John and Anna

I have high speed internet at home and changed my phone to use it.

Using verizons voicewing product = .5 cents a minute to russia - better rates than ATT and other VOIP

plus $25 a month gets my unlimited local and long distance - plus I can listen to my voicemail online plus a slew of other features

Any questions ask me.

www.voicewing.com

10 lessions - took a break and tried to teach he myself (what a mistake)

Back at it..

Remeber - most did not even ride a bike....

or have a fater with a car.

And

Women have to take a Gynecological exam....

We're trying to go to the Domincan for Christmas/New Years.

We want to fly to an all-inclusive in Punta Cana (or if you know somehwere better... please spill!) and don't want to have our pants pulled down over the price.

If you've been, or are also planning on going, please share your experiences.

And what's the deal with the visa requirements for USC and RFC(w/greencard)??? I know there's the Delta site, but I don't have experience (and am too tired to look right now) so if you could post a link for my lazy @$$, that would be awesome.

Thanks in advance for replies. (And if anyone would like to donate..... PM for PayPal info.)

Check out apple vacations

Anna and I were married there.

Whoever U book with - make sure you tell them it's a honeymoon!

You can enter Russia only using Russian documents. Therefore she will need her international passport with her maiden name. Thus it is recommended that you buy airline tickets in her maiden name.

To return to the US you need to show your Russian passport to the exit border patrol in Russia and an American entry document i.e. valid visa, green card, refugee stamp, I-551 stamp or US passport to the airline officials and then do the same at the Point of Entry officers in the US.

The only known problems occur in Russia because a Russian official who is working for Aeroflot will refuse to recognize a Russian Passport with one name and a US entry document in another name. To ease your worries some, like myself have requested the Russian consulate to make an amendment to the Russian Passport indicating that this passport holder also goes by the following married name.

AK has had more success by even getting the Seattle Russian consulate to change the entire Russian passport into the married name. San Francisco Russian Consulate refused to do the latter, claiming it must be done in Russia through the internal passport first.

But 9 out of 10 you will be fine with the documents you listed. As the folks in the Canadian or European forums point out, you should bring your marriage certificate to point out the name change. That might pass muster in civilized Western Countries, but in Russia, a US marriage certificate is worth as much as a piece of toilet paper. Unless it is appostiled and certified by a Russian consulate here in the US.

They amendment took about 2 weeks. Instructions are on the consulates web site.

No need

OK, I have never sent anything to Russia before but now I have to send a box of documents to Elena for her interview next month. Whats the best way? UPS, DHL, FedEx? Also, do I use her Russian language address? English? Both? This is a pretty important package (obviously) so I need advice...

I always use USPS express mail. The price is very reasonable and it will get there in about 1 week. You do not need to write the address in Russian alphabet, English will be fine.

Tracking is not so good with USPS. Fedex has great tracking and about the same as USPS till you get over a couple of pounds (1k) so if its over 1k then make copies and send USPS. DHL for some reason is 30% more than Fedex.

Civil Surgeons don't understand the K-Visa and like to insist on full medical, we had this problem, and the solution is to take form I-485 instructions with you to the doctor, and point out the USCIS instructions for K-Visas. I pointed this ou to the doctor and he stopped insisting on the medical and did the supplement for $35.

Highlight this on page 3 in the instructions and show to doctor:

Fiancé(e)s.

If you are a K-1 fiancé(e) or K-2 dependent who had a medical examination within the past year as required for the nonimmigrant fiancé(e) visa, you only need to submit a vaccination supplement, not the entire medical report. You may include the vaccination supplement with your adjustment of status application.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-485.pdf

http://www.uscis.gov/civilsurgeons

Could anyone tell me of a surgeon that makes a decent price for the immigration physical in Western North Carolina?

I called the one in Asheville, which is the closest to us but they ask for 275$ for the basic (not including the vaccines and all that).

http://www.uscis.gov/civilsurgeons

Did you put your SO on your insurance? Then your GP can do it or refer you for your deductable.

Is the phy for K1?

Back in February, before I even knew there was a visa called K-1, my fiancee and I tried to get her a tourist visa to come over then get married. (I know, pretty stupid!) So when it was all set and done, she was denied because she didnt have enough funds in her bank to prove that she woudnt over stay over in the U.S. (with me)....So, we learned about K1 and were very close to NOA2.

But incase that they ask her during the interview that why she wanted a tourist visa back in Feb and then they see that one month later I applied for the K1 Visa. Will these be a red flag? Can she just say she wanted it just to visit? Her reason for wanting it is to spend vacation time in Las Vegas. I don't think this would be a problem since it was never given to her and this is a totally different visa now. Any suggestion of what to say incase they see this?

Did the same. In April Anna interviewed for a tourist visa and was denied. No questions we asked at the K1 interview. But the letter of intent is gave to her to take to the K1 inteview stated that I wanted her to visit me here and after we were denied we decieded to get married not to be apart.

Like I said they did not even question it.

Went to the AOS interview this morning. Felt pretty prepared from all the great tips here on VJ and things went pretty well. When we were finished, the officer said she had some more paperwork to do on her end, and she'd submit our case for final approval. She said it looked like everything was in order for an approval and we'd know in a couple weeks. I asked if there was anything else we could do or any forms we needed to submit (I knew VJ didn't let me forget any forms!) and she said no, but they'd contact us if anything was needed. She added that there were several cases on her desk for that day so she couldn't complete ours right away, but would later today and then send it on.

So, I guess we're good? She didn't say it was denied or there would be anything that would cause problems, so I guess that's good. I was under the impression that they either approved or denied (or requested more info) on the spot. Maybe it's the new process or something? Not sure. Anyone have a similar experience?

And to all those preparing for upcoming interviews, don't sweat it too much. I didn't walk out with a "bad" feeling, just not satisfaction at instant approval. She said it should be approved, just couldn't be done right away.

The only things that really happened inside the interview were she asked my wife several questions (name, address, parents' names, and a few of the "are you a communist, druggie, terrorist, prostitute, criminal, etc. questions from the form) and then reviewed a few more documents from the packet. She asked about jobs (I'm at the same job, Elena just started work yesterday at a little restaurant up the street) and when we got married (I actually said the wrong date, if that doesn't prove it's a real relationship, I don't know what does!) if we have any kids, ex-spouses, other marriages, etc. Then she asked how we first met, how long we've been together, etc. The only "evidence" she requested was in relation to "anything changed since your submission, or anything you want to add to your file?" We gave a few photos from the wedding and a copy of our rental agreement and health/life insurance forms. She didn't actually ask to see anything specific, adding "I have everything I need here for approval, just need to do some more paperwork on my end, then forward it on for final approval."

So, update in a few weeks? I'll let you guys know how it went. Wish I had an "AOS APPROVED, Green Card on the Way!" post for you, but maybe in a few weeks we'll have it. Good luck to all of you!

Slim

Interview was very easy asked about our first meeting and has Anna met my family. We brought pictures of family Christmas St Pats party etc.

It was pretty straigh forward. She said we were approved and we showed tickets that Anna was flying back to Russia for a couple of weeks and the woman interviewer made copies of them and stamped Anna's passport. Green card arrived 11 days later. Are you checking status online?

I find it simply amazing the difference in tempo and topics between a forum domintated by men and one dominated by women.

I actually found a web site (in Russian) that sells courses on how to land a man for marriage or just for travel

I'll try and find it.

How can you tell....

1) Lies within lies within lies language barrier would make it hard for most to see the truth?

2) When the going get tough the though get going (their dream bubble has been burst.

3) Considering what is read here...

I propose to all. How do any of us know?

Any 20 year marriages here? 15? 10?

(Just stirring the pot)

1) If she hasn't learned enough English to communicate effectively enough with you then she's not serious about you. If there's no language barrier at all (as in, she's "professional" enough to have taken classes already) it should be easy to weed out the lies. It's easy enough with American women, right?

2) That's where time comes in. Plus, it should've already been hard enough on her to prove that she's willing to "stick around" for a little while. "Hi, how are you, here's $4000 and a K-1 visa...." and then six months later, "I don't know why it didn't work out." It should've sounded more like "She spent her money to come meet me at this place, waited for X number of months/years, and did without anything nice for a long time.... just to be together with me." That just may be followed by "and now we've been married 10 years."

3) Consider what is read here. There are a lot of guys on here that set themselves up for failure. They themselves are "taking a shot" and then when it comes back around on them, most will say it was because the women did this or the women did that, etc. The guys on here recently have, for lack of a better term, sacked up and taken responsibility for what's been going on, but there are plenty of guys out there that have met a girl through a website, went to go see her, then been married six months later. Do that in the U.S. and see how far that gets you. Do it in Russia, and it's almost guaranteed to not work.

A) That said, there are amazing stories on here about people that happened to meet and fall in love, even if it was only a few months before they got married.

It's got to be up to you and your S/O to be true with what you expect and what you're looking for. And don't sugar coat it. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck.... call it a duck! The girls certainly will!!!

Bravo - again

Are u telling some of us to duck

Yes - it's the whole story we need to see. There is another post going on about summer vacation that has Anna and I interested.

I'll tune in there a bit.

Hope all is well Mr. and Mrs Slim

I find it way hard to believe that 75% of ladies looking for a foreign guy are only interested in a green card.

If you are the kind of guy that has ever been "duped" by an American girl.... you will get your ### tore up in Russia. If you are observant, perceptive and a good judge of character, you can find a real gem over there.

Although it's probably true that not as many as 75% of ladies are green card scammers, it's also probably true that 75% are "throwing their hat in the ring... and hoping for the best." That would mean even if things didn't work out, all-in-all they believe their chances of a better life (or a better man) are somewhere in the U.S., and getting that green card will help them out. It's pretty common for them to "try to make it work" for a couple years while lining up their next guy or saving up some money, etc. That may not be an outright scam, but it does push the numbers up for those that aren't 100% into it for the man, but moreover, the green card.

If you dig back through some of the old threads, you'll see my take on the three types of Russian/FSU women. Basically, they go like this:

1. Outright Scammer (related to American Gold Digger.... could be for green card, could be for money, could be for both!)

2. Hoper (Looking for a better life with a good man.... we'll see what happens.)

3. Gem (Only cares about the man. Could care less about if he's in Russia or the U.S.)

Your last statement was the most accurate summary of U.S./FSU relationships that I've ever seen! You obviously know and have spent time with more than a few Russian women.

How can you tell....

1) Lies within lies within lies language barrier would make it hard for most to see the truth?

2) When the going get tough the though get going (their dream bubble has been burst.

3) Considering what is read here...

I propose to all. How do any of us know?

Any 20 year marriages here? 15? 10?

(Just stirring the pot)

I'm 44 Anna is 27 (actually she belives I'm sometimes 12) LOL

So after Olga arrived, everything was fine, things went well until I learned she was spending many HOURS on the telephone to Russia, which we cannot afford at this time and I tried to explain it to her but she either didn't understand or didn't WANT to understand.

She spent close to $300 in her first 2 months here in the USA, couple that with $127 in Text Messages to and from Russia and the next cell phone bill is looking like it will be much higher.

We have been living on the edge since we returned from Disneyland and I have been trying to get us caught up so I tried to limit her usage on both the international calls and the international text messages and when I learned she could not limit herself...I lost all trust I had in her and without trust there is not relationship...

Back up a sec, on April 1, after she agreed to spend ONLY 2 hours a week to Russia as that was all we could afford, I learned she used 8 hours in 2 weeks and removed the vonage adapter. When she came home and discovered this she proceeded to threaten to claim I sexually abused her, thus abusing the Violence against Women Act to secure her stay in the USA.

There were other signs that this may have been fraud on her part but I will not discuss those here, those that know me, have heard the WHOLE story...

Now back to tonight, I finally decided I was through with the headaches, through with the stress of our financial situation, through with our marriage and again she threatened to abuse the Violence Against Women Act, then she cut her self...intentionally and insisted I drive her to the hospital where I waited 2 hours to see what would happen, I eventually decided that I was through waiting there and came home, to write this.

Those that know me, know these are false claims...I would never hurt or abuse anyone but V.A.W.A. is written so that no one cares about the accused...at least as I understand.

All I have to say is this once wonderful turned horror story of a chapter is close to being finished!

Peace

Just got on sunrocket.com russia .03 per minute - unlimited domestic 13.25 per month

Only have a couple of seconds here, but quickly....

Go to your local cops right now. Fill out an incident report or written statement of some kind. Sit down with the sergeant or the captain or whoever is in charge there (Sheriff, maybe?) and basically just tell them what's going on and that you want to cover your @$$ when it comes time to go to court.

9 times out of 10, these guys have seen something like this happen before, and will actually do what they can to help you out. If you can get your side of the story on paper with a legal signature "swearing" that it's the truth as told to them, that goes a long way when you go to court and it's just her and her lawyer (and probably her "guy that needed advice") there saying "he did this and he did that." You can counter with a sworn statement as witnessed by a cop that "she said I did this and said I did that, but I never did anything like that.... as a matter of fact, look at all the GOOD STUFF I did for her."

Make sure you cover your @$$ with good hard evidence. She was in a car crash, you bought her a new car. You paid for the chiropractor. You took care of her kids for 6 weeks while she was off chasing strange men. She obviously didn't miss family at home... she couldn't even take her kids with her. Things like this can paint a good picture in a judge's eye when it comes to domestic violence charges. She has to prove you did something, and that's pretty hard to do. It's VERY HARD to do when you've got proof that you've been nothing but an excellent husband/father.

Paint the picture that she's a money-grubbing green card scammer, and chances are, they'll see it too.

Keep us posted... GOOD LUCK!!!

And to everyone else out there..... there are signs. If you start to see them, don't deny you're seeing them. Don't say "I'm not jealous." Don't say "well, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt." DON'T DO THAT!!!! YOU'VE GOT TO COVER YOUR @$$. Do it now! She can love you all day every day, but if/when she changes her mind, you've gotta be ready! Love is great.... but it's got nothing to do with being successful if things go awry. You prepared hard to be together.... you should be as prepared to be apart!

Hey Slim Great advice - the police do want to help. My EX wife (American) called the police and told them I was drunk and she was scared I was crazy. The police noted that I was not visually intoxicated and very calm when they arrived. This helped at the child custody hearing when she was trying not to let me see my daughter. yada yada yada and big bucks later ---.

OP

What really are all the details from this post? The truth shall set you free. If you are really as good as you say you are MAKE sure you get the records. Get the proof! How do you know she was talking to a man in Russian? Why did she need another car? Lot of signs here. We all know love is blind.

It also scares me on reading such stuff. But I had an AMERICAN woman pickup and leave. No GC involved. It still confuses me, all my family and friends. SEE I was married to and AMERICAN GOLD DIGGER. So it’s not just Russian women.

Please keep us posted, you and anyone else it happens to.

Best of luck to you

What documentation does my Russian spouse use to return to Russia and return to the US?

Her SS card has her maiden name.

Her Driver's License has her married name.

Her International Passport has her maiden name.

Her GC has her married name.

Her Internal Russian Passport has her maiden name.

I guess I am confused about which documents she needs to leave the US and then get into Russia. Then, leave Russia and then get into the US.

Well, the SS card and driver's license are not travel documents. So you can exclude those.

To leave the US, she probably does not have to show anything. I've never been asked to present paperwork when leaving the US by air, except when flying to Canada. At most, she will need to present paperwork showing she can enter the country of her final destination. The Russian passport will do that trick. No one in the U.S. is going to concern themselves with whether or not she can return to the U.S.

To enter Russia, authorities there will only want to see her Russian international passport.

To leave Russia, they will want to see her passport at passport control. They MAY (but unlikely) want to see a plane ticket, visa, or other entry document. The airline people will of course want to see a ticket, and probably some entry document, such as an AP document, GC, U.S. passport, $100 bill, or some other such thing. Some people have reported issues with the airline ticket not matching the name on the travel document, not matching the name on the GC. You mileage may vary. Get there early.

Cheers!

AKDiver

p.s.: just another reason why it's crazy for people to change names just because they get married

AK

My wife was held up at Phila airport for her DEPARTURE counter person needed to verify the she was here legally.

I don't understand it either. But when I questioned her I was told they would be fined???

John

What documentation does my Russian spouse use to return to Russia and return to the US?

Her SS card has her maiden name.

Her Driver's License has her married name.

Her International Passport has her maiden name.

Her GC has her married name.

Her Internal Russian Passport has her maiden name.

I guess I am confused about which documents she needs to leave the US and then get into Russia. Then, leave Russia and then get into the US.

Thanks for any help. I thought I had read in the past there was a problem with the two different last names on the documents.

Have a great day.

John

Hi John

Anna left on Wednesday for peter we had our interview on Tuesday and asked them to stamp her passport.

We asked the interviewer and was told to make sure she takes a copy of the marriage cert with her.

I let U know how it goes in 2 weeks when she returns.

The clerks and the aiports counter never saw the stamp before and we waited about 15 minutes for them to check with the supervisor's supervisor.

Real easy.. took us about 10 minutes...

Just went through the application and asked if everything was correct.. went through the checklist on the last few pages and then we had a pleanant conversation about general things. He did ask for a copy of some bank statements or other evidence of our shared life, but the adjudicator was a real nice guy...

Anna will be traveling back to see her family the day after the interview. Do they take her passport? How about her Advanced Parole?

Thanks in advance

Mine has never updated since I had my biometrics done and I have held my greencard since 2005....

So dont worry

Kez

Same here

Hi, We are just now sending our I-129F, but I have been reading through this forum, and haven't come across anyone who is marrying a Russian guy, it's always the other way around...

We are wondering about the interview process, since I have a feeling it might be different for men rather than women (because of the huge difference in number of applicants?)

So, if anyone has been in this situation, we would be interested in knowing what kind of questions they ask, how the people at the consulate were, etc. Any information would be greatly appreciated Thanks. Milena.

Give this place a try..

http://russianmeetingplace.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=98

Gee, people, where do you find those women? In isolated Siberian villages?

Same here..

In the summer in St Petersburg hot water gets shut off....

As you may know, each russian/ukrainian person has a second or should i say middle name after their dad, it is only used in our official papers. Did you put down that name for your fiance or you left it blank?

Anna and I (and many threads here) went back an forth on her middle name.

She insisted it was no a middle name but Patronic. On her passport it did not get interpreted into English so..

She wanted it to be left out so we left it blank.

How long does it usually take to receive the visa in the mail after it has been approved?

Thanks

6 days to peter

What questions does the embassy usually ask at the interview?

Thank you!

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