And if your "statistics" is correct, and "at least 1/2" of all the visitor to the US stay beyond the dates stated in their visas, then why are these checks even being conducted? Are they useful? I think they would be useful if, according to "statistics", much fewer than 50% of the vistors would overstay their visas... something is of misconnect here, dont you think?

The original question was why is it so hard to get a Russian visa. The answers varied from "not that hard" to "complicated". I think the issue of "overstaying" on visa dates have little to do with procedures. The procedures are there to PREVENT these "overstays", afterall.

And yes, THEY ARE doing what US is doing, this is what countries do to protect their interests, even though sometimes it seems silly to some.

[This message has been edited by asnovici (edited 05-02-2003).]

[This message has been edited by asnovici (edited 05-02-2003).]