I live in the uS and have been chatting and emailing a woman in Siberia. Both of us are busy but have found time to meet over Christmas. I made travel arrangements to go to Spain but she tells me that the agency there doubts she will get a Visa from the Spanish authorities. Maybe I underestimated the bureacrats! She is a respectable University lecturer and has a son who is staying in Russia while she is gone and so there should be no concern that she won't go back home.