Moscow was a breeze!!!

[eekee 182]

Once you get the number of the package---> http://www.dhl.ru/publish/ru/en/eshipping/track.low.html

Thanks everyone!! Now for the "Great Chase the Visa Package Around Moscow Fiasco!!!"

DHL still not showing receipt of package from Consulate. Expect maybe tomorrow it will show up. I can always hope! DHL operates on Saturday here so I wonder if that is a working day for them? I am just hoping that they will have it at their office no later than Saturday morning. (keeps fingers crossed!)

Cheers ya'll!

How are you tracking it? That could be useful information!

Edited April 4, 2008 by eekee

[CARY 0]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NavarreMan 10]

Thanks all for your invaluable information. Tanya picked up the visa's a few minutes ago at the DHL distribution center in Moscow and will be on the plane tomorrow arriving in Atlanta at 4:30PM!!!

I know that there is much more to come in the process but this seems like the end of a very long road and I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted. I have today to decompress before driving to Atlanta tomorrow.

[irish44 0]

I'm very happy for you both!!!

You probably won't be sleeping much tonight!

[NavarreMan 10]

Here is the best info I received on the DHL proceedures in Moscow: (Thanks Igor & Elina!)

Hi Bill,

There are only three ways to get your visa fast after the interview. One is to have DHL deliver to their central office in Moscow and pick up from there in person. Second is to have DHL deliver to your home address, but instead intercept it at their sorting office in Moscow. And the third way is to actually pick it up from the embassy, as far as I know, this one only works for special circumstance. Below is a quote from my earlier post on the subject.

There are two DHL offices in Moscow that you can get your packet from:

"Tverskoe"

125047, 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya str., 11

Telephone: 7-(495) 956-10-00/ 961-10-00

Mon-Fri: 08.00-24.00

Sat-Sun: 10.00-16.00

"Moskovskoe"

127083, 8 Marta str., 14, bld.,1

Telephone: 7-(495) 956-10-00/ 961-10-00

Mon-Fri: 08.00-21.00

Sat-Sun: 10.00-16.00

To get it from "Tverskoe" office you will need to address your airbill to them and then go and pick it up from there about 3 work days after the interview. You will be able to track online when they get it.

To get it from "Moskovskoe" office if a bit more tricky. This is the "intercept" version. "Moskovskoe" is their central distribution office in Moscow that all the packets get routed through. So, you address your airbill to any address you want, like your home, then you track it very often. Usually it will be picked up from the embassy on the second work day after the interview. That same evening it will arrive to the "Moskovskoe" office and if you time it right you can get there before they close and pick it up. If you miss it, it'll get sent to the address on the airbill that same night.

Yes, it is possible to pick it up from the embassy (Elina did it), but it can only be done in special circumstance and, again, only on the second work day after the interview. Elina had the interview expedited and under the same circumstance they've allowed her to pick it up directly from the embassy. We were on pins and needles though, cuz we weren't sure it would work.

The special circumstance in our case is that my, now wife, Elina is pregnant. If her interview were to be scheduled following normal timeframes, she would have been due to give birth at about the same time as the interview, thus we would have had to delay the interview for later and then file for the birth abroad and all the other mess related to this. So, after I've bugged the embassy about it and also had my senator and congressment bug them as well, the embassy agreed to expedite the interview and also allowed us to pick up the visa packet directly from the embassy, skipping the DHL.

Good luck with the interview! Or did she already have it?

--Igor

[mox 298]

Thanks all for your invaluable information. Tanya picked up the visa's a few minutes ago at the DHL distribution center in Moscow and will be on the plane tomorrow arriving in Atlanta at 4:30PM!!!

I know that there is much more to come in the process but this seems like the end of a very long road and I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted. I have today to decompress before driving to Atlanta tomorrow.

Absolutely fantastic news NavarreMan. You'll no doubt be busy over the next...er...rest of your life... but please do drop in to let us know how things are going and to share any interesting adjustment experiences you have!

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Прекрасно!

NavarreMan da man! I will be sooo happy when I will be in your shoes.

Thanks all for your invaluable information. Tanya picked up the visa's a few minutes ago at the DHL distribution center in Moscow and will be on the plane tomorrow arriving in Atlanta at 4:30PM!!!

I know that there is much more to come in the process but this seems like the end of a very long road and I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted. I have today to decompress before driving to Atlanta tomorrow.

[mox 298]

Прекрасно!

Because it's my mission in life to drag every thread off-topic, I have to ask: Is this a synonym for отлично? Seems like I've run across it before, but my dictionary doesn't have it.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

This is the word for "Wonderful" and yours is "Excellent". Close... but a little different mindset.

Прекрасно!

Because it's my mission in life to drag every thread off-topic, I have to ask: Is this a synonym for отлично? Seems like I've run across it before, but my dictionary doesn't have it.

[irish44 0]

Прекрасно!

Because it's my mission in life to drag every thread off-topic, I have to ask: Is this a synonym for отлично? Seems like I've run across it before, but my dictionary doesn't have it.

Whether it is really correct or no.. my dictionary defines Прекрасно! as "It is Wonderful", and отлично as "It is Excellent".

[mox 298]

This is the word for "Wonderful" and yours is "Excellent". Close... but a little different mindset.

I need to learn how to read a dictionary...found it.

Thanks!

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Yes, it helps!

This is the word for "Wonderful" and yours is "Excellent". Close... but a little different mindset.

I need to learn how to read a dictionary...found it.

Thanks!

[mox 298]

Yes, it helps!

It would help if they put words in alphabetical order.

[eekee 182]

With words that are so straight-up slavic these kind of wonderful/excellent distinctions are kind of superficial. It's much better to look at the roots: lichniy has to do with personal/unique/different, ot can mean either origin or completion but usually has a positive connotation. So something which is otlichniy separates itself from the pack in a very positive way. With prekrasno, pre means excessive and krasniy means beauty, so it's sort of like something which is just soo amazingly beautiful and wonderful. That's partly why russian/english translation is so difficult--slavic words are built upon building blocks that are so specific and meaningful and english doesn't really convey it fully. Like excellent doesn't really carry this notion of separation that otlichniy does.

[Kazan' Tiger 1]

Good points Eekee! I try to look at the root too. It really helps. When I saw Navarreman's news. I thought wonderful, as in this is a beautiful thing and прекрасно came to mind. This is why I chose the word I did.

With words that are so straight-up slavic these kind of wonderful/excellent distinctions are kind of superficial. It's much better to look at the roots: lichniy has to do with personal/unique/different, ot can mean either origin or completion but usually has a positive connotation. So something which is otlichniy separates itself from the pack in a very positive way. With prekrasno, pre means excessive and krasniy means beauty, so it's sort of like something which is just soo amazingly beautiful and wonderful. That's partly why russian/english translation is so difficult--slavic words are built upon building blocks that are so specific and meaningful and english doesn't really convey it fully. Like excellent doesn't really carry this notion of separation that otlichniy does.

Edited April 7, 2008 by Kazan' Tiger