kenanna

Thanks for all of the replies. Thank you, Dakine10, that's what they're telling us. We'll work this out before he leaves to visit his grandmother. I was under the impression that Belarus did not allow dual citizenship. One would have to renounce citizenship to claim Belarusian citizenship. That's something he can decide for himself oneway.

I certainly want my son to be proud of his heritage. I am sure he will when he is old enough to understand. But his birthright is American. He was blessed to be born in this country.

We want the visa for him to visit Belarus. They are claiming he is a Belarusian citizen by virtue of his mother being a citizen. He is an American. They insist he have a Belarusian passport to LEAVE Belarus. It's their country and they can make their own rules, I suppose. But he was conceived and born in the USA. American citizens must have a visa to visit Belarus.

i am inclined to not let him vsit a country that thinks they have a claim on him. I am curious if any Belarusian immigrants have experience with this sort of thing.

Thank you for your reply. I thought I was done with all this apostille nonsense. We'll try to get his other passport from their embassy before he goes anywhere, if he goes anywhere.

Hello All,

Need advice for child traveling to Belarus. He was born here in the USA 10 months after my wife POE. We are trying to get a visa for his American passport so that he may visit his grandmother in Minsk.

The Belarusian keeps insisting that he needs a Belarusian passport, and not a visa. They are saying he will not be able to return home without it. They are nice enough, but this sort of talk makes me very nervous.

We're talking about apostiles for our passports and his birth certificate. The whole nine yards, rather than simply mailing them the passport and invitation for his visa.

Has anyone, particularly Eastern Europe/Slavic immigrants, ever ran into this sort of thing before. Belarus does not recognize dual citizenship and already they are claiming his is a Belarusian citizen by birth. They will not issue a visa and insist he must have a Belarus passport to return home. Many thanks for any help and replies in advance,

Kenanna

Yay!!! Thank you for that time line, I'll just wait to stalk ELIS again until about the end of the month (I'm lying, I'll probably check again tomorrow).

You're most welcome, and I wish you a speedy finish! It's a lot better with your loved one < 8000 miles away!

My wife received her card today. Finished with these people until 2016! Best of luck to everyone getting done.

07-22-14 POE

07-29-14 SS#

08-22-14 Status "Optimized"

08-27-14 Card in production

08-30-14 Card "Mailed"

09-04-14 Card Received

07-22-14 POE

07-29-14 SS#

08-22-14 Status "Optimized"

08-27-14 Card in production

08-30-14 Card "Mailed"

bdrew, your IOE # will work when it says "Optimized". Hopefully, yours is quick, but I think there is something to ours being optimized exactly 1 month after POE. Then again, there just may be no telling with these people. The info it gives really isn't helpful. My wife's only said "In Production" or "Mailed". Maybe we will call for a tracking number today.

Best of luck.

In response to how long NVC is taking, it can be awhile. I'm not sure of the documentation needed for a K-1. The IR-1 and CR-1 visas have slowed to a crawl because the USCIS backlog has hit NVC and government incompetence. Blame Obama and his DACA. We were very blessed and got through before things got really bad. My wife did her police clearance and mailed it to me. I then sent it with our IV package. The Belarusians are very thorough. They will stamp and tie document with string to make it all look very official! I forget how long the certificate is for, so check to be sure. For married couples it's taking 7 months and more to get out of NVC, and pray there are no checklists.

Hi,

My wife's visa was ready in less than a week. But they weren't happy about it. To make a long story short, simply show them your letter from the embassy. Your visa will be in time and good for your appointment date. Simply have her go to the Polish embassy and they will take care of it.

Paying for the visa. Try this page. Make sure you choose Belarus and Warsaw as embassy and choose "non-immigrant" visa and go from there. My wife's was an immigrant visa,so I don't know how much different it is. http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ Your fiance should receive her visa the next day. Since she is Belarusian she will HAVE to register with TNT. Bear in mind, I am speaking from CR-1 experience. Ul. Annopol 19, 03 - 236 Warszawa...or 19 Annopol Street, Warsaw in English. Just Google this and it will lead you right to it.

This is where my wife went, but it's the same for all in Minsk.

Valiantsina Artsiukhina, M.D.

IOM International Organization for Migration

Operations Unit, 3 Gorny Pereulok, Minsk 220005, Belarus

Tel.: +375 17 288 2541, +375 17 288 2542, +375 17 288 2744

Best of luck,

Kenneth

Congratulations to the case completes!

Our AOS fee is N/A now, could this mean we finally have a CC?

This is very good news! Glad to see this!

Yesterday, they stated her card was in production. Wishing everyone the best of luck, with no (more) headaches.

07-29-14 SS#

08-22-14 Status "Optimized"

08-27-14 Card in production

I didn't find that getting an ITIN was difficult at all. It just took a long time. Like 3 months. The fact that filing has taken 1 year, it was worth it to collect the extra money on my tax return. Especially because I'm the only one working.

I thought it was easy as well. I had my wife sign the application and sent a copy of her passport and marriage license as well. They were quick and even mailed the copies back! It was nice to get a refund instead of having to pay. We sent the application at the same time I did taxes and they issued the ITIN at the same time.

My wife's status went to "Optimized" 8/22/14. Her fee was paid on 7/18/14.

Hi all, my wife's interview is in exactly one week and I'm freaking out and am so nervous. She's going without me and I'm so worried she'll get denied or that something bad will happen. Back when we were dating she applied for and was denied a tourist visa and I'll never forget the feeling of her emailing me with the news of her denial while sobbing at her computer, not to mention the entire 2 hour bus ride back home. It's an emotion and a day that will be in my memory forever and I'm scared it's going to be repeated next week.

Any words of encouragement or pep talk anyone can offer possibly? I'm a nervous wreck.

My wife was denied a tourist visa as well. Don't worry, Warsaw will be no problem. She will get her visa.

LOL. Once I saw that I was like "yep, sounds like my wife..." She's from Florida and anytime that it reaches to 80* degree F here, she complains that there isn't any A/C in the UK.. But I can understand AC is obviously needed in places like that with the heat. Hope she gets use to the weather soon and then wants the AC on constantly.

Congratulations!

You're in for a climate change coming to live in Florida. Wish you and your wife all the best.

hahaha! Thank you!! I feel ya bc my hubby is the same way. I always have the AC on and he claims I have it too cold. But yes, that is crazy considering Russian winters are way worse than English winters!!

I feel her pain. I'm about to head over there on Friday and I keep asking if it's hot but luckily it looks like it'll be in the 60's during the day and in the 40's-50's at night. That's freezing for us southerners!! BRR.

GOOD LUCK!! You'll do great!!

60 degree days sound like Heaven right now. We won't see those until November!

Wishing all of you the best. Safe and happy flights, and blessed reunions.

Thanks for the info! I'll be flying into IAH with my hubby (beneficiary), and was debating which line to go through. I think I'll just walk confidently into the citizens line with the hubs in hand.

You are most welcome. It should be fine; especially since you will be with him. Off topic, but my wife and I are having a battle of wills over the AC. It's not what you think...she wants it OFF and I want it on. This from a woman who is used to sub-zero weather in the winter. Only a Houstonian or Florida resident can appreciate how crazy that is.

Best of luck to you!

Great, thanks. Did she go through the citizen/resident line?

And yeah, Moscow-Houston direct on Singapore is 12.5 hrs of relaxation (and cheap!) compared to routes with stops through Europe or the US.

She said she went through the line for citizens. After she made it through customs she was taken to a small room where they took her packet and fingerprints. They looked over her documents and asked her the purpose of her being here!?...and then let her go. I think it was pretty easy for her, and people coming in to IAH will have no problem. It's a moment you won't forget when you see her walk through the glass doors.

Welp, $165 paid and booked her ticket - Aug 31.

k.dlg - you'll have to post your IAH entry experience to see what kind of mood they're in working on Labor Day weekend.

I'll ask my wife again how she was treated. I know that she asked one if them "what now?", and they said "go to your husband!" She walked out 2 hours after her plane landed, so it wasn't too bad. She arrived @ 14:30 I think. We chose to fly from Moscow non-stop rather than Minsk-Frankfurt-Houston

Here's where we are....

ELIS Paid 7/18/14

POE 7/22/14

Still stuck on "Case Accepted & Pending Review"

On the bright side, my wife's SSN arrived within 2 weeks of POE

Thank you for that tip!! It will save me from yelling a few curse words at the screen on Monday!!

I'm glad the SSN has already arrived :-)

You are most welcome. Hopefully, your husband will have the 9 digit number and it will save your nerves. This is based on info I found on the web. You'd think the would say something to the effect of "If your number is only 7-8 digits long, then do this"...but of course they don't. I won't rest easy until her I-551 arrives in the mail. Happy that your journey is almost over and wish you a happy reunion with your loved one.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/431701-online-165-immigration-fee-payment-problems/

I know I can't pay it yet, but I wasn't sure if I could set up the account early or not. I was able to set it up no problem, I just can't do anything with it yet LOL

Thanks!

You may also have to add 1-2 "zeros" in front of the number. My wife's was 8 numbers and USCIS insists on 9 numbers! We've been treated to the 45 day song and dance as well. They took our money ASAP but are still "processing" the form. On the plus side, the SSN already arrived. Best of luck!

just got home!

visa in hand!

Glad you made it safely!

Lol I literally repeated the address word for word. If that's wrong, then I don't know what to write. I can imagine them sending mail and writing on the envelope "same as mailing address" then getting confused when it comes back as undeliverable

You should be fine, ketsuban. That's exactly what we did with no problems. Best of luck!

Our petition was in Warsaw about 1 week after CC. Once they ship it...it's pretty fast. 2-3 days according to DHL.