Lilly.Pon

Yeah, it takes them a while, in my case - a month.

08 Apr - NOA2

24 Apr - email to the Petitioner that the case has been received by NVC and will be forwarded to the respective Consulate within a week. It also stated that the fiancée (me) will soon receive a packet with instruction on how to file a K1.

08 May - the Petitioner (again not me, the foreign fiancée) got an email that the case was received and I can schedule an interview.

For now its waiting again..make sure you have everything ready and once the notice comes in, you can schedule your appointment immediately.

Thanks for sharing, appreciate it!

Nice spirit! It only gets better from now)

All K-1 visa holders have an A# already. It is assigned at the I-129F petition stage and can be found on the NOA2 I-129F approval notice near the beneficiary's name. No one adjusting from a K-1 should be putting 'None' for their A#.

I should have looked at the timeline first (I thought it's about initial filing) . My bad

That's Alien# assigned to an immigrant. Your fiancé might not have one if she didn't have any immigration status in US prior to K1 filing. I got mine at the port of entry (on K1 Visa) next to the admission stamp in my passport. In this case just write "None" on the forms.

Yes she has the photos and will bring them along. The I-797 is your approval from the USCIS or in other words your NOA2. I thought I read somewhere that the Embassy wanted a copy of that? Wouldn't know why really they should have it already? Except for the life insurance which has no cash value really. But the 401k is listed and there is a statement from them included in there. I might just take the 1040's along with me just in case.

Thanks!

the precious NOA2, how dare I !!))) Nobody asked for it at the interview

two 2"x2" photos of your fiancé?

we also had 1040s in the package just in case)

do you have support documents for everything you've listed in affidavit? Securities, house, life insuarance (if you own any). We attached that too.

what's I-797? I don't remember having that...

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.

Well that is understandable.

What if she doesn't say a word about me at the interview? Will that make her chances higher?

Well, you wouldn't know until the interview is over. You are not supposed to conceal the purpose of your travel / getting a visa. She doesn't need to bring up the whole issue, but she might be asked about it.

Hi everyone,

I got a notification yesterday - a first-class mail is waiting for me! I rushed to a post office to receive it, and was amazed when I opened it. No, not by the content (it was a standard letter inviting me to pay a fee and schedule a K1 interview), but by the PROCESSING TIME.

The letter was dated 7-May-13

It was sent from Moscow 22-May-13 (that was the date on the stamp) So it spent 2 weeks just laying on smb's desk.

It was received in Vladivostok 26-JUNE-13 (I was in the airplane by then going to my interview) !!!

It took another 12 days by our post office to sent me a notification that an envelope is waiting for me.

I'm a happy owner of K1 by now and ready to travel to US 13Jul..but I thought I would share this ridiculous story with you.. Good thing the Embassy also sends out an email to the Petitioner, because if we all waited for a letter - we'd hit over a year waiting time.

Not exactly your situation, but related. I had a 2-year B1/B2 visa that expired Feb13. I travelled to US numerous times on it, even after our petition (I-129F) was already filed and under review. When visa expired, I applied to renew it and I was denied (we didn't get NOA2 at that point). I assured the consul that we are not going to get married (attached a signed statement), because we want everything done legally, that's why we are waiting for K1. All I want is to visit my husband-to-be. The consul said if we want to meet, we can do it in the third country. My fiancé just moved to a new assignment at that point and didn't have any leave to travel, but that and the fact that we were apart for several months by that time - didn't mean a thing to a consul, and she refused my visa. This illustrates, in my opinion, that your GF doesn't have high chances of getting a tourist visa to come see you.

I stayed at People Hotel&Hostel. Single room 3950 Rubles per night. Clean bed and bathroom, small fridge in the room, friendly staff, baggage storage, close to metro. Iron and small ironing board in the hall. No air conditioning and terrible sound-proofing, heard everything in the neighbor rooms. Almost didn't sleep because of the noises and overall anxiety before interview. Wouldn't stay in this place for longer than 1 night. Great advantage - 3 min to the Embassy. Comes in handy if you have an early 8 am appointment.

I was never asked for NOA2 at the interview. Copy is enough for your fiancé just to have for her records at the moment.

The Moscow Embassy site http://moscow.usembassy.gov/iv-fiancee.html clearly states that as a part of financial documents from a US citizen petitioner your fiancé needs to provide Employment Letter. It doesn't say "Copy of Employment Letter". Where copy is acceptable, it is stated "Copy of original, signed tax returns for the last year (both W-2 and 1040). If copies of tax returns are unavailable, provide transcripts from the IRS". It is expected that you provide originals. Well, you do that for all other documents from the list (birth certificate, police records, all of the forms), why all of a sudden an employment letter is a copy? I think it might raise a question.

We included an original Employment Letter in the package. It took us some time to wait for docs to be ready and then to be shipped. We are both rotational workers and travel a lot. Aligning such stuff becomes a difficulty sometimes. But we both felt that delaying couple weeks is a better option then fixing problems if the interview doesn't go well. Good luck!

batallion9, baron555, Jay-Kay, Darnell, thanks a lot, I got what I needed. Appreciate your time

baron555, thanks!

When you say "Only certified as already stated above" I'm a little confused, because the batallion9 stated above to have docs notarized.

Do you mean that just having a phrase written on the document " I am familiar with both the English language and Russian language..." is enough?

About agency: If notarized translations is a requirement, then I need to go through agency. The Notary will not notarize the document translation if I don't have a confirmation that I'm qualified for translating docs. Knowing the language is not enough, got to have a diploma. That's why I mentioned agency in there..

I would get all important documents translated, ie birth certificate, Vaccination records, college or high School diploma if you plan to attend school here, divorce degrees etc. Documents need to be notarized and contain statement from translator written in English

Thank you for your response.

I thought about translating vaccination records, but what's the use of DS-3025 then..It has all my vaccinations in English and is signed by authorized doctor. Do you think I will still need initial records translated?

Greetings All!

My K-1 Visa Interview at Moscow Embassy June,27 went very well and my visa got approved!

Needless to say how much we are excited about this!!!

While waiting for my passport to arrive I seek your advise on the translations for the documents that I will need after coming to the U.S.

1) Which docs will I need the translations for? (birth certificate, drivers license, anything else?)

2) What are the requirements for the translations? (Notarized? Apostille needed? Will a simple translation as we did for K-1 police and birth certificates suffice?)

3) Will translation made by the Russian agency be fine or is it better to have the translation done in by the agency in the U.S. after arrival?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for your time!

Stange as that is in direct conflict with the link I posted above. Does she need to pay the fee for both her and her child ($480 total) or just her fee ($240) to schedule the interview?

One more question, can I pay the fee for her from the USA or does she need to pay it herself in Russia?

Two fees for two people

Well, there is an option to pay by credit card, but I'm not sure if there may be any conflict between the name of a person scheduling the interview, and the name on the card (and therefore receipt). Check with the call-center. I paid at VTB24 Bank just to have a paper slip available if needed.

Javid, thank you! very helpful links

You can't schedule an interview at ustraveldocs.com without paid fee. So you pay first, then wait 1-2 days while bank processes your payment, and only then you can schedule an appointment in the system.

Read this link http://ustraveldocs.com/ru/ru-niv-paymentinfo.asp

I can tell you I was on an international flight a 2 weeks back and the crew announced that the I-94 is no longer filled out manually but is processed at entry.

good luck with your entry!

resident of Houston here too - my wife will POE July 15th into Houston also

wow, that's some news!

So basically, you do not have any papercopy to present to authorities afterwards, they are supposed to check the website. Did you only have to show your passport and customs declaration form to the officer?

Was going through customs faster / slower due to this change? I imagine that if officers need to "process at entry" and fill info out on computer, it might slow the line down...

Congrats!!!

(I saw you've created another discussion about I-94)

More zen is good))

When your wife fills out the form to request the certificate, there will be a line where she needs to list all 'regions' where she lived. Requirement to have references to each place where she lived doesn't mean specific addresses and apartments, it means - oblast' or kray (like states) subject to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. As long as she lists every region she lived in, the Information Center will check for the criminal records pertaining to her with those regions authorities. Don't worry, there shouldn't be a problem.

There are couple nuances though concerning the timing of preparing this document :

• If she only lived in one region and this where she requests Справка, then it'll be prepared faster. If multiple regions involved - it might take a little longer. In Primorky kray (Vladivostok) where I live, they told me that 1 region officially might take up to 1 month, multiple regions - up to 2 months to check against. In reality, when I requested mine, it took a little over 3 wks (multiple regions involved). This is if you go by requesting Справка in person at the Information center.
• If your wife is registered at www.gosuslugi.ru (Russian electronic services portal), then she can request it online, and obtaining the Справка is much faster. It took me a little over 1 week last time I requested it (For the record - getting registered at this site takes time and involves receiving credentials by mail, so if she is not, don't even worry about it. Just request it in person)

Good luck!

She has something from her doctor, that's a good start. But I wouldn't have that much faith in Moscow doctor and expect them to "tell her what she has had in the past and what she will need". The doctor can assume what she had, but only she can confirm it by theactual records. How about calling the doc prior to exam? That's what I did, and that's how I found out that I'm missing Hepatitis B shot and need to renew my diphtheria. If she doesn't have actual record of the shot done, she can have a blood test done, and verify this. For e.g. if she had a varicella as a child, she'd have antibodies in her blood, and the simple blood test will confirm it, so here is the proof. Same for rubella. There are not that many proofs that she needs. But it may be disappointing if she doesn't take a prompt care of this, and then there are issues at the exam. Just a friendly advise :-)

You need to do more thorough research on this. From what I read myself I remember that if you cleared medical exam, the doc said that everything is fine and you got your envelope, you are not obliged to get missing vaccinations before departure from your home country. BUT one needs to have all required shots done for adjustment of status. So one can do it in U.S. (If she gets pregnant right away after arrival, no one will insist on those shots I assume) So read a little more, get some references and email to the embassy. I don't think that missing vaccinations is the basis for visa denial. They worry most about STD and tuberculosis.