dkrivosheyev

Well, I guess we are all correct - I called the embassy and found out that no apostil is required. Blues Fairy is probably right - there is a lot of discussion going on on the Russian K1 forums about different documents...

Hi!!! I need some help!!! I am an American citizen through naturalization and I m in the process of applying for a k1 visa. On my certificate of naturalization besize a red number in the right corner, I have an " A" number --which is in fact my old alien registration number. Now, one of the requirements on form I-129F, is to put down The "A" number if any. Should I use that number, or just the number of the certificate of naturalization.

Thank you.

I am also a citizen through naturalization. I put my old A number as well as the certificate number on the application, and it was approved.

She never received a packet, so we are going by the instructions from the embassy website. But I think you are correct, I just want to be absolutely sure...

Where on the embassy website does it say you need apostilled documents?

Also look up the definition of an Apostille:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostille

You will find that it is needed only when you want to use a document in another country. Considering that you are submitting all your Russian documents to an embassy in RUSSIA, you don't need it. And of course it is not needed for US documents because ONLY US officials will look at them. And finally when submitting RUSSIAN documents at US service centers, we simply do not require the apostille, but do require the translation.

OK, Thank you everybody!

I have a feeling that the answer to this is both yes and no.

I think they do need to have apostil, but I would be they come that way automatically if they are originals as required.

If I think about the stamp on my divorce decree, it says "certified to be a true copy" If I think about my birth certificate it has a seal and would be certified by the court. I would bet the Russian equivilents are the same way. I recall some sort of seal on my fiancees BC.

Well, she has the originals, but the question is about the translations. According to the website they do not need to be notarized. Apostil is a document that confirms that a notary public who notarized a document is authorized by the Russian government to perform notary services, it is usually a separate piece of paper. At least this is my understanding of what apostil is. I had to get one here in the U.S. for some documents I had to send to Russia, and that is what I had.

According to my fiancee's friend,

There's your first problem.

Your fiancee has a packet with detailed instructions. Have her follow those, and those only.

She never received a packet, so we are going by the instructions from the embassy website. But I think you are correct, I just want to be absolutely sure...

I just talked to my fiancee on the phone, and she told me that all documents for K1 visa interview have to have an apostil on them, not just be notarized. Has anyone heard about this? According to my fiancee's friend, Moscow Embassy requires that all Russian documents (birth certificate, police report, etc.) have apostil. I have never seen it on the embassy website, and nobody here ever mentioned anything about this. Moreover, the translations from Russian to English don't even need to be notarized according to the embassy website. Please let me know what you think as this is completely new for us, and there is only 3 weeks before the interview...

Thank you,

We just notorized the documents, it was not required and was done just in case. If you want to be sure you can e-mail the embassy, but unless this is a brand new rule, never heard of this before.

Mike.

I will call the Embassy tomorrow, but supposedly this rule was in place for quite some time. This is probably not true, but I just want to be absolutely sure about it ...

I just talked to my fiancee on the phone, and she told me that all documents for K1 visa interview have to have an apostil on them, not just be notarized. Has anyone heard about this? According to my fiancee's friend, Moscow Embassy requires that all Russian documents (birth certificate, police report, etc.) have apostil. I have never seen it on the embassy website, and nobody here ever mentioned anything about this. Moreover, the translations from Russian to English don't even need to be notarized according to the embassy website. Please let me know what you think as this is completely new for us, and there is only 3 weeks before the interview...

Thank you,

Thanks for the reply everyone! You all are probably right - it is not much of a proof.

Thank you!

Did anyone try to obtain a marriage license prior to fiancee's K1 interview as a proof af relationship? I don't know about other states, but in the state of Florida you have to get a marriage license in order to get married. I was thinking to get one and send it to my fiancee for her embassy interview in addition to the usual letter of intent to marry. This will be an official document from the court showing that you have solid plans to marry. Did anyone do that before?

Thank you!

My wife lives in Novosibirsk. Her packet 3/4 took a month to arrive. At the two-week point, I emailed the embassy and they told me, as they told you, dkrivosheyev, that everything is on the website.

As for the invitation -- I think Turboguy's idea is a good one. Let us know what they say.

My fiancee is in Yekaterinburg, which is a bit closer to Moscow than Novosibirsk. I sent an e-mail to Embassy asking about the invitation and how to get in if she does not have one. Will see what they say.

Thank you!

There is one form that they want filled out on line and then printed out, signed and brought to the interview. I Believe is is the DS-230. You can find it on the embasssy website to complete it.

Well, it's October now and my fiancee has not received the packet yet. So I guess we just have to print the forms from the embassy website, fill them out and come to the interview. Do they check some type of "invitation letter" before they let you into the embassy? If no invitation came in the mail, how would they allow her inside?

I've been quiet for a few days because I was away for the weekend in Niagara Falls, ON, Canada. Very nice and lovely place. I highly recommend it to anyone wishing for a romantic getaway with their sweety. Since this question has propped up a time or two in this forum, I'll go ahead and post, it's still no sweat getting back and forth between the U.S. and our Northern Neighbours. All that's required (for a normal border crossing - driving through the lane) is a Green Card. The only thing the border guard asked was that my wife verbally verify her country of citizenship, and that could've been because the country of birth still says USSR. Easy as gravy on French Fries.

I'd also like to remind everyone that sometimes police check speed from aircraft and even when you slow down way in advance of the police cars way up ahead, it's too late, the bird already got you. $150 later, I share my story. (But don't worry, I'll be fighting this one in court. "There were so many cars on the ground, how could they be sure it was me?")

Happy Trails.... and back to the grind of living the Dream.

I always wanted to go see Niagara Falls... Maybe one day...

Somewhere around two weeks is probably pretty accurate. Give or take a month or two. That's just how it works in Russia.

If your S/O hasn't received it within 45 days of the interview date, I'd start e-mailing. If you're only about 30 days out, I'd start calling. If it's only going to be a week or two, and you still don't have the packet... just print the forms out from the website and fill them in yourself. Call and confirm the time/date and let the embassy know no packet was receieved but the interview will go on as scheduled.

Well, our interview is November 1st and no packet as of yet. I called the embassy today and was told that these packets often don't come at all, "just read the instructions on the website, download the forms and come to the interview" - that's what I was told. But I am just wondering - are you supposed to mail them a checklist prior to the interview? Or you don't have to mail anything in Russia, just show up with all the documents on the scheduled day? I am a bit confused now...

ALL my high school and college friends make more money there than I do here. All of them. Actually, one of my dad's friends asked me a couple weeks ago if I could work as a project coordinator at his company in Moscow. The job pays 60K/year. It will be years before I make that kind of money here.

All of my wife's high school and college friends make between 0 to 8000 rubles per month. Most in the lower end of that. None of them live in Moscow. None of them own their own flats or qualify for a mortgage. Just a few own an old Russian car. None of their parents are big executives who are able to "hook them up" with nice high paying jobs. None of their parents were able to afford to send their kids to study abroad. Most of them have or will have the equivalent of masters degrees from prestigious Siberian universities. A few are married. One or two has kids. The ones who are married either live in a room shared with their parents or rent a flat for the price of one spouse's monthly salary.

And my favorite: As far as we are aware, none of them have posted themselves on an online catalog to sell to an American man. Hint: they are not desperate yet.

Your case is unique for two reasons: (1) Moscow, (2) Usually people who come from affluent backgrounds stick with people from those backgrounds.

I guess everyone's experience is different. None of my high school and college friends live in Moscow, however some of them make close to $50K in Yekaterinburg, have their own businesses or work for oil or international companies. I also know people making less that 10000 rubles per month still lving with their parents. There is plenty of opportunity in Russia nowdays, however it helps if you have connections to "hook you up" with a high paying jobs. There is a great difference between rich and poor in Russia. But the same difference exists here in the U.S., it' just the fact that the U.S. "middle class" is a lot bigger than Russian middle class at this time.

I think you brought up a good point about the cost of housing in Russia. Yes, salaries have increased dramatically but so have expenses and particulalry the costs of apartments. It is nice to be making a thousand or so a month there but when a nice apartment can go for a million what good does it do you if you need a place to live?

I agree, the housing cost in Russia is unbelievable, especially in the larger cities. In fact, it is probably more than many U.S. cities. However, you can take a mortgage there too, and do it the same way people do in the U.S.

I think Sat just doesn't like Russia that much

Being a political asylee from the former USSR, there is little to like. My family on both sides lost so much property during the first and second world war. Then likewise my parents were discriminated against and denied many work and housing perks / advancements because of their beliefs and lack of association with the communist party. Grandparents were sent from their factories and mansions to Siberia. Then I came as an adult to see just how much truth there was to these stories. A lot of it wasn't as bad as the family described it, but many things on the fraud and corruption front could use some fixing. Bribes and the necessity of a "крыша" comes to mind. Customer service is another issue. Maybe it's just that I have been spoiled here. My favorite is: "вы куда прёте?"

I can certanly understand your opinion about Russia and the corruption going on there, especially since your family had to go through all this. I am originally from Russia myself, but I was not around during that time, so I cannot speak about it. However, nowdays I think it's a lot better there. In fact, I have many of my high school friends in Russia who are making a lot more money than I do here in the U.S.! In the past many Russian girls wanted to come to the U.S. for a better life because of Russian poverty, bad economics, crime, etc. But nowdays I don't think it is bad anymore. You can make good money there if you smart and work hard, jusl like here in the U.S. So now I believe Russian ladies come to the U.S. to be with their loved ones, that is the main reason.

How long does it take to receive packet 3/4 from the embassy? My fiancee is from Urals region, so I assume it will take a while for the mail to get there from Moscow, but what is the average?

They want to hear your fiancé's replies without you being able to clue her.

Agree, but simply put because Russia is a high fraud country for marriage with foreigners this is a method of weeding out the really bad cases.

Is Russia still a high fraud country? I understand it was five years ago, but now it's a lot different...

Did anyone try to attend the interview with your fiancee? I know it says on the Moscow website that no one is allowed to the interview, is it actually true? I know some other embassies allow USC to attend. Did anyone personally check this out for Moscow?

Thank you,

Thank you! This is a very interesting theory, I never see this before. However, I don't think it works all the time - how about something like this: MOS2007573*** - the date cannot be 5/73... I guess we just wait for now.

I think there is an expression about being in the right church but the wrong pew. You guys are close but no brass ring.

You asked about MOS2007573??? That number was processed on March 14th.

This is how it works.

The MOS is the embassy, Kiev for example will have KEV numbers.

The year is next. That is pretty obvious.

Forget months. Think of January 1 as the first day of the year. Febuary one as the 32nd day of the year, March one as the 59th day of the year and March 14th as the 73rd day of the year. December 31st would of course be the 365th day of they year except on leap years.

Now take the day of the year and add it to 500 and that is the second number. I don't know the reason for adding 500 but that is the way it works. The last three numbers are the order it was processed that day. Perhaps that is why I ended up in Administrative Review. My last three numbers were 007

so one processed on January 1 will be 501 One processed on March 14th will be 573. One processed on December 31st will be 865.

OK?

Very interesting, but looks like you are correct! But how did you figure it out? I would never figure this one out by myself unless I have a hint... Great job!

Finally saw our case number on Moscow website this morning with the interview date. We are so excited - final stage is approaching!

NOA2 for K1 on Aug. 21 and still no NVC notification. tried to use automated system with my WACxxxxx number and it comes up, unknow number. sent email but no response. trying to get through to operator but no success yet. thoughts / suggestions ?

thanks,

Gullyracer, you need to call NVC at 603-334-0700, press 1 then 5 to get an operator. It may take a few times to get through, but you will. Give them you WAC# and ask if they have your case. If they do, they will give you a new case number and tell you when/if they have sent it to the embassy. Good luck!

I found that the best time to call them is between 7:30 and 8:00am Eastern Time - I am always able to get through in about 5-10 minutes.

Finally - I checked U.S. Embassy Moscow website this morning and saw our interview date there! November 1st - we are so excited. Now got to collect all the remaining documents and send them to my fiancee.

Well I have been in Russia almost a month, its going well. I am glad to see the recent success stories in moscow, congrats turbo guy and novotul. our interview is on the 23 of this month so pray for us(or at least cross your fingers?)

Thanks,

Ryan

Good luck!

My Packet 3/4 has arrived - just picked it up from the postal office. Actually it was there since Friday but the notice came only yesterday.

Did you see your interview date on Moscow embassy website prior to receiving the packet? I wonder if it gets posted there before or after they send the packet...

Thank you,