Well, I wish I could say I had good news about my Fiance's interview. But I do not know the outcome of her 13 June 07 interview. My fiance arrrived in Moscow this past Friday night. She was going to use the weekend and Monday and Tuesday to take care of her medical exam and DHL requirements. Unfortunately when she went to the medical clinics they were all closed due to the Russian holiday. This is hard for me to imagine, from an American perspective, that medical clinics would be closed due to a holiday but that is Russia for you.

We attempted to contact the Embassy to find out what she could do so that she could possibly have a sussessful interview and not have it rescheduled but they were closed as well. She was upset, as was I, but we agreed that she would go to her interview and try to work through the issues with the Consulate. I was hoping to receive an email from her today but so far I have not heard anything. Maybe, no news is good news.

Basil

She didn't call ahead and make an appointment for her medical? That was a mistake. Sorry she is having this problem.

According to her she did call ahead to find out the cost of the exam and confirm date she would be there. This was done a couple of months ago and I don't know if no one realized then that the facility would be closed. We had been making plans for her travel to Moscow since early March, so it is possible she did make the call in March or April. This is all very frustrating.

Keep in mind that these clinics are not hospitals. The medical exam itself is a requirement for the embassy and is "elective" in the eyes of medical staff. No one forces you to immigrate to the US. Second, clinics in Russia can be analogized to those medical associations here in the US where many doctors rent one building and share resources such as nurses and secretaries. People come there for treatment during the day and go home during the night. Unlike a hospital where patients remain over night and so does the staff.

Another mistake. Based on personal experience, we too called a few months early to schedule an appointment only to be laughed at and told to call back when the desired date will be within a few weeks. Although this made me upset for having to take a risk on plane tickets to Moscow (save money for advance purchase), it turned out well in the end because even though we already purchased tickets months in advance we still got our desired medical date. If your fiancée had an actual appointment date, then I can understand your frustration, but, nevertheless, one should always be aware of major holidays. Here is a link:
http://www.consulrussia.org/Protocol/holidays_engl.html

So you get an "approval pending medical results".... no biggy.

Knock it out, finish it all up, and she's on the way! Good luck with everything. Hope you hear some good news soon!

HEY SLIM,

Just received update from my Fiance. SHE has been APPROVED!!!!! They allowed her to have another day to get her medical exam completed and they interviewed her again, this morning Thursday, Moscow time. Alll went well. Hopefully she will be here at the end of this month.

I want to thank you. You have been so helpful to me. Thanks again.

Basil

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THIS IS AN UPDATE TO ALL......................

Just talked with my Fiance. SHE has been APPROVED!!!!! They allowed her to have another day to get her medical exam completed and they interviewed her again, this morning Thursday, Moscow time. Alll went well. Hopefully she will be here at the end of this month.

They asked her about 10 or 12 questions and looked at her documentation of our courtship. Her son was with her and they were satisfied with everything.

Congratulations! I am glad that everything worked out! Good Luck!

Thank you very much... I hope all goes well with you also.

Excellent news, congrats to both of you!

You're welcome for all the help. I'm glad I could help someone! I'm just trying to pay back the help that I received here on VJ when I was in your shoes. There's no doubt in my mind that if it weren't for VJ (and all the great posters here in the Russia forum) my wife wouldn't be here. So, I'll pass on the thanks as well! Thanks to everyone and good luck to all!!!

Morning,
Read about the ups and downs, but it seems like all worked out for the good. Happy to hear all is moving fowards.
Good luck to you both.
David

David,

Thank you for the words of encouragement. I too hope all will go well between us. I just confirmed all airline ticket reservations today. She should be arriving 3 July 2007.

Basil

I'm glad it worked out well. This holiday that caught your fiance short is a new holiday in Russia. There are a lot of new Holidays, and some of the old ones are no longer observed. My wife works for an Institute. That is, she is an employee of the State. She tells me that these new holidays come up, and decisions are taken by she knows not whom, often just a few days ahead of the holiday, to close the Institute or, sometimes, to keep it open. It keeps people guessing.

So, the moral for the rest of us is that our Russian "better halves" need to be aware of the various new and old holidays and avoid needing services in Moscow on those days. Maybe they'll be available, maybe not. And the relevant decisions may be taken just a few days in advance.

My wife found out that this holiday in June (I think they call it Independence Day to celebrate the reconquest of Moscow in the 1600s at the end of their Time of Troubles, when Poles and Swedes conquered a lot of the territory of Russia) would be a day off less than a week before the holiday happened.

Basil- Glad all is well and here's another one appreciative of Visa Journey.