Finished the debriefing and reviewed my notes with my girl again and here is the whole process from start to finish. I know Slim is up an a few days so I wanted to post this immediately. If you have questions do not hesitate to ask. My girl is very excited to help others. She took great notes!

We arrived at the embassy at 7:30 AM, a little early but there were already others waiting. At about 7:45 they had the girls line up and then started checking passports and the pink “invitational slip” that was sent to the girls with instructions on it. Then they went through a security screening outside before they were allowed to enter the north entrance to the embassy. Once inside the girls received a number and waited to be called up to the first window. The entire visa process takes place in sort of a hallway and not in separate rooms. The girls can see and hear most everything that goes on with the others being interviewed.

At the first window a Russian security officer checked all the documents very carefully and kept her DS-230, DS-156, my I-134 and my last years tax transcript and W-2. He also asked for and kept one picture of us together. He then issued her a slip to take to another window to pay the fee of $100 which she paid in US currency. She then watched a movie on a monitor while waiting for her number to appear for the interview (as she watched and listened to all that was going on around her).

The interview was conducted at another window, not in a separate room. There were three people conducting interviews, two women and one man. My girl said they were all very nice and friendly and with smiles. My girl’s interviewer (a woman) checked all documents and compared the information to something that was appearing on her computer screen. Then my fiancé was invited up to the window for the interview. First there was the swearing in, and then a digital scan of the right and left index fingers, and then began the questions. The first question they asked my girl was can you speak English? My girl said yes, a little. They started asking her questions in Russian, but my girl answered all questions in English so they switched the interview to English. Then the next question was “Tell me something about your fiancé”. Then they asked my girl’s daughter what she thought of me. My fiancé was asked to show telephone bills (fortunately I had used a prepaid system which allowed me to print out a complete record of all my calls) and she showed mine and hers. She also showed some ICQ instant message print outs. Next the interviewer asked to see any letters or cards. We had a collection of 7 or 8 cards that we had exchanged and the interviewer looked these over and read some of them and asked a few questions about some postcards and made some nice comments about the cards from my home town in Florida. She then asked where in Florida I lived. Then she asked if we had planned a date for our wedding. The interviewer then said congratulations for your success (in the interview)! The actual interview took about 5 minutes, but from the time of entering the embassy until leaving was 2 hours.

Other girls were asked:
How did you meet?
Where have you been together?
What are you two talking about when you are alone?
How many times have you met?
Do you know about his age? (He was more than 25 years older than her)
What will you do after you are married?

One girl was successful but was asked to return with more documents about her children for their visas. Two girls arrived without the DS-230 filled out, but we did not find out what happened to them. It also appeared that girls that could speak good English had very quick and easy interviews and girls that had difficulty with English had longer interviews and were asked many more questions.


Hope this helps!

Thanks a bunch Neonred. Excellent notes, you weren't kidding about a "debriefing"!!!

As far as Elena's interview on Wednesday.... it seems there's going to be a delay in the process. (See complete story on the Financial info thread.) She's still waiting on my financial documents (DOH! Should've sent them earlier) and her regional police check. She did talk to an official and they told her she can get an extension. Hopefully that's possible. More to follow.

In the mean time, I guess we'll have a chance to practice interview questions in English. Thanks again.

Oh, I forgot to add they really wanted a letter from my work. I am self employed and she told them that, but they indicated they really would have liked some letter about that anyway. Didn't seem to be a problem. They didn't look at the bank letter or my 6 bank statements.

I'll write about the medical exam later when I purchase more internet time, and then about our return to the US through Atlanta after that happens.

Congratulations on passing the interview.
My wife would have had a lot of fun with this question, if it was asked

Good point - I'm self employed, but figured the letter would be a good idea. As luck would have it, one of my better customers over the years happens to pay me as a W-2. (I pay myself that way too). Just had them send me a form letter, that was fine. The letter only stated what they paid me per hour, and that they expect this contract to continue indefinitely.

This shouldn't be uncommon, as most Consultants/Doctors/Lawyers/CPAs/etc in the States pay themselves this way (small W-2 income, most income from distributions from an LLC/C-Corp or S-Corp).

I imagine that a letter from one of your customers would work just as well, even if they paid you corp to corp or 1099. (My letter didn't state how they paid me, and I don't think it really matters).