Timing from NVC and Moscow Embassy Procedures

[MikeinVirginia 0]

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to ask those who have recently gone through the US Moscow Embassy K1 interview process.

1. How long was the time between when NVC received your K1 from either VSC or CSC and the date of your interview? The NVC received our K1 on Oct 18th and issued a case number. This is taking longer than we hoped (sure everyone can say that), but still hoping we can get this done in time to be together at Christmas.

2. Has the US Embassy in Moscow recently changed procedures? I understood that previously, after they were done with their processing they sent out a list of documents and the scheduled interview date to the beneficiary, and you paid the Visa processing fee at the interview. Now, looking at the website, it appears that you now pay the visa processing fee online, and then several days later can go online and schedule the interview date through the US embassy website. Has anyone had experience with this? Would greatly appreciate any first hand knowledge. Thanks ahead of time for any info.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to ask those who have recently gone through the US Moscow Embassy K1 interview process.

1. How long was the time between when NVC received your K1 from either VSC or CSC and the date of your interview? The NVC received our K1 on Oct 18th and issued a case number. This is taking longer than we hoped (sure everyone can say that), but still hoping we can get this done in time to be together at Christmas.

2. Has the US Embassy in Moscow recently changed procedures? I understood that previously, after they were done with their processing they sent out a list of documents and the scheduled interview date to the beneficiary, and you paid the Visa processing fee at the interview. Now, looking at the website, it appears that you now pay the visa processing fee online, and then several days later can go online and schedule the interview date through the US embassy website. Has anyone had experience with this? Would greatly appreciate any first hand knowledge. Thanks ahead of time for any info.

It generally takes 2 to 8 weeks for the approved petition to get to the consulate and in their system, this depends how long NVC takes with their part and if they put you in AP (additional processing)

After that you can make an appointment with the consulate and lead times vary. Moscow is currently quoting 10 days for K visas. That is NOT carved in stone and does NOT include weekends, holidays, etc. Google "US consulate Moscow, Russsian Federation" and follow their directions. The consulates are in the process of implementing an online application process and Moscow is using it for the visitor visas, I am not sure about K visas.

For what it is worth, our petition arrived in Kiev in 3 weeks and we waited 2 months for an interview. Thatchanges all the time and was a different consulate so only very recent experience in Moscow will give you any indication

[Inna & Brian 11]

Congratulations on the NOA-2! We are still waiting on our NOA-2. We have been researching the next step. All the documents your fiance needs are on the embassy website. Some are paper forms that need to be filled out and at least on is a form she fills out online. I understand she schedules her interview online after she pays the interview fee. She pays the fee at a bank. I understand it has to be paid in person and cannot be paid online.

Fiance Website:

http://moscow.usembassy.gov/fiancee.html

Medical Info:

http://moscow.usembassy.gov/physicians.html

Since the procedures changed and this is all new, we would very much appreciate if you kept us updated on your process.

Good luck!

[ONA 133]

according to the recent stats from Russian immigration forums it's 3-4 weeks on average between NVC and the interview. It's a lot better than it used to be, cause before that it was 1,5-2,5 months.

[elya 17]

With the new system, you have a lot more control over your interview date. It will take 1-4 weeks for the file to get from the NVC to the embassy (unless some unusual delay occurs, like administrative processing as mentioned above).

Once the embassy gets the file, they will send you (the petitioner) an e-mail with the request to forward the interview information to your fiancee and have her sign up for an interview. You can already access the interview information with the entire list of documents online:

http://moscow.usembassy.gov/root/pdfs/iv-packet4-eng.pdf

The process to sign up for an interview is for the beneficiary to go to VTB24 bank (in person, as stated above) with your international passport and pay the fee. Then, using the receipt number, your fiancee can create an account online at www.ustraveldocs.com/ru, complete her profile, and sign up for an available interview date and time.

A few tips:

1) Make sure you're getting your documents together NOW. The police certificate typically takes longest (1 month). And schedule the medical.

2) You don't have to wait for the e-mail from the embassy to schedule the interview date. You can go to the bank and pay the fee now, wait the 2 business days for the receipt number to get in the system, and then sign up for the next available convenient date at which you are confident you will have all the required documents ready (allowing enough time, realistically, for the embassy to receive your case). If something goes wrong and you are missing a document and/or you don't get the e-mail from the embassy, there is an option to reschedule your interview date online.

Good luck!

ETA: Just a heads up that they tell you you'll get your passport back 4-5 business days after your interview (if approved) but there have been a couple cases where it's taken 2-3 weeks instead.

Edited October 23, 2011 by elya