Cenobite30

3 hours ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

I think Aeroflot charges 100 Euros for the first additional checked bag on Economy (so the second) for a flight to the US from Russia, and more than that for additional bags.

 

But my fiancee says she's not bringing much, since the climate in San Diego is just a bit different than she's got back at home and anything she brought she'd have to carry herself on the train from her hometown to Moscow and from the train station to the airport ...

I was afraid of something like that. I remember when I lived there I used the Russian post to send three or four large boxes to the US. I asked for the cheapest shipping, and I think it was something like $15 per box to transport them on a ship. It took maybe a month and a half for everything to arrive, but it got there.

What makes me hesitate with that is my wife's thought that the Russian post is terribly unreliable, that things regularly go missing or get stolen. I don't know if that is some kind of unfair prejudice on her part. I just know she would be very sad if a whole box of her shoes went missing. 😄

4 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

I'm probably even older 😉

 

Its really just up to the airlines.  Customs doesn't care about the volume of stuff you bring, just the content.  I will say that nearly every time Alec has been to the US since 2015 (~6 or 7), TSA has searched his bags and left their calling card!

I was always under the (probably mistaken) impression that Customs objects to bringing stuff above a certain dollar value. But maybe that was just for business.

Full Disclosure: I'm only 33. But I work for an organization which ages people prematurely, so I feel quite older. Guys who are 33 usually look 53. Their bones often feel that way, too. 😄

Thank you very much for your advice.

1 minute ago, Jorgedig said:

I think most airlines charge per bag over the allotted one or two, rather than by weight (as long as all bags are within the weight limits). But I would check with your particular airline.

 

When we looked into shipping container rates from NZ, it was much more expensive than extra bag fees.

Hmm. Very well. Maybe I'm just old. 😄

Did US Customs give you any trouble over having more than a typical amount of bags?

4 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Its almost always going to be way cheaper to pay for additional bags on flights than to ship things.

You really think so? I don't know if they still do it like this, but I remember an airline wanted to charge me 10 Euro for every kilogram over the baggage allowance. Do they not do it like that anymore?

Thanks for the response.

Bottom Line: What are some safe and economical ways to get your stuff from one country to another?

My wife will be moving to the US from Russia in a few months. Most of her stuff she will be selling or giving away. But she has a whole bunch of stuff (probably 90% clothes) that she wants to keep. If I had to guess, I'd say it is about 8-10 large suitcases worth. Obviously this is too much to carry over on a flight, and would be crazy expensive for how much airlines charge for bags. Does anyone know of any ways to get her stuff from there to here which are not prohibitively expensive and have a pretty decent chance of arriving without being lost/stolen?

Please forgive me if this is in the wrong forum. There are probably two or three where this topic could go, but I thought it would be rude to make the topic in each.

Thank you all for your help and suggestions. She just spoke to the panel physician again, and they said what many of you had been telling me: if they can't give her the vaccine, no big deal, they just say it is unavailable.

It sounds a little like my speculation was correct. Maybe the first person she spoke to at the panel physician's office really was a temp on their first day. 😄

Thank you all again. You have been very helpful.

1 minute ago, Paul & Marina said:

Has she tried the kazan state medical university Hospital?

I'm not sure. I'll have to ask her. But that seems like the sort of place that would have it.

Thank you for the suggestion.

36 minutes ago, NikLR said:

The panel physician can exempt her from having the vaccine if they are unable to obtain it. She doesn't need to go searching for it.   It is expected that if the immigrant does not have proof of immunity before their medical that the panel physician for the US Federal Government, can provide what the immigrant needs.  

 

If she wants to search all over creation for it she can, that's your choice obviously. It's just a waste of time and energy. 

Obviously we'd rather save ourselves the hassle and not go searching for it. It's just that the panel physician didn't really state it that way. Maybe it was a temp on her first day. 😄

This leads me to another question. If a bureaucratic procedure says that someone (say, a doctor) can do something to help you but does not say that they must, will they do it? I guess we'll have to rely on the fair mindedness and good judgement of this particular doctor in Moscow to find out. 🤔

Thanks for your response.

1 minute ago, AshMarty said:

1. Your wife should be calling around for approved panel physicians, not just any hospital or clinics??

 

2. I am not sure what the chickenpox aka the varicella virus might be referred as in Russia (Chickenpox is a lingo type name in the US for the virus). I am 34 years old and more often than not my generation has had chicken pox when they were young because vaccinations were not a thing when we were children  is the US and it is very contagious. I have to verbally tell the MD/Nurse I have chickenpox was I was 5 years old.  I would talk to your wife and see if there is more common name that it could have been referred to as in Russia. I know in the US most people know if they have had chicken pox when they were a child, it was almost a relief when it would happen because it means you were good from that point on from getting it again. 

Thank you for your response. I think I might not have been clear earlier. She is calling around to all of the clinics and hospitals in her city because the panel physician in Moscow said that they do not have the vaccine. And all of them are telling her that they don't have it either. And she's definitely using the Russian term for it. 😄

Anyway, she has no memory of having it, and her mother isn't sure. We thought it would be a bad idea to tell the doctor that she doesn't know if she ever had it, and it would be a worse idea to lie, so that is why she is scrambling to find this vaccine.

I was just reading the CDC guidance on the issue. It seems to be saying that if the panel physician doesn't have the vaccine then they should either be directing people to where they can find it or marking on their forms that the vaccine is unavailable. This particular physician's office is doing neither. They are simply telling her that they don't have the vaccine but that she must either wait for them to get it (though they don't say when they will have it), or she must get it somewhere else before she comes in for her examination.

Shorter version: They say she needs it. They don't have it. They don't know when they will have it again. Because of that, they say she needs to get it somewhere else before they can complete her examination. They can't/won't say where/when she can get it. Every clinic in her city doesn't have it, and can't/won't say where/when she can get it. Quite the pickle.

9 minutes ago, NikLR said:

You cant just buy a vaccine either, it has to be administered by a medical professional.

She needs to check this out 

https://ru.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/iv-medinfo/

The panel physician will have this vaccine for her at the medical.  If not they can exempt her.  

Thank you for the link. We checked it out earlier, as well as the USCIS policies on waivers based on non-availability. The problem (if I read this right) is that these guidelines seem to suggest that these exemptions are only granted if the CDC (or maybe the official clinic in Moscow?) has determined that these vaccines are not available. The problem in our case is that nobody seems to have made any official determination that the vaccine is not available, it's just....not available.

My fear is that, Russia being such a large country, they will tell her that some clinic in Siberia has plenty of chicken pox vaccines, so she is not exempted.

35 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Well, you have to rely on the panel doctor and the panel doctors have to follow approved procedures. You don’t really have an option...

K1 are by far the minority of immigrant visas, so going by what they apparently can or can’t do isn't really useful imo. Like I said, my kids got vaccinated after arriving, and the CBP officer admittIng us didn’t even blink when he looked at the medical report saying that so I can’t image it’s unusual. 

I understand. Thank you for sharing your experience. You've been very helpful.

2 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

I don’t know, but clearly it happens. Basically you just need to trust the panel doctor to either find it or give her an exemption. But I’m not sure why she seems to think she needs to run around finding vaccines in the first place , every other panel doctor I’ve ever heard of gives you vaccines if you need them and exempts you if you don’t (my husband and I got exempted from a bunch on the list based on age).

 

we didn’t AOS by the way, I don’t see what that has to do with the medical? I’ve heard of a few medical things that get done after entry if for whatever reason they are not done in the home country.

She is not exempted based on age for this particular vaccine, sadly. I suppose the doctor could theoretically see that the vaccine was unavailable in the country and exempt her from it, but we don't want to be in the position where we have to rely on someone being reasonable.

I mentioned AOS because those applying for K visas apparently don't need to have all of the vaccinations before coming to the US, they just need them before they do their AOS. Since IR-1/CR-1 applicants don't have an AOS step, it would seem that they do not have the option of getting vaccinated after entering the US and must therefore get them before coming here.

23 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

When we did our immigrant visa medicals, our entire country had run out of varicella vaccines - the panel doctor made a note of that and the kids had to get them done after we entered (adults were exempted as we’d had chicken pox) - so it shouldn't be a deal breaker.

 

 

It's crazy. How does a country run out of varicella vaccines?

Since there is no AOS for IR-1/CR-1 visas, I guess the option doesn't exist to just get them here in the US, right? Or do I understand it incorrectly?

Anyway, thank you all for your help.

2 minutes ago, debbiedoo said:

every pediatrician in the states has the chicken pox vaccine. are you sure shes asking for the right thing?

 

and ... i mean, I dont know about the rest of the world, but im pretty sure you cant 'buy a vaccine' somewhere and take it home to use 😕 

I can't personally vouch that she is asking for the right thing, since she is over there doing it by herself. But it does seem odd that nobody in a city of a million people would have this vaccine.

I've always suspected a conspiracy of the world against me. This might be the smoking gun! 😄

1 minute ago, NikLR said:

She should contact where she needs to have the medical which is a very specific location. 

 

The CDC guidance which is frequently referenced here says this:

"If you  lack any vaccinations required for your age category , the civil surgeon will administer the vaccines as needed. "

Which confuses the matter more, to me. Is that allowed? If so, is it required for the doctor to do it, or is it at their discretion?

2 minutes ago, NikLR said:

The medical doesnt do a titre test.  Ask her if she's had it or if her parents remember her getting it.  I have a couple scars from it, my mom doesnt remember me having it due to being sick herself.  Just a verbal was fine at my medical but I'm unsure if that would suffice for your wife since medicals are different in different countries.  

Are you positive she cannot get the vaccination at her medical? I havent heard of that.  

I'll have her talk to her mother about whether or not she had chicken pox, though my wife doesn't have any knowledge of having had it.

She says she has called every hospital and clinic in the city, and none of them have varicella. It sounds crazy to me, but they are saying to her that maybe they will have it in a few months (which sounds a lot like telling her to f--- off).

Some options we have considered:

- Traveling to another country to get it.

- Waiting "a few months" and hoping they will get it.

- Some of her friends are going to Europe and will try to buy it there and take it back to Russia for her.

None of these seem like very good options.

1 minute ago, NikLR said:

It's the chicken pox vaccination.  Has she ever had chicken pox? 

I don't believe she has. I take it they do some sort of blood antibody test to confirm, so it is best not to guess?

Hello, all. My wife is only waiting on one thing before she can schedule her interview in Moscow: a varicella vaccination. If we understand correctly, she needs it even though she is 34 years old, and she is not allowed to get it during her medical exam immediately prior to her interview. Much to our dismay, we can't seem to find it anywhere in the city where she lives (Kazan, a city of a million people, if that matters). Does anyone know of any good strategies for getting a vaccination that is hard to find?

14 minutes ago, David & Zoila said:

The answer to your question in red above.  Plus if you can attend the interview with her that can be helpful.  I/we had numerous "original" copies/certified of all documents that we hand carried to her interview. 

Thank you for your response as well. I cannot be there with her, but I can provide her document support.

The plot thickens even further: Another list on the State Department's website from a real official source (the US embassy in Moscow) is completely different from the other list on the website, as well as the list from VisaJourney. I know I'm not the first person to make this observation, but it's just so bizarre that it works this way.  

5 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

Comments have context.  Divorce decrees are not Birth Certificates.  She may or may not be asked to SHOW the certified copy or copies of your divorce decree but since she may be, it's best she have the actual certified copy on hand.  I suppose you noted that a certified copy of your birth certificate is not on that same list, right?  The difference in context is that the petitioner's birth certificate is only one of several potential ways to provide evidence of US Citizenship, some of which don't feature a Certified Copy option.  Divorce decrees do and are used to verify the facts therein are consistent with the petition and visa application.

Thanks for the quick response. How crazy. I noted you specifically from a thread from three years ago, and here you are.

Yes, I had noticed that. I had more confusion about the documents that are listed as part of the VisaJourney I-130 guide. The list of documents to bring to the interview doesn't specify if they belong to the applicant or the petitioner. To me it reads like it weakly implies it is only the applicant's documents, but I can't tell.

"Interview Forms / Items:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1

Did you happen to see my edit? I got off the phone with NVC just minutes after submitting the thread. I don't really know what to make of it.

Anyway, I appreciate your help.

Bottom Line Up Front: Does my wife (applicant) need to bring my (petitioner) original divorce decree (or a certified copy thereof) to her visa interview? Or is it alright to use just a regular old photocopy?

Background: Greetings, all. Our I-130 was approved, and now we are on the stage of submitting forms and documents to the NVC. I have a question about a conflict I see between what is said on the State Department website and what is written here by people more knowledgeable and experienced than I am. My question revolves around what documents the applicant is required to bring to the embassy interview.

The State Department website appears to plainly state that my wife (applicant) needs to bring my (petitioner) original divorce decree to her interview.

"If you are applying for an IR1, CR1, or F2A visa as the spouse of a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident and your petitioning spouse was previously married:  You must obtain evidence of the termination of EVERY prior marriage your petitioning spouse has had. This evidence must be an original or certified copy of one of the following documents:  FINAL legal divorce decree, death certificate, or annulment papers.

-Send a photocopy of the petitioner’s marriage termination document(s) to NVC.
-Bring the original petitioner’s termination document(s) plus a photocopy to your visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate."

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc/step-5-collect-supporting-documents.html

A thread on this website (admittedly from 3 years ago) had a different take. Some people on this forum (especially pushbrk) whom I trust more than my lying eyes said this:

"I advise taking a complete copy of the I-130 petition package, for reference and just in case. However, it is the job of USCIS to establish the US Citizen's eligibility as a citizen, before approving the petition. It would be an anamaly to be asked to show a copy of it."

He was saying this about a birth certificate, not a divorce decree, but it seems that the principle is the same. Incidentally, I don't think I submitted an original or certified copy of my birth certificate to anyone during the I-130 application. I just sent them a regular old copy. And that was apparently good enough to establish that I was a US citizen, since my wife does not need to bring my original birth certificate to her visa interview. So does that mean my photocopied divorce decree was enough to establish that I was divorced?

I suppose the answer to this, like many things in the process, is that they might ask or they might not, but I should still have it?

Other details which may be relevant:

- I am a US born American citizen.

- I was married previously.

- The person I was married to was another foreigner whom I helped to immigrate to the US.

- My current wife is Russian and will be interviewed in Moscow.

Edit: I just got off the phone with a representative from the NVC. He said that they do not need divorce decrees at all, either originals or copies. He said it was all submitted in the I-130. This directly contradicts what is on the State Department link from above. I was skeptical so I called back. Another guy at NVC said the same thing, they don't need the divorce decree and he doesn't believe the embassy needs it either. This only muddies the water further.

1 hour ago, bakphx1@aol.com said:

They've probably seen it before, and no, it shouldn't cause a problem.  I would just mark the pages as "Marriage Certificate-page 1 of 2, page 2 of 2".  Since it's in Russian, the translation will also kind of clarify all that.

Thank you very much.

Hello all,

I am submitting an I-130 petition for my spouse but I have an issue with the copy of my marriage certificate. Specifically, it is too long to fit on any sheet of printer paper that I can find. I copied it over two pages so that all information is visible, but I am wondering if someone at USCIS will have a meltdown because it is on two pages instead of one.

To better explain, here is a diagram of how it looks. Page 1 has this information:

License Number          Names          Age          Profession          Father's Name

Page 2 has this information:

Names          Age          Profession          Father's Name          Seal/Stamp

May have just answered my own question!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/268905-where-to-send-i-129f-and-what-address-for-letters/

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/359893-where-to-mail-i-129f-package/

These two threads, one from 2010 and one from 2012, both had petitioners mailing to the Dallas lockbox. I sent mine in 2011. Therefore I am of the belief that it was Dallas.

Thank you for your help.

I can't find anything from any date which doesn't refer to Dallas, so I'm thinking it was Dallas?