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I missed that detail, yes more than 5 years age difference on the side of the woman could be regarded as a red flag as sexist as that is.

FYI you can't give her US banknotes, that is now illegal as of 3/11/21. You will need to convert it into either Rubles or some other currency before you give it to her.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/03/11/executive-order-on-prohibiting-certain-imports-exports-and-new-investment-with-respect-to-continued-russian-federation-aggression/

The US Supreme Court ruled in 1905 that the US Government can require people to get a vaccination. This has since been clarified to have exemptions for religious and medical reasons but besides those it is still the law of the land despite being challenged on multiple occasions. There are various cases working through the courts to challenge it but I would not expect any resolution soon.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/09/08/vaccine-mandate-strong-supreme-court-precedent-510280
 
It should also be noted that until you are inside the jurisdiction of the United States you really don't have any rights under US law. The extreme example of this are the prisoners at Guantanamo but there have been many, many other examples over the last 120 years since the subject was first adjudicated (The Insular Cases in 1901). my thoughts to you if you don't want to get vaccinated is to have your fiancé immigrate to the UK and for you to live there or for you to wait and try again in a few years once the pandemic has passed (assuming the UK doesn't force vaccinations which could happen), I think trying to carve out an exception to this new rule is going to be fruitless and expensive. However I am not a lawyer and haven't even played one on TV so take my advice with a grain of salt.

We got the stamp and were advised that the backlog is so bad now it could be 10-11 months before he gets his card back, just in time to get a new card with conditions removed. We did get the passport stamp (which was a quick and easy procedule) with a one-year expiration so we should be set now.

Actually a lot has changed so I second your suggestion of a new FAQ. For example the embassy no long sends out a packet 3, everything is done electronically, no I-134 notarization is needed, the visa fee is $240 payable electronically only and online is the recommended way of scheduling interview appointments.

They are rated "F" with the BBB, that seems like just too big of a risk IMHO.
http://www.bbb.org/new-jersey/business-reviews/mailing-services-international/meest-america-inc-in-elizabeth-nj-18001685/
If anyone works for a company that does a lot of shipping check with your shipping department to see if you can get the corporate rate on shipping. A company I used to work for let me do this and it saved something like 60% on FedEx shipping to Russia. Even if you can't do that set up a FedEx account so you'll be able to save a few % over the regular rate.

Why would they do some January petitions? For the same reason they did November and December, to help their processing time average. If they just process everything in order the average processing time will grow and grow but if they throw in just enough later petitions they can clear the backlog while keeping their average from growing. Cruel, but it wouldn't surprise me that they think that way.

I really don't think this is a partisan issue. However the liberal take on it may be different than the conservative one. My Democratic congressman was quite willing to help me and has a staffer looking into the situation. So don't make assumptions, just don't frame your question in a conservative frame ("illegal immigrants get priority") but in a liberal one ("not enough money for visa processing on-schedule") and I am sure that you'll get a positive response. Also as I have stated before I highly recommend to everyone to get to know their Congressperson. Attend their town halls, march with them in parades and donate a small amount to their reelection fund and before you know it you won't be another faceless name but a real person who's a solid supporter. As they say most people don't even know the name of their Congressperson, you're goal should be to get them to know your name...

Get to know your MOC personally if possible. I attend campaign events, donate small amounts of money to the campaign so I get on the donar list, I also attend town halls and if my MOC is walking in a parade I will be there to carry a sign and wear his T-shirt. Once you are a known supporter you'll find it much easier to get some personal time with your MOC and when you do make an inquiry or request help you are not a name without a face but a real person to your MOC. Will it help in this case? Hard to say but it can't help and the investment of time and money doesn't have to be that great so it can't hurt either.

Sorry to hear that! Yesterday I sent my representative an email referencing http://tinyurl.com/cscdata which has all the data on processing times. My rep himself emailed me back within the hour and expressed his concern and offered to help. He also hooked me up with his immigration staffer who emailed me the next morning (today) and promised to pursue the issue. I will keep everyone informed as to what I hear.

Today I wrote my Congressional representative, who I know through various Democratic party activities, and got a reply back 45 minutes later :-). My rep (not his staffer BTW, but him personally) thanked me for sharing our plight as they are working on Immigration Reform now and he said it is good to know what needs to be changed before anything new is implemented. He promised to pass my letter on to his immigration staffer and case worker and offered to help my case in the future if I asked for it (I did not ask this time as we have been waiting just three months but if nothing happens by June then I'll probably take him up on his offer).
If I hear anything more from the Congressman or his staffers I will pass it on to everyone!

She'll work on saving up the money which will take a few months and in the mean time I'll visit her again instead.
Of course it makes no sense to get a K1 visa until the debt is paid because she's stuck in the country until then. We might apply at some point and if she's not paid up by the time the visa is issued I could take care of the rest. Of course I could pay the whole debt for her now but I am worried about how she would see me afterwards and it seems like the wrong thing to do to me unless it's blocking her coming to America.