sashitaski

Rescheduled! And we got the exact date and time we asked for---March 6th at 8 AM! Now the waiting begins again!

The reschedule is pretty painless. And, it's actually pretty quick. Your husbands finger will probably take more time to heal than when they could reschedule you. I busted up my finger 10 weeks ago and it's still not 100%. The skin has healed (well, it's ugly, but it's there!) but it's still kind of tender.

I had finger surgery many years ago and the fingerprint will come back pretty quick. He'll have to take it easy when doing the prints though. They like to grip that finger and roll it across the machine. OUCH!

Good luck!

Sounds painful! The most annoying thing is that his finger has almost healed---but we don't want to risk it, even if it's 80% healed already. It's okay--as you said, Mox, we've waited this long, what's another month? They should have a special number you can call just for rescheduling. I have always done everything in my power to avoid using the call center number(and have thus far been successul). But they can be a little slow answering e-mails at the consulate, sometimes it takes them a week. I thought I would have to call them Thursday afternoon if they still hadn't gotten back to me. Thankfully, I talked to someone today who knows someone who works there and she said they'll make sure to reschedule us tomorrow. So I won't have to talk to a robot after all. What a relief!

As a side note, why do they need prints of all ten of your fingers? Just in case, after committing a crime, you happen to only leave one single fingerprint behind?

Do you only have to report changes of address (for both the petitioner/beneficiary, and co-sponsor) until you finish the immigration visa process? That is, until you have your green card in hand? Or do you have to keep reporting changes of address forever/until you receive citizenship?

Thank you!

...because my husband's finger hasn't finished healing properly. And of course they need clear prints from all ten fingers. I can't believe that after going through everything, finishing the paperwork, medical, obtaining all certificates, etc., etc., now this happens! I know that we may have to wait a while now for another interview. Has anyone else recently rescheduled? How long did you have to wait?

Also, I sent an e-mail to the consulate last night asking them to reschedule. Sometimes they take a few days to go through their e-mails. I guess if I don't hear back from them by Thursday I have to call the expensive $10-minimum-a-call call center, right?

Fortunately, we're not planning to move until summer, so that's not a problem. But when you've been waiting for a date for so long, it's a bummer when things like this happen!

To everyone out there still waiting for your interview: please take extra special care of your fingers before the interview, and don't open up any laundry drying stands on your own! Get someone else to do it for you!

What I usually do is go to yandex.ru, the Russian search engine, and type in the name of the movie in English. Usually that automatically brings up something with the movie's name in Russian. It will have most information in Russian but then somewhere it will have the actual title listed. I think that the websites of movie theaters often do that as well--not just for English, but somewhere in their information they'll have the name of the movie in its original language. If you're trying to find out the English name of a movie whose title you know in Russian, that could be a little harder. But you could try to do the same thing. That is, type in the Russian title of the movie, and then the word "movie" or something, in English. A search engine like Google might work better in this case.

I have no experience with the I-864 so I don't know what they're specifically looking for but I do know the main thing they're really trying to determine is if you're going to have enough to support yourself and your beneficiary.

Obviously, as a student, you're not going to be doing it alone. As long as your dad has the assets he says he has, and can prove he has them (through statements, etc.) then you should be OK.

Thanks, Slim, for answering! I've been worrying a lot about this lately, but I think it will be okay. They are looking for employability and if they think that person is able to keep the immigrant off welfare. With my dad's record, plus assets, I think we'll be okay. Also, he might be getting a new job as early as next week...

Now I just have to worry about whether my husband's finger will heal (!) in time for the interview. We got a piece of paper from the embassy that says you have to reschedule if you have any bruises or cuts on any of your fingers. That will be a good story to tell when people start asking me how the interview went and I say it didn't yet because he hurt his finger

Has anyone tried to use only assets to meet the requirements for the I-864 in Moscow?

I am a student and therefore my only income is through student loans. My dad is the joint sponsor. The problem is that he was just laid off (in January). Before that, his salary was much more than what was required for the I-864 (about 4 times more). So we decided to use assets (5X 125% of what is required). The assets include 401k, stock, and his investment portfolio. All of them can be converted to cash in less than a year. He is still receiving severance from his previous job, as well as actively searching for a new one. His tax returns for the last three years show a high, stable income.

Also, he used my mom's income as a household member. She does not make enough to meet the requirement, but at least this will show that she currently has a job.

So we have included proof of all assets, the last three pay stubs from his job, severance pay stubs, my mom's information, and an explanatory note explaining that he is using assets since he just lost his job due to the economic crisis.

It seems that, in theory, we have met the criteria for the I-864, but I understand that using only assets is tricky and doesn't always work.

How good/bad are our chances? This was quite unfortunate and came as a shock for all of us. Of course it would be best to find another sponsor, but so far I haven't been able to.

Any thoughts?

Very interesting. Unfortunately, we're out of time, as the medical's the day after tomorrow. But good for future filers!

FYI, for those of you who would prefer to do titers (if you don't have your records), they DO do them here, at least at the Meditsina clinic, but it takes a while to get the results. I don't know how long, but more time than we have. If you get started a month prior to the interview though, you should be able to do it.

I know that some people in this forum with the same issue have gone to local schools and had them sign some kind of paper authorizing that they have gotten the shots, because obviously everyone who went to school in the Soviet Union got the same shots.

Interesting. Probably to do that, I'm guessing you should know someone at the school? I can just imagine what the response would be if you walked into some random school (or even your school that you attended years ago) and ask them to give you a document stating which shots you got. If we had lots of time on our hands and were extremely patient we might even try it. But after hearing that neither his own clinic nor a private clinic would provide him with anything, well, that just made us give up. I still think the situation is ridiculous, but what can you do? It's not worth going through the hassle.

Do you think there is any danger in getting the vaccinations again? I know that not all doctors are that keen to give you shots for no reason (and getting a second round because your medical info. was lost is pretty close to no reason).

i actually inquired about this to the denmark embassy last week. My mother has income, but we only wanted to use her assets so I asked if she should list the income in addition to the assets if we were not using them to qualify. they said no, just list the assets and that should be sufficient. I thought assets had to be 3 times if they were a USC and 5 times if it was belonging to the immigrant?

Well, at least we have some hope! But there should be some people out there who have actually gone through this---anyone?

In terms of 3 times vs. 5 times, I believe that 3 times is enough if it is the spouse's assets, but if it's the joint sponsor's, it should be 5 times. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Has anyone tried to use only assets to meet the requirements for the I-864 in Moscow?

I am a student and therefore have no income. My dad is the joint sponsor. The problem is that he was just laid off (in January). Before that, his salary was much more than what was required for the I-864 (about 4 times more). So we decided to use assets (5X 125% of what is required). The assets include 401k, stock, and his investment portfolio. All of them can be converted to cash in less than a year. He is still receiving severance from his previous job, as well as actively searching for a new one. His tax returns for the last three years show a high, stable income.

Also, he used my mom's income as a household member. She does not make enough to meet the requirement, but at least this will show that she currently has a job.

So we have included proof of all assets, the last three pay stubs from his job, severance pay stubs, my mom's information, and an explanatory note explaining that he is using assets since he just lost his job due to the economic crisis.

It seems that, in theory, we have met the criteria for the I-864, but I understand that using only assets is tricky and doesn't always work.

How good/bad are our chances? This was quite unfortunate and came as a shock for all of us. Of course it would be best to find another sponsor, but so far I haven't been able to.

Any thoughts?

Also heard that if at family dinner a fork falls to the floor, and unexpected guest will arrive hungry.

If a fork calls, it means a female guest is coming, because the word "fork" ("vilka") in Russian is feminine. If a knife ("nozh") falls, it will be a male guest.

And the soap thing...once, when I was getting ready to go back to the U.S. after a summer in Moscow, my (now) mother-in-law gave me about 10 bars of soap....hmm...

Don't forget you may not, under any circumstances, sit on a cold surface, as you will become sterile (women) or get hemhorroids (men).

Also, unmarried people should never sit behind a table corner, or they will never get married.

Today we called a private clinic (i.e. one that is not assigned to you based on where you live and where you pay them for their services), explained our situation, and asked if they could do do either a titer or at least give him the vaccinations he needs all over again. Their answer? No! Of course not! You have to go to your local clinic! Unbelievable! What is the purpose of private clinics if not to do the same thing as local, government-sponsored clinics, but for money and with less of a hassle? They acted as though vaccinating someone is illegal if it is not that person's local clinic. So then how is it, I wonder, that the pre-approved clinics that work with the U.S. consulate have no problems administering them? Just another Russian mystery.... After wasting too many hours on this issue, we are just giving up and going to have my husband receive all the vaccinations again on the day of his medical exam. Even if they would give him the titer test there, I have read it can take up to 12 days to get the results, which is too long to wait, since his interview is in 12 days from today.

Anyway, thank you for your input (and the information on the titer), and for those of you who have lots of time before your interview and would prefer not to receive another dose of required vaccinations, plan ahead and see if you can manage to get something from your local clinic, or at least have them administer a titer. Good luck!

By the way, titer in Russian is just "титр."

unless the "titer" test is available... this test is designed to find certain anti-bodies and if present, re-vaccination is not needed

You wouldn't happen to know how to say that in Russian, would you?

How did all of you deal with the vaccination part of the medical exam? My husband doesn't have proof of his childhood vaccinations, although of course he had them (it was mandatory in the Soviet Union). Yesterday he went to his local clinic to see if they could find his records or at least give him some kind of note stating that he has had them all. They told him to come back today. So today he went there, spent about 3 hours in line, then was told to go to another line, the person there said he needed to go to the first line again, first line person said the person who makes those decisions is gone, doesn't know when she'll go back. The short of it is that they said they will not give my husband any such document! He had even made up a document listing the types of vaccinations and years so that they could just sign it, but they refused. I know that he can just have them all re-done at the same time he goes for his exam, but, besides it costing us more, I think it is ridiculous he has to get all his childhood vaccinations again just because his clinic says they don't have his records and won't give him a document saying he has had them.

Dealing with them was a disaster, hubby was so mad when he got back! I guess the only thing to do now is for him to get all the vaccinations again, right?

Has anyone else gone through this? Were you successful in obtaining anything from the local clinic?

It's great to hear others' stories. Thank you for sharing. Everyone has good suggestions, and it's nice to know we're not the only ones going through this.

I wouldn't anymore. I am currently living in Moscow, but we will be moving to the States in the summer. I really do love the city, but I can't see myself living here permanently. In the beginning it was really fun and "oh, it's so cool how they do this differently!" but after a while that wears off, and you get tired of the impossible bureaucracy (see my post about the military certificate), salespeople who yell at you, the fact that half the time I go to the grocery store they're out of whatever I want to buy, and of course, the high prices--not only high prices, but because this city caters to the rich, you always feel like you're poor. The only way I would agree to live here is if I had tons of money. Then you could have a pretty good life. Also, I wouldn't want to raise my kids here. For a number of reasons. That said, I really do love Moscow, it's an exciting and happening place. We will definitely be coming back to visit, but not to live(and lucky for me, hubby would also rather live in the States!).

P.S. I speak fluent Russian and know a lot about the culture, so this has nothing to do with that. It's all about personal preferences.

Go wait for him at a bar or restaraunt, have him approach you, and then tell him, "I don't speak Russian. I speak Engish." Then have him kick his best English lines to you. If he doesn't do so well, no dessert for him!

A quick update, in case this information may be useful to future VJers!

I finally got a reply to my e-mail from the consulate in Moscow about the military certificate. They said that since my husband is a Muscovite (never lived anywhere else his whole life) and served in Moscow, he does not need the military certificate (what a relief!). It seems to me (although they didn't specifically say this) that if you had served somewhere else in Russia, i.e. not in your home city, instead of getting a police certificate for the time you lived (served) in that city, you could INSTEAD of that get an army certificate stating that you weren't convicted of anything while you served in the army. This also makes sense if you carefully read the instructions pertaining to this certificate, which say "should" ("mozhet" in Russian) instead of "must" obtain. So since my husband had been in Moscow all along, his police certificate will suffice.

Sticky notes, videos, and the like will help, but speaking--constant speaking--is where it's really at.

Save that for when you get here. While still in Russia it's not going to do much good because everything around you is still Russian. I will agree in that you should do as much as possible, but you're still in a Russian world so still be Russian. Once you transition to the States, then hit him with the English only.

Yeah, I said this in my first post ("when he gets here") but should have reiterated in my second post. As slim says, it's useless to try it in Russia. He has too many ways out, and when his head hurts he can just walk outside and speak Russian to anyone. The true "boot camp" begins when you get stateside. He will literally be a captive audience, and it will be up to you to be rigid about speaking English only, even when you feel sorry for him. The more disciplined you are about it, the faster he will learn.

Agreed. I know that it would be impossible here in Russia. However, I still make an effort to speak to him in English some of the time. Once we get to the States, I am not sure that I will be able to speak only English with him 100% of the time(we will have to have some conversations where I need to be sure he understands everything), but at least most of the time. Full immersion is definitely the way to go, provided you are in the right environment (i.e. the U.S. in our case).

You have plenty of time so start small. Keep in mind when transitioning to English, it's not so imperative that he learn grammar and a lot of rules. Start with basic vocab words of things around the house and basic verbs. (Point and grunt transitioning to "Juice" and "I want.")

I had about 1,000 yellow sitickies (3M Post It notes) on almost everything in our house with a Russian word on them and then the English translation. It's hard to not notice when you sit down on a chair and the sticky says "стол/chair" on it. Couple that with a sign on the wall next to your table and chairs with a few related sayings or verbs. "To sit. To eat. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, I'm hungry, etc." I ordered a few children's books with big pictures and words (My first 1,000 words in Russian, Russian street scenes, etc.) from Amazon and then made the signs based on what I saw inside the books. You should be able to do it without books being that you speak Russian already, however, your husband may benefit from seeing the pictures.

Knowing 100% spelling and grammar rules, etc. isn't so important when first learning the language. However, it will be important later so make sure he knows the ABCs and has a general idea about spelling. I will say oral communication is 1,000 times more important than written but he will eventually need to transition so it is important that he at least be able to read English. Writing will come once he learns reading.

Lastly, keep in mind men are puppies. He needs to be given a treat when he does good. Reward him when he makes progress and he'll always want to play!

Going out to buy post-its tomorrow! That is really a great idea! You're right about oral communication being more important at this point. Fortunately, he already knows the alphabet and can read English. Spelling is a bit of a problem (as it is even for some native speakers of English) but I'm sure that will come in time.

I will also keep in mind what you said about puppies and rewards (my husband agrees with you, by the way)

good methods that I have found for learning languages and used with success in practice:

1. Get movies in the target language and watch them with CC subtitles (same language) this aids in reading and listening comprehension

2. Find enjoyable music in target language. This trains the ear to understand the sounds with different inflections

3. Childrens books and TV shows! pickup some kids books and Sesame Street. Disney movies are excellent as well for enlgish

4. Praise! be sure to let him know he is doing well. you must be VERY patient. Unless he is a linguist he will find the process tedious and painful

5. Speak to him in WELL pronounce full spoken words. Do not speak casual at first. Be sure to speak correct enlgish. As he begins to understand you better move closer to your normal speech speed and "mumbling"

6. practice practice practice

Having taught language to students before i find that these tips help a great deal The more excited the student can get about the language the better. That said since my fiancee already speak english we are planning on setting up alternating speaking days so i can get my russian to be native sounding :-)

Excellent tips! Thank you! Will definitely try some of those. I especially liked the Disney idea. I thought of Sesame Street too, but don't think I would be able to find it in Russia. I do have some children's books though. Also, as you said, being patient is very important (and very hard!).

You're going to have to practice some tough love here. ONLY speak English to him when he gets here. You'll of course have to give him a pass occasionally when he really needs to understand, but otherwise stick to it. He's an adult, he'll know this is the way it has to be, so it shouldn't impact your relationship negatively. You'll feel bad about it while he's struggling, but it really is the best way.

Thanks, guys! Yes, I guess the best way really is to speak more English in him. We both know how important this is. And especially once we arrive in the U.S. we will be speaking much more English at home.

In the meantime I found some good DVDs for learning English where they speak slowly and you can also read English subtitles.

Does anyone else have any stories of personal experiences they would care to share?

Hello! This question is for those of you who brought over a spouse who didn't know that much English. For those of you who have spouses that already spoke good English--that is really great! My husband only speaks a little English, and as we are planning on moving to the U.S. this summer (as long as the interview goes well!) I am getting worried and trying to figure out what to do to help him maximize the rest of his time here before he gets thrown in the deep end.

One of our problems is that I speak fluent Russian, so that's how we usually communicate. I know I need to speak more English to him, but after work, studies, etc. it's hard when you just want to talk about how your day went without explaining every second word.

That said, I do help him with his English. We bought books with exercises and explanations, I also found online English activities. But it's very hard for him. Unlike me, he is not a very language-oriented person, so although he is really motivated and is really trying, it's frustrating me that the process is moving so slowly.

He has tried two different English courses (in so-called "English schools"), but they both turned out to be a joke. Different teachers all the time, no grammar explanations, no coherent order, just skipping around from one topic to another, without explaining or repeating anything. It would be great to work with a private teacher, but the going rate in Moscow seems to be a minimum of $50 an hour, and we unfortunately can't afford that.

So, do any of you have any suggestions?

I would assume that once we move he will improve much more quickly, since he will be surrounded by English all the time (there is not a big Russian community in my area). And I will also look for some courses once we are there.

I am worried that it will be very hard in the beginning, especially to find a job.

What are your experiences with this?

Were the instructions for all countries or just Russia? I would call the embassy, because perhaps his военный билет and the stamp in his internal passport will be enough to prove he served.

These are instructions specifially from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. We actually just talked to a (male) friend who recently went throught the same process, and he said he just got a document from his local военкомат stating that he served in the army, and when. It didn't say anything about convictions on it, but they accepted it at his interview. We should be able to get a similar document, I think. I also e-mailed the consulate here in Moscow to ask if this certificate is really necessary, but I am still waiting for an answer.