DaveAndAnastasia

Apparently she saw it on the Russian Embassy in DC's Facebook page, but here's the most recent update and links: https://washington.mid.ru/ru/consular-services/consulate/consul_sessions/?fbclid=IwAR3bj9qHE7OLpdXCr2dSAEWrk7ckBdIDZhk8oMJI1SArp1PYQtFh5D3wR0Q https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0QKSQmJSkgPmez5JqtTf49WNEZ2Fo94VrP6mFY1uBCfsojZEpNUokhT4LvYNC1Tryl&id=100069066524980&mibextid=Nif5oz

I think there's a mailing list or something; I'd need to ask Anastasia. After we skipped one in 2021 we were thinking we'd need to go to Houston or DC until the one we went to was scheduled.

To renew a Russian international passport, you're supposed to either need to go to a Russian consulate or embassy in person or the occasionally the embassy has an event in major US cities where they handle passport renewals and a few other things. My wife renewed hers when they came to LA last year (it had expired, but she had her green card and state ID by then and we didn't have plans to go outside the US). Only took about fifteen minutes (then waiting a couple months or so), so we were halfway back to San Diego by lunchtime. Though she got US citizenship a few months later, and her US passport a few months after that, so she probably won't use her new Russian passport until we can reasonably get back to Russia (between a new baby, Covid concerns, financial concerns, and side effects of the war in Ukraine, we haven't been to Russia since she came here in 2019).

We really need a groan emoji sometimes, si man.

PRG loves watching the dolphins, though. And there are plenty of places for mini-Dave to crawl around and have fun. I think Sea World San Diego has more rides than the other locations, though I was only to the Texas one on a high school band trip (so many years ago), don't remember ever being to the Orlando one, I can't even imagine why I'd ever be in Abu Dhabi (even getting to familia-PRG in Russia these days it'd be easier through Istanbul or Dubai), and the one in Cleveland closed a long time ago. Also, Sea World San Diego is cheaper than the San Diego Zoo. Granted, the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park (two parks, but run by the same people and one membership works for both, but the important thing for us is that the Safari Park is a short drive from casa-DA, not downtown) are the best zoos in the world.

Yes, but new job requires security clearance so waiting on that to start. Also, mini-Dave's daycare is closing; teacher expecting a baby. Found a new one that looks good, but they have a summer break in a few weeks so probably also waiting until after that to start my new job even if my security clearance is ready by then. Acquired Legoland passes (only the most expensive one really makes sense unless you're a stay out home parent or otherwise not working, man*; too many weekends blacked out on the lower levels) despite unemployment shortly after returning from mama-Dave and papa-Dave's 50th anniversary celebration because we were running out of things to do with him. Spent most of next two months going there on Saturday and Sunday, though have managed to dial things back some this month and go somewhere else one day a weekend. Also made a little trip up to LA-ish the weekend before the 4th. Went to the Aquarium of the Pacific (huge, and was fun) and a children's museum (was hot, so mini-Dave didn't play as much with the outdoor stuff as I'd expected but he still had fun), chose restaurant for lunch on first day by virtue of being next door and was actually a quite good seafood place (I had shrimp enchiladas, PRG had lobster mac and cheese); chose restaurant for dinner mostly by picking first open place that was listed as $$ instead of $$$ on Yelp by our hotel and was jam-packed little Italian place that was good too. Mini-Dave also approved of the hotel 🤣; asks when we can go again, man. * SeaWorld fun cards make basically no sense not to get unless you're visiting from out of town and won't be back; they're the same price as a list price ticket (though one person needs to get higher-level pass for the free parking or that adds up quickly) and the only blackout dates on Fun Cards are Saturdays in July and one day over Memorial Day weekend. San Diego Zoo + Safari park passes at the level we got (basically the lowest one that includes parking and doesn't have blackout dates) pay off after two visits even if grandma and grandpa don't come by to use the guest passes (which they did, though we've got some half-off tickets that almost certainly will go unused) and a kid's season pass is basically the same price as one ticket. But Legoland passes cost more than 3 tickets, kids over 1 are full price, and don't come with any free/discounted guest tickets even at the top level, though at least the 25% off food means eating at the park isn't silly🤣 so they need three visits to pay off.

Mini-Dave sometimes insists on choosing not only the flavor of ice cream he eats, but what mommy and/or daddy eat too. Generally partial to Tillamook's Monster Cookie (good, but prefer to mix things up occasionally). Sometimes gets upset if there's none left, so unless he's insisting (as per above), mommy and daddy get something else and leave that one for him. 🤣

It can in theory, but for most people it cannot in practice because short-notice international travel is in fact very expensive, and most employers frown on taking non-emergency time off on very short notice.

That works for "getting married". Doesn't help with the "being in the same place at the same time while married".

... well, 52 days plus however long it takes to get married as far as USCIS is concerned (aka legally married and have been together in-person while married) and have sufficient documentation of this to file the forms. With the possible exceptions of people in a literal cross-border romance with someone who either has a US tourist visa or doesn't need one people currently living together outside the US in a country where they can legally marry quickly people able to take international trips on very short notice (aka they have both the money and time for this) ... that's going to be a non-trivial amount of time.

I think you're well aware that as far as USCIS and the state department are concerned, showing you were in the same place at the same time while married is sufficient and they don't need or want any more details than that :D.

A spousal visa is definitely superior to a K-1, but with your petition already approved I probably wouldn't start over with a CR-1 as while you might be okay with, and even want, some delay, another two years or so is another matter. /also note that you need a marriage visa to come to the UK and get married even if you're not planning on staying, though my understanding is that's not too big of a deal to get and you could have a ceremony there but legally get married via a Utah online marriage, or you could marry in the US or a third country (back when we were considering our options -- marrying in Russia was out because I couldn't spend enough time in Russia or make multiple trips in a relatively short time -- Iceland and Denmark were the countries that most frequently came up for two foreigners marrying quickly in Europe-ish, but I don't know if that's still the case as that was in 2018; we ended up doing a K-1).

It's even perfectly legal to come on a visitor visa, get married, and adjust status and stay. It's just not legal to arrive in the US intending to do that.

Given the unpredictability of processing times, I'd suggest that if it's at all practical to either depart from a pre-clearance airport (only ones in the Eurozone are in Ireland) or have your POE be your final destination in the US, I'd probably try and do that. Though that depends a lot on where you're coming from and going to. In our case, back before Covid and Vlad's invasion of Ukraine, Moscow to LA was a daily flight so even though that was a two-hour or more drive to my place instead of the 30 minutes to San Diego airport, it was a lot simpler to do that. And given that Anastasia didn't get to me until about two hours after her plane landed (and there was no free WiFi in the line she was in), I'm very glad she didn't have to navigate a connection.

... and largely an artifact of it being somewhat complicated to legally change your name in those countries, particularly if you're not residing there. Although we ended up not traveling internationally between my wife arriving on a K-1 and naturalizing (between K-1 travel restrictions, pregnancy, having a small child, Covid, buying a home, Putin invading Ukraine, and me losing my job we never had a good opportunity).

Well, more that it's useless to apply for an EAD under that technicality, but being technically eligible for an EAD means someone who just arrived on a K-1 can apply for a Social Security Number and 100% should do that. So that technicality is not completely useless.

Yup. Have a few more lined up today and next week. Strongly considering this (current idea is around Atlanta, where I have some extended family, and the parents of the little girl below are likely moving soon; close enough for parents to drive to in a day and many flights to around where they live too, still a big city where it shouldn't be too difficult to find a job if I can't find a remote one, and as Delta's mega-hub is rather better connected to places outside of North America than San Diego -- usually drove up to LA before flying to meet PRG before she came here), but don't want to up and move without having a job; differences in interest rates means even borrowing a few hundred thousand less could end up with nearly the same payment (although as an actual house rather than a townhouse, much less in HOA fees and between a less expensive place and lower rates, much less in property taxes). Might hedge our bets and get a management company to rent out this place for a year while we rent something there (not sure how that would work), but would need to sell this one to have enough money for a reasonable down payment on another place. Given mama is a Russian brunette and papa is Puerto Rican, this could not happen naturally ... Have been looking (and interviewed for some). As per above, that would be my preference, but seems like the hit rate is better on hybrid or in-office positions. But I like my head where it is. 🤣 /in fact have talked to ... lots .. of them. Thanks, man. Magical tools to make the internet work. Better than ladders, man.

So I was laid off on March 1 (which came as a complete surprise to me, though granted I didn't watch the company's earnings calls), which is the major reason for no updates on the adventures of PRG and mini-Dave for a few months. Despite many interviews (really, enough that I lost count, not giving in to P-math), no one has decided my l33t software development skillz (anyone need a C#/SQL Server/Angular guy?) are what their company needs yet. Fortunately they did give me a generous severance package, and between PRG's income and unemployment insurance we're only losing money slowly. Still went to my parents' 50th anniversary party in Florida in April, tickets and some of hotels already paid for when we found out. Ended up ditching some of planned activities because mini-Dave had no interest in going to the beach (lives in California, man) and getting a 3-year-old who likes to randomly wave his arms around a mini-golf club seemed like a bad idea. Mini-Dave did play with his 5-year-old second cousin at the party and had some fun there, though didn't want to join the guys for a picture. Mini-Dave got three birthday cakes due to when his birthday was; one after breakfast with my parents, one in the evening on the other side of Florida with PRG's first grade teacher (who's been in the US for a while now) and her daughter's family (including a little girl about mini-Dave's age who quickly became his best friend though we only spent one evening and one morning with them). Was really good to see them. Got to airport in the middle of Florida (used alternative route to avoid traffic) with plenty of time for flight home. A bit after plane lands, mechanical issues announced say it'll be at least two hours until they can board. About 4 hours after scheduled boarding time, announce that although they still think they'll be able to fly tonight (even though already almost late enough that landing in San Diego will incur a $many -- I don't know how much, but it's a lot -- fine for landing between midnight and 6:00 am) they'll start taking rebookings. I'm not sure everyone on our flight got in line, but certainly most of them did (including us, as mini-Dave was getting tired and I wasn't keen on driving home after midnight Pacific when I'd been in Eastern time all day). Rebooked flight, got comped meals (attempt to find decent sit-down meal late at night at an airport wasn't super-successful but at least the airline paid for it) and hotel and Lyft to hotel and back, checked in. Also one of our bags didn't get back to us (fortunately mostly just had mini-Dave's toys); was assured it would be in San Diego when we got there. Joked that we were almost home because we were near Sea World. Realize next morning that all three of us are in different rows on our first flight; doesn't work with 3-year-old, no man, but couldn't fix it until at the gate. Apparently needed to wait for everyone to board and then they convinced someone next to PRG to switch. I watched The Suicide Squad on that flight, not showing that one where mini-Dave can see it, no, man (not bad, but lots of gratuitous violence). All in one row for final flight, boards on time, everything seems fine... and then we sat on the taxiway for about an hour because of funny wind conditions. Had a bumpy takeoff, scared mini-Dave. But eventually got back home, then needed to reschedule a few interviews. Mini-Dave had yet another birthday party with his daycare the Friday after we got back home (hence the third birthday cake). Now seems to think he should have a birthday party whenever he wants 🤣🤣. Carefully explained that his next birthday will not be until next year. Anyway, that was March and April ...

Or rather, EAD and AP stop being free with AOS from a K1 (the fee for just AOS actually goes down very slightly because there's no biometrics fee anymore). Strictly speaking, you don't have to apply for either (though it's probably a bad idea not to).

If it's just an N400 interview, your spouse wouldn't need to be there (I wasn't allowed in for Anastasia's either). But the original poster's I-751 hasn't been approved yet, and surprise combo interviews are not unheard of, so you should be ready for one. And for that you both should be there. So I think I'd advise waiting as long as you're comfortable with to see if you get your 10-year green card in the mail (probably another week or two?), and then rescheduling if you don't. Which isn't fun, because it'll probably delay things for months and sometimes rescheduling requests are missed, but they can't approve the N400 without approving the I-751 first. So the absolute best case scenario for an N400 interview without an approved I-751 is that they do it and then can't schedule your oath until your ROC is approved anyway.

Yeah. It's rarely a good idea to do a K-1 anymore (pre-Utah Zoom marriages, there used to be a lot more cases where a K-1 made sense -- like it did for us -- when the foreign fiancé(e) couldn't easily visit the US and marrying in their country was expensive, time consuming, or both), but that's especially true for people from visa-free countries (mostly Canada) or visa waiver program countries who have few legal restrictions on visiting the US.

I'm not sure where they could hold a ceremony indoors there, FWIW (I've been there; it's quite pretty, but I don't think there's an indoor space anywhere big enough for more than a handful of people). But my wife had a same-day oath ceremony at the San Diego USCIS office downtown last month and I wasn't allowed in for that, so I wouldn't know for sure.

I think these days the processing times are pretty similar (though you need to actually get married -- and be physically together after you do so in the case of an online marriage -- before you start a spousal visa). And the difficulty in actually getting legally married in Russia can be gotten around by a Utah Zoom marriage (this wasn't the case when my wife and I did a K-1 back in 2018). But basically unless you're in a legal corner case where a fiancé(e) visa is better (children who would be 18-21 by the time you got the visa and want to come with you is the most notable there) or just really, really don't want to be apart for months or years while legally married, then a spousal visa is significantly better. You don't have to adjust status which means your spouse can work immediately (doesn't need to wait for EAD or green card) your spouse can travel internationally immediately (doesn't need to wait for AP or green card) you don't have to pay the fees for adjusting status (or EAD if your spouse wants to work before green card, or AP if your spouse wants to travel internationally before green card; these are currently free with AOS, but the new fees will be in effect before a K-1 filed today will be approved); while a few thousand dollars in fees is not, in the context of an international relationship, really a large amount of money, it's a long way from nothing Also, it means your partner is your spouse. And as Covid travel restrictions showed, your spouse has a lot more rights than your fiancé(e). And it's likely the process will take long enough that your partner can delay their entry into the US until after you've been married two years (you have about six months from visa issuance to enter the US), in which case you get an IR-1 and can skip removing conditions too. Basically, when a K-1 was a lot faster than a CR-1 and there weren't Utah Zoom marriages, then doing a K-1 with a Russian fiancée made a lot of sense unless you were living together in Russia at the time. Now? Not so much.

Though I don't recommend doing this from a "getting to know someone well enough to actually know if you want to marry them" standpoint, lots of people have successfully petitioned for a fiancé(e) or spouse they've spent less than two weeks together in-person with, and it's certainly not illegal. Back when we filed for a K-1 (in mid-2018, K-1s took about half as long as CR-1s to process -- 9 months vs 18 months, and since there were no Utah Zoom marriages then and getting married in Russia takes a lot of time in-country or multiple trips in a relatively short time actually getting married would have required a third-country wedding; this is not true today), it seemed to me that with three one-week-ish visits, we'd spent more time together than most people filing K-1s that posted about it on VJ.

Or look into getting a Schengen visa from another country (and if you're not looking to annoy that country's consulate, go there first). There are direct flights from SFO to several other countries in the Schengen area.