PJB

Finding an apt in Moscow is almost impossible these days. There are 1 room apts for $1000+ a month and one room in a shared apt for $500 a month. Kevin, could you also give me the contact info and prices? I have expat friends in Moscow who have been looking for a place for 2 months with no luck and this may be helpful.

Thanks

Finding an apt in Moscow is almost impossible these days. There are 1 room apts for $1000+ a month and one room in a shared apt for $500 a month. Kevin, could you also give me the contact info and prices? I have expat friends in Moscow who have been looking for a place for 2 months with no luck and this may be helpful.

Thanks

Finding an apt in Moscow is almost impossible these days. There are 1 room apts for $1000+ a month and one room in a shared apt for $500 a month. Kevin, could you also give me the contact info and prices? I have expat friends in Moscow who have been looking for a place for 2 months with no luck and this may be helpful.

Thanks

The Embassy area and anywhere in the Center is very expensive. Try Ismailovsky Park hotels, not too pricey and next to the Metro station.

Does anyone have a copy of their Russian police clearance certificate? My husband got one from Moscow but it only says "none" in the line next to "Extra Information". A Russian friend said this is the way all Russian PCC state that there is no criminal record. But there is nothing on the document that says dates except for my husband's birth date. And no where does it say if this is a clearance for all his life in Russia or only for the 36 years in Moscow.

If you already have your PCC from Moscow, where did you go to get it? Is it only good for 6 months?

I chose Moscow because the airport is only 45 minutes from my home in Dmitrov. I will not spend much time in Moscow, only to register my visa....

I watch Dmitrov TV when I get homesick for my husband and our apt.. www.dmitrovtv.ru

I sent in I-129F 12 days ago, got the post office return receipt with USCIS stamp dated 07-14-08, but no NOA1 yet. Got my NOA1 for my I-130 from Chicago within 8 days of sending it. I too am worried. How come some people have timelines that specify receiving their NOAs then receiving their actual hard copy on a later date? Is it possible to find out if NOA has been generated before it comes in the mail?

Hi guys! I am getting my cover letter and statements written and organized to send with the I-130. Actually, I don't have to send it as my local US Consulate in St Petersburg will accept the I-130 and the payment and send it to Moscow to be processed for me.

I am getting statements for proof on a valid marriage and relationship ready to be signed by her parents and a couple of friends. They also help establish me as a resident and therefore help qualify me to file DCF. Oh, yes, we were married yesterday!

Anyway, I need to sent the I-130 as fast as possible so, any unnecessary options, I have little time for, as I must leave Russia in 2 months and that (having a short time left on my visa) could present a problem for filing DCF in Moscow. I hope not!

So, I want to send signed statements from my wife's parents and from two friends stating that we have a valid relationship and that we have been living together for some time. Question: Must I get these statements notarized at a notary with her parents and friends present? Or can I just sent these statements off with just their signatures on them for now and have them notarized or legalized in some way later or at the interview while presenting all our receipts and photos, if needed? It would really be faster for me if I could just pop them in the package without going through the trouble of waiting for her parents as they are out of town right now. I have read on some forums that this is an Embassy by Embassy issue.

My Nolo Press Immigration Guide says the affidavits must be notarized.

Congrats on the wedding! Now post some pictures.....

P.S. Renewing or changing a Russian passport at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco is easily done by mail.......

Oh! I thought that she would have to return to Russia to do that. I thought that she could not change her International Passport until she changed her Domestic passport and that she has to change her Domestic passport to her married name IN Russia. In that case couldn't she just change her name in the Domestic passport before she went abroad and then just change/renew her International passport at her leisure at the consulate in San Francisco? Thereby allowing her to receive the visa in her maiden name in accordance with the maiden name still in her International passport?

Now the question comes to mind: Can she leave Russia having her Domestic passport with maiden name and International passport with married name? Does she even need to show the Domestic passport to officials on the way out of Russia? The last time I went to Finland, from St Petersburg, with a bus full of Russians, at the border they only showed one passport.

Why do you want to make your life so complicated? Mrs. DDT can get all the answers on how to change her name on both passports by calling the passport desk at the SF Russian consulate www.consulrussia.org . In any event she won't need her internal passport to leave the country, only her travel passport which of course must match her ticket. Now when you two turn in your passports before the ZAGS ceremony hers will be stamped with a marriage registration that may have her new name if she has elected to change it at ZAGS. We foreigners do not get a marriage stamp so I'm not sure if the new last name is included along with the date, spouse's name, etc.

Why is she so dead set on changing to your name now? Is her last name so awful that she's willing to risk being apart from you if the process doesn't go smoothly? If she can only change her internal passport in Russia it's still no big deal because she won't need it until she returns to Russia for a visit, at which time she can plan to spend a summer with Mum and Dad while waiting for the new married name internal passport. Also if she has any college degrees or whatever documents she may need for her career in the US then she should be sure to make several copies of her maiden name passport so she can show that she is the same person who got that diploma. When you turn in an old passport the government does not return it like they do in America.

I spoke with Homeland Security yesterday and he told me that it just needs to be translated. I will have it notarised just in case as a matter fact I will get at least 2 copies translated and notarised.

In Russia it's always a good idea to be overly prepared and have an extra of everything. Getting sent to the back of the line really sucks. (Bring a nice bottle of spirits and a box of good chocolates as an emergency back up measure too ).

I have been discussing this, at length, with my fiance and she will do anything to get rid of her maiden name. We know that she will have another problem if she tries to change her Russian passport after she has left Russia. Anyway I made several calls on this. The last one to that "pay 12 dollars for the call" center in Moscow who told me that if she files the I-130 in her new married name sending along a copy of her Russian passport still in her maiden name, she can then change her Russian passport into her new married name and fax them a copy of this passport reflecting the name change. They said all this would take about a month and that that would not be too long that it hindered the process. But of course I know that may or may not be accurate information even though I paid $12 for it!!

Homeland Security in Moscow told me that I will not need to have the Marriage Certificate legalized or apostillized.

So, well see! ....Ain't bureaucracy a wonderful t'ing?

You are kidding right? Who is on the other end of this $12 phone line? What do they know about changing a name in a Russian passport? My husband applied for his new Russian passport last April, was told it would be ready in a month, received it in Sept. A Russian friend just applied for his passport renewal last month. He spent 2 weeks of pain and frustration going from one end of Moscow to the other, being given the wrong forms, being sent to the wrong banks, being sent to the wrong desks in the wrong offices, and being yelled at by every government worker in each and every place! Maybe St. Pete is more user friendly, but I've found Russian government offices to be pretty consistant in their lack of organization and efficiency. Now your bride will probably walk into the passport office and get quick service with a smile, at which point you can call me an idiot. But don't forget to calculate your processing time frame to include summer vacations, otpusk, prazniki, and sanitary days!

P.S. Renewing or changing a Russian passport at the Russian Consulate in San Francisco is easily done by mail.......

DON'T change her last name. When you go to ZAGS for the wedding they call you to various desks before the ceremony so they get all the paperwork done before the actual ceremony. They will ask you what names to put on the marriage certificate, tell them your name and the bride's maiden name. they will also ask you if you want your certificate laminated. It will be easier to copy if you DON'T get it laminated (it will also save you quite a few rubles). When you come to America she can change her last name to yours at the citizenship ceremony.

Hmm......Well, this may present a small problem for me then because she wants to take my name, right away!

According to the official Russian domestic passport office they say that it only takes 2 weeks to change her domestic passport and a little longer for the international one. I suppose it is the "black hole" that is the wild card here!

I am worried that if she keeps her own last name that US Moscow at the time of the interview will want to ask questions about it.

Your bride may be old fashioned but the US consulate in Moscow is used to modern women keeping their maiden names after marriage. Even if they do ask all you have to do is say you will be changeing her name after your church wedding in America. ( Russians consider church weddings to be a more serious demonstration of your love and commitment than a ZAGS wedding)

As for any promises given by a Russian government office........шутка!!!!

When we married at ZAGS #4 in Moscow we were given an instructuion sheet on the procedure for getting an apostille and told that it was needed for USA immigration. Best to check with the Moscow embassy.

Yes, I'll check. You know how it is here, particularly Russian offices giving out conflicting information.

In Russia one never knows what the truth is, as it changes from day to day, person to person and place to place

Wow. can she travel on her old passport and carry the marriage certificate as proof of name change?

DON'T change her last name. When you go to ZAGS for the wedding they call you to various desks before the ceremony so they get all the paperwork done before the actual ceremony. They will ask you what names to put on the marriage certificate, tell them your name and the bride's maiden name. they will also ask you if you want your certificate laminated. It will be easier to copy if you DON'T get it laminated (it will also save you quite a few rubles). When you come to America she can change her last name to yours at the citizenship ceremony.

I filed the whole passport because I only have a one sided copy of my birth certificate. It is the copy from the County dept of records, I never had the original. So being overly cautious I decided to go for the jumbo pack of passport pages to avoid any possible RFEs.

When we married at ZAGS #4 in Moscow we were given an instructuion sheet on the procedure for getting an apostille and told that it was needed for USA immigration. Best to check with the Moscow embassy.

Trying to renew or change names on a Russian passport is the ultimate nightmare. After spending endless days in lines and trying to get the right forms and info it will take 3-6 months before the new passport arrives (if it doesn't get lost in the Russian Black Hole system). Also any papers that don't match in terms of names, dates or whatever can end up stuck or delayed in the immigration process. It's easier to keep the maiden name on both marriage certificate and passport then change her last name in America.

i'd rather send a copy of the naturalization certificate.. you have to copy the whole passport if that's what you are going to send, as oppose to one sheet of the certificate

Why do they want the whole passport copied?

To see the stamps on all pages I think. I have the jumbo 48 pg passport which is a real pain to copy so many times. But for some reason all my Ukraine stamps were put on the last few pages.

Curious...

Yes

When did you get married? Did you get an Apostile on the certificate? Moscow US Consulate told us to be sure and get the Apostile before we applied for immigration. We did it about 2 weeks after the marriage.

When I lived in Russia I had no internet so I could only catch glimpses of home on the TV in American made shows and commercials (all translated into Russian of course). I had secret stashes of peanut butter and jellybellies. Now that I am stuck in the US I feel like an alien and crave anything that reminds me of my Russian home and husband.

Cross cultural marriage changes both partners into halfbreeds..........

It's Russia.........

My girlfriend just talked to the Moscow embassy 2 weeks ago and they said she could file for DCF after six months of stay in Moscow (she's there now). She and her Russian husband have been married almost a year and will be in Moscow (student visa) until next summer. So they will file in January 2009. Last year when I checked into it the consulate website said they would not do DCF unless the American was a permanent resident (which entails several years of painful Russian paperwork) of Russia. Don't know why they changed or if it is for real. But be sure to find out what they consider proof of residency and if it only works for certain types of visas.

Welcome to Russia. It seems that a lot of jerks get posted at the US embassy in Russia. Don't expect Moscow to be any different, we've run into super-jerks there. The best thing to do is get all the information you can from VJ, the State Dept, and USCIS websites. NEVER argue with the people at the US Consulates. They have all sorts of powers to delay and cause trouble for your applications. I've had many friends threatened with blacklisting for asking a simple question in a normal tone of voice. And many times the result of your visa interview has been decided before you get there. So read everything you can then ask your questions here.

I've lived in Russia since 2003 and I HATE THE STUPID VISA/REGISTRATION RULES!!!!! Yes, they can change overnight and the government doesn't warn anybody. Happened to me on a trip to Ukraine. Got an email from a friend that the registration rules would be different 2 days before I crossed back to Russia. As for the new registration, it is a seperate piece of paper that is issued by OVIR (I can't remember their new name) that you must carry in your passport on your person at all times. When you leave the country you must give it back to OVIR so they can unregister you. Passport control only asks for this paper if they are looking for a "donation".