some info on Ukraine

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

Hello All:

we finally have filed our I-129F petition! We had a bit of a problem getting the documents together due to some problems with my fiancee's divorce certificate. In case you did not know, Ukraine has recently made Ukrainian the official language (rather than Russian) and have undertaken to change existing legal documents. My fiance had misplaced her original divorce certificate and when she requested a new copy she got one that had been translated to Ukrainian but there were several errors including her name was spelled 3 different ways and NONE were correct! We had to get a new certificate. I was just there and it seemed to be an impossible task to get this corrected until she produced 50 grivnya to give the clerk (about $10) who then suddenly found the time to correct the document and walk it around the bulding for signatures.

So for those with Ukrainian fiancees, if you need to get copies of documents, be sure to check them carefully. If she has the original all is OK, but if you must get a copy, be sure to check it. My fiancee is from eastern Ukraine, where very few people speak Ukrainian and it is particularly a problem in Kharkov, Donetsk, Dniepropetrovsk and other eastern oblasts (provinces)

Anyway, I got back, had the Russian department at the University of Vermont translate the document to English and sent the petition today! We are on our way!

Good luck to all

Gary & Alla

[BlakeandOlha 0]

Hello All:

we finally have filed our I-129F petition! We had a bit of a problem getting the documents together due to some problems with my fiancee's divorce certificate. In case you did not know, Ukraine has recently made Ukrainian the official language (rather than Russian) and have undertaken to change existing legal documents. My fiance had misplaced her original divorce certificate and when she requested a new copy she got one that had been translated to Ukrainian but there were several errors including her name was spelled 3 different ways and NONE were correct! We had to get a new certificate. I was just there and it seemed to be an impossible task to get this corrected until she produced 50 grivnya to give the clerk (about $10) who then suddenly found the time to correct the document and walk it around the bulding for signatures.

So for those with Ukrainian fiancees, if you need to get copies of documents, be sure to check them carefully. If she has the original all is OK, but if you must get a copy, be sure to check it. My fiancee is from eastern Ukraine, where very few people speak Ukrainian and it is particularly a problem in Kharkov, Donetsk, Dniepropetrovsk and other eastern oblasts (provinces)

Anyway, I got back, had the Russian department at the University of Vermont translate the document to English and sent the petition today! We are on our way!

Good luck to all

Gary & Alla

Congratulations on getting it all filed. I thought that with translations the translator has to certify the accuracy of the translation. Were they able to do that at the University? My fiancee is from Zaporozhje is yours fron Donetsk? Weclome.

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

Blake and Olha:

Yes it must be certified and the Russian department at the university is qualified to do this, they certify it.

Blake, I lived in Odessa for 2 years. One of my favorite cities. I met my fiancee when I went back there and was returning, I had a layover in Prague and she was onthe plane from Odessa to Prague. She was going to a furniture exhibition there (she is a sales person for a furniture company) and I helped her with her bags of catalogs, we had coffee together and spent the evening walking around Prague. It grew from there.

She is from Donetsk. How long will you be in Ukraine? I am going back in May, probably to Donetsk, but maybe to Odessa, it depends on her schedule. In Ukraine i have an aquaintance, Dion Laurie who rents lots of real nice flats in central Odessa for very reasonable rates. I lived right near the city garden, the park with the musical fountain.

Have you been to the opera? Very wonderful, I was there in November.

Good luck to you and Olha

Gary and Alla

PS got my NOA1 today!

[Scott and Iryna 2]

Hello Gary and Alla. Congratulations on your filing. I hope you have speedy approval. I filed on Feb 25th, and I am hoping for the best. I see you are from Vermont. Can I ask where? I am next door, in New Hampshire. It would be great to know somebody nearby, especially if the women will be arriving to the US on roughly the same timeline.

I will also be back in Ukraine in May. Between May 1 and May 12, I will be in Kiev, Sumy, and Kharkov. This period is a VERY BIG holiday in Ukraine, with many celebrations throughout the country. With luck, I will go back again a couple of months later, and bring my Ira home.

[payxibka 10,048]

Yes it must be certified and the Russian department at the university is qualified to do this, they certify it.

For USCIS the "certification" standard is a fairly easy one, the Russian department is WAY MORE than qualified....

The change of the "official" language to Ukrainian is not necessarily a recent one but certainly one that has had its challenges getting its acceptance ......

Edited March 24, 2008 by fwaguy

[BlakeandOlha 0]

Blake and Olha:

Yes it must be certified and the Russian department at the university is qualified to do this, they certify it.

Blake, I lived in Odessa for 2 years. One of my favorite cities. I met my fiancee when I went back there and was returning, I had a layover in Prague and she was onthe plane from Odessa to Prague. She was going to a furniture exhibition there (she is a sales person for a furniture company) and I helped her with her bags of catalogs, we had coffee together and spent the evening walking around Prague. It grew from there.

She is from Donetsk. How long will you be in Ukraine? I am going back in May, probably to Donetsk, but maybe to Odessa, it depends on her schedule. In Ukraine i have an aquaintance, Dion Laurie who rents lots of real nice flats in central Odessa for very reasonable rates. I lived right near the city garden, the park with the musical fountain.

Have you been to the opera? Very wonderful, I was there in November.

Good luck to you and Olha

Gary and Alla

PS got my NOA1 today!

The great thing Gary is that even though you just filed, Alla's embassy interview may be at or before Olga's interview. Needless to say, I will be asking a lot about your experiences. When I go to Zap-town, Olga will usually get an apartment for me near where she lives with her son and father (in the grand FSU tradition). I love rubbing elbows, literally, with the natives, and my needs are simple, so I have only done the "western" style apartment in Zaporozhye once. It was nice but too far away from my girl.