What language should my fiancee speak during her interview (which is in two days!!!)? I know consular officers in Russia speak fluent Russian, should she talk to them in Russian or English? Since I am originally from Russia myself, we communicate in Russian, and her English is a bit rusty now - almost 2 years since she was in States last time... What is the best practice?

Thank you!

My fiancee had it in English.
She has an intermidiate level certificate in english but has been corresponding with me in english for over 2 years
and so is quite fluent by now. The consular looked at the information about her english language certificate and made a positive remark about this fact.

It seems consulars are bit biased towards knowledge of english and prefer english.

OK, no problem. My fiancee also has intermediate English certificate, she also studied in the U.S. college for 2 semesters in 2005. However it's been a while since she spoke English so it is not as great as it was before. I just practiced English with her on the phone. I will tell her to speak English to the officer.

I've seen other posts where people reported that they gave the beneficiary a choice.

I know they will give her a choice, however, is it better to speak English to them? Like apgk said, they probably like English more...

Sorry, I didn't finish my thought. I meant to say that I've seen posts where the beneficiary was given the choice, and it didn't really seem to make much difference. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If your packet is in order and she's honest with them (and why wouldn't she be? ) then I'd say she should go with whatever language she's comfortable with. Maybe take a look at the embassy reviews, they might give you some insight. Best of luck to you both!

The language isn't the deciding factor.

If everything else is good, she can speak only Russian. If everything else is suspect, she should probably speak at least a little English.

They will conduct the interview in whatever language is easiest and most comfortable for both parties. Bottom line, it doesn't really matter.

(However, I believe showing a little bit of English proficiency is almost like saying "Hey, look, I've taken the time to learn at least a few words from the country I'm moving to.")

The fact that she speaks Russian with you makes it less important. As the questions are fairly simple in nature, she should try to do it in English if possible.

If she can do it in English it will be a big plus for her. When they are told the couple communicates in Russian they look at it about like an offer to sell the Brooklyn Bridge.

They do give them a choice in language. My first fiancee was told that she could do the interview in English or Russian but if she picked Russian she would not get the Visa. In theory they are not supposed to require English though.

I would say for you to tell her to use English without a doubt.

My fiancée spoke Russian with them on my recommendation. We also communicate in Russian only. I told her, why should you struggle to understand the CO, make him work for it. At the time she was much more articulate in Russian, and if the CO doesn't understand it is his problem and in my opinion will give you benefit of the doubt if he is the one confused. Whereas if you speak broken English you could easily say something that doesn't come across as well for a native English speaker.
Bottom line it all depends on your relationship. If you only saw the person you picked from an online catalog for a week a year ago, odds are you are going to be in trouble if you guys don't communicate in a common language either.

I'll second that. It seems if everything else is in order, the language really doesn't matter. But, if you've had a "short" relationship, better start practicing those questions/answers in English.

If you're a "native" Russian speaker, there should be no problem at all with her speaking only Russian. But, if you guys communicate in the "little bit of Russian" that you know and the "little bit of English" that she knows, then once again, she better start practicing.

However, you said she's been to the U.S., so if you guys had a pretty long "courtship" and met each other several times and all that, then you shouldn't have to worry at all about the spoken language.

We knew each other for over three years, lived together in the U.S. for 9 months and I am a "native" Russian speaker. We communicate in Russian only, however, I told her to speak English to the officer. I think it will look good that she can speak decent English since she is moving to the U.S. to live.

Probably doesn't hurt for her to speak English, but in your case, it's probably not necessary. You two should be able to more than prove an on-going relationship. That's all you have to do. Your visa should be approved already, and the interview is just the icing on the cake.