Percival504

nt

Hello, all. We are just wondering whether re-scheduling my wife's biometrics appt will have any effect on her application for advance parole. TIA for any advice.

Well, Anna and I have returned from Paris. Paris was an adventure to say the least (there were quite a few Russians there). When we met I was so glad to see her, but we immediately fell into our routine -- it was like we had never been apart. We returned to the US through ATL. I expected nightmares (we lost Anna's x-rays at CDG), but our "interview" took less than two minutes. We weren't taken to the little office and we weren't even asked any questions. We chatted with the officer a little bit, but we didn't even talk about how we met or anything like that -- we just talked a little bit about Paris. Our flight out of ATL was cancelled, so we were stuck in a Country Inn there for a night, but Anna handled it better than I did. I was really concerned that she would just about melt in the Gulf Coast heat, but she's OK (relatively; she was here last summer so its not totally new).

She's just very happy -- not awed by the US, not awed by anything, just comfortable. She says its like she never left. She is very career oriented, but right now she is feeling very domestic (I had to remind her last night that she's not here to do all the cleaning, but I think she's nesting a bit). Frankly, I've never felt so comfortable with anyone. Besides, she brought a bunch of great Russian and Ukranian music (I can't understand a lot of the Ukranian, but I love a lot of the music).

Just wanted to let everyone know that my fiancee got her visa for France today. She had to wait at the french embassy in Moscow until 8:15 PM Moscow time. Knowing that it is difficult for a young (still single, for now) Russian woman to get a Schengen visa to a country other than Finland, we were quite concerned. We were also concerned because she is leaving on the 16th (in two days) and, apparently, the French embassy in Moscow is now officially closed (???). I'm sure they've moved somewhere else in Moscow. I think I was more worried about her French visa than her K-1 visa. I can't believe we are going to officially begin our life together with a trip to Paris!!! Good luck to all and wish us luck as well. It has been very difficult to be apart, but we made it :-).

hello all:

I'm not getting any kick-backs from this, but I though it might be helpful to others with Russian finace/es wives and/or husbands. I found this website (http://www.memocast.com) which appears to have Russian language films (and Ukranian, Georgian, Belrussian, etc) available for download ($1.99 per, but some are free). I think some are subtitled in English (nice change). My fiancee and I will be returning from Paris on June 21, so I'm trying to find ways to help her adapt. If I could just convince her Babushka that she will be OK... Of course, she worries anytime my fiancee is away (even when she is just in another Russian city). It could be because her Babushka is from a small village in Siberia (as is my fiancee, though she moved to attend lyceum(?) and university). Blah, blah, blah... just thinking out loud.

All the best to everyone, Percival504.

BTW: the court's order specifically said that I would not be deported or added to the blacklist. They were particularly concerned that I not be added to the blacklist. And as I said, I am sure that I am in a database somewhere because passport control always checks my documents particularly carefully; but they never give me a problem (although some of them laugh). I don't think anyone made a mistake or forgot to do anything -- as you know, Russia is very, very serious about immigration.

As regards the consequences, it could have been quite difficult (it was hard to make my fiancee understand why, so I'm going to send her a copy of your post; but the tenor of it seems a bit hostile -- I hope I am mistaken). I would hope that anyone else who had the same problem would not see their lives ruined. And I'm not so rich that I can afford to make such mistakes -- again, I feel blessed that everything worked out so well and I think you are right, it could have turned out so much worse.

OK, here's how it happened:

It was Thanksgiving weekend, so I didn't even bother calling the company that got my visa (they are in the States and their office in Russia was closed over the weekend). We had absolutely no idea what to do and at the time, I knew nothing about Russia or its visa process. I did not know how much trouble I was in! We spent a week and a half trying figure out what to do (when I finally did talk to the visa service and they explained that I would probably be in Moscow for a month and a half and it would cost me thousands, I said: thanks, but no thanks, I'll find another solution). The US Embassy then tried to intervene unsucessfully. I asked whether I should come to Moscow and they said "no; not until this is resolved." When they couldn't help, they told me to go to the local immigration office (I forgot what its called). We finally found out that there was an immigration office at the local airport.

We went there, explained what happened and why it took us ten days to get there, got chewed out and sent to the immigration office in the city we were in (I am avoiding names and locations here intentionally). The guys at the airport called ahead to warn the local office that we were coming. I needed to get back, so I said: "listen, I will voluntarily be deported." They advised me that I would be on the "blacklist" for five or ten years (I can't remember how long) and I said: I don't have any choice. My fiancee and I were there together, fighting and making up, the whole time and these were typically romantic Russian people. They said: you only overstayed your visa by 10 days; this isn't serious enough to be deported -- you wouldn't be able to see your fiancee until she got to America and you could not come back to visit her family. You'll have to pay a fine ("uh-oh, says I, how much?"), the minimum fine (I think it was $50.00 or a 1,000 RUB) and you'll have a visa by tomorrow. The money gets paid to an official bank and you give the immigration office a receipt showing that you paid the fine -- no funny business.

They arranged it so that I could go to court that day and I got the court order the same day -- I was literally ushered to the front of the line (and no, not because I am somehow special or better than anyone else). I had the visa the next day; I did not bribe anyone or give anyone a gift -- I'm not kidding. I was in dirty jeans and a ratty sweater under a really cheap ski parka (I didn't want to look like a "rich" American tourist in Sibir) I wasn't even particularly nice or humble. They treated me like a VIP -- I'm not kidding. If I had known where to go from day 1, I could have had it resolved by day 2. I think they did it because, again, they thought: "these two idiots must truly love each other" and Russians love love. As I said, I've been back twice since then (February and April) and I even hung out in Moscow on April 20 (Hitler's B-day and the same day that some universities actually locked immigrant students in their dorms for their own protection). As most of you probably know, I am African-American.

What an adventure this has been!!! I know many of you are not religious (and I am really just spiritual, I don't belong to any specific church and I don't necessarily believe in anything other than GOD and Jesus), but it is hard not to think ourselves as blessed. At every turn, we should have had major problems, but we have not. Where things should have gone horribly wrong, we have had the most amazing blessings. I have no reasonable answers for why this should be other than those I have already given you. I find it difficult to believe that we will not be together for the rest of our lives and I think I am marrying the most amazing woman in the world. In the last seven months, we have stuck together through more adversity than most couples will encounter in 10 years. And now, despite the cost and the 14 hour time difference, we talk about 3 times a day for a total of 2-3 hours. What's most amazing is that we never talk about my work, her school or the weather -- I'm not sure what we talk about for so long.

I LOVE Russia and I am seriously considering a PhD from a Russian University so that I can find a job which would allow me to be there often or even live there part of the year (preferably Sibir in winter -- again, I'm not kidding).

Hey, Slim! Yeah -- I don't get it, but I'm not complaining . I just hope everyone else gets approved easily and quickly. Everyone here knows how difficult it is to be separated from their fiance(e) or wife.

Considering all of the nightmare stories that I've read on the forums, I am surprised that we did not have our own. We feel very blessed to say the least. I've been trying to isolate reasons why in order to help everyone else going through this process. (I decided to stop being such a pompous ### and made no attempts to pull any strings). We did not include much evidence with our petition. We did have a lot of phone records, but they only spanned a month or so. The consular officer did not even ask for any evidence of a continuing relationship other than most recent emails (which we did not have because we always talk on the phone; but she didn't even ask for the phone records).

I followed the guides, but made some mistakes. I did take the time to create a monogram letterhead with both of our initials and submitted everything that wasn't on an official form with a cover letter using that letterhead (I also used resume type paper). Two of the people who post on this Board (not this particular forum) and who seem to be very, very familiar with the process (you'll have to go back through my posts to see the history), ridiculed what they assumed was my attention to form rather than substance, but maybe it helped after all.

I submitted suppelemental evidence following my first trip to Russia (and while the I-129F was still pending), but everything I've read says that the adjudicating officers don't receive such evidence; maybe they do get it, but don't acknowledge it to avoid a deluge of continuing evidentiary submissions).

There is one thing: I overstayed my visa the first time I was in Russia (my visa did not allow for travel interruption and -- big surprise -- my flight from Siberia to Moscow was delayed. Apparently, there has never been an instance of an American overstaying a visa -- it sounds absurd to me too, bu we were repeatedly told that such an event had never occured. We contacted the US Embassy for help. They tried, but were not able to help. Perhaps the case was decided right then and there (who would risk detention in Russia to spend more time with his fiancee but a man desperately in love?). It worked out fine (just called the local immigration office and got a court order that said pay the minimum fine; surprisingly, the order did not even require me to leave Russia) and they only thing I regret is that I wasted two extra weeks with my fiancee worrying about how to resolve the issue. I've been back twice since then and aside from curious glances at passport control, I haven't had any problem getting in or out of Russia. It goes without saying that I am not suggesting that anyone overstay their visa, but maybe having more contact with the Embassy other than registering is helpful. I didn't bother advising the embassy of my visit after that first trip, so I don't even know if they are aware that I've been to Russia three time in the last six months.

There is one other thing, the most important thing, I prayed -- a lot. So I will pray for everyone else tonight. Good luck guys, don't worry too much about mountains of evidence and let your love carry the day.

We got our Visa. It only took four minutes. The Consular Officer only asked when we met and for copies of our most recent emails (my fiancee told them that we talk on the phone every day, so we didn't have any recent emails). Then the officer, who conducted the entire interview in Russian even though my fiancee speaks English better than most native speakers, said "oh, BTW, your visa is approved"). Good luck to everyone else and never give up.

Thanks for the info, guys.

I'm going to be in Moscow during a performance of Swan Lake -- seems stupid not to see this @ the Bolshoi. Does anyone know of a place to get good prices on tickets? I've seen prices ranging from $220.00 for the cheapest seats to $200.00 for the best seats in the house -- I know I'm not anyone's favorite poster, but does anyone have a lead?

BTW, Slim, can you recommend a nice apartment?

Hey, Slim! I've been staying out of trouble and trying to do some real estate development deals here in the US (hopefully Russia is next!). Everything went really well on our last trip -- it was Mardi Gras where I live, and of course, Russia was having its own lenten celebration at the same time. Her interview is in less than 30 days (TG) and I'm going to be there waiting at the Embassy when she's done.

It seems like the trip to Paris is all good -- we're both swamped so we still have to get her French visa -- we know it won't be a problem, but neither of us has a lot of time. BTW: how's your fiancee? Are you guys having a blast and when is the wedding?

So far, the only one I have been able to identify is the Mir Hotel. Does anyone know of any others? Is Mir actually "across the street" from the US Embassy?

Congrats, Slim. I hope you and your wife have a wonderful life together. You seem like a cool guy, so I'm sure you're going to have a lot of fun.

Just hoping to give hope to others in this process. Our NOA1 date was 11/14/06. Our NOA2 date was 02/01/07. The embassy (Moscow) received the petition at 12:30 PM on February 26 (it left the NVC on the 20th, but it was the second of 2 packages sent to Moscow -- the first package was delivered on the 23rd, a Friday, our package was delivered on the 26th (the next Monday). The letter went out on the 27th advising that her interview date is the 20th of April. So, it looks like it took about 77 days from NOA1 to NOA2 and 50 days from the embassy's receipt of the petition to her interview date. Every part of process has been significantly faster than I estimated based on the historical trends. NOA2 to NVC ship date (20 days) seems average.

Good luck to everyone else and here's hoping that our case is the new statistical average as of now.

Use the words MALPRACTICE (which it clearly is) and "complaint to the bar" -- that will get his attention very quickly and let him know that you are not intimidated by the thought of fighting a lawyer.

You got it, John and Anna. Will keep you posted (and save the bragging for the bar). As of right now, our petition has been approved (11/14/06 NOA1 -- 02/01/06 NOA2) and I am just hoping that we won't have any problems -- I definitely don't want our file to end up in the trash can. And to everyone, can you just forgive my stupidity. I don't want to be a troll or pariah; this forum is just too valuable a resource and I'm sorry to have wasted so much bandwidth.

I am sorry that I offended so many, but most of the comments stink of envy.

Wow! You sound so sincere and contrite, and worth of admiration for your admissions - and then you blow it. What a cad.

Cheers!

AKDiver

and Brad, if I needed the help of a Senator, I would choose one of my friends who has been in office for more than one term.

We forgive you - just stick to some questions... It is helpful to us all. How and what one does to move his case forward. I was blasted originally for adding a letter to my RFE. The poster slammed me that an Immigration Officer would spend an extra 2 minutes reading a letter and not spend those 2 minutes on someone else.

However if you have the ear of a senator let us know how it worked(s) out I am sure some of us may know a top aid for Ashcroft and Alito and it did them squat – political suicide today or a customer that went to school with the Ambassador to Russia – squat. Because some of us know already a senator can only do inquiries that may just cause your file to accidentally fall into a trash can. A newspaper would love to get a hold of somebody pulling strings today for an immigration matter. We all wish good luck on your journey. Tell us about it. Tell us about the 12 hour layovers and lost luggage your paper are not in order etc. We can do without “six-language speaking fiancée wears Prada dresses while driving her brand-new Saab, all the while rubbing elbows with Senators and Congressman.” Be real without the gold plating. Need to brag tell your friends at the bar.

Just in case anybody cares or is waiting for their NOA2, 11/14/06 NOA1 approved 02/02/07!!! Thanks to all. Again, sorry I offended everyone; everyone in this forum seems really cool and I have no doubt that many of you are much, much better off than I am. I'm just a pompous ###. And if anyone want to continue to insult me, please feel free to do so -- just don't insult my fiancee please.

The USCIS seems to be moving much faster. Good luck to all others on this arduous journey.

Sorry, AKdiver. I just got upset about Brad's comment about my fiancee ("I bet she's never seen a microwave"). Its OK to insult me, just don't insult my fiancee -- she's not the one who made the stupid post.

Slim, you are absolutely correct. I am no James Bond. I am just beggining to do all of this stuff (well this is just my third year at it) so maybe I haven't learned to be classy enough to know the difference between bragging and just giving necessary info. Again, I apologize to all and do hope that everyone understands that I never said that everyone would be in awe and envy of my fiancee (John and Anna asked me to post pictures so that everyone could be in "awe and envy"). Thanks for the friendship and thank you to everyone else, including John and Anna, for reminding me to have a little class.

I am sorry that I offended so many, but most of the comments stink of envy. I'm not going to respond to anymore comments, I only came back because Slim has been so kind. If anyone else is willing to forgive and forget great, if not... and Brad, if I needed the help of a Senator, I would choose one of my friends who has been in office for more than one term. But, really, I appreciate the offer and hats off to Norm for his new appointment to the High Tech Task Force.

I have already apologized for my arrogance. What I really love about this board is that many people have ignored my boorish behavior and still answered the question. I cannot thank you enough for your help.

Slim, what questions did you ask? After everyone got so upset, I decided to apologize and leave it alone -- no offense was intended.

I am a corporate lawyer who ended up in real estate development. I emphasize, I was a corporate, not immigration lawyer. The question I asked was practical, not legal. I have hired an attorney in Russia, but he hasn't been very helpful since getting paid. In any event, all the research in the world doesn't mean a thing compared to the real world experience available on this board.

I am somewhat ashamed that I came off as bragging. And to be clear -- the "awe and envy" comment was not mine. One of the other members said: "please post a picture of your fiancee so that we can all be in shock and awe [i am paraphrasing]". My response was that, I have seen other members' wives and fiancees and they are all beautiful. Moreover, my fiancee is not a toy or possession; I don't try to impress people with pictures of her. Whether anyone else is in awe or envy is of no moment -- she is the most beautiful and amazing woman in the world to me.

As for the offer of the Senator's help -- thanks, really, but I do business in several states and while I have never worked on anyone's campaign, these people are close personal friends (I help raise money, that's it) -- I do not mention names because it is not appropriate at a certain level. My good friend Senator "..." is not going to be impressed that I dropped his/her name on an immigration message Board to prove a useless point and in the event that my good friends were to learn of such behavior, I'd be on the outs pretty quick.

In truth, I come from a family lacking in resources and I have done well -- I think sometimes I overcompensate for insecurities. But I have lead a blessed life, and what I "bragged" about here is nothing compared to the blessings I have received in this life. Because I have been so fortunate, I am truly sorry if I offended anyone else. Again, I apologize to all. I did not think that I would offend so many people.

She had just left (she's out of touch in a remote part of Siberia) and I was in a most foul mood. I value this community because of people like you and your response really was appreciated -- I just didn't want anyone to mis-understand the question I was asking because that sometimes makes it more difficult to get a direct answer. You deserve more respect -- and your tolerance and silence in the face of my arrogance and braggadocio is humbling. Please accept my sincerest apology.