Amy_and_Victor

Just now, Zumbadaddy said:

I see your interview was 2/14/2012 and received the visa on 2/20/12...

 

Your I129F was approved in 184 days and 40 days later was the interview....when was the medical exam?

Medical exam was done the day before interview. In Russia it has to be done in Moscow as well as interview, and since I had to travel there from my hometown I did it in one trip. Not sure how it is now but back then medical exam in Moscow could be done in 1 day and you could get results the same day and it made it easier. If I would live in Moscow or close I would do it in advance to be safe.

- Victor from Russia

1 hour ago, Zumbadaddy said:

Thanks Victor,    so at the end of the 7.5 months and after the interview when was the VISA stamped?

You're welcome, and yes, we were lucky enough to be approved with no delays. But we also had very easy case comparing to many cases on VJ (no prior marriages and children, clear criminal records, good travel records with no violations, two vacations together, whole binder of relationship records/evidence month-by-month, low fraud consulate, no obvious red flags etc.).  Btw if you're interested in our detailed timeline it's in our profile and also in our signature under the spoiler.

- Victor from Russia

11 hours ago, Zumbadaddy said:

She said yes its Ropongi... i didnt realize.

 

So my question really is how long is the interview and medical exam after the visa is approved? And after that is it stamped and were good or is there a waiting period after the interview?

I don't want to pee on your parade, but I think you're missing one important part. It sounds, at least to me, like you think approval of your petition is only matter of time, but actually K-1 is not guaranteed to be approved, as you can see by VJ, many people get denials or being put into AP for months after their interview, and your case may fall into these categories as well. 

That's why planning marriage before your fiancée will have visa in hands is a lottery, you may need to simply cancel everything because CO will not believe that your relationship is real or there will be some kind of paperwork issue. I didn't even purchase tickets before I received a visa let alone planning more expensive arrangements unless they were 100% refundable.

Btw Trump has nothing to do with K-1 visas so far, it took us about 7.5 months between NOA-1 and interview, and it was back in 2011-2012.

- Victor from Russia

We have a little different situation than OP, I was actually born and raised in Russia while my wife was born and raised in the US, and we first met as grown up adults. About all these cultural differences we kinda found a middle ground but we're both flexible about it so it didn't cause any drama.

Amy took my last name at marriage, but to avoid all this mess with -ov and -ova in Russian last names she took exactly the same -ov spelling of my last name. I don't care that it sounds weird from Russian perspective since we don't really travel back to Russia, and it helps us to avoid a lot of legal issues and questions.

We both wear rings on left hands. It's not a big deal for me and we're both not religious at all, so we wear it on left hand like everyone here does. However when I traveled to Russia a couple of times for emergency reasons, I put a ring on my right hand like it supposed to be worn there.

- Victor from Russia

She can skip her middle name or she can use patronymic name (otchestvo) as a middle name. I've read many people use both variants here. Myself I used "otchestvo" as my middle name starting with I-129F because I wanted to keep it, and now it's my legal name in all of the US documents including US passport.

- Victor from Russia

In Russia residence registration is still very important (legally there nobody cares where you live, it only matters what your registration is) so I would use whatever passport says to avoid confusion, but I don't think it really matters in this case.

- Victor from Russia

21 hours ago, Kali4nia58 said:

Not sure if this is the right forum, but...my fiancee is Russian and I was originally thinking we would get married outside the US since we have met up in Greece, Denmark, and Cyprus. I now understand that on the K1 Visa that is not possible. We will have to get married in the US. That being said, I am thinking that would make it near impossible for her family to come for the wedding since it takes forever to get a Visa from Russia. Curious how others have handled this (doesn't have to be with Russian fiancee). Is there a quick process to get tourists visas for family for the purpose of the wedding? Did you have a courthouse ceremony and then get married abroad (if so, how much time in between ceremonies)? Other ideas?

 

Cheers!

We didn't even bother. Tbh neither for Amy and neither for me actual wedding ceremony was a big deal, we just wanted to be together, and all these rituals and ceremonies were so unimportant for us that we didn't want to stress out about them at all. We were actually thinking about just having courthouse wedding and a fancy romantic date dinner after with no follow-up, but Amy's parents didn't want it to be so simple so they offered to cover and manage our wedding even if it will be very small one. At the end we had a nice simple wedding with about 10 guests, all from Amy's side. My family was understanding about it and fortunately didn't demand anything (they also knew how many thousands USD they would have to spend just for travel expenses), so they just got photos from there and were very happy for us. We're married for 6 years and never had regrets about it, however I understand not everyone would like what we did.

- Victor from Russia

11 hours ago, SJI said:

She is originally from India. When she filled out DS-160 form for her visit visa in the past, she checked "No" for the question "If you have any immediate family member. But for the k1 visa, that question was answered "Yes" since I am her fiance. I discussed with my lawyer about it and she said it should not be a problem with her previous response to "No" on the visit visa case. Can someone verify that for me or if anyone had such experience?

 

You're supposed to answer "No" again, fiance is by no means an immediate family member, for legal purposes fiance is no different from boyfriend.

- Victor from Russia

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

Don’t you guys get nervous traveling with so much cash?! 

 

Well, it can add a bit of stress, but depends on how you used to carry large amounts of cash on you and what other options are. In Russia cash is still very common, and when I was working there for some private business (nothing illegal), I often had to carry amounts equivalent to a few grands USD with me because our partners sometimes for various reasons would prefer to either receive, either make large payments with cash, so carrying $3-5 grands on me is a bit stressful but nothing new.

Also, transferring money over the border other ways can be less appealing than cash. For example, wire transfers from Russia to the US require supplemental documentation with notarized translation and often take a few business days to process, and many other ways have high fees, so if you need to bring a few thousands over the border, cash in the pocket is often the best option.

- Victor from Russia

14 hours ago, Deitrickatie said:

Hi friends, long story short. My boyfriend of almost 2 years and I are expecting our little miracle in September. He is Belizean and I have been living in Belize for the last 2 years. Our plan is to marry eventually but we just have to figure some things out in the meantime. Our ultimate goal is to be in the US together as a family. I am returning to the US in June for better healthcare and financial opportunities. My boyfriend has been denied for his tourist visa once already, no reason given. We are wondering, if I go with him, we have all the proof and explain to the officers that we just want his tourist visa so he is able to go to the US and be there for the birth of his daughter. He will return shortly after that and then with the hope of his acceptance, visit every 6 months or so until we can start the process of his K-1 Visa. Our intentions are to follow everything by the book we are just devastated at the thought of him not being able to be there for the birth of his daughter. I'm wondering what anyone's thoughts are??

I believe it will only decrease his chances for tourist visa because CO will have way more doubts that your boyfriend will actually return back to his country and will not stay in the US. Generally, pregnancy doesn't increase chances of getting any visa, it's just a personal circumstance.

- Victor from Russia

18 hours ago, dazed'nconfused said:

Having a conversation with workmates today and this has been rolling around in my head ever since. 

 

If a couple gets married - a genuine couple of course - who would otherwise never have wanted to get married (ie - both parties firmly happy with living together without getting the State/Government involved with paperwork) do so in order to apply for Immigration benefits - would you consider it fraud or just doing what's necessary? 

I do not think it's any kind of fraud. Tbh Amy and I don't feel like this piece of paper that government officials give you to sign is such a big deal, it's laying in our drawer since we signed it and our relationship wouldn't be any different if it would magically disappear from any records. All we wanted is to be together, but living in different countries we had to get married to live together, so we did it. If we would live in the same country when we met, may be we eventually got officially married, may be not, I don't know. I know that married or not, we would want to live together and be in a relationship. Marriage certificate was another piece of paper required for us to be able to live together, no matter in Russia or US, like vaccinations list or police certificate. I don't see how there is any fraud can be called, because obviously nobody has a marriage as a main goal, people want to be together, married or not, but living across the borders they can't be together unless they marry each other.

- Victor from Russia

19 hours ago, Chris009 said:

Marriage in US

If your fiancée comes to the US with intent to marry you while having a visa that doesn't involve marriage (e.g. visitor's/tourist visa), you're both committing an immigration fraud and if something floats up at the POE or with USCIS, it potentially can cause some legal troubles up to a visa cancellation and US travel ban for your fiancée. Just something to think about. If you don't want to commit a fraud, then K-1 or CR-1 are the only options you have, unless there is DCF available in your country but I am not knowledgeable about it.

- Victor from Russia

18 hours ago, missileman said:

Only you and your fiance can decide which route is better for you.  This is my comparative analysis.

K-1: 8-10 months

    More expensive than CR-1

    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)

    Spouse can not leave the US until she receives approved Advance Parole (approx 3-4 months)

    Spouse can not work until she receives EAD (approx 3-4 months)

    some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period .

    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

CR-1: 12-14 months

    Less expensive than K-1

    No AOS required.

    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US

    Spouse can start work if desired

    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card withing 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US

    Spouse  has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.

 

All-in-all, the CR-1 is superior to the K-1 imo.

You made a very good chart but I would not say that one visa is superior to another one in every case. It all depends on where your priorities are and how ready you are to such a big change in your life. Like you mentioned, in case of CR-1 you're likely to be separated for 4 extra months, in some cases it may be rough time to wait. In some countries getting married isn't a one day errand as well, for example in Russia after obtaining a marriage license you have to wait at least 30 days before you can legally sign it, and many places so booked with weddings that you may have to wait 2-3 months before you can get married after having a license, and your foreign fiance(e) has to be with you not only for marriage, but also for obtaining a license of course. Unless they live there with you, it's a lot of extra travel expenses and can overcome extra costs of K-1. With CR-1 you have harder time getting out if something doesn't work out, because you're basically married and have a GC once you get over jet lag, lol. I know, 99.9% of people don't even consider that they may need to turn everything around, but as we see from other people stories, it happens, and way more often than we desire. Once you arrive to the US not everything may go as you imagined. Sometimes your partner is acting differently, there had been many stories how random skeletons started to fall out of the closets soon after fiance(e)'s arrival, sometimes people simply realize US is not what they imagined and they have hard time assimilating and want to go back. Anything can happen. With K-1 you have 90 days grace period when you can look around, get the feeling of your new life, and make a final decision if it works out for you. And if not, you can leave with no strings attached, and get back to your old life with no legal issues you have to take care of. Also, how many CR-1 holders are able to jump into work a few days after they arrive? Unless the finances are a complete wreck, I believe it's good to take a little time off work and while you're waiting few months to get EAD, spend them diving into your new life. To learn the culture, town and area, fiance(e)'s family, friends etc. I came in with some savings and tbh I appreciated that I had a few months to look around and get used to the new country a little before I got a job.

- Victor from Russia

On 10.04.2018 at 7:34 PM, strangefella said:

Need to get the medical exam done and here is what the office of my primary care physician quoted me.

Looks like doctor office is seriously trying to rip you off. If you're between ages 18 and 64, all vaccines you need are (unless something changed in the last few years, didn't pay attention since I have done in earlier): Tdap, MMR, Varicella and Flu shot. Nothing else is required. Also, if you've had Varicella (chicken pox) in the past your blood can be tested for antibodies and if result is positive you don't need that shot. I had the Varicella test and it was much cheaper than a vaccination.

- Victor from Russia

Would you mind if I will ask, are you planning it for a visit or for moving? Cash withdrawal from the foreign bank card is usually expensive in relation to fees (fees vary a lot from bank to bank), unless you're using the bank that has branches in both countries and will use their ATM as well but it's hard to do. If you're just visiting then the best way to go is to get a bank card with no or very low foreign transaction fees and bring some actual USD cash with you for cases where card is not an option or cost you convenience fees, like parking, laundromats etc. In the US you can use cards nearly everywhere, so you really don't need much of cash with you. And if you're actually moving then transferring large amounts of money over the border using multiple ATM cash withdrawals seems like one of the most expensive ways to me.

- Victor from Russia

My information may be outdated as I've done it back in 2012 but back then I had to puck up envelope myself and bring it to the interview with other papers. There is not much to study for not medical professional so results had been briefly reviewed by the CO right before interview along with other papers I submitted.

- Victor from Russia

When I was in Moscow for the K-1 I used Sheremetyevo airport. It's very easy to navigate there and it's connected with city by modern railroad "Aeroexpress" that takes you to the Belorusskiy vokzal in Moscow (Belorussian railroad station) in about half hour. Tickets were very affordable and Belorusskiy vokzal has a lot of public transportation around you can use to get where you need in Moscow.

- Victor from Russia

3 hours ago, Daniel Littleton said:

Every application needs to have the marriahge interview in order to make sure it is a legitimate marriage, Ive not seen any exception to this

This is not necessary true. I think it really depends on the evidence you send plus a bit of a luck. If your evidence is good enough and you don't get into random "let's interview this case" drawing, you may not have an interview. I did not have interview neither for AOS, nor for ROC, and was approved for both. The only interview that is a must with no exceptions after you came to the US is citizenship application, everything else is up to USCIS if they want to interview you or not.

- Victor from Russia

3 hours ago, N-o-l-a said:

CR1s are by far the better choice for most immigrants as they can't get into sticky pickles with USCs who don't file for their AOS after a K1.

This is a good reason but in my opinion it applies only to the immigrants who want to stay in the US no matter what and have immigration as one of their main priorities in the whole process.

Speaking for myself, I didn't have an intent to grow the roots in the US no matter what, but we discussed together pros and cons of living in both countries for us both and decided that summary for us both living together is in favor of the US. There, in Russia, I had my father, friends, familiar culture, owned apartment to live in, local degree and many other advantages while here I would have nothing except piece of paper called Green Card in this situation even if we would do CR-1 and some money in the bank I could easily take back to Russia. So what for to stay if Amy wouldn't want to file for AOS and would be shady about our relationship and life? May be if I would be coming from some kind of war zone of starving country, but myself I didn't even consider staying in the US if our family would fall apart in the first year. Back then I would be better by myself in Russia than here.

- Victor from Russia

I don't think there is the best choice that will work for everyone between CR-1 and K-1, it depends on the situation and priorities. We did K-1 and I would go the same route again myself in my situation. I feel like CR-1 is better in a way that you're more set up to start your life in the US from the day you arrive but you walk out of the plane with a lot of strings already attached, it's more complicated to do and most of the complicated stuff has to be done while you're still across the ocean from each other. I had no issues with SSN, driver's license (I had an international one) etc. when I came in and tbh I wasn't ready to jump to work right away. US and Russia are not dramatically different countries but it was different enough that I appreciate few months I got before my working permit arrived to understand what's going around me and how culture is different. Another reason, K-1 left me more chances to go back with no strings like GC attached in case if I would feel after arrival that I really hate it here and don't want to stay, or something goes terribly wrong. As a backup plan, me and Amy considered variant of us living in Russia in this case. I can't say doing AOS was easy being in the US, but being together it certainly was easier and less stressful than doing any paperwork living across the ocean from each other. The only bummer was that our K-1 took a very long time because we fell into the very beginning of CSC "dead" time and then our file stayed untouched despite service requests in some kind of black hole while we were nagging USCIS about it in all possible ways, so while many people who filed just a few weeks before us got NOA2 within 70-90 days of NOA1, we had to wait 6 months for it.

I would say that if I would have to start any job right away and wouldn't have some savings cushion, if I would already have been in the US before and would be sure that I'm going to stay and live here no matter what, or if I would be coming from a high fraud country with very slim chances get approval for K-1, very likely I would decide that CR-1 is the best way to go, but since none of these statements apply to my situation in the past, I believe that K-1 was the best and easiest choice in this case.

- Victor from Russia

14 hours ago, vitalsigns said:

I've been in the US for over 20 years now. Got my US citizenship a while back. I don't have a Russian travel passport. While in the US I legally changed my last name. My question is can a Russian citizen who is also a US citizen travel to Russia on his US passport and a tourist visa? Will the Russian consulate here in the US issue me a tourist visa?

No, you can not. As long as you have your Russian citizenship active you have to follow the procedures for Russian citizens, your US citizenship doesn't mean anything in Russia and there is no dual-citizenship agreement between Russia in US. You need to obtain valid and current Russian documents for travel as any other Russian citizen with no second citizenship would have to do.

- Victor from Russia

Just now, IcezMan_IcezLady said:

There barclays bank in Russia and USA... you could use them

Depends on city. Like the city in Russia I'm from has no branches of any banks located in the US and most of the cities in Russia don't. For large wire transfers you need a physical branch accessible in Russia since online banking there has a lot of limitations and tbh I simply wouldn't trust Russian online banking with a lot of money.

- Victor from Russia

1 minute ago, millefleur said:

Another good reason to just go with the bank transfer! Thank you. Whatever cash we do decide to bring with us on our person, we'll make sure it's under $10k to avoid that as well. I really don't like dealing with Russian customs officers....so the less I have to deal with them, the better.

 

I'm just hoping now that the wire transfer from Russia will go smoothly. Do you know any trustworthy banks here you could recommend for sending money to the US?

Myself I've never had any issues with Sberbank. I know many people don't like this bank, and Sberbank doesn't offer the best currency exchange rates (so it may be better to convert money somewhere else before the transfer but then you may have to pay higher transfer fee) but as long as you follow all of the rules and have proper documentation, I've never had any issues with wire transfers made from Sberbank to the US. I've done several recent SWIFT transfers from Sberbank and they all went through within 2-4 business days, my Dad also used Sberbank in the past years to send us some money gifts and everything went fast and smooth every time. Again, it's my personal experience and I've read someone had troubles with Sberbank here but I have no idea if it's a gamble and I was lucky or may be whoever had issues did something wrong with paperwork or supplemental documents.

- Victor from Russia

2 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Too bad about the AmEx traveler's checks being cancelled in Russia.   I think our best bet at this point is the bank transfer because I honestly don't feel comfortable walking around with that much cash now that I think about it. We can carry some cash with us at the POE but without the convenience of traveller's or cashier's checks, I feel like it's just too risky in general to travel with cash.

By the way I'm not sure if you're aware, but if you're leaving Russia with more than $10K cash per person (so over $20K for you both total), as far as I know you must obtain a special permit from Russian Central Bank (Центробанк) ahead of time or you will be in troubles with Russian customs. There is one exception - if you can prove by custom declaration that you've brought these money to Russia and now simply taking them back.

- Victor from Russia

When I was coming to the US back in 2012 I had more than $10K in AmEx traveler's checks (Russia didn't stop processing them yet in 2012) and had no issues. All I had to do is to fill a simple declaration form at the customs counter and to answer a few questions about source of money and what they're for. Custom officer actually was very nice about it and even gave me some advise.

ABout bank transfers and deposits - yes, everything over $10K will be reported to the IRS, but again, it's not illegal to split money into a few transfers less than $10K or deposit smaller amounts into a few banks. With my experience, don't use Chase for foreign incoming transfers, I know some people are happy with them but their internal financial security was interrogating me for every small transfer my Dad sent to us as a gift via SWIFT (I was also moving some of them to my local credit union where I mostly bank but they don't use SWIFT so I had to give my Chase account information to my Dad), and then Chase said with no further explanations they don't want me as a customer anymore and I have to take my money and go somewhere else. Worst bank ever.

- Victor from Russia