ONA

Was my wife supposed to receive a DS-3025 when they got the exams in Moscow?

They asked me before I paid for my medical whether I wanted DS-3025 or not. I said that i wanted one, so I had to pay $20 extra for it. The Embassy doesn't care about vaccinations, that's why they're not giving it to everybody, you need to tell them that you need this form.

We went ahead and just sent DS-3025. Me and hubby decided that if we receive RFE, we'll go to a CS, but we're not going until we have to.

It's a really good question. In spite of speaking English as a first language we managed to get younger, richer and more handsome husbands who don't act like douchebags on internet forums. How can this be?

Sounds just like my husband

Last year, some 320 ultranationalists were convicted of hate crimes, including several teenage gang members that stabbed or beat to death dark-skinned non-Russians, according to independent human rights watchdog Sova.

And they call themselves "political prisoners"

I checked with Alla. She agrees he paid but says $100 is "not enough for Moscow" I am used to the cheaper Ukrainian rates. She says probably more like $500 for the cops to get amnesia in Moscow.

For naked drunk driving.... hmmm... $500 isn't enough... Even in my city in Russia they would've asked for at least $1000 for amnesia in that case.

Tricky. So pay in $$$ Can you? We did in Kiev.

Our son's girfriend just paid for a visitor visa in Yekaterinakurg and it was exactly the exchange for $140 USD ???

I paid in dollars for that very reason - it was cheaper. BUT you can't do it anymore with the new system.

When I was paying $140 for each of my parents' visas it was more than the official exchange rate in Russian banks, but I had to pay in rubles, cause they didn't accept $$$.

The embassy has it's own exchange rate, which is usually higher than the regular rate.

how does that all work?

It's explained here: http://www.fms.gov.ru/useful/migrate/index_eng.php

They have instructions in both English and Russian. It's not as hard as it seems actually

so i just have to fill out like i am staying in a hotel? i thought i read somewhere that I could be stopped and have my papers inspected. Would it look bad if I had a visa that said i was staying in a hotel but had no reservations??

I'm pretty sure my husband was filling it out like he was going to stay at my address, cause that's the only address he knew in Russia.

Then there was a question somewhere "What cities are you going to visit?" or something like that - he was always writing "Moscow, Voronezh", cause he was flying to Moscow and then staying in Voronezh. Then he would just send it all out like that and the agency was taking care of it. And every time when he was getting his papers back, he had a visa in his passport and a voucher for hotels in both Moscow and Voronezh. We never used the vouchers, we never had any hotel reservations and nobody ever looked at them neither at the customs, nor at the OVIR when I registered him.

Go on the Russian embassy website.

Actually... here is the link: http://www.russianembassy.org/Embassy_eng/Consulate/tourist_visa.html

They have the links on the agencies' websites right there. Pick one (my husband always used travisarussia.com), you can fill out the visa application form right on the agency website and get a voucher from them if you pay a little extra. Russian visa is very easy to get - you just need to pay some money and you'll be fine.

The voucher doesn't mean that you're going to stay in the hotel. My husband has been to Russia 3 times and he was always staying in the apartment with me.

He picked her up to make him dinner? Is that what they call it nowadays?

I just got our NOA-1 via e-mail. So, I guess, we're officially October filers now.

I never mention this, but it's true: never marry in Maryland.

They are indeed the exception to the rule. Thinking about it, is there any reason to ever do anything in Maryland? Do they even have beaches there?

It's the awesomest state with plenty of beaches, mountains and it's right next to the US Capital. It's all off top though.

But if we go back to topic, there always might be other exceptions.

Gary & Alla,

I think you are on the right track, but I also think the advice about not coming with "boyfriend" is sound. To the consulate officer, boyfriend means potential husband which to them means skirting around the K-1 visa requirements. Just have her say a friend from school that lives in America invited her to visit his parents during the winter break and go skiing. Make is sound more like a skiing vacation more than anything. Maybe if they think that she's a rich Russian girl being spoiled by her parents and will spend a lot of money in the USA they might let her come.

I think that it's better to have your visa denied than to be caught on lies by the CO.

I've heard at least about one case when a K-1 applicant was denied, because when the lady was applying for a visitor visa, she said she was going to see her friend, not boyfriend, but a friend. Guess which CO interviewed her for K-1 visa later? The same one! And for some unbelievable reason the CO remembered her and one of the questions was "Why did you lie that he was your friend?"

Plus... I don't know all the Laws and rules, but I don't think that she will be able to adjust her status now since Gary's son isn't a citizen yet.

Any idea how a tourist couple that flies in from Rome or Paris or Madrid and wants to get married in Las Vegas or Maui or Miami or New York would get SSNs?

Me neither.

So does that mean that the tens of thousands of tourists who get married every year in the United States get married without having a SSN?

Does that answer your question?

It depends on the state and/or on the county you're going to get married in. Seriously.

When we went to get our marriage license, I forgot my SS card at home and I didn't remember my SSN. The clerk at the court house said that she couldn't do anything without both of our SS numbers. My husband asked: "Does it matter that she isn't a citizen?" It didn't mean anything, we still had to go back and get my SSN (we're in Maryland).

The best advice so far was to check your county requirements.

I don't know what to say... It's always 50/50 - she either has her visa approved or not...

It's a little harder to get a visitor visa for a young girl than it is for anybody else, but there always is a chance.

BTW, I also heard that Ekaterinburg Consulate is easier, while the one in Saint-Petersburg is the toughest.

Hello, fellow-January filers!

Congratulations to all the newlyweds!

We got married on August 20th, but sent the AOS application just recently - on Oct. 25th. USCIS, here we go again...

When has a post here ever NOT turned into a gun discussion by page 12?

When it turned into an RUB women discussion

I would've red flagged her needing an attorney on her end. She shouldn't need squat.

I hope she didn't need money from you too!

Agreed!

It's more likely that an RUB will try to convince her fiance to do everything without an attorney in order to save money.

As much as Bob hates to admit it: his lack of politeness is a typical German trait. If someone in the US tells you to "stop by next time you are in town" it's a way of saying "don't bother showing up again." If the cashier at the supermarket asks you how you are doing, she doesn't really give a rodent's behind. In the USA you are asked "how can I help you?" which in German is translated as "what [the hell] do you want?"

If a German invites you into his home, it has nothing to do with politeness, it's real. Germans come often over as extreme in-polite, but that's just their way of being honest and leaving the B.S. out of it. Bob just can't shed his off completely, it must be in his genes.

I feel the same way, being a Russian.

The only thing I don't quite agree with is that I don't think it's a lack of politeness... Politeness is expressed in different ways in other countries compared to the US. And if a cashier in Russia wishes me "to have a good day", that won't be considered polite at all, it will be considered fake. Or sarcastic. Well, at least it will definitely mean that something is wrong with the cashier's attitude.

The Mister and I just sent in our AOS application (25/26), so we probably will not hear back until early November. Would this mean that we are October or November filers? Best wishes to you all!!!

We just sent the AOS application too on Oct. 25th. The packet has been delivered, but I guess we will only receive our NOA-1 in November.

My husband and I are going to get our AOS filed either today or tomorrow.

So I guess we're in this group.

Hello, TwoCats! I remember you from our K-1 journey, we were January filers too

Back in Russia I used to take a bunch of different gym classes, here I go to gym once in a while for cardio, but mostly I just exercise at home. I use an exercise ball and I like hula hooping too.

Congrats!

At least they had a pretty abundant supply of foreign currency. Heck when I was working there we were still paying in cash in US dollars or Euros.

they don't do that in Russia anymore, but they still do in Ukraine.

Last time I went to Kiev was in February, and I noticed that my cousin carried a $100 bill in her wallet along with grivnas. Then, I was staying at my uncle's and aunt's place - one day they had their a/c installed and I was the only person, who was supposed to be in the apartment at that time, so they left me $300 in cash to pay for it.

OK, since now it's just a thread about everything...

Gary, this

Сними Обув

has been cracking me up Although my husband takes his shoes off anyway in the house. He won't wear slippers though (my mom made him wear them all the time in Russia, it was fun to watch).

(although you lost a мягкий знак - "Ь" in the end. I'm not trying to be rude or something, just thought might be useful to know that)

Be careful with that avatar anywhere near a UK or Canada forum.

Why? I don't think anybody would say something just cause of a picture.

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.