So it appears my K1 visa app is going to be delayed for whatever reason, who knows? Anyway, I have vacation time soon and I do not see us having an interview within that time frame, so me and my honey have talked about meeting somewhere for vacation.

My question is, where have you guys visited with your Russian fiance before the K1 outside of Russia? What are some good spots and suggestions that we both will not have problems with obtaining travel visas?

Many in Ruyssia go to Turkey, also the Black sea. Both because it is very reasonable in price and a Russian woman can get a visa to Turkey quite easy.

I've been to Egypt (Hurghada) on the Red Sea... very nice resorts there and beautiful water especialy if you like to dive. No advance visa needed. Upon entry you simply buy a couple stamps, paste them into your passport and then go through passport control. No trouble for you USC or your Russian Gal. Many flights and packages from Moscow every day.



I've stayed at the Le Meridian Makadi Bay and the Intercontinental.

We vacationed in Spain with minimal trouble.

We are right now planning to go to Czech Republic in the end of May. Very easy to get the visa for russians and americans don't need the visa there.

And I am dreaming about visiting Cyprus. Also easy to get the visa for russians and no visa needed for americans. Seems to be very romantic place :-)

And we still have in mind going to Costa Rica some day. Ahh! Great place, not expensive. Russians don't need the visa there. My dream :-)

Though everyone says Russians can't get tourist visas easily, we didn't have a problem. Greece, France, US were all okay. The only place we had a problem was Holland (though I had a problem there too, because of past legal residency there).

If you have time, it is worth applying for a schengen (Western Europe) tourist visa. Worst case, you are out $100 or so. Best case, you have the option of visiting most countries in Europe. Once you already have one or two, they are much easier to get. If there are two or three in your passport, you won't have a problem getting another.

We've got our AP now (GC looks like it will be a while). Probably vacation this year will be in Europe again, before going to Russia.

Thanks for the suggestions! Egypt was one of my first thoughts but my fiancee is a little leary of travelling there because of recent bombings and tourists being killed (namely Russian ones). Spain and the Czech Rep. are two possibilities, as well as Jamaica.

Has anyone visited Jamaica with there Russian Fiance/wife?

I read on russian forum that many girls had meetings with their American fiances in Jamaica. Most say it was very nice. Just some mentioned that their stuffs were stolen by black people there. So maybe it's good to be aware of it.

Also Dominican Republic is nice. Some girls had meetings there and liked it.

And Costa Rica is good and interesting to visit.

Russians don't need there visa to all of those countries.

I have visited with my Irina in Turkey, Chezch Republic, and Croatia. Al were package trips from Moscow. I found that she could order the trip and i would fly to Moscow to meet her and then we would fly to one of these places. Turkey was terrible, except for the sea. Chezch Republic (Prague) was very nice, but Croatia was by far the best place to visit. For $400 per person we spent a week in Umag, a resort town right on the Adriatic Sea. I found that it would be the cheapest and easiest to fly to Moscow and we go together. The price included airfare from Moscow(Domodedovo) to Pula, Croatia, bus to Umag and return, and one week in a one bedroom apartment, only a 2 minute walk from the beach. We went in mid June and it was wonderful! ! ! ! The people in Croatia were very, very friendly! ! ! ! ! The food was a little expensive but very, very tasty and so was the native beer and wine. We did cook a little in our a[apartment. Breakfast every day and some evening meals. We went on a few excursions that were very nice. The "fish picnic" was fantastic. It was a ride on a ship down the coast and they grilled fish on the boat. We stopped in the sea to swim and on the way back stopped at 3 different coastal towns and had about and hour to an hour and a half to swim or shop or eat and drink. I want to go back, but my Irina likes to visit a new and different place. Prague was also very nice. I just returned from there. Turkey I have no use for. I would HIGHLY recommend Croatia! ! ! !

Devereux

Based on Russian newspaper articles, the Balkans are the new hot spots for Russian vacationers. It is cheap and as nice as the other popular places: Turkey, Spain, Egypt, and Tunis.
Personally I can't vouch for any. We did have a great time in Sochi in 2003 if you are coming to Russia and don't want to leave Russia for vacation. At the time the 10-day trip with hotel, airfare from Western Siberia, food, and excursions went for about 16,000 rubles for two. Although you have to deal with the Russian bureaucracy; registration, etc.

We met in Dominican Republic and had a great time with no problems, the all-inclusive resorts are worth the money if you like to drink. The beaches are great too.

My fiancee and I had a lot of trouble finding a place to meet up, including a disastrous attempt to go to Greece (she was refused a visa, much to everyone's surprise). We've finally settled on Croatia, and are meeting there in a few weeks. She arranged everything through a travel agent in Moscow, because she got a pretty good deal on a package, and also because Russian citizens need to show proof that they have a place to stay in Croatia in order to enter the country. At first she was disappointed to be going to a country that she thinks of as ex-communist (it somehow doesn't seem as cool/exotic to her), but now we're both really excited. Croatia looks wonderful. Also, communication will be easy because many people apparently speak English, and Russian and Croatian are supposed to be similar enough that we will be able to make ourselves understood even if someone doesn't speak English.

Best of luck on your travels, wherever you go!

I hope you have a great time in Croatia zhenik !! We almost chose that country to meet and I think it would have been a solid choice. We decided on Spain near Barcelona. I thank everyone again for their suggestions in this thread.

Good choice Chuckles. I got to spend a few days in Spain back in '99, and it was great. It was one of those places that if I would've lost my plane tickets and been stuck there forever, I wouldn't have been upset at all.

Come on... any place that has a "national nap time" is cool in my book!

Wow! I'm sorry to hear about the delay.
Any progress on knowing what's going on?
Curious what course of action you've taken.

Technically I have no actions available to me. I can call the USCIS service center, but they will just tell me what I already know. It has been close to 120 days without a touch, and I really have no recourse until the processing dates on the USCIS site become 30 days past my NOA1. Right now they are 11 days past, and who knows when they will change now that K1's have been removed from Nebraska. Incidently, mine stayed at Nebraska.

So, I have a sneaking suspicion my paperwork was misplaced. I plan on calling the USCIS as soon as it goes 30 days past to see if they will start an investigation. Soon after that I will write my congressman, explain my situation, and sign a waiver for his office to investigate. Frankly I hope I get an RFE, a touch, or an approval before then because I really don't want to go down that road.

How about a roadtrip to Lincoln?

Good luck Chuckles.... this is a long road. Just stay patient and remember that it's all for a great reason!

I saw this movie "Hostel" and Slovkia looks like a great place to visit.

Get lost.

Dalegg I got the subtle hint dropped in that comment and it was uncalled for. Please discontinue posts of that nature. Thanks .

C'mon, Chief. That was funny!

Explain how it is funny?

Has anyone flown with NWA on an international/intercontinental flight? If so, how was it? I can get a lower fare from them, but if the flights are uncomfortable with bad service I'd rather spend a few more bucks.

My husband worked in Sharm and there were tons and tons of Russian tourists there at the time. Most of those killed were the Egyptian employees. Sharm is beaaaaaaautiful and if you can convince her to go, it is well worth the trip.




I've flown Northwest on several occasions. They always go through Europe and usually you switch planes in Amsterdam. The trips over to Europe are nothing to write home about, but if you get a connecting flight on their partner airline KLA, it is luuuuuuuuuxery. I'm talkin individual tvs with 100s of movie/programs to chose from.

Well, according to this website Types of Humor which lists the types of humor, that statement could be defined as funny by being one of these types of humor:


Anecdotes any interesting event, either having to do with a celebrity or something smaller, that helps the humorist make a point. Anecdotes are great for the speaker and writer

Blue Humor not appropriate for the public speaker. Humor based on easily offensive subjects like making love, body parts, and bodily functions

Bull a humorous statement that is based on an outrageous contradiction. Ex: "The best people have never had kids."

Satire wit that is critical humor. Satire is sarcasm that makes fun of something.

Wisecrack any clever remark about a particular person or thing. Wisecracks are quick wordplays about a person.

Wit humor, irony, sarcasm, satire, repartee. Wit is funny because of the sudden sharpness and quick perception. Wit can bite. Verbal wit is a type of humor known as Wordplay.

or possibly even

Repartee includes clever replies and retorts. The most common form is the insult.

Dalegg, you are just trying to be an ###. Ha Ha?

Well, since my attempt at being a comedian failed, I've got to try to be something don't I?

Fine, Hostel was a good movie that made eastern european women look like a bunch of low moral whores. Sorry I'm not interested. What if I came into the Vietnam forum and suggested you watch 'Full Metal Jacket' cause they sucky sucky you 5 dollah? You find that funny? Me love you long time?



Thank you for the recomendations! Maybe I will look for another flight, it is such a long, boring flight from the west coast to Europe. It is always a good idea (IMO) to take a comfortable flight even if it costs a few more bucks.

Lets please 'chill' a bit. I don't want to have to crack open the mod panel.

No, no. That's not a good analogy and those lines have been overplayed by 2 live crew, so it's not quite as funny as it could be.

It would be better if I said I was looking for a place to visit and you came to the forum saying you "had just watched 'Full Metal Jacket' and you hear the girls in Saigon are very friendly towards foreigners " or something like that.

That wouldn't quite work though because the question is where could my wife and I visit in South East Asia, and obviously I'm not looking for hookers if I'm with my wife- so it might be better if you said you "had just watched 'Full Metal Jacket' and it looks like Hue' would be a fun place to visit", or something like that.

But your comment is funny because you think I am looking for hookers in addition to MY wife?

I don't know, I have alot more respect for Vietamese women then to make a degrading joke out of them.

Here is my comment:

Now, I don't know exactly how you derived at the conclusion that I think you are looking for hookers.

You said

So, I'm not really sure whether or not you've seen the movie, but there is a lot more in that movie than just a bunch of "low moral whores" The most striking part of the movie to me is the parts where the tourists have been paid for by other tourists so that they can torture and kill them.

Ahhh!! I finally got it! You think I made that comment because I was suggesting that you could go to Slovakia to pick up beautiful women with loose morals. That is why you have taken such an offense, but that is not what I meant at all.

I was using sarcasm, and what I meant was that I would NEVER go to Slovakia after seeing Hostel, because according to that movie, the citizens and apparantly even the police department kidnaps tourists and sells them to psycopaths who want to torture them.

I HATE scary movies!

To get back on topic I have a question about possibly having my fiance put together a vacation package out of Moscow.

If she finds a package and it is out of Moscow and I fly into moscow just to catch another flight with her to continue on to our destination will I need a Russian Tourist Visa???

Paul/Anna

You do not need a visa for connecting flights in any international airport. This is as true of SVO (Sherametavo) as well. You can meet with your fiancee on the other side of the security and passport checks in the international wing. If you have to travel between airports, or go to a different wing of the airport, I am not sure what the procedure is.

Wow! It must have been ESP or something like that, eh?!

Seriously, Chuckles:

I know it is “in” Russia; but, if you have not yet visited the “Golden Ring” of Russia, perhaps you will consider doing so.

In my opinion, St. Petersburg is nice and Moscow is even better. However, the cities in the Golden Ringcan make for perfect visiting, especially in the summer. And it is an area where you will not be hounded for your passport.

I like to visit Sergiev Posad the most, probably because I am an Orthodox Christian. My second favorite is Suzdal, where one can stand near walls from the 7th century. Many restaurants and places to stay are inexpensive. If you like history, the Golden Ring is the place to go.

Wherever you decide to vacation, please write and tell us about it.

Depending on your nationality this may not necessarily be true. Some foreigners from African countries are required to get transit visas just to make international connections through European airports on their ways to the US even if they have valid US visas!
It is always best to check with the consulate of the country you are traveling through to confirm any such "transit" visa requirements. Or you can do a simple search through:
http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations...ation/index.jsp
But Chuckles is probably right on the preliminary assumption that US citizens do not need visas to make international connections.
For example making a connection through Russia and being a US citizen:
"Visa not required if continuing within 24 hours and not leaving the airside (international) transit area. Passenger must hold onward ticket and all documents required for next destination.
If continuing by a domestic flight (also including Belarus); or if airport of arrival is different from airport of departure within the same Russian city (e.g. arriving at Sheremetyevo-2 and departing from Sheremetyevo-1 airport in Moscow): Transit visa required, as entering territory of Russian Fed."

ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE. Some countries (including both the US and Russia) require transit visas even for changing planes. (or staying on the plane if it is taking on fuel).

For instance, a Russian citizen flying to Jamiaca can not change planes in New York without a US visa. (My wife and I looked into going to Jamaica) Getting even a transit visa was not possible, as the K-1 was pending. (This makes such a flight more expensive, either pay $$$ for a flight through Paris, or be lucky enough to get a US Transit visa). Unlike the UK, transit visas are quite difficult to get in the US. Requires embassy interview, etc...

In the US, you are REQUIRED to clear customs and immigration, even if you are connecting to an international flight (this is different from most of Europe). A while ago, I had to connect in the US going to Canada, from Europe. I had to clear immigration. It was a major pain in the butt. This is why international connections rarely happen in the US.

In the case of the US, there is no passport control at airports for international departures. So, someone about to get on their connecting flight could simply leave the airport. (and sneak into the US illegally). Passport control on departures is not necessary here, as we don't have exit visas.

Rules in Russia are even more strict than the US.

Ok, but US citizens do not have to have a visa of any kind for connecting flights in SVO that I am sure of. By all means contact your airline/travel agent or whatever to confirm.

It seems strange that the only country I have heard of now where this is an issue for US citizens with connecting flights in the USA of all places... but all these travel laws and visa laws do not necessarily seem to make sense.

Today, my sweetie and I were talking about spending some time together in Punta Cana, Dominican Rupublic. She told me that this is the major D. R. destination for Russian tourists.

What are the requirements for Russians and Americans to enter the country?

I was doing a quick search and I found a Spirit Airlines flight leaving out of La Guardia and connecting through Fort Lauderdale. Is Spirit Airlines a good and comfortable airline (compared to, say, United). Are there super-cheap flight options, charter or otherwise, that I need to be aware of? I'd rather be comfortable but if I can save two hundred dollars.....

You can always check the visa / travel requirements of any national around the world through:
http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations...ation/index.jsp
And of course you can always email or simply read the websites of the consulate / embassy site of the country in question.
The requirements for entering the Dominican Republic are the same for US and Russian citizens. Pay 10 entry fee and have a passport.
This flight plan will give you grief. Because the US requires all passengers who transit through to go through passport control, your fiancee will have to obtain a transit visa. That means an interview at the consulate or embassy, paperwork costs, visa cost, and travel costs. If the Dominican Republic is indeed a hot travel spot for Russians, then they must be getting here via a route that does not include the Untied States.

I was just wondering about Spirit Airlines, Diana will be arriving via Paris or Frankfurt or someplace like that.

Don't know much about Spirit, although I will be in Paris on the 12th, and Frankfurt on the 18th. (If Diana is passing through, maybe I can say "Privet fellow VJer!")

Unfortunately Dominica is off the table because it would be much too expensive for Diana. So now we are considering Barcelona.





Chuckles, how did you arrange your flight? Through a travel agency as part of a package deal or through Orbitz or something like that? The round trip flights I am looking at cost something like 1300 dollars.

You say you were near Barcelona... do you mean the Costa Brava resorts?

I arranged for my flight through Orbitz. Olya has made arrangments with a travel agency in Russia for her flight, the hotel, and tours. It is cheaper for her to book her flight and arrange for tours in Russia.

However, I do not feel we saved much if anything at all on the hotel, so if I did it again I would arrange my flight and hotel with Orbitz, travelocity, or one of those travel websites, then have Olya book her flight and any tours in Russia.

We are meeting at the Barcelona airport ,and yes, traveling to Costa Brava for the hotel and tours. We are going to be there from July 22-Aug 5. I can't wait !!!

Sounds awesome Chuckles... have fun!!!

Wow Slim, you mean the 12th of July? Katya will be passing through Paris on that date too. You can't miss her - she'll be the tall, sexy, nervous blond scurrying around to make it to her connecting gate on time!

Maybe we can meet for a croissant in the international termina!

I'll be in Frankfurt on the 22nd... almost there with ya, but not quite, heh.