Hi all! I actually posted these questions in my "We're approved" thread here in the Russia forum. But I was thinking it might not get many views. So, I've copied them to this thread dedicated to just those questions. here they are. thanks for any help!

My first question....How soon after the embassy receives our petition will they schedule an interview? I mean, they will send out this packet 3, right? Will this have an interview date already set? Or will they schedule her interview after she sends the list back?

Second question....What's the typical wait time from NVC to hearing something from the embassy?

Next.....If I call NVC in a few days, and they have my case, will they give me the new case number? Will this case number enable me to track my petition at the embassy?

Next.....Is it too soon for Sasha to get her police reports? Does she need something from the packet before she does this??

Next.....Instead of mailing the Aff. of Sup. can I take it to her when I go to Russia at Christmas?

Next.....Is it possible to have an interview as early as late January/early February?

Just a few questions to start with Thanks for any help you all can provide..

Hi Jason,

Sorry, I can only answer a couple of your questions since I'm waiting on NOA2 myself. I'll be interested to hear what others say.

Police report: Have her start working on it now. It's good for 1 year. She doesn't need anything from the packet. (Some places, like Tokyo, do require information from the packet, but not Russia.)

Aff of Supp: You can bring it with you. She just needs to have it the day of the interview.

Thanks Kirk! I will take it with me. and I'll ask Sasha to begin working on this police report. Good luck on a speedy approval!!

Thanks! I used to consider myself lucky for going through CSC, but now it seems the tables have turned! But overall approval rates seem to be increasing, so hopefully it'll only be a couple more months for me.

Make sure to let us know how the interview went, and what questions they asked Sasha. Nadya is stressing the interview big time, I'd like to give her some first hand information to ease her worries.

Here's the answers I know...

Hi Jason,

A look at the the following web pages on the Moscow Embassy web site may help with some of your questions:

K1 Visa Instructions specific to Russia:
http://moscow.usembassy.gov/consular/print...cord_id=fiancee

Interview appointments (ones that have already been scheduled):
http://www.usembassy.ru/consular/iv_dates.php

You might also look at this post from another visa applicant for another country but who did apply through VSC:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=1369435

My take on the above is as follows:

The Moscow Consulate web site says the "police certificate validity is one year since the date of issuance." So, yes this can be done now.

The same web site says the Affidavit of Support "is not required, but may be requested." I take it this refers to a second one, not the one sent to the Service Center. Whether you get a second one or not, your fiancee would take it with her to the interview ("All documents should be supplied on the day of the interview.") So, yes, I think you can just take the Affidavit with you when you go to Russia for Christmas.

The appointments already scheduled go out through Jan 17. So I am thinking a January or February interview date is still possible.

From the experience of another applicant, the NVC wait time appears to be "something like 5 days" for a VSC filer.

This same person says at NVC you get a new "tracking number" (whatever that is) but not a new "case number." I understand the case number to be the "receipt number" on the NOA2. So you can still follow your application with the receipt number. Some of the applicant identifiers on the appointments web page appear to resemble the NOA2 receipt number.

It is not clear to me yet who schedules the interview--the embassy or the beneficiary; or when this can or should be done. The web site says "once interview at the Embassy has been scheduled, the beneficiary is provided via mail with an invitation letter and information sheet outlining the steps to be taken."

I take special interest in your case as your timeline is about the same as mine and we are using the same embassy.

I hope this helps rather than to confuse. It may raise more questons.

Patrick

Thanks Jeff! Thanks Patrick! I will keep everyone posted of all progress made and give details of every step. Cheers!

Jason

I'm pretty sure the embassy schedules the interview. I think once they receive the paperwork from NVC they send the beneficiary a packet with a list of instructions and an interview date for two months out. I think they think this is the time needed for the beneficiary to collect up her documents. Two months seems pretty much standard...

I know you'll never believe me, but the interview is the most over-hyped part of the whole VJ process. If you've done everything you should've (and by being here on VJ, you will) then it'll be a cake walk.

And since you cut and pasted your questions from the other thread, I'll cut and paste my answers.

QUOTE(Jason-Sasha @ Dec 2 2007, 06:10 AM)
My first question....How soon after the embassy receives our petition will they schedule an interview? I mean, they will send out this packet 3, right? Will this have an interview date already set? Or will they schedule her interview after she sends the list back?


The interview will be scheduled fairly quickly (within a couple weeks) for a time a few months away from then. So, if they get your packet in about two weeks, you could get an interview in Feb or Mar. (Not an estimate, just saying it takes about two months or so usually.) The packet 3 (which Moscow only sends one packet) will be sent once they get the case in Moscow and start setting her up for an interview. I believe (not 100% but I'm pretty sure) the interview date is sent out with the packet on somewhat of an "invitation slip" type deal. She doesn't need to send anything back to them (like they do at other embassies, remember, Moscow is "special") but she will need to complete a few forms including some online versions. (Instructions are in the packet.)


QUOTE(Jason-Sasha @ Dec 2 2007, 06:10 AM)
Second question....What's the typical wait time from NVC to hearing something from the embassy?


Barring any "issues" it's typically about a month to six weeks. (Interview assigned date. I believe you get an e-mail or something saying like "packet received by embassy." But you won't actually get an interview date until about a month or so from the time it leaves NVC.)


QUOTE(Jason-Sasha @ Dec 2 2007, 06:10 AM)
Next.....If I call NVC in a few days, and they have my case, will they give me the new case number? Will this case number enable me to track my petition at the embassy?


They may give you your new case number if they know it and if you're lucky enough to get in touch with an actual person. You can use this number to track your petition at the embassy, but only if you get it, and only if the embassy is actually assigning a date, and only if you can get in touch with a real person and only if they're in a good mood that day and only if..... get the picture? You're talking a whole bunch of "in theory" stuff that is technically true, but not very probable.


QUOTE(Jason-Sasha @ Dec 2 2007, 06:10 AM)
Next.....Is it too soon for Sasha to get her police reports? Does she need something from the packet before she does this??


It is NOT too soon for her to start getting her police reports. However, she will have detailed instructions mailed to her inside the packet and there should be sufficient time to compile all reports prior to the interview. She doesn't actually NEED something from the packet to start this process but it will tell her exactly what she needs to get. There's no reason to "hurry up and get them now" before you even have an interview date. That said, it's never too early! (They say they want them within a six-month time period prior to the interview, but that's not entirely accurate. As long as they're within a "recent" time, she'll be fine. 7 months isn't going to get her denied.)


QUOTE(Jason-Sasha @ Dec 2 2007, 06:10 AM)
Next.....Instead of mailing the Aff. of Sup. can I take it to her when I go to Russia at Christmas?


Yes. It needs to be "recent" as well and as long as you don't have a significant financial change between now and the interview, you should have no problems. You will probably have an updated W-2 by the time her interview rolls around so you may want to send that to her and a few more recent pay stubs and maybe even an updated employer letter in Feb or so. Your Aff. of Sup. from Dec. should be just fine though.


QUOTE(Jason-Sasha @ Dec 2 2007, 06:10 AM)
Next.....Is it possible to have an interview as early as late January/early February?


It's "possible" but it's more probable that she'll have an interview in mid-Feb to March or even April. You can check out the dates on the website and check to see what the most recent updates are scheduled for. You can probably add about two weeks to a month on to the most recent updates and get a pretty accurate idea of when you're going to see your petition # up there. (See above)


Some of the guys that have been through this pretty recently can probably guesstimate this better than I can but the trend seems to be about 3 months from leaving NVC which would put you right about March 1. That's where my money is!!! Hope it's sooner for you but if I were a wagering man...... Good luck, and keep the questions coming.

Really great reply, Slim! Thanks a million. and also thanks to everyone else who has helped me with some info. I will certainly be asking plenty more questions as the weeks go by. I'm really glad to be part of the "Russian" group. Slim, I've noticed that Moscow does in fact seem to be "special". Different procedures than all other embassies around the world. Any idea why this is?? I'm glad that its a bit more simple than most other nations, but dont know why. Ok, going to the mailbox now. My hardcopy NOA2 should be there now. .....And I'd like to start tracking it through NVC to the the embassy. I'm so excited now. Its finally sinking in that the hardest part is behind us. And I can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel!!

In actuality, I think every embassy tends to be different from every other embassy. Each embassy has a lot of discretion on how to operate, and for good reason. Every country has its own peculiarities, and each presents different immigration challenges. The Phillipines, for instance, has been known to turn down an application because the sponsor only barely met the requirements for income or sponsorship. In Japan there are extra hoops to jump through after the packet is received. In Canada and Britain, the interviews are the barest of technicalities, while in China I've heard that it's a grilling. A lot of it has to to with fraud rate, but I'm sure there are other factors. I think in some ways the ambassador to another country has more power than a governor in one of our own states. They're only barely answerable to the State Department, and even then it really depends on how cozy that Ambassador is with the President.

Yep, Moscow is different. I don't want to take away from the other forums on VJ, but I try to steer the new guys away from the K-1 and AOS forums and all that. They have great answers for specific questions "what should I put on question #4 part A where it says 'prepared by'?" but they really have no idea what it's like to go through Moscow. The guys (and girls!) in this forum have been through it and can help you more specifically from day one. I think you can cover your VJ process, start to finish, simply by staying in the Russia Forum. I know I did! (The K-1 forum actually just confused me....)

As for the embassies all having "special" ways of dealing with the visas and interviews, if you look at the big picture, the embassy is somewhat of a microcosm for the political relations between the U.S. and that country. For instance, in Russia, it has been historically more difficult for average citizens to interact with Americans (and vice-versa) and our governments still don't fully trust or cooperate with each other. Contrast that with the Philippines, where our governments have pretty much worked hand-in-hand since the end of WWII, and you get a little bit more favorable conditions for immigration. However, there's a twist here that facilitates unique processes in both countries. A VERY HIGH number of fiancee applications are filed each year and that forces the embassies to develop a system of what I see as somewhat of a "visa farm" through the respective embassies. We have to do "business" through the embassies (espionage, trade deals, "waving the flag", etc.; all part of protecting and securing our interests abroad) but they also must make the American citizens back home happy and they do that by producing a steady flow of visas for attractive young women and their families. (Or IT professionals, doctors, scientists, etc., based on the country.) Anyway, take into account IMBRA and all the anti-human-trafficking stuff and you get a system based on reciprocity and necessity.

In many ways Moscow is simpler but in many ways it's more difficult than others. That's why it's special. The thing I like about governmental BS though is regardless of how outlandish it is (what the hell is "competitive liberalization"???) it is often pretty consistent and once you've learned (and mastered!) the system, it's a fairly simple process of following the rules and submitting the right forms and applications to complete the process. Moscow is no different, you just have to learn the "special rules" in dealing with this unique embassy.

That's why we're here. To help you through this "unique" process. There's a set of rules you must follow and if you take the advice of the guys (and girls!) that've been through it already, you should slide right on through as well.

Keep the questions coming!

Thanks alot guys!! You know, I would've spent more time in this forum, but it always seemed very slow and quiet. I actually felt like there weren't very many US/Russian couples here. I mean, compared to most other countries. But now that I am finished with VSC (until AOS) I think i'll be spending most of my time here with all of you.

Slim, help me understand something, if you please.....I learned that my case has been sent to Moscow. It should be there by next week. You said that you think Moscow will send the interview date with the packet to Sasha. Cool. but can I call Moscow next week and ask them directly? I'm just a bit confused. Please excuse me. If this info can be easily found in VJ, I'm sorry for the trouble. Really, I'm just looking for the soonest way of finding this out. Thanks again....

Jas.

We were in Administrative Review about a month for her K3. We were apparently in AR at Vermont for a few weeks also for her K1, but I didn't notice at that time.

A lot of Russian-American couples on this forum spend just 2-4 days at Vermont, though. You can call them (either in Vermont or in DC -- look around on other fora and you'll find numbers) and, with your USCIS case number find out if your case is still in Vermont or in Moscow. You can also find out your Moscow case number that way, which helps big time in looking at the Moscow schedule. That's how I found out about both her K1 and her K3 interview dates.

You have confused me a bit... 2-4 days in Vermont?? Who had that kind of speed with an approval?? I think no one. Did you mean New Hampshire (NVC)? My case is no longer with NVC. On it's way to Moscow. I have the case number. I simply wanted to know the soonest way of finding our interview date. Does the embassy update their webpage with listed appointments, regularly? Seems to me that they wont set an interview date until they send packet 3 and receive the checklist back from Sasha. Just wondering if this sounds correct. I was hoping to find out the date earlier, but hey...take what you get.

The last 3 updates were 2nd of Nov, then 21st and then Dec 3 (the dates are approximate, +/- day or 2)

You can also e-mail them to ask if the interview has been scheduled, or call the state department (number was posted somewhere on the forum recently)

Jason & Sasha,

You have received a lot of very good advice here. You need to understand the process to get a full picture. Your case is now in the hands of the State Department. The NVC is the first stop and the processing can be very quick 3-5 days or last for weeks if your fiancee has a name that sets off bells. Usually the processing is so quick that by the time you get the NOA2 the case is already through NVC and onto the embassy. Most embassies do not have a tracking system set up to report on the status of a particular visa application. However, you can contact the visa control office with the case number in an email and ask them what is the status and if they need any more information.

Please understand that most embassies (Moscow included) have hundreds of various visa applications being submitted. They manage the best they can with the workload, so your case is just another of those applications. I believe that fiancee visa's have a higher degree of approval since they involve a U.S. resident and usually a citizen. But, you are still only one of many and it takes time to schedule so many. Also, you may have further delays as a result of holidays of the U.S. and the host country.

I know the separation has been frustrating, but you are both on the downward slide of completion. Review the embassy reviews on VJ, visit the U.S. embassy website for Russia and get real familiar with the remaining process. You might be able to download packet 3 to get a jump on some things but you will still need to wait for the new case number. This new number carries an identifying abbreviation for the particular embassy involved. When you have that number, your fiancee will be able to schedule her medical exam (watch for time limits of the expiration of the medical exam and where it can be done).

Best of luck, and enjoy your time together. Soon you will be together forever!

Hey folks! I called the number given on the Moscow embassy website for information about interviews this morning, gave my credit card number and wasted a small portion of my life speaking to a nice young woman and getting absolutely NO useful information at all! It was just as meaningless as the USCIS operators that apparently read prepared responses off index cards. I was told NO information is available about our application for 3-4 weeks after leaving NVC minimum... including whether it has even been received! I was told I should not even bother calling back for an additional two weeks. I pointed out that I can find information on the internet (VJ) that others visa applications, having left NVC after our application, already have interviews scheduled! That did not put a dent in her story... she is apparently well trained. Does anyone have a backdoor method of finding out info? I see other people have updated their timelines with receipt dates at the embassy!

It's quality not quantity here on the Russia Forum. You're right about it being slow and quiet. People don't lurk in the forum like they do in K-1 or Off Topic or some of the others. Most people do only a daily or every couple of days update. Sometimes weeks or even years. And we don't have the usual "drama" associated with those threads either. But, that's kind of what makes this forum so special. We usually keep it "strictly business" and "on topic" most of the time with whatever questions or concerns that are posted being answered in the first couple of replies. And then we take it off topic... or further into topic, however you spin that one! Sure we're not as "fun" as some of the other forums, but I like to think of it as "more bang for your buck" here in our forum, and if I'm going to be "wasting" my time hanging out in some online blog forum or whatever, I'd at least like it to be somewhat informational. (I'm one of those guys that when I'm watching TV, it's probably History or Discovery or something like that. Sure, I like the good comedic distraction like everyone else, but I like to "justify" wasting my time and getting fatter by saying "at least I was learning something.")



No trouble at all. Yes, they'll send her something like an appointment slip for her interview that will tell her exactly when to be at the embassy. However, you can find out before by logging on to the website and checking the interview dates and case numbers. You probably could call the embassy directly and find out, but that will probably only save you a few days, the time before the interview is posted on the website. They can't tell you a date if one is not assigned yet! Maybe if you called on Tuesday and they didn't update the website until Friday, sure, you could find out sooner.




Dude, once again, there's no "checklist" that needs to be sent back by Sasha before she gets her interview date or before they schedule her or whatever.

Plain and simple, it works like this:

Moscow embassy receives the packet from NVC. IT takes a week or two to get there and then a few weeks (could be two, could be 20, who knows. Usually about two or three weeks) later they assign an interview date and send the packet (ONLY ONE PACKET with nothing required to be sent back) to Sasha and update the website with the interview date.

You'll be able to check the date on the website, she'll get to see it in her packet. That's about as early as it gets. You could try calling/e-mailing, but as I said above, they have to have a date assigned for you before they can tell it to you! Keep checking the website. It will be there in a couple weeks.

My advice - Don't check it every day. Check it every Saturday morning or every Friday night or every Monday while you're watching Monday Night Football or something like that. You'll go insane checking it a couple times each day. It's going to be a few weeks, so chill out. Relax. Take some time to do some "guy" stuff that you won't be able to do when she gets here. Go drink some beer, go eat some chicken wings, go smoke too many cigarettes with your buddies while watching the game. Also, wear your shoes around the house. Pretty soon, that'll be just a distant memory! (And just think, in three months, you'll be on here like "when my fiancee went to her interview, they asked her ....." because you'll be done!)

Keep the questions coming. There are several others coming up on interview dates as well. I'm sure they have some of the same questions you do. I know I did!



Separate stuff to think about whilst passing the long time waiting.....

And I'll go ahead and tell you this too because I didn't find out until it was too late. When she goes to her medical appointment and gets all of her shots, they're going to give her a shot record in the sealed envelope that she must take to the interview. Inside, theres a form, the DS-3025/Immunization Record. ENSURE SHE GETS A COPY OF THIS FORM!!! She can ask for a copy of this form and they'll make one for her that she can keep. She'll need it for the AOS later when she gets here.

So, she needs to fill out the forms in her packet, get the police report(s), schedule and go to a medical (get that DS-3025 form), all before going to the interview. You need to assemble a "financial support" packet (I-134, employer letter, bank letter, check stubs, tax info, etc.) and send it to her.

More great info!! Thanks again. We'll wait until later in December to start calling the embassy. I'll be going to Moscow in 2.5 weeks. so, I'm focusing on the I134 and supporting documents. We will try to relax until she actually receives packet3.

Have fun in Moscow.... sure wish I was going back!

I think we'll have a very good time. Usually, we spend our "2 weeks" bouncing all around Moscow Region, from one relative to another. That's quite cost effective. And it really allows me time to get to know her family a bit more each time. But this time will be a little different. Sasha has started renting a new flat in Moscow's center. its perfect for this short period while she's waiting for her interview, seeing as her work for Sony is in the heart of the city. When she was living with her parents these past few months, it meant very long commutes and very little sleep for her. So, this trip will be more private for us. And I'll be very surprised if we leave this apartment more than 5 times during my entire trip.

Sounds like fun!

just wanted to jump in and say that we are really close in the timeline, and I'm in USA, and Anna is in Moscow. We are impatiently waiting. also, we are expecting in march and hoping that we can get her here before birth. any chances that delivery date will effect interview date???? I called NVC Monday and was told electronic files have been in moscow since the 13th, and that "whenever" the physical files will show up????? Then interview date will get set. We already have police stuff done. I was just in moscow a few weeks ago, and wanted to go back then end of the month, but have put it off thinking that soon she will be getting interview,and visa and I will be going there to help with move. seems one of us could have taken the files to moscow faster and delivered to embassy<G>.

Just the idea that we're still filling out, mailing in, storing, analyzing, and shipping across oceans millions of physical documents every year is particularly irksome. In the 21st Century, waiting weeks for documents to traverse the world, get sorted and queued is ridiculous. Most of this can be done in mere seconds via email -- and with electronic signatures and encryption, security and authenticity can be at least as easily ensured as it is with paper.

Anyway -- Best of luck to you in getting your interview date as quickly as possible.

Z

There's a 100% chance that if the delivery date and interview date happen to be on the same day.... the delivery date will win.

The interview can be postponed....... deliveries cannot!