Sveta and Ko

I'm unemployed right now so if you'd front the cash, I'd fly over and personally pick them up, personally drop them off, etc. Hit me via PM.

Your best bet is probably to have the jeweler send them insured via DHL.

I guess it will cost the same as a DHL package

Seriously speaking, DHL does not let to ship jewelry from Russia. They know they will disappear without a trace for sure and DHL will have to pay compensation. But we want rings, not compensation from them!

I mean, I'm going to be flying from SPb to America in a week and a half, but I wouldn't trust someone from the internet to do that for me. Not that I would ever steal from anyone, but it's a huge responsibility.

We trust people

Where do you fly to in US? Maybe we have friends there to pick it up from you. Thanks for at least considering this! It is a big help!!!

Friends:

Can anyone help to bring wedding rings from SPb to LA or to any other city in US and than ship to LA?

Our custom rings were not ready before Sveta's departure for US, so we have a little problem now.

The rings are not very heavy obviously.

Thanks

Dear friends:

Stop arguing, please. What we are dealing here is very low statistics! In order to claim something on the order of 2% we need at least 2000 entries. We know about few ... and those are with a huge statistical and systematic uncertainty. I will have no problem proving you one way or another.

When you take your medicine, remember that out of 20 people it was tested on, 10 responded positively, 5 responded positively to placebo and 5 are uncertain

Now, toss your coin! Assume it landed 10 times on the same side. What are the chances it lands on the same side 11th time? Still only 50%.

Need more examples?

To the original question - I can add that a IO called me with questions when my niece was crossing the border few years back. Does this mean that IO will definitely call you if there are questions? Not at all as I explained above. Will a brief letter explaining the situation and giving your cell phone number clearly visible hurt? You will be the judge.

So, her interview was on Wednesday, She got a call from DHL on Saturday about a package that had arrived. She picked up the visa on Sunday at the DHL office (she decided to have it delivered to the DHL office, not home).

This info for those who want to know about the visa delivery time. The CO officer told her at the interview that the visa is approved and she is passing it right to DHL. At least somebody there is doing what (s)he is suppose to!

As for the weird thing on the interview - I do not know. Maybe the CO trusted us when she learned that I am a doctor! Doctor's do not lie and they do not marry their own sister, are they? Even their half sister? My ex-wife was not my sister or a half sister. The statistical error on that information is +/- 1. On 10 ex-wives it would be about +/- 3. It is not a poisson distribution however! Your chances to meet your own sister and fall in love are higher. We need to add a systematic error to account for a bias. The systematic error is the most difficult part of any experiment! It is easier to trust your doctor

She is in panic mode now! Packing non-stop for several weeks Her plane is on Wednesday. She promised not to take her 220V waffle maker with her It looks like I can not avoid a good old cast iron frying pan. Otherwise I can not imagine what the hell is there to pack for so long!

It looks like we sneaked thru this time. I am not surprised about the fee increase, I am surprised that it is only $350, not $3500 or $35K! We'd pay anyway, aren't we?

US government needs to crank up revenue before going into default and the only way is to increase taxes and junk fees. Nobody will be looking for a US visa after the default, so the maximum profit should be collected ASAP! It is easier to do when people have no choice, but pay! Ask any monopoly Well, actually hospitals and Hollywood doing the best job in that department! US government takes the third.

Thank you all!!!

The questions were standard, like where and when we met, how many times we saw each other, where I work and what I do for a living. The CO looked thru the pictures, said not enough for so many years! Then she noticed a highlighted field in the docs saying that we are half siblings!!! Well, I really have a half sister, she did apply for a visa few years back with my invitation, but she has a different name and birthday! What the hell they were smoking on May Day! The CO did not elaborate this too much, probably understanding the obvious mistake. All was done by about 1 pm.

Good luck to everyone!!! Try to avoid the interview right after any big Russian celebration!!! You might end up be related to your fiance(e) ... or aren't we related anyway?

1 hour ago. No details are known yet.

Congratulations guys! That was smooth and fast!!!

Religion is the biggest business in the world in terms of revenue

Yes, apostille should be recognized in Russia. It is not difficult to obtain in US. Many Russian clerks however will simply turn this document down stating they simply do not understand this paper and insist on getting a marriage certificate they can understand. It that sense, just get married again in Russia and have a real Russian wedding! Just do not try to out drink her Russian friends or you'll be sorry or worse

Ah yeah, they don't send it via DHL. Sorry if anyone here gave you that impression.

That was actually me who gave people that impression! I made a correlation "(yellow envelope) - (color envelopes in Russian post) - (other popular express couriers in Russia) == DHL". Well, "==" should be replaced with "~=" that is not the same So, that is me who should say sorry to people.

Well, our package was sent not earlier than March 22. So, about a week for delivery. But it is St.-Petersburg after all. Smaller cities far away can get a significant delay. There are also tigers in Siberia who just love postmen So, I would not count on the package 3 and 4 arrival at all.

OK. She has got the package from the Moscow embassy. It was sent by a regular mail, not by the DHL as I thought. It took about a week for the package to arrive.

Medem is very, very good. I would go there, personally, if I needed any kind of surgery.

Thanks for the advise. We found ties in Otto. They specialize in obstetrician for God's know how long. Generations on my relatives were born there

Well, the fact is that she is scared and was crying for days. She is better now cause she is strong. I am just going insane slowly but surely.

Zhanna & I are getting married tomorrow on Folly beach in Charleston tomorrow. Wish me/us luck!

You still have the whole night to plan your escape brother If your plan fails I wish you the very best of luck!!! Congratulations !!! Be happy !!! You earned it !!!

I asked for and received a delay on my original interview, and it was approved with no questions asked. That was different of course, but I don't see why they'd think it was suspicious if you just told them that your fiancee is pregnant and requires a minor surgery, could they please find it in their hearts to maybe move the interview closer so that she could have the surgery in the US? I really don't think you need to go into any detail, just the major facts and the request to move it up. Give a specific date that you'd like (or at least a "week of" date) and who knows, you might get lucky.

From what I read, it is much easier to delay the interview than to speed it up. She wants to give it a try too. That by itself tells me how serious the situation is. Thanks for such a detailed advise.

I understand. What I mean is that the national health system in Russia leaves a lot to be desired, and so I too would be worried if my SO were to go under the knife in the normal healthcare system there. What I'm saying is that if she must have surgery in Russia, the best thing you can do is buy her a private healthcare policy in Russia. The private health clinics and medical centers in Russia are top notch, comparable to anything you'll find in Western Europe and even the US.

You've got nothing to lose emailing the consulate and trying to have the interview date moved up, but I have yet to see it happen. Llet us know what they say.

Thanks. We already planning the surgery at the top place in St.-Petersburg for such things. This is plan B ... or A.

I am worry if an email to the consulate asking to transfer the date might do any harm or look suspicious and trigger some additional review? After we got an AP at NVC out of nowhere I am afraid to inflict any more damage.

Your chances are almost non-existent to get it moved up closer, unfortunately. I've never seen them move up an appointment for anybody. You can try emailing the consulate, it can't hurt. But don't get your hopes up.

You might want to pay for a private healthcare policy for her while you are waiting. The price over there is a lot less than it is over here, and the private healthcare system in Russia is actually very good. Have her look into this and see what the cost is.

It is not the insurance issue. I mentioned insurance just to say that she will not become a public charge, because it might cause a visa denial. It is simply a matter of her health and saving the child! No matter how it is screwed up (do not start me on this) I trust the medical system in US more. Besides, she needs me to be next to her when she goes under surgery. And I can not travel to Russia right now, because I have an 8 year old child on hands and my work.

OK friends. Here we go. The reasons I am really nervous are the following:

- she is three month pregnant;

- she needs a surgery due to a cyst found during routine ultra-sound. The cyst is very big.

It is much better to have the surgery done in US.

She is covered by my health insurance in US, so won't become a public charge. Sure she will get all the papers if consulate asks about the proof.

The interview is set up on May 19. The sooner the surgery is done the better. What are our chances to get the interview closer? Any other thoughts?

As far as I know the packet is sent via Russian Post. When the visa is shipped, it is sent via DHL but she has to pay for it. Nobody's paying extra for the packet to be sent out and I don't really see Uncle Sugar footing the bill for that one either.

I'm not 100% though since I never received one, so correct me if I'm wrong.

Russian post can take several days even within the same city! A month for a long distance letter is usual when the system is functioning OK. Means not now. Why the envelope is yellow I do not understand than.

That one I'm not sure about...

There is a talk about beneficiaries getting "yellow envelope" in the mail. There are no color envelopes used by Russian post as far as I know. DHL's envelope is yellow indeed. Normal delivery time for DHL should be few days within the country. Chelyabinsk is a big city. There is no customs on the way (one of the reasons mail is delayed in Russia if crossing the boarder).

Passports are delivered back by DHL. People say it usually takes two-three days. Maybe it is a different service.

Seems like your time in AP added more days until your interview. Try to remain calm and use the extra time to make sure all is in order. Everything is moving forward, so try to look on the bright side.

Not only time in AP. The consulate usually gets the papers few days after the NVC sends it out. It took 19 days for us assuming they received the papers today. This is an additional two week delay out of nowhere!

Thanks. I will try to hold on. At least my daughter can start to cross days in the calendar

No, still hasn't received it. She did tell me she saw something on the news recently stating that mail coming out of Moscow, any type of mail, has been taking 2-3 weeks to get to it's destination. Mail system there is in bad shape.

I thought they use DHL which is separate from Russian national mail system.

DOS just told me interview is scheduled for May 19. This is much later than we could expect!

AKguy and I are in the same boat.. just a few days apart with respect to initial filing date, NOA1, NOA2 and interview date.. My girl also has not gotten her package from embassy, and I have her interview date via email sent to me about four weeks ago.. So we just wait.. Interview April 28th..

Question----does this delay in sending out the package reflect on how long the embassy is going to take to put the visa in passport and have it sent to my girl's home city (assuming she is approved of course)...... I am hoping for no longer than a ten day delay between interview and her receiving the passport back in her home city.. any experience with this time frame would be helpful..

I think the visa delivery time depends on what city she live is. It should be much faster for few bigger cities. I've heard people are getting the visa two days after the interview. But I would not count on that. More than a week delay is not uncommon.

At least you can plan something. I got an email from embassy last Friday 3/19/2010 claiming they did not get out papers yet. NVC said it sent on 3/4/2010.