Moscow Embassy interview for CR-1 question

[V&R 1]

Hello,

My wife has an interview on July 18th for her CR-1 visa at the Moscow embassy. We have prepared the whole package however we cannot locate the "confirmation page with barcode" mentioned below:

"In order to schedule an interview date visit http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ru and create a new user profile. If you are immigrating with family members you must create a separate profile for each family member immigrating with you. On the left column of the screen choose the option 'Schedule Appointment'. Choose 'Immigrant Visa', then ' All Immigrant Visa Interviews Scheduling/Rescheduling Including Delivery Arrangement (ALL IV) '. Select your visa class ‘CR1’. Then enter the delivery information (mailing address or office for pick-up), choose the date of the interview, print out the final confirmation page containing a barcode and bring it to the interview. Present the confirmation page at the windows at the entrance to the Consular Section after the passing through security screening."

The date of interview and delivery information are registered under her profile so we are in the system. No one from the Embassy however has been able to help us locate the "confirmation page with barcode." Our case was expedited through the USCIS then NVC so we have a load of documents to bring (more like a DCF). Could this be causing the problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Hollyday 122]

Isn't that the confirmation for interview?.. This is why you print it after selecting interview date, i think.

[V&R 1]

Thanks you may be right, however that does not contain a barcode or photograph (see below), and says the folowing on the second page:

Instructions:
Bring with you to your interview, this letter, your application confirmation page (displaying your photograph and printed bar
code), all current and expired travel passports, and any other documents required for your visa type (review these
requirements online at www.ustraveldocs.com/ru). You should arrive at the Consulate no later than the time of your
appointment, but no earlier than 30 minutes before the time of your appointment. You may need to wait on the sidewalk
before entering the Embassy building, so dress appropriately.

Do they mean this letter (appointment confirmation) and an application confirmation page, or are they one in the same?

Seems a bit unclear.

[Hollyday 122]

When i was applying for a tourist visa there was a separate page (generated after submitting the visa application online), with a barcode and photo. So if you have that i think they're referring to it.

I wonder if it's a generic message the website/interview confirmation page gives after booking an interview because it refers to lists of documents applicable to your type of visa, so it's not I-130 specific. I think your wife should call the consulate and confirm with them.

PS: could you please respond here when you know so i don't have to ask the same thing when it comes to me? Thanks.

Edited July 11, 2013 by Hollyday

[NikLR 13,227]

*** moved to R,U&B forum because question is regionally specific from IR-1/CR-1 process and procedures ***

[V&R 1]

When i was applying for a tourist visa there was a separate page (generated after submitting the visa application online), with a barcode and photo. So if you have that i think they're referring to it.

I wonder if it's a generic message the website/interview confirmation page gives after booking an interview because it refers to lists of documents applicable to your type of visa, so it's not I-130 specific. I think your wife should call the consulate and confirm with them.

PS: could you please respond here when you know so i don't have to ask the same thing when it comes to me? Thanks.

That rings a bell....we tried for a student visa during the I-130 process but were rejected. I think that confirmation sheet had a photo and possibly barcode on it. Both the F-1 and CR-1 are listed on Vera's Travel Docs site. Somehow we did not get this page generated, or missed it and it will not come up again?

I have e-mailed the Embassy numerous times and called twice about this but no one was able to help (or they say don't worry, which worries me more!). They keep referring us to the Visa Help line and my experience has been not so good with this, only 1st tier level support agents and my Russian isn't good enough to communicate clearly. Poor Vera will not even call. She stresses a bit and still has memories of the student visa denial in Petersburg (March) which was somewhat traumatic.

[Hollyday 122]

That rings a bell....we tried for a student visa during the I-130 process but were rejected. I think that confirmation sheet had a photo and possibly barcode on it. Both the F-1 and CR-1 are listed on Vera's Travel Docs site. Somehow we did not get this page generated, or missed it and it will not come up again?

I haven't even reached NOA2 yet so i don't know. Could you fill in your timeline with dates of NOA2 and such btw?

[V&R 1]

I haven't even reached NOA2 yet so i don't know. Could you fill in your timeline with dates of NOA2 and such btw?

I am so sorry. It is a terrible wait. We were able to expedite due to my mother's illness (she had cancer). I so wanted her to meet Vera as she was the child of two Russian emigres, but the wait was too long, even with the expedite.

This whole process has been enlightening. Immigration is not the best side of America, perhaps because few get to see this from the perspective of an immigrant. I think my grandparents may have had it better on Ellis Island. While there were quotas and rejections upon arrival, the process took only a few days. What a mess, the American dream is fading. If I could have found a job in Russia, I would have moved there!

I will try to find the documents to post dates, but they may be misleading to some due to the expedites. Perhaps they should make this clearer in the timeline?

[Hollyday 122]

I am so sorry. It is a terrible wait. We were able to expedite due to my mother's illness (she had cancer). I so wanted her to meet Vera as she was the child of two Russian emigres, but the wait was too long, even with the expedite.

This whole process has been enlightening. Immigration is not the best side of America, perhaps because few get to see this from the perspective of an immigrant. I think my grandparents may have had it better on Ellis Island. While there were quotas and rejections upon arrival, the process took only a few days. What a mess, the American dream is fading. If I could have found a job in Russia, I would have moved there!

I will try to find the documents to post dates, but they may be misleading to some due to the expedites. Perhaps they should make this clearer in the timeline?

Well i've only been waiting since beginning of March so far so not (very much) stressed yet. When you say 'too long' does it mean your mother has passed away? So sorry for your loss then.

Maybe you can put the expedition part into comments section then?

[V&R 1]

Well i've only been waiting since beginning of March so far so not (very much) stressed yet. When you say 'too long' does it mean your mother has passed away? So sorry for your loss then.

Maybe you can put the expedition part into comments section then?

Too be honest I am a little paranoid to put anything at the monent given the political tensions between US & Russia. When all is said and done, when Vera and are are finally reunited (either in the US or Russia) I will put down the whole story. There is so much disconcerting ineptitude and wasteful process. Is it truely serving us? I am not so sure.

Yes, my mother did die. She was very strong and brave (her Russian blood!). We all were in pieces and my father still is. One wonders what the purpose of an expedite is, if it has to be repeated 3 times and still takes 6 months? The staff of my congressman were great. We could not have gotten this far without them. My application for expedite was rejected twice. Theirs went on an entirely separate track and was accepted.

[baron555 934]

I am so sorry. It is a terrible wait. We were able to expedite due to my mother's illness (she had cancer). I so wanted her to meet Vera as she was the child of two Russian emigres, but the wait was too long, even with the expedite.

This whole process has been enlightening. Immigration is not the best side of America, perhaps because few get to see this from the perspective of an immigrant. I think my grandparents may have had it better on Ellis Island. While there were quotas and rejections upon arrival, the process took only a few days. What a mess, the American dream is fading. If I could have found a job in Russia, I would have moved there!

I will try to find the documents to post dates, but they may be misleading to some due to the expedites. Perhaps they should make this clearer in the timeline?

Sri for your loss and your perception of the process......but everyone must realize that the adjucation of the K-1 petition by USCIS only takes about 15 minutes.....yes after 5 plus months of initial waiting, they only take 15 minutes.....then about one month at NVC and then another 2 months at the Embassy......

.....it's not so much that the process is bad......it is merely the backlog of petitions is bad......meaning USCIS and NVC and the Embassy do not have the staffing to process that many filings quickly.

If we were willing to budget higher expenditures for staffing (ie either redirecting federal funding from other wasteful expenditures or to raise your/our taxes), then it all could be done quicker. Or even worse, impose annual quotas (love to hear that whining!)

We all know/knew the expected timelines yet many feel slighted when they are living within them.

I can say with experience that once you're out of the system, all that/this is forgotten.

Edited July 11, 2013 by baron555

[V&R 1]

Sri for your loss and your perception of the process......but everyone must realize that the adjucation of the K-1 petition by USCIS only takes about 15 minutes.....yes after 5 plus months of initial waiting, they only take 15 minutes.....then about one month at NVC and then another 2 months at the Embassy......

.....it's not so much that the process is bad......it is merely the backlog of petitions is bad......meaning USCIS and NVC and the Embassy do not have the staffing to process that many filings quickly.

If we were willing to budget higher expenditures for staffing (ie either redirecting federal funding from other wasteful expenditures or to raise your/our taxes), then it all could be done quicker. Or even worse, impose annual quotas (love to hear that whining!)

We all know/knew the expected timelines yet many feel slighted when they are living within them.

I can say with experience that once you're out of the system, all that/this is forgotten.

Thank you There almost always is light at the end of the tunnel. We must not forget that!

It seems though that the tunnels are getting longer as time goes on?

[Hollyday 122]

Thank you There almost always is light at the end of the tunnel. We must not forget that!

It seems though that the tunnels are getting longer as time goes on?

I don't think they get longer. (o.O) Be strong anyway though.

[Lilly.Pon 1]

Hello,

My wife has an interview on July 18th for her CR-1 visa at the Moscow embassy. We have prepared the whole package however we cannot locate the "confirmation page with barcode" mentioned below:

"In order to schedule an interview date visit http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ru and create a new user profile. If you are immigrating with family members you must create a separate profile for each family member immigrating with you. On the left column of the screen choose the option 'Schedule Appointment'. Choose 'Immigrant Visa', then ' All Immigrant Visa Interviews Scheduling/Rescheduling Including Delivery Arrangement (ALL IV) '. Select your visa class ‘CR1’. Then enter the delivery information (mailing address or office for pick-up), choose the date of the interview, print out the final confirmation page containing a barcode and bring it to the interview. Present the confirmation page at the windows at the entrance to the Consular Section after the passing through security screening."

The date of interview and delivery information are registered under her profile so we are in the system. No one from the Embassy however has been able to help us locate the "confirmation page with barcode." Our case was expedited through the USCIS then NVC so we have a load of documents to bring (more like a DCF). Could this be causing the problem?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I had the same question when I was getting ready for my K1 Interview. There was no page with barcode and photo on it. So I called the ustraveldocs support line, and they told me that this text is a standard set of instructions not specific to my type of application. (These instructions are true for B1/B2 type of visa) They said that I should only bring Appointment confirmation page. At the Embassy when I showed my page at the first window (after passing security), the lady put a sticker with a barcode on it, and directed me for further processing. So, don't worry, you got all you need.

[V&R 1]

I had the same question when I was getting ready for my K1 Interview. There was no page with barcode and photo on it. So I called the ustraveldocs support line, and they told me that this text is a standard set of instructions not specific to my type of application. (These instructions are true for B1/B2 type of visa) They said that I should only bring Appointment confirmation page. At the Embassy when I showed my page at the first window (after passing security), the lady put a sticker with a barcode on it, and directed me for further processing. So, don't worry, you got all you need.

Thank you so much!

The lady at the Embassy kept cutting and pasting the same instructions in her e-mails. She is probably not too familiar with the actual website or what it says. Sad, but no one has really seen the whole process from the user end?

In any case I will write Vera in St. Petersburg and tell her not too worry any more, can't find something that doesn't exist!