Jim_Tanja

We called the Russian Consulate, asked them the procedure.

Sent the passport, copy of marriage license, some small fee ($20?).

They returned the passport in a week or two with a official note inside that my wife also goes by her married name.

http://www.russianembassy.org/

Click on the consular button for a list of regional offices.

Hope that helps!

Jim

Hello everybody!

I have a question concerning name change. When I do get married and change my last name, do i have to change my Russian international passport (zagran passport) too?

I never thought about it but then, say, I get my AP on my married name but i will travel with my Russian passport which is on my maiden name but with my K-1 visa in it.....

Did anyone deal with it??

thanks a lot

Sasha

We took the passports and greencards when we drove over.

We did not have any problems at the border either way.

Jim

Hi all,

Does anyone know what's required to travel to Canada from US (accorss the border) for a Russian citizen with Green Card? We were planning to driving up in a few weeks, but just wanted to make sure that there are no obsticles since she's a citizen of Russia.

Thanks a lot,

Mike.

Same. It is the red number.

I definitively used the red number and it was accepted and we have completed AOS

My wife and step-son had no troubles arriving in Detroit. I met them outside the baggage claim.

International flights arrive in the McNamara terminal.

You can get maps here: http://www.metroairport.com/maps/download.asp

Have a great flight and hope all goes quickly for you!

Jim

Very sorry to hear this news.

I am currently waiting to see what happens with my step-son... I am in the same situation. Interview is in March.

Jim

Well still not transferred for us...

RFE was sent back and email of acceptance Jan 3.

when was your NOA1?

Updated sig... 7 December NOA1

Well still not transferred for us...

RFE was sent back and email of acceptance Jan 3.

We are kind of in the same situation. I told Tanja about the copy for our records but it was completely forgotten by her when she was in Moscow.

We do have the vaccination record from her booklet - in Russian. I'm trying to figure out if we can get this translated into something useful.

Jim

So I'm just now getting Elena's AOS stuff together, and I realize that I'm going to have to file the I-485 (with the $325 fee, and $70 for biometrics... vaseline please!) and I see that since she had a medical exam within the last year, she doesn't need another one. However, she does need a vaccination supplement.

I think we're good on everything except for that.

When she entered, they kept all her forms at the gate in New York. So now we have no proof of what shots she's had/needs to have now, to give to the civil surgeon who's supposed to sign her supplement form. Does the civil surgeon even need that? How does the civil surgeon determine what shots they need, don't need?

What do we do?

Should we make an appointment for the civil surgeon now, or should we try to get a copy of her forms, and if so, from where? (Russia govt., or USCIS... maybe Moscow embassy?) And just when does all this have to be filed by? Her K-1 expires on the 17th, so we've got a couple weeks, but does the AOS need to be completed and sent in before that, or as long as we've got a copy of the marriage cert, are we legal?

Fill me in fellas. I'm clueless in all this AOS stuff. Thanks in advance....

My son is 20 as well, going to turn 21 soon, so I am in the same situation. Will have to wait and see how our case goes, the paperwork has been filed and accepted, so just waiting to see how it goes.

Jim

hi all.....is there anyone else out there who has k2 kids....but who are say nearing the aging out age for aos???..i know of 1 other, which would be girona40, who has been going throu this for a long time with her son.

my son is 20, and WILL STILL be 20 when we file... and as far as we are concerned, that is all that is needed for them to be able to adjust status.....but will turn 21 in april, but we are hearing of other horror stories, like girona40's, of how the son or daughter turned 21 while still in the process , and were denied. are there any more out there who might be in the same predicament?...or does anyone have any thoughts on this?

thanks everyone

deb

I made the mistake of only sending in one copy of the taxes... and got an RFE for it. Make sure you make a second copy for the K2 as well.

Jim

I'm not quite sure how an AOS adjustment of status should be done after a K1/K2 visa for marriage. We have married and now when submitting the paperwork, should the two request be kind of merged into one packet or separated?

For my new wife and her son, my thinking it should be separated and not all the documents mingled together. (I figured they do NOT want to see something like: her 485, his 485, her passport, his passport, etc.)

Below is a copy of my cover letter, listing the items we are planning to include and in what order. Does anyone see any glaring issues with it?

This packet includes:

1. Payment in the amount of $620.00

o $325 for spouse's I-485 application fee

o $ 70 for spouse’s biometrics services fee

o $225 for son’s I-485 application fee (he is 10.)

2. Application Form I-485 Packet for non-US citizen spouse

o Completed I-485 Form

o Copy passport, including K1 visa.

o Copy of NOA2 "Approval" for the original I-129F

o Copy of I-94

o Copy of birth certificate along with English translation.

o Certified copy of marriage certificate.

o Copy of divorce documents along with English translation, for non-US citizen spouse.

o G-325A with supporting photos.

o Copy of Medical Check Form as submitted with K1 visa.

o Copy of vaccination supplement I-693A as submitted with the K1 visa.

o I-864, Affidavit of Support

o I-765, Application for Employment Authorization with supporting photos

o I-131, Application for Travel Document with supporting photos

3. Application Form I-485 Packet for non-US spouse’s child

o Completed I-485 Form

o Copy passport, including K2 visa.

o Copy of NOA2 "Approval" for the original I-129F

o Copy of I-94

o Copy of birth certificate along with English translation.

o G-325A with supporting photos.

o Copy of Medical Check Form as submitted with K1 visa.

o Copy of vaccination supplement I-693A as submitted with the K1 visa.

o I-864, Affidavit of Support

o I-131, Application for Travel Document with supporting photos

You should probably have it before the 1st. We got ours about a week after the interview, in Moscow.

Jim

OK, My fiancee passed an interview in Moscow. The consulate said the visa will be mailed to her in 1 to 2 weeks.

Can anyone confirm the actual time it takes? Because I would like her to get it by the 1st of January.

Someone said it takes 3 days to get the visa after the interview, any truth to that?

I really hope this is resolved well quickly - for everyone.

It is really sad when you are stuck waiting on USCIS and they can't get moving, delaying processing until a problem situation occurs. I think we are going to be in the same situation. The IMBRA law delayed and delayed us, we got stuck in K1 processing in California for months. Now my step-son is going to be turning 21 in January, and the AOS is waiting to be worked on.

Please keep us informed on how things are going, I hope we all hear some positive news!

Just a bit disappointed, today, that the case we were waiting to hear on, scheduled for summary judgment on the 11th December, has now been postponed to the 12th February. Two more months of waiting! We were hoping that the outcome of this case, if positive, would help so many people in our situation.

Every day seems like weeks and just waiting for Monday to come round was bad enough.

I am sure Tanja would be happy to email back and forth to answer whatever questions you might have about the interview time. She was extremely nervous as well, and it all turned out ok. Just try and relax a little =)

Jim

Poor Marina is scheduled for her interview on January 11th and is so scared i think she will have a mental breakdown or drop 30 lbs from not eating. Well the brerakdowen anyway, she loves those cakers too much to stop eatring those.

Anyway, she is asking for crazy information from me to study and memorize for the interview. LIke my whole life history with dates, birthdays of every relative. hell, I don't even know them!

I assume they will not ask any information that they don't have and the only info they have is whatever we put on the forms. Anything else they wouldn't know if the answer was true or false. Am i correct on that? Iwould like to ut her mind at ease but i know she will still worry till sher gets that visa in her little hand.

Also, you can check out the embassy web site (also available in Russian)

http://moscow.usembassy.gov/consular/consu...cord_id=fiancee

Can someone please list the current forms that Moscow Embassy is requiring in the Packet 3 and 4? My K-1 just is on it's way to NVC and I want get started.

I would have liked to, but no we can not apply until he gets employment authorization during the adjustment of status. He is 20.

Jim

I read some where that you need the EAD before you can get a SSN... but I may be mistaken..

K1 does not need EAD, we just did this yesterday. I do not know about K3. My step son is a K2 and he must get an EAD before they will give him a SSN.

So you will apply for the EAD for your son at the same time as your spouse? How old is your step son?

We did use DHL, but keep in mind it may take longer than 2 days. Tanja got hers a week later in Moscow.

The Moscow Embassy site recommends using the Pony express to deliver the approved visas, however there is also a DHL service available. My fiancee will be staying in a hotel during her trip to Moscow for the interview. I was wondering where should she have the approved visa delivered. I really don't want to fly her back to Khabarovsk Russia, just to wait and extra week for the delivery. I hear that it takes about 2 days for the embassy to make and mail the visa. What is a good place to send the visa to? i.e. could she have it delivered to the post office, and sign for it there? if so which post office, and courier does this work the best with? Much thanks - Shawn

Finally we got our USCIS approval, NVC approval, and most important our Interview date 10Jan2007!!!!

We did the exam in Moscow, but I think it is similar for timeframes. Make an appointment within a month of when you want the exam. We did it 2 days prior to interview, you might need the extra time if traveling to Moscow after, so within the 2 weeks before going to Moscow.

Make sure you ask when results can be picked up. In Moscow it was same day or next morning at the clinics.

Jim

??Is the Medical exam scheduled by the Consulate?

??Can you get a medical exam before the interview and just take the sealed package with you?

If so the lady in Vladivostok approved hospital said that exam could not be more than 2 weeks before interview

I thought medical exams were good for like 6 months?

My petition was recently approved by both USCIS and NVC. I emailed NVC to confirm the approval and ask for the new number assigned to the case since it was forwarded to Moscow. I received the MOS # and they said the Interview date was Jan 10 2007 at 8am. I know my fiancee needs to have a medical exam before the interview, but we have yet to receive anything from the Consulate in Moscow. Also due to the holiday season i was wondering if she could travel from Khabarovsk to Vladivostok for a medical exam before she even travels to Moscow. But I don't know how the whole process works. If anyone has any experiences please help. Thanks for lookin - Shawn

I read some where that you need the EAD before you can get a SSN... but I may be mistaken..

K1 does not need EAD, we just did this yesterday. I do not know about K3. My step son is a K2 and he must get an EAD before they will give him a SSN.

Congrats!!! Hope everything goes smoothly! If all the docs are good you will have no troubles!

US Embassy replied today the interview is scheduled for January 10!!!

Wahoooo!!

Should work out great with the Orthodox Christmas Jan 7.

Thanks for all your help so far. I'm sure I'll need some more assistance soon!

Not completely sure what the trouble is...

I charged Lufthansa flights (eTickets) to my credit card. Had to call them on the phone however as web site wanted credit card in her hand to confirm. Calling let me tell them to use passports to confirm ID.

aeroflot.ru can't charge my CC because ... f in ..

u know why...

anyone had trouble?

Michael and Natalia, hope you had a smooth flight! Hope the little angel got some rest on the plane! =)

Tm33398, we live in Farmington Hills, maybe we could get together sometime for some dinner. I am sure Tanja would enjoy more company speaking in Russian!

Jim

Heelo Jim! My wife is from Chuvash republic, off the Volga River, And we have been married since 9/24/05. We also live in Detroit. Glad your girl is almost here and show her around allthe great places of Detroit!

Tm33398

Wish you and Galina a quick and easy interview time! Tanja will be in Moscow the week after I believe. Our interview is the 25th.

Just looking to see if anyone has had a recent interview in Moscow. I know there are a few coming up, October will be a good month for some VJ'ers, but I would definitely like to hear about someone elses results. We tend to always hear about the bad things. Just looking for some things on how the interview was. The last Moscow review was from June or July I think.

The DS-156K is not the same as the DS-156. The DS-156K is used by males 18 plus.

Tanja has a 20 year old son who I thought would need the this form for the K2.

However, it was not included in my fiancee's packet nor was it requested at the interview, even though we had one prepared.

Jim

my fiancee packet didn't include DS-156K, is this given before the interview to fill out?

Please confirm.

Thanks!

Right. I actually just emailed Tanja the PDF file created by the web site. She just printed it and took it with her to the interview.

Jim

Jim , so it means that when we fill it out online and print it out, that application will not be automatically submitted to the embassy, she ahs to bring it there. The only reason why I am asking is because she will be out of the country for a while, and I don't want her to delay the sending of the documents to the embassy, ofcourse if there's no packet 3, and nothing needs to be returned until the actual interview, that is great.

Thanks,

Mike.

Mike,

There is no packet 3 for Moscow, just a packet 4 which you carry back to the embassy for interview with forms filled out.

I think that filling out the DS156 just adds the barcode, so the embassy staff can just scan it instead of retyping. There are 2 barcodes if I recall, one is a '3D' which has all the data typed on the form stored in barcode format.

Yes it would be easier if stored online someplace, but I don't think they are doing that yet. They want the new DS156 with barcodes at the interviews now - they started October 25th.

Hi all,

I have a question in regards to the process of the embassy. When moscow embassy receives the application from the NVC, they send out Packet 3. Then,a s far as I understand, a DS-156 has to be filled out online, and only then the Packet 4 will be sent out with the interview date. Or...The send packet 3 to be filled out for when the finacee comes to the embassy and the interview date is scheduled no matter when the packet is returned to the embassy? Also, does this DS-156, when filled out online, gets sent to the embassy electronically or it's just for neater filling out of the application, only to print to take with to the embassy?

All in all, is anyone aware of the new process of the moscow embassy interview scheduling, due to this electronic form?

Thanks,

Mike.

Yikes, forgot to ask you about that when had you on the phone. You still planning on flying out on the 1st?

Maybe you can just pick it up at the DHL office.

Jim

Argh! This is frustrating... waiting for the Embassy to print and send the visa via DHL!

I see quite a variety of wait times to receive the visa. I'm in Moscow with my wife and we're going nuts because DHL doesn't have any tracking info, and the Embassy only said to please call next day.

Argh!