Hello there fellow VJ'rs, I was looking to see if anyone who has recently applied for a K1 and interviewed at the Moscow Consulate had any delays in receiving their visa via DHL. I know about Kevin & Natasha, a most unfortunate experience. What I am trying to find out is if this is currently the norm or was that an unusual case? Please tell me your experience of how long between interview and DHL delivery of visa in Moscow, say in the last 2 months.

Your input will be greatly appreciated.

Where is the option for not delivered but rather picked up from DHL office? Many of us did that as far as I understand.

After checking several timelines and writing to a few of you I see that this was also an option for receiving your visa package. Thanks for your input. I was trying to find an average time for delivery of the visas but your suggestion seems to be the answer I was looking for.

I guess the relevancy of Satellite's suggestion depends on your question. Do you want to get an average for DHL's speed? Or for the embassy's speed? I've read some posts here in which the embassy itself hadn't gotten the visa to DHL with anything remotely approaching acceptable rapidity.

In my case, Ira had her appointment on the 17th, and the visa was in Ivanovo (300km northeast of Moscow) within a few days. That's fast for both the embassy and for DHL. I think, depending on what you want to find out, the question needs to be parsed into two halves.

Good luck,

Z

I'll add my fiancee's visa arrived all the way in Vladivostok after seven days.

This poll is very interesting. My Olya also lives in Vladivostok. A long way to Moscow She wants to stayafter the interview and fly direct from Moscow to the U.S. While I am for this, I am also reluctant after Kevins experience. I think a good way to ask the question in my situation would be to those that have waited in Moscow to pick up there Visa from the DHL office? We are consdering purchasing tickets 9 days after the interview. Very Risky but the cost of flying back to Vladivostok and then going across the pond to Detroit would almost equal buying 2 more tickets from Moscow to Detroit . Any thoughts?

While we're not so far along in the process yet, I have been thinking about what we'll do when we get to the interview stage. While Tomsk isn't as far as Vladivostok, it's still a long trip and an expensive plane ticket to Moscow. I would definitely prefer that Tania go to Moscow for the medical and interview, stay and pick up her visa from the DHL office, and then fly to the states. But, from what I've seen lately, there's just no guarantee that she would get the visa within a few days or even at all. It would seem to be quite a gamble to make flight reservations for even a week after the interview and the cost of staying in Moscow for that length of time might be just as much as the additional flight expenses involved in going back to Tomsk and then back through Moscow on the way to the U.S. We have some time to see how others' experiences are in regard to getting visas between now and when Tania's interview gets scheduled, and we'll make our decision when we get closer to the interview. And, of course, it will ultimately be Tania's decision.

Those are my thoughts, for what they're worth. I'll be interested to see what you guys decide and how things play out for Olya. Best of luck to you both!

Natasha's interview was February 26, and we received the visa directly from the DHL office on March 13. No official explanation for the 'delay' has ever been given, though given the nature of the questions asked during the interview, we believe it was probably caused by her previous K-1 (Natasha and this man did not get married, and she was with him for less than 1 week, though she stayed in the USA for 6 weeks). It's just a guess, but it seems like a reasonable one.

Don E--

I am from Tomsk originally! Perhaps I even know your Tania! My mom has an interview for a tourist visa in Moscow on the 23rd of April, and our plan is, if she gets the visa (and that's a big IF), she flies out on the 6th of May. We bought a ticket with Aeroflot, which is returnable for full refund. I think tourist visas are on a way different track, though. Still, I'll update you on how fast/slow things are. And say hi to your fiance in Tomsk, where it is way too cold now!

Unless she has a free place to stay in Moscow for 9 days, the cost of staying there is going to far outweigh flying back to Vladivostok and then on to Detroit.

If she has a friend or an uncle to stay with or something like that, then sure, staying there might save you a little on flying to Detroit, but it's really not going to save you too much. I don't know which way you're flying but if you're trying to route her through Moscow again, try looking the other way. From Vladivostok through Seoul/Tokyo/etc. to LAX/SFO/SEA and then on to Detroit, it's about the same price, if not cheaper, plus it'll save her about a day of travel time. She'll only have to fly about 1/4 around the world instead of 2/3.

Crunch the numbers a little more. Either way, she should get the visa in Moscow only about 2 or 3 days after the interview, not 9. I wouldn't base her departure on what happened with one incident. The majority of pick ups at the DHL office in Moscow have been within 3 days after interview day.

Another native of Tomsk! Although the last several days have been cold, it's been relatively warm (by Tomsk standards) lately, and the snow had already nearly all melted. Sure, I'll be interested to know how things go for your mother. After Tania gets her visa, we're hoping that her daughter can get a tourist visa so that she can be here for the wedding. Good luck with your mother's visa, and keep us posted!

If leaving from Moscow to USA after the interview, the women must bring as much luggage as they can handle considering they won't be returning to Russia for a long while (at least the K-1 folks). I think dragging heavy luggage all over Moscow only makes a difficult situation worse. With heavy luggage, it is not possible to use buses so a taxi ride is required costing a lot of money.

For my wife, she will return home after her interview and prepare to travel to the USA in a calm and orderly way.