-old from Moscow, is a second-year journalism student at Moscow State University. During her summer vacation in 2021, she decided to visit the United States. However, she encountered difficulties obtaining an American visa, which led her to contact us in January 2021.

After reviewing her situation in detail, our lawyers uncovered an interesting fact: Victoria's father, Igor, had been a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda since 2018 and had not lived in Russia for some time. Although Victoria was aware of this, she had not maintained a close relationship with her father after her parents’ divorce and thus had not thought it relevant to mention.

We proposed a plan for Victoria to obtain an American visa via Antigua and Barbuda citizenship, provided her father was willing to include her in the citizenship program.

With an Antigua and Barbuda passport, she could obtain a 10-year U.S. multiple-entry visa through a simplified process.

Legally, this was feasible as Victoria met the program's criteria: she was under the qualifying age, a full-time student, and had no independent income.

After a brief consideration and a conversation with her father, Victoria agreed.

The Process of Obtaining Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship

Our lawyers reached out to Igor. His contribution to the government fund was €100,000, sufficient to cover himself as the main applicant and up to three dependents. Since Igor had applied for the program alone, he could add Victoria by paying only the additional government fees for her. Igor agreed to cover these costs.

In January, we signed a cooperation agreement not with Victoria but with her father.

Gathering the necessary documents took just two weeks, as the list was significantly shorter than for a primary applicant. In addition to Victoria’s birth certificate, a color copy of her passport, proof of residence, a medical certificate, and a letter from her university, we also required her parents’ marriage and divorce certificates.

Our team organized the medical examination, translations, document legalization, and apostille services.

The finalized package was sent to a local agent in Antigua and Barbuda, who submitted it to the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) with a request to add Victoria to her father’s citizenship application.

While Igor, who was in Antigua at the time, paid all the necessary fees and the Due Diligence costs, CIU issued a positive decision on the application after just one month. Victoria was granted an Antigua and Barbuda passport as Igor's dependent.

To establish her ties to the country, Igor rented an apartment for Victoria, a critical step in applying for a U.S. visa through the Caribbean nation.

The U.S. Visa Application Process

In February, our lawyers collected all the required documents for Victoria’s U.S. visa application, prepared apostilles, and completed certified English translations. They then filled out the online DS-160 visa application form, which Victoria signed before submission to the electronic consular database.

The application registration code was used to pay the visa fee, which was presented at her visa interview at the U.S. Consulate in Barbados in late May. The long wait for the appointment was due to pandemic-related delays.

By the end of June, Victoria received her U.S. visa. The timing worked perfectly, as her university exams had concluded, allowing her to spend her summer vacation in the United States

Case Results

In six months of working with Victoria and her father, we achieved the following:

  • Victoria obtained Antigua and Barbuda citizenship by being added to Igor's citizenship application.
  • She successfully secured a 10-year U.S. visa, which was her primary goal.