Moscow Trip Report

[Salsa Shark 0]

Olga had been in the US since 1 Apr 2010 on a B-2 tourist visa. During that time, we got the NOA-2, the interview date and arranged for the police certificate. We decided to travel together to Moscow for the medical examination and K-1 interview, then to Chelyabinsk so I could meet her family and help pack the rest of her belongings.

To save on airfare, we took a convoluted flight path under FinnAir that went from Chicago to Manchester to Helsinki to Moscow (Sheremetyevo). We arrived at around 9:30pm on Saturday. We found out that a prearranged cab from the airport to our hotel would have cost over $100 and we did not want to take a chance with a private driver at that time of night. Fortunately, we discovered Aeroexpress, which is awesome. For 300 rubles (~$10) each, we took a rather nice train for a half-hour ride to the Belorussky Railway Station. From there, we got on the Moscow Metro and, two stops later, ended up at Kievskaya Station, right across from our hotel.

Side Note #1: Moscow Metro runs 26 rubles per person per ride. The web site states that it's another 26 rubles on top of that if you are hauling baggage, but every cashier we talked to said they never charged the fee and no one else brought it up either.

Side Note #2: Moscow Metro is >very< efficient, but also very difficult to navigate. There is no signage in English and we did not find a single worker there who spoke English either. Figuring out how to get to a particular train line was a bit of a challenge, as was identifying which track was going in which direction. The good news is that it only takes a ride or two to work out the quirks and then you're practically an expert.

In order to get a reasonable airfare, we also had to fly in a day earlier than we originally planned. This ended up being a good thing as it gave us a chance to scout out the locations of the US Embassy, DHL office and IOM ahead of time.

On Sunday, we made a circuit from the hotel to the US Embassy to the DHL office to IOM and, ultimately, back to the hotel. A long walk, but it gave us a lot more peace of mind knowing that we knew how to get where we needed to go.

Side Note #3: There are ATM machines all over Moscow. The vast majority of them do not work and/or are out of cash.

Side Note #4: A couple of buildings down from the US Embassy is a small mall ("Novinsky Passage", I think). In that mall is the DHL office and a reasonably-priced Italian place called "Il Patio" (which is a chain, apparently).

Okay, gotta finish this later. We're at Domodedovo now waiting for our Chelyabinsk flight and they just announced a gate change. Will add more lovely details shortly.

[SMR 368]

Olga had been in the US since 1 Apr 2010 on a B-2 tourist visa. During that time, we got the NOA-2, the interview date and arranged for the police certificate. We decided to travel together to Moscow for the medical examination and K-1 interview, then to Chelyabinsk so I could meet her family and help pack the rest of her belongings.

To save on airfare, we took a convoluted flight path under FinnAir that went from Chicago to Manchester to Helsinki to Moscow (Sheremetyevo). We arrived at around 9:30pm on Saturday. We found out that a prearranged cab from the airport to our hotel would have cost over $100 and we did not want to take a chance with a private driver at that time of night. Fortunately, we discovered Aeroexpress, which is awesome. For 300 rubles (~$10) each, we took a rather nice train for a half-hour ride to the Belorussky Railway Station. From there, we got on the Moscow Metro and, two stops later, ended up at Kievskaya Station, right across from our hotel.

Side Note #1: Moscow Metro runs 26 rubles per person per ride. The web site states that it's another 26 rubles on top of that if you are hauling baggage, but every cashier we talked to said they never charged the fee and no one else brought it up either.

Side Note #2: Moscow Metro is >very< efficient, but also very difficult to navigate. There is no signage in English and we did not find a single worker there who spoke English either. Figuring out how to get to a particular train line was a bit of a challenge, as was identifying which track was going in which direction. The good news is that it only takes a ride or two to work out the quirks and then you're practically an expert.

In order to get a reasonable airfare, we also had to fly in a day earlier than we originally planned. This ended up being a good thing as it gave us a chance to scout out the locations of the US Embassy, DHL office and IOM ahead of time.

On Sunday, we made a circuit from the hotel to the US Embassy to the DHL office to IOM and, ultimately, back to the hotel. A long walk, but it gave us a lot more peace of mind knowing that we knew how to get where we needed to go.

Side Note #3: There are ATM machines all over Moscow. The vast majority of them do not work and/or are out of cash.

Side Note #4: A couple of buildings down from the US Embassy is a small mall ("Novinsky Passage", I think). In that mall is the DHL office and a reasonably-priced Italian place called "Il Patio" (which is a chain, apparently).

Okay, gotta finish this later. We're at Domodedovo now waiting for our Chelyabinsk flight and they just announced a gate change. Will add more lovely details shortly.

Thanks for some good information.

In terms of the metro, while there is no English signage, everything is clearly marked including how to get to different lines and which track is going which direction. Even if you don't know Russian, you should be able to find your way around by matching colors and station names. In terms of the baggage I'm a little disappointed that you asked. Unless they stop you, you don't pay for baggage. Even then you can try to keep going and pretend to not hear them.

I'm surprised about the ATMs. I would occasionally find one that was out of cash but that was very rare. Were you trying to withdraw rubles?

[AKguy 1]

This sounds way too uneventful!

[slim 1,530]

Doesn't your girl read and speak Russian? I would think a native speaker would have no problem navigating the subway but then, the more I think about it, it probably wasn't a matter of reading the signs so much as it was trying to figure out how to get from one platform to another and ending up on the right side. So, that wouldn't really be a language issue, more of a "matching the colors and directions" issue. Like you said, after a time or two you've pretty much got it figured out.

While it could've changed since I was there in '05 I was able to navigate the subway pretty easily. I could read Russian but like Salsa Shark said, it's not so much the reading part that's hard, it's trying to figure out where to go to end up where you want. Some of the stations have two, three, or even four lines passing through and multiple layers of platforms, tunnels, stairs, etc. My suggestion is just follow the color. My suggestion is also TAKE THE SUBWAY WHENEVER POSSIBLE! Moscow's subway system is awesome, and really, really cheap.

If you're reading this thinking you may have problems with the subway because you can't speak/read Russian, don't sweat it. It's a lot easier and cheaper than trying to convince a taxi driver to take you where you want to go. Plus, if you can't speak/read Russian, you have no business getting into a cab in the first place! If you do take a cab, shut up and let your girl do all the talking. Don't make your English accent known to the cabby. And always, always, always, pay up front. Or just take the subway!

I'm very glad to hear there's a cheap train to Belorussky station. Either it wasn't there in '05 or I just missed it. I think my buddy and I wasted about two hours and $35 sitting in traffic to get there. We stayed just blocks from the vokzal. I got to know that area pretty well. Nice neighborhood and from there you really can get anywhere in Moscow or the rest of Russia.

Thanks for the report, Salsa Shark. While I'll agree your trip already sounds "too" great, in true Russian fashion I won't really say that because that would be bad ju-ju. Have fun on the rest of the adventure. Can't wait to see the next report.

[SMR 368]

Doesn't your girl read and speak Russian? I would think a native speaker would have no problem navigating the subway but then, the more I think about it, it probably wasn't a matter of reading the signs so much as it was trying to figure out how to get from one platform to another and ending up on the right side. So, that wouldn't really be a language issue, more of a "matching the colors and directions" issue. Like you said, after a time or two you've pretty much got it figured out.

While it could've changed since I was there in '05 I was able to navigate the subway pretty easily. I could read Russian but like Salsa Shark said, it's not so much the reading part that's hard, it's trying to figure out where to go to end up where you want. Some of the stations have two, three, or even four lines passing through and multiple layers of platforms, tunnels, stairs, etc. My suggestion is just follow the color. My suggestion is also TAKE THE SUBWAY WHENEVER POSSIBLE! Moscow's subway system is awesome, and really, really cheap.

If you're reading this thinking you may have problems with the subway because you can't speak/read Russian, don't sweat it. It's a lot easier and cheaper than trying to convince a taxi driver to take you where you want to go. Plus, if you can't speak/read Russian, you have no business getting into a cab in the first place! If you do take a cab, shut up and let your girl do all the talking. Don't make your English accent known to the cabby. And always, always, always, pay up front. Or just take the subway!

I'm very glad to hear there's a cheap train to Belorussky station. Either it wasn't there in '05 or I just missed it. I think my buddy and I wasted about two hours and $35 sitting in traffic to get there. We stayed just blocks from the vokzal. I got to know that area pretty well. Nice neighborhood and from there you really can get anywhere in Moscow or the rest of Russia.

Thanks for the report, Salsa Shark. While I'll agree your trip already sounds "too" great, in true Russian fashion I won't really say that because that would be bad ju-ju. Have fun on the rest of the adventure. Can't wait to see the next report.

Pay up front in the taxi?!?! I haven't taken many taxis in Moscow proper, but I would never pay up front. You agree to the price up front. But I would recommend never paying until you get there. Once people have their money, depending on their honesty it can be harder to get them to do what you want. Also, I would recommend carrying exact change because some drivers will claim to not have change even if they do.

[slim 1,530]

Pay up front in the taxi?!?! I haven't taken many taxis in Moscow proper, but I would never pay up front. You agree to the price up front. But I would recommend never paying until you get there. Once people have their money, depending on their honesty it can be harder to get them to do what you want. Also, I would recommend carrying exact change because some drivers will claim to not have change even if they do.

Exactly what I meant to type. Apologies if it seemed like I was telling people to hand the driver money before arriving at the destination. Good catch, SMR.

And your point about exact change is spot on too. They NEVER have change. Keep in mind when paying for the taxi change shouldn't really be an issue because the price shouldn't be that high! Do you think the common Muscovite pays in the thousands of rubles for a ride about town? Two hundred, three hundred, OK. Maybe even 500 since you're a foreigner and going far away.

But always ask yourself - "Should I really pay this guy 1,000 rubles (aka around $40) to drive me when I can take the subway for a buck?"

[visaveteran 1]

Exactly what I meant to type. Apologies if it seemed like I was telling people to hand the driver money before arriving at the destination. Good catch, SMR.

And your point about exact change is spot on too. They NEVER have change. Keep in mind when paying for the taxi change shouldn't really be an issue because the price shouldn't be that high! Do you think the common Muscovite pays in the thousands of rubles for a ride about town? Two hundred, three hundred, OK. Maybe even 500 since you're a foreigner and going far away.

But always ask yourself - "Should I really pay this guy 1,000 rubles (aka around $40) to drive me when I can take the subway for a buck?"

The funny thing about Moscow, there are not many taxis roaming around...especially further out. I remember needing one and not seeing any until we got closer in. We used the bus instead.

[Salsa Shark 0]

The "eventful" parts are still coming Am still getting settled in Chelyabinsk--our sleep schedules are screwed up and we're having some challenges connecting my laptop to Olga's internet provider (Chelcom). More coming soon--thank you for the kind and encouraging words. To comment on a couple of replies:

1. Going to Moscow would have been >much< more difficult for me without having Olga with. I could read the Moscow Metro signs enough to understand which stop to take, but as was already said, it was a challenge finding the right platform the first couple of times, especially during rush hour. It's not too hard to become a grizzled Metro veteran, though.

2. When I was reading up on Moscow Metro (this was Olga's first time there as well), it mentioned that the ticket fare was 26 rubles per person, but 52 rubles with baggage. We did not want to make any assumptions, so we did ask the cashiers a couple of times when we were rolling our suitcases around. They all basically said that they never actually sell "baggage fares" and no one else brought it up to us once we were past the gates.

Despite all that, I really liked using the Metro. It seemed to be every bit as efficient as New York's and it's significantly better than Chicago's. We didn't have trouble finding the stations and, even during rush hour, we were able to get around once we learned that pushing and shoving is accepted and not taken personally

Will post details on the medical exam next, though it was very similar to what was recently posted on that dedicated thread by...Tim & Olga, maybe? Navigating that whole process, though, gives me the utmost respect for every Russian who goes through it. If a Russian woman can successfully run that gauntlet, the Embassy should be rubber-stamping the K-1 visa approvals

Have some pictures I'll post, too, from while I was waiting outside for her interview...

[SMR 368]

Despite all that, I really liked using the Metro. It seemed to be every bit as efficient as New York's and it's significantly better than Chicago's. We didn't have trouble finding the stations and, even during rush hour, we were able to get around once we learned that pushing and shoving is accepted and not taken personally

Stating that Moscow's metro is every bit as efficient as New York's is a bit like saying that a steak is every bit as good as a hot dog. Moscow's metro has better coverage of the city, trains that come many times more frequently, a much easier to understand system (that doesn't include 6 different types of trains running on the same track), a ticket price less than 1/3 of NYC, and stations that don't look like a sewer. The several times I have been in NYC have left me summarily unimpressed.

[bainbridge558 0]

The "eventful" parts are still coming Am still getting settled in Chelyabinsk--our sleep schedules are screwed up and we're having some challenges connecting my laptop to Olga's internet provider (Chelcom). More coming soon--thank you for the kind and encouraging words. To comment on a couple of replies:

1. Going to Moscow would have been >much< more difficult for me without having Olga with. I could read the Moscow Metro signs enough to understand which stop to take, but as was already said, it was a challenge finding the right platform the first couple of times, especially during rush hour. It's not too hard to become a grizzled Metro veteran, though.

2. When I was reading up on Moscow Metro (this was Olga's first time there as well), it mentioned that the ticket fare was 26 rubles per person, but 52 rubles with baggage. We did not want to make any assumptions, so we did ask the cashiers a couple of times when we were rolling our suitcases around. They all basically said that they never actually sell "baggage fares" and no one else brought it up to us once we were past the gates.

Despite all that, I really liked using the Metro. It seemed to be every bit as efficient as New York's and it's significantly better than Chicago's. We didn't have trouble finding the stations and, even during rush hour, we were able to get around once we learned that pushing and shoving is accepted and not taken personally

Will post details on the medical exam next, though it was very similar to what was recently posted on that dedicated thread by...Tim & Olga, maybe? Navigating that whole process, though, gives me the utmost respect for every Russian who goes through it. If a Russian woman can successfully run that gauntlet, the Embassy should be rubber-stamping the K-1 visa approvals

Have some pictures I'll post, too, from while I was waiting outside for her interview...

Thanks for the reports !!!

I haven't got the details yet, but it sounds as if my Olga's exam went well yesterday .... she picked up the results today. It did sound like it was a lot of running around .... I called when she was going to " another building " for the exam.

Big day Tomorrow !!!!!

[Neonred 3,575]

Stating that Moscow's metro is every bit as efficient as New York's is a bit like saying that a steak is every bit as good as a hot dog. Moscow's metro has better coverage of the city, trains that come many times more frequently, a much easier to understand system (that doesn't include 6 different types of trains running on the same track), a ticket price less than 1/3 of NYC, and stations that don't look like a sewer. The several times I have been in NYC have left me summarily unimpressed.

NYC subway can not even be compared to Moscow's metro. It's really a shame.

[eekee 182]

The funny thing about Moscow, there are not many taxis roaming around...especially further out. I remember needing one and not seeing any until we got closer in. We used the bus instead.

That's because most Russian "taxis" are gypsy cabs.

[Salsa Shark 0]

Stating that Moscow's metro is every bit as efficient as New York's is a bit like saying that a steak is every bit as good as a hot dog. Moscow's metro has better coverage of the city, trains that come many times more frequently, a much easier to understand system (that doesn't include 6 different types of trains running on the same track), a ticket price less than 1/3 of NYC, and stations that don't look like a sewer. The several times I have been in NYC have left me summarily unimpressed.

I suppose it's all relative, then. Moscow Metro's coverage is fine if you're in "the circle", but it gets pretty sparse beyond that. With NY Metro, you have the entire island of Manhattan covered, plus easy access to several other cities. I do agree with the comment on frequency except that the NY trains start earlier in the day and run later at night. I don't think either system wins any points on "understandability"--it took me a couple of times on New York's system as well. What I think is important is that it doesn't take long to master either system and (assuming you speak the language) asking locals (Moscovites or New Yorkers) for guidance works more often than one would think.

Coming from Chicago, I would trade our public transportation for either system in a heartbeat.

[Salsa Shark 0]

Okay,

So we arrived late Saturday night and spent Sunday scouting out locations relating to the interview. Olga's medical exam was scheduled for 8:30am Monday morning at IOM/MOM. The rest of this post is probably going to be boring, but I thought it was worth posting as much detail as I could in case it helps out someone else later on. I also add the disclaimer that I'm probably not transcribing all the Cyrillic-to-Latin stuff correctly, so pardon any mistakes I made there.

The building you go to first is on Zvenigorodskaya St. The closest Metro stop is "Ulitsa 1905 Goda" a couple of blocks away. The entrance is marked by a small blue flag hanging over the door. There's also a sign that says it doesn't open until 9am >shrug<.

When you walk in, you go through a metal detector that no one was monitoring on our arrival and it didn't look like anyone would have been required to empty their pockets or anything like that. You then go upstairs to a reception/administrator and give them your name and reason for being there. They then gave Olga a one-page form that is used by everyone planning to immigrate to the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, regardless of visa type.

After filling out the form, we got sent to another waiting area where they had two windows open. There were about five people ahead of us and we ended up waiting about a half hour. We only saw two other women there for K-1 reasons, but there were about 20 people there total for immigration-related exams. When you go to the window, they take your form, passport and pictures, give you another form, then send you to the cashier to pay. They take US or Russian currency, but most of these places seem to use their own currency conversion rates. In our case, it was $160 USD or 5,040 rubles.

After the cashier, you go back to the window and they hand you a pass (for the next building), a large white envelope (big enough to hold an x-ray) and then give you directions on where you need to go next. For a woman going through this alone, particularly if she's never been to Moscow before, this has to be incredibly exhausting and frustrating. While our original "appointment" was 8:30am, they actually set the real appointment at the window--they give you an hour to get to the second location. In our case, that was 10:20am, but they said you could get there as late as noon.

From IOM administrative area, you need to walk to the "Ulitsa 1905 Goda" Purple Line Metro stop to the "Kuznetsky Most" station. You then transfer to the Red Line "Lubyanka" track and take that to "Biblioteka" (which is also one of the Metro stops that takes you right to the entrance bridge to Red Square). Then you walk down Vozdvizhenka St., take a right on Romanov Lane to Building 2. I don't recall any obvious signs/flags indicating what the building was, so we relied on the address and a small sign that pointed to another door.

Once you get inside, you take the first right and there's a gentleman sitting by a turnstile. He takes the passes, looks at your passports, writes you into a logbook, then escorts you through the turnstile. However, he doesn't take you into a waiting area. He takes you back outside and points to yet a different building altogether that you cross a courtyard to get to. This was the nicest guy we met during the entire process--he took great pleasure at me saying "spacibo, da svidanya" in what was apparently a very strong American accent >sigh<.

In the third building, you go up the stairs to the second floor, take a right and enter what appears to be the actual doctor's office. You turn in your envelope and wait to be called. When it's your turn, you go into the office and a nurse hands you a form that explains what needs to be done next and in what order, and they ask you to verify the accuracy of some personal information (name, passport number, MOS number).

After that, you go a couple of doors down in the same office and have blood drawn (arm/vein, not fingertip). From there, you go to yet another building to have a chest x-ray done. Once the film is developed, they stick everything in your giant envelope and you wander back to the office you had the blood drawn at. After some waiting, you actually get to meet with the doctor. The doctor asks for weight, height, bad habits (smoking, for example), previous operations/severe sicknesses and listens to your chest--it takes maybe 10 minutes. When all that's done, you follow the maze back out of the building and come back around 4pm to pick up the exam results.

Since we had some time to kill, we went over to the mall next to the US Embassy ("Novinsky Passage", I think) and took care of the DHL label (which you also need your MOS number for, since that's used in the Shipper's Reference field). That cost 1,517 rubles (to Chelyabinsk). We had lunch at Il Patio again because it was decent and cheap, though the service wasn't particularly friendly or English-savvy.

We went back to the second IOM building (2 Romanov Lane), through the turnstile, into the courtyard and into the third building. We got there at 3:20pm, but the results were ready anyway. We got to take the giant envelope with the chest x-ray (I'm not sure what we're going to do with it--Olga won't let me hang it in the living room for some reason) and a "normal size" sealed white envelope with the exam results.

Some closing thoughts on medical exam day:

For the exam, you only need the money, international passport, two 3x4cm pictures, and MOS number. If you have your vaccination records, bring them with and they'll review/notate them on the record--but they aren't required.

At any one time during the whole process, we were waiting with maybe 10 other people. A bit of comraderie forms as you run into the same people at each building. One elderly woman came over and talked to Olga when she heard I was from Chicago. Apparently, her daughter was already in the US, lived in Illinois and petitioned for her parents to come join her. Very nice woman and I hope everything went well for her. The "K-1 Crew" also chatted at each office--one of the women had her daughter with, though they didn't really do anything with the child except make sure the paperwork was filled out.

So--apologies if this was dull. While the exam process itself was convoluted, everything went off pretty smoothly.

Will post about the actual interview next. Sorry this post was so dry.

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

Okay,

So we arrived late Saturday night and spent Sunday scouting out locations relating to the interview. Olga's medical exam was scheduled for 8:30am Monday morning at IOM/MOM. The rest of this post is probably going to be boring, but I thought it was worth posting as much detail as I could in case it helps out someone else later on. I also add the disclaimer that I'm probably not transcribing all the Cyrillic-to-Latin stuff correctly, so pardon any mistakes I made there.

Will post about the actual interview next. Sorry this post was so dry.

Nice trip report. Olga did not provide me with all of this 'color commentary'. She did note that there was a lot of waiting.

We decided to have Olga and her son come for the medical exams about a month before the Embassy interview. This was to lower her stress levels in the process. Also, her son did a super job at school this year. His full year grades were quite good, so we added an extra day for them to visit Gorky Park. This was a nice little reward for studying diligently, and for enduring the day of medical exams.

While in Moscow, Olga had some documents translated. Each document translation was about 700 rubles. So, we were able to have three documents translated (next day service), for about the same cost as one document at a company I used here. The translation company is "Master Perevoda" (Мастер Перевода). I know this company has a web site, and offices are located near many Moscow metro stations. According to Olga, the service was quick, accurate and the people were friendly.

Can you advise me about the interval between the Interview, and when you received the DHL envelope with the visa?

Thanks again for a good trip report.