Wife interview scheduled

[Ilya R. 0]

For people who went through this already.

My wife's interview is scheduled Dec 8th 8am. When will she be able to leave the country? For what date should I purchase tickets? Could she leave that same week? Does she need to wait for something? She is CR-1 Visa.

Thanks in advance!

[Ilya R. 0]

#######,

Cant they give her the visa right there? Or do they have to DHL it to her? She lives in St. Petes.

[Ilya R. 0]

#######,

Cant they give her the visa right there? Or do they have to DHL it to her? She lives in St. Petes.

They don't issue it same day. They have to print it up first, and that takes time. Do they do CR-1 visas at the St. Pete consulate? If so you might be able to arrange picking it up from the local DHL office, but I don't think the consulate will allow you to pick it up directly. That's the case for Moscow anyway. If you're going through the St. Pete consulate, you might want to ask if they can accomodate you.

No St. Petes doesnt do interviews.

[Brad and Vika 129]

Ilya, there is a thread somewhere with lots of info. for you. I did a quick search but couldn't track it down. The consensus is that if DHL is delivering to the same city, buying tickets a week out is probably OK, and picking up at the DHL office will save a day or two. If it is a different city, maybe ten days out is good for a reservation. Cheers and congratulations to you both

[Brad and Vika 129]

Sorry Ilya - the thread I mentioned was about picking up in Ukraine/Kiev.

[A_I_S 0]

DHL is fairly reliable in Russia (packages from Kursk to Austin take 4 days, Austin to Kursk take 6). I've gone ahead and bought the tickets anyway, with the holiday season coming up. Lena's flying out on Nov. 15th, and the interview was done on Oct. 29th.

In your situation, I would suggest that you buy tickets now for 2 weeks after the interview. This is mainly because Dec is always a busy traveling season and you may not actually be able to find tickets at any kind of reasonable price if you wait until after interview is done, unless you want her to leave after New Years. And if the worst comes to worst and her visa is delayed more than 2 weeks due to administrative processing...fine, you can pay extra $150-$300 to reschedule.

Btw, Singapore Airlines is currently selling Moscow-Houston tickets (one way) at $850, hell of a deal.

P.S. I remember flying in Dec and there were no tickets left for the standard Frankfurt connections, so I had to fly from SpB to Moscow to Italy to the US, except of course that in Moscow I arrived in SVO1 and was flying out of SVO2...you can imagine my surprise.

[Ilya R. 0]

yeah I found some nice deals 670$ to Newark!! from St. Petes.

So I'll prolly order tickets for 16th, and hope for the best.

Is there anything else she needs but visa before she leaves?

[A_I_S 0]

yeah I found some nice deals 670$ to Newark!! from St. Petes.

So I'll prolly order tickets for 16th, and hope for the best.

Is there anything else she needs but visa before she leaves?

Pack her bags.

Consider doing some dental work/medical work at home, because it's quite often cheaper even if you go to a decent doctor. Well, maybe not in Moscow/SPb but it never hurts to check up on that.

[Ilya R. 0]

yeah I found some nice deals 670$ to Newark!! from St. Petes.

So I'll prolly order tickets for 16th, and hope for the best.

Is there anything else she needs but visa before she leaves?

Pack her bags.

Consider doing some dental work/medical work at home, because it's quite often cheaper even if you go to a decent doctor. Well, maybe not in Moscow/SPb but it never hurts to check up on that.

Ok, Spasibo!

[Ilya R. 0]

DHL is fairly reliable in Russia (packages from Kursk to Austin take 4 days, Austin to Kursk take 6). I've gone ahead and bought the tickets anyway, with the holiday season coming up. Lena's flying out on Nov. 15th, and the interview was done on Oct. 29th.

In your situation, I would suggest that you buy tickets now for 2 weeks after the interview. This is mainly because Dec is always a busy traveling season and you may not actually be able to find tickets at any kind of reasonable price if you wait until after interview is done, unless you want her to leave after New Years. And if the worst comes to worst and her visa is delayed more than 2 weeks due to administrative processing...fine, you can pay extra $150-$300 to reschedule.

Btw, Singapore Airlines is currently selling Moscow-Houston tickets (one way) at $850, hell of a deal.

P.S. I remember flying in Dec and there were no tickets left for the standard Frankfurt connections, so I had to fly from SpB to Moscow to Italy to the US, except of course that in Moscow I arrived in SVO1 and was flying out of SVO2...you can imagine my surprise.

hey AIS,

after your wife's interview how long did it take to receive visa?

Thanks

[A_I_S 0]

DHL is fairly reliable in Russia (packages from Kursk to Austin take 4 days, Austin to Kursk take 6). I've gone ahead and bought the tickets anyway, with the holiday season coming up. Lena's flying out on Nov. 15th, and the interview was done on Oct. 29th.

In your situation, I would suggest that you buy tickets now for 2 weeks after the interview. This is mainly because Dec is always a busy traveling season and you may not actually be able to find tickets at any kind of reasonable price if you wait until after interview is done, unless you want her to leave after New Years. And if the worst comes to worst and her visa is delayed more than 2 weeks due to administrative processing...fine, you can pay extra $150-$300 to reschedule.

Btw, Singapore Airlines is currently selling Moscow-Houston tickets (one way) at $850, hell of a deal.

P.S. I remember flying in Dec and there were no tickets left for the standard Frankfurt connections, so I had to fly from SpB to Moscow to Italy to the US, except of course that in Moscow I arrived in SVO1 and was flying out of SVO2...you can imagine my surprise.

hey AIS,

after your wife's interview how long did it take to receive visa?

Thanks

Interview was Wed morning, by Saturday she had it (and she lives in Kursk).

[Ilya R. 0]

DHL is fairly reliable in Russia (packages from Kursk to Austin take 4 days, Austin to Kursk take 6). I've gone ahead and bought the tickets anyway, with the holiday season coming up. Lena's flying out on Nov. 15th, and the interview was done on Oct. 29th.

In your situation, I would suggest that you buy tickets now for 2 weeks after the interview. This is mainly because Dec is always a busy traveling season and you may not actually be able to find tickets at any kind of reasonable price if you wait until after interview is done, unless you want her to leave after New Years. And if the worst comes to worst and her visa is delayed more than 2 weeks due to administrative processing...fine, you can pay extra $150-$300 to reschedule.

Btw, Singapore Airlines is currently selling Moscow-Houston tickets (one way) at $850, hell of a deal.

P.S. I remember flying in Dec and there were no tickets left for the standard Frankfurt connections, so I had to fly from SpB to Moscow to Italy to the US, except of course that in Moscow I arrived in SVO1 and was flying out of SVO2...you can imagine my surprise.

hey AIS,

after your wife's interview how long did it take to receive visa?

Thanks

Interview was Wed morning, by Saturday she had it (and she lives in Kursk).

Thank you

did she go to DHL to pick it up or delivered?

[A_I_S 0]

DHL is fairly reliable in Russia (packages from Kursk to Austin take 4 days, Austin to Kursk take 6). I've gone ahead and bought the tickets anyway, with the holiday season coming up. Lena's flying out on Nov. 15th, and the interview was done on Oct. 29th.

In your situation, I would suggest that you buy tickets now for 2 weeks after the interview. This is mainly because Dec is always a busy traveling season and you may not actually be able to find tickets at any kind of reasonable price if you wait until after interview is done, unless you want her to leave after New Years. And if the worst comes to worst and her visa is delayed more than 2 weeks due to administrative processing...fine, you can pay extra $150-$300 to reschedule.

Btw, Singapore Airlines is currently selling Moscow-Houston tickets (one way) at $850, hell of a deal.

P.S. I remember flying in Dec and there were no tickets left for the standard Frankfurt connections, so I had to fly from SpB to Moscow to Italy to the US, except of course that in Moscow I arrived in SVO1 and was flying out of SVO2...you can imagine my surprise.

hey AIS,

after your wife's interview how long did it take to receive visa?

Thanks

Interview was Wed morning, by Saturday she had it (and she lives in Kursk).

Thank you

did she go to DHL to pick it up or delivered?

I just checked, and DHL delivered the passport + immigration POE packet on Sat, so basically we got ours within 3 days.

And she did not have to present any copies at the interview.

[KGSodie 0]

I feel like a counter-scenario is appropriate. After our interview, we received the visas (we picked them up at DHL directly) about 3 weeks later. Please keep in mind that sometimes, through no fault of your own, these things CAN (not MUST) go into bureaucratic limbo. Plan accordingly. Changing airline tickets (3 times, in my case) can be a costly affair.

That said, statistics show that you will probably not have any problems, and I sincerely wish you and yours the very best of luck!

[A_I_S 0]

I feel like a counter-scenario is appropriate. After our interview, we received the visas (we picked them up at DHL directly) about 3 weeks later. Please keep in mind that sometimes, through no fault of your own, these things CAN (not MUST) go into bureaucratic limbo. Plan accordingly. Changing airline tickets (3 times, in my case) can be a costly affair.

That said, statistics show that you will probably not have any problems, and I sincerely wish you and yours the very best of luck!

True. What Ilya needs to do is basically apply the "Fastest. Cheapest. Safest. Pick two" rule.

Fastest and cheapest: buy tickets now for 1.5-2 weeks after the interview.

Fastest and safest: Buy tickets now for 1.5-2 weeks after the interview, but buy not economy class tickets that have rescheduling fee but more expensive ones that allow you to change the date without paying $200.

Cheapest and safest: wait until you have visa then buy cheapest tickets for after new Years.

Considering the odds of getting into KGs' situation and price and availability of tickets in December and their desire to get to the US as soon as possible I think the fastest and cheapest approach would work best.