Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Change of plans.... going to Russia. I need some help though.	The other suggestions of Dominica are going to be wildly expensive and involve transit VISA's through the EU and possibly other countries depending on where the flight lands. If she were to go through Frankfurt, CDG or Madrid there is not transit visa required. If she goes through London there is. It is more expensive for her trip but far less for ours and a big time savings for us. I will agree with the comments about how much the men in Egypt and Turkey hastle you. It was probably our biggest complaint. Still we enjoyed the trip and it was cool to see things like the Pyramids and Sphinx. There are a lot of people trying to scam you. You can end up paying $ 100.00 for a camel ride or $ 5.00 for the same ride. Thialand was also great. We did Phuket and had our own cottage with a flower garden/forest setting adjusant to the beach for right around $ 100 a night. Very romantic and very affordable. You need to watch the sun there. Even avoiding it we both got bad sunburns. Edited by Turboguy, 02 March 2010 - 06:38 AM.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-03-02 06:37:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Change of plans.... going to Russia. I need some help though.	There are a lot of places in the Caribbean that are easy for a Russian citizen to get into. D.R. is one as is Jamaca, Costa Rica, Barbados or Granada. Cuba is another that is easy for them but hard for us. I had the impression that the Bahamas are not quite so easy. If you go that route one thing you need to be aware of is that she can't transit through the USA to get there. There are no transit visas anymore. There are flights to the Caribbean through Frankfurt. There are also flights through Paris, London and Madrid but Frankfurt is the best. My wife and I spent a few months in Grenada and Barbados as we waited and they were quite nice. Barbaodos has more to do.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-03-01 11:46:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Change of plans.... going to Russia. I need some help though.	You have had a lot of good suggestions here. For sightseeing it is hard to beat St. Petersburg. There is an endless array of tourist spots. If you just want to kick back and relax and spend time together another consideration might be Sochi. I would never have believed palm trees in Russia if I had not gone to Sochi. I do think the time of year you want to go might be a factor. I would not want to visit St. Petersburg in January or Feb. June is great. You might also consider Egypt or Thailand. We did both and loved them.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-03-01 06:59:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Moscow interview concern for k1	Nice to see you around again Turboguy! Thanks Mox Most K-1's get approved with little difficulty. Just the same, it is better to be over prepared than to take chance on needing to rescue the situation., Edited by Turboguy, 09 March 2010 - 08:13 PM.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-03-09 20:12:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Moscow interview concern for k1	You never know what you will get when you have an interview. I would agree with the suggestion to have her conduct it in English. It eliminates any concerns about how the two of you will communicate. Sometimes the interview can be easy. I heard of one where the only question asked was "How are you today". There is a list of questions they are likely to ask here somewhere. I would highly recommend you get that list with any answers she wouldn't know before the interveiw. Sometimes they can ask questions you might never think about. The interview for my first fiancee was a disaster. I will discuss it in some detail here but don't let this scare you. We had the C/O from hell and he is long gone. I printed out the list of questions and had planned on going over them with her the night before the interview. Someone on another forum suggested I don't do that. That after 4 trips and 7 weeks together she should know everything they would ask and if I have her cram with the answers it would just make her nervous and make it harder for her. I thought that sounded like good advice and followed it. Big mistake. I went with my fiancee to the Embassy and was the only one there waiting for a fiancee. She went through the gates at 15 to 8 and I waited outside. They called her to the window and took her papers and asked if she wanted to have the interview in English or Russian. She said Russian and he said, I can do it in Russian but if I do, I will not give you the visa. She said English. He asked how many times we had met. She answered 4. He asked for the names of my children. She knew I had a son and a daughter but because of the langauge problems I just always had said my son did this or my daughter did this and like an idiot had never used their names thinking she could understand who I was talking about. Anyway, she didn't know, ( Missed question 1) He then asked for my phone number. (She didn't know, missed question 2) He then asked for my street address. (She didn't know, missed question 3) and end of interview. She got a 221-G (intent to deny) instead of the visa. She came out with SpaDudes wife (a former poster here) and broke the bad news to me. I ended up flying home alone with an empty seat beside me that was intended and paid for her to be there. SpaDudes bride to be had much better luck. We did end up getting the visa three weeks later after faxing a massive amount of proof and worrying endlessly during that time. It didn't work out anyway and she went back to Russia 89 days after she arrived. My point in mentioning this is that you should make sure she knows your phone number, your mailing address, the names of any children, brothers, sisters, mom and dad and anyone else they might ask. Those are things some of us would never think of. Another minus for us in their eyes was that we communicated mostly through SMS. Sometimes 10-15 a day and I had a print out showing that we had 2000 SMS messages back and forth. They didn't seem to put much stock in that so I might be a little concerned that most of your communicatins are IM. You should be ok though. Fortunately my second fiancee's (my wife of 2 plus years now) interview went much smoother. Good Luck	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-03-09 17:55:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	travelling to from Ukraine	Not to disagree with Gary, but when we went her ticket was in her married name and we simply showed them her passport (old name), her green card (new name), and a photo copy of the marriage license. We never had any questions, When we went to Aruba for a vacation over Chrismas we got the tickets in her married name, took her passport,greencard and a copy of our marriage liscence and they would not allow my wife to board the plane. Names on tickets and passports must match according to what they told us. Using a name that doesn't match the passport does have some risk and the safest thing is to get the tickets in whatever name is in the passport. Well the best part was that since my wife couldn't get on the plane and I had to go to Aruba alone, chasing all the college co-eds, hanging out in all the topless bars and falling over drunk every night was probably more fun than had my wife been there. (Just joking, we had to reticket my wife with her maiden name)	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-03-17 05:52:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	CLose Place for Ukrianian Lady and Georgia Guy to meet where she will not need Visa and close for bot and warm for her	Egypt and Turkey come to my mind. There are good beaches available in both countries and both are easy to get into and close. We did Egypt but to Cairo not the beaches. There was no problem getting in at all and it was quite nice and safe as well. The other one that is a bit further is Thailand. We were in Phuket which is an island and had great beaches. The sun was very hot there and even trying to avoid it we got burned. We were there in March. We also spent two days in Bangkok and there are some great sightseeing spots such as the palace and lots more. There are good spots in the Caribbean as well. Jamiaca, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Barbados and Cuba are all easy for her to get into but of course Cuba is a bit harder for us. Delta Airlines has a link to all the places anyone can go from any country (visa requirements) if you want to explore more options.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-03-15 05:13:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Tourist visa	I have to agree with everyone. Based on the circumstances you describe I would say the chances of a tourist visa being issued are close to zero. If you want to spend some time together there are lots of good choices of places she can go to easily. We were in A/R for a long time and spent the summer in Granada and Barbados while we waited. Good luck,	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-07-15 12:11:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Record Moscow Heat	Now we know what caused the flooding in Pakistan. The ladies in the first photo got in the water.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-08-14 13:51:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Anyone had this happen at Moscow embassy??	Having spent about 5 or 6 months in Administrative Review I can sympathise with you. Mine came at NVC and I am sure it would be a lot worse after you think everything is done and behind you. What happened to you is very rare. There was a point a few years ago when that happened fairly often. Most cases are resolved faster than yours has been so I hope yours does not take much longer.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-05-26 16:26:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Marriage after arrival on k-1	You got lucky. We had the AOS interview from hell that went on for two hours and asked everything in the world. Perhaps that is a little of why I am in favor of doing all you can. Our ROC was a breeze with no interview and the 10 year card sent right out. One way or the other it is better to get the SS # when it is easy to get and early since you never know what needs you might have.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-10-22 16:26:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Marriage after arrival on k-1	Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought that was at the Removal of Conditions (ROC) phase? You can AOS as early as the day you arrive (as long as you get married and have the certified marriage license to send) and not many people have co-mingled much of anything at that point.. But, I agree, the sooner, the better for getting the SS#. You are correct that you probably won't get the removal of conditions without proof of comingling of funds but they still like to see as much as possible at AOS. I am sure they would not turn down an AOS application that didn't have a joint checking account but it will definately be a plus.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-10-22 12:37:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Marriage after arrival on k-1	My view on this is that it is really important to get the social security number now and before you get married. Once she has been here a few weeks and gets in the system she is eligible for the SS # and can get one with little problem. Where you can get into serious problems by waiting is when you apply for AOS they really like to see comingling of finances, things like a joint checking account for one. You can not get a joint checking account without the Social Security number. Where the catch 22 comes in is that AOS will be more complicated without the SS number and once she goes out of status she can't get the SS number until after she gets the AOS. Make it easy on yourself and get it now.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-10-22 11:36:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Interview tomorrow October 21!!!!!	The other thing they do that I did not notice anyone mention is x-rays. Most likely she got a 221-G for the medical and once that is resolved they will issue the visa. Having gone through a 221-G I know how worrisome it can be but relax. It will most likely be fine.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-10-22 15:32:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Travel On Green Card	I will agree with the comments that a Green Card will do more than just get you back in the USA. If you go to the websites of many countries, particularly in the Carribean and Mexico someone with a Russian passport would need a visa to enter but with a Green Card they can enter without the visa. For someone who does not have a green card they can easily go to Jamiaca, Domincan Republic, Cuba (not so easy for us) Barbados, Grenada, Costa Rica With a Green Card you can add, the Bahamas, Mexico, Canada, Most anyplace in the Caribbean, Some South American coutries are now possible without a green card and even more with one. I have not done that or researched it enough to list them however. I think with most of Europe the Green Card would be of little help and they would still need the Schengen visa. The Delta site mentioned above is very good.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-10-24 08:46:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	MIL visa application	We're trying to get my MIL over here to help with my wife's baby due in July. After getting an RFE while trying to get my wife's greencard restrictions lifted we're really sending a ton of documents to accompany her mom on the interview. Even though they say they "only" need the DS-160 confirmation and proof that she'll be returning, we are sending the following... Based on what my MIL told me about the woman who interviewed before her I worry a bit about what you are doing. The woman who went to the window before her was going to help with her daughers new baby. She was asked how long she would stay and said she wasn't sure, probably a month or two but it depended on how long her daughter needed her. They denied her visa. My MIL went to the window and they asked how long she was going to stay. She said she was leaving on June 4th and returning on July 7th and they approved the visa. They could look at your wives new baby as a reason to overstay the visa. I am sure this is not what you wanted to hear but I would suggest you go in with very exact travel dates. The nice thing is once you get one if it has been expired for less than a year you can get another without an interview and it is almost automatic. My MIL just got her second visa and is coming in a few months.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-03-11 23:41:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	International Passport	I am not much of an expert on the propiska, but I had the impression that was in thier domestic passport not the international one. I think there may have been some recent changes but there have also been services that would renew a Russian passport without the necessity of the applicant actually going to the embassy which I belive is required if you do it yourself. I do know of one person who did this earlier this year and it worked find with very little extra cost.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-10-22 12:43:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Going on a cruise question?	Assuming she has a mulit-entry tourist visa which is pretty standard she should have no trouble reentering the USA. The cruise ships generally have an agreement with the ports of call and I doubt she will have much of a problem with visas at the ports of call. I have done a few cruises and the only place my passport was checked was re-entering the cruise ship. I think it will be fine. It won't hurt to call the cruise line and ask them. Some of the people you may talk to at the cruise lines can be a little clueless but if you find the right person you should be ok. If we knew the ports of call on the cruise it might help answer your questions better but without knowing I think it won't be a problem.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-01-21 08:41:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	First trip to Ukraine	First off you will like Ukraine. I have been there about 20 times and I have been a lot of different places and it's great. As one poster already mentioned, it's not "the" Ukraine. Lots of people say that. I did it for my first few years and I even saw a major network news announcer say it but that is incorrect. It is just Ukraine. The cabins in the Carpathian Mountains look great. I have been in the Carpathains but not in the part that is in Ukraine and they are very beautiful and the cabin prices seem reasonable. Are you going to any of the cities in Ukraine. I love Kiev and Dneper. Some places like Zaparosia are depressing but most are really nice. Have a great trip and tell us about it when you get back.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-01-21 14:52:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Exchanging Money in Russia	You do need to be aware that at the very least you should let the bank know you will be there or your card may not work. Some banks won't allow atm card use at all over there. I opened an acount just to give the ATM card to my fiancee and then found even with notice they would not allow use there. One other thing, if you do take cash, make sure the bills are perfect. Even a crease from a fold or a mark from one of the pens they use to test a bill to see if it counterfit will make the bill virtually unusalble in the FSU. Sometimes you may find you can use it but won't get full value, other times you can't use them at all.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-01-20 14:04:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Ukraine K-1 initial denial - next steps to fix	I think if someone is going to try to do a K-1 with a woman with no English, both need to be very patient, calm and understading. I can't see it working with someone high strung or very emotional. I have seen some women come here with virtually no English and do great. My wife's English was excellent. She has a bigger vocabulary than I do which isn't saying much. I did date some women with no English and I can't say it created any problems. As far as age difference goes, I do think if someone is motivated by a green card and greed it isn't going to work. There are women who are more accepting of age differences than most but most ladies don't want to even consider a big age difference. Maybe the ones who will accept an age differnce are looking for a father figure or maybe some past experiences with high testosterone younger men and infidelity made them look for more stability. Something I read a while back that has stuck with me was that the marriages that are unhappiest are the ones where both partners are even. That would be where both share a similar education, a similar age, similar income and a similariy in attractiveness. The logic behind that is that the partners are nothing special for each other. If the marriage doesn't work out they can go out and find someone very similar very easily. When you take a marriage where one partner is much more attractive, much older, comes from a much poorer background then the one partner is likely to think he is the luckiest person in the world and dote on the other, to go out of his way to please them and to make them feel special. For the other they feed on the pampering and special treatment so both are happy. Maybe the old calypso song that says "If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, make an ugly woman your wife" knew what they were talking about. In my own case we have a 37 year age differnce and seem to be as happy as anyone I know for the nearly 3 years we have been married.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2010-11-05 13:13:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Feeling like a school graduate... what can I do for a job in the US?	I don't think 30 is too old to go back to school. My wife is in school and is 31 and has a few years left. The thought she was too old never entered her mind. I took college courses in my mid 40's and I have a friend who got her MBA at 55. I to think teaching Russian might be the better choice for the same reasons others have mentioned. The other option would be to go back to school and study something different.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-01-20 15:32:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Cheapest Way to Send Money TO America?	Moneygram works like Western Union but has a few less agents. It is about half the price of Western Union. It can be done online at www.emoneygram.com Edited by Turboguy, 16 March 2011 - 08:30 AM.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-03-16 08:29:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Tourist Visa For Mother-in-Law	Personally I would agree that it is better not to mention the baby. I don't think it is lying to them since I am sure she wants to visit anyway. We have brought my MIL here twice for a visit. The second time she didn't need an interview. When she went for the first interview the lady who went before her told them that her daughter was having a baby and she wanted to come and help with the baby. He asked how long she was going to stay and she said she wasn't sure but probably around 2 months. Her visa was denied. Then my MIL went to the window for her interview. They asked why she was visiting and she said she was visiting her daughter and would be leaving Russia on June 2nd and returning to Russia on July 3rd and the visa was approved. I think it is better to be very specific on travel dates and I am sure visiting her daughter is enough reason for a visit.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-03-31 16:01:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Mother-in-law	I tend to agree that the baby thing would be more negative when it comes to visa approval than positive. It gives her more reason to overstay her trip. I would suggest when you apply to be very specific about travel plans. When my MIL applied for her first visa to visit us the lady in front of her went to the window and the CO asked why she wanted to go to America. The lady responded that her daugther just had a baby and she wanted to go and help her care for the baby. The CO then asked how long she planned to stay. The woman responded a month or two, maybe longer. Her visa application was denied. My MIL then went to the window and was asked why she wanted to go the the USA. She said she wanted to visit her daughter and son in Law. She was then asked how long she would stay. She responed that she would be leaving June 6th and returning July 7th. The visa was approved. The more you can demonstrate a reason to return the better the chances of approval are. Having family, property and a job to return to are things they look at hard. Being specific about travel plans is also good but of course never buy the tickets until you have the visa.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-09 13:11:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Couple of things...	I would tend to agree with those who say it is a waste to request an earlier date. Everyone wants an earlier date and unless there is a really great reason it isn't going to happen. As slow as the process seems when you look back on it the time doesn't seem so bad. We spent 5 or 6 months in A/R but still I look back on it as having gone fast.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-04-08 12:31:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	I-134 Notary said NO	All having something notarized is doing is proving that you actually signed a document and that he witnessed the signature and verified that it is you. Anything can be notarized. Your notary is an idiot.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-18 10:31:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Interesting Article on Scams in FSU	Nice to see you back AK but no one deserves to be scammed. Just some set themselves up for it more than others.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-24 06:06:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Interesting Article on Scams in FSU	LOL... how bad was the side of the house afterwards ? Actually the house did much better than my pickup truck. She drove into a brick wall and it wasn't damaged. I really didn't want to turn the truck into the insurance company with her being on the third day of a learners permit so I paid for it out of my own pocket and it was 5 grand to get the truck fixed. Plus I was scheduled to go to Florida for a trade show and had to rent a rider truck which added another grand. She did her best on that brick wall though. I still remember us sitting there with the front of the truck up against the wall and her pressing the gas pedal to the floor trying to push over the house. As far as Gary's comment that when RW go bad they really go bad, the one I remember most was one young guy who was quite active about the same time AK Diver was here. I won't say who it was since this was told to me in confidence. It's been years and I don't think the story itself will hurt anything. One member brought a gal from S.P. on a K-1 and came back early from work one day. She had been doing naked web cam with about 20 different guys.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-10 12:33:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Interesting Article on Scams in FSU	I am not so sure the cost of living goes up but I am sure for most it does. My wife is about the most frugal person I have ever met. My heating bill is now about $ 500.00 less a month during the winter than it was. Of course we sit around under blankets and freeze a lot. Even alowing for her school tuition and driving into the side of a house on her third day of driving I probably spend less than I did before she arrived. Of course I can look at the other bright side, once she eventually graduates she may end up making more money than I do.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-10 11:46:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Interesting Article on Scams in FSU	It's all about who's asking. If she's asking for $$$$$ all the time, RED FLAG. If you're offering, no worries. Although, most women will turn down offers a time or two. You can't just buy them, after all! I do think that sometimes there is a mentality when someone is searching for a wife from the FSU that he is rescuing her from poverty and that Russia is a poor third world country. That may have been true 15 years ago but its not true any more. If a woman was able to survive before she met her man there is no reason to think she can't survive while waiting for a K-1 to come through. I also agree that you can't buy love and if you try to get a girl to love you buy buying her expensive gifts you are probably setting yourself up for failure after she does arrive. I have had more than enough experiences with scammers during my search and its an easy trap to fall into. Some of the things I have seen with other guys make me wonder how someone can throw so much money at a woman who wants nothing but what she can get from a guy and not know they are being used. I always think back to a friend of mine who has made every mistake in the book and his comment that the one lady he persued for a few years had told him she had decided she didn't want to leave her family but even if they had no future they would always be friends. Then he added that they would be friends as long as he kept sending money anyway. It was true. I see nothing wrong with sending money when it is appropriate, perhaps a special need or the costs related to the visa but I have seen guys who sent a fiancee $ 1000.00 a month and that is stupid.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-10 10:17:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Interesting Article on Scams in FSU	Some of you ol' timers might remember AKDiver, whose wife came to the US and got a job at a bank. After a few months, INTERPOL came and raided their house, arrested her, and hauled her off to jail. Seems she'd stolen several hundred thousand dollars from the bank she worked at back home and was fixing to do the same thing at the bank she worked at now. He went on to post that she'd had several husbands in different countries and whenever she'd pull a bank job, she'd move on to the next husband. I forget the specifics, but she'd pulled something like three or four jobs and was a multi-millionaire. AKDiver was hauled in as well and suspected of aiding her.. then released for lack of evidence. It was an awesome story and went on for like three pages... and then he posted it was all a hoax. Gosh, I remember AKDiver well. He was applying for a visa about the same time I was with my first fiancee. I do remember him asking about how she could bring either $ 50,000 or $ 150,000 with her safely when she came but missed the follow up story on that one. That is a real shocker. Heck, he probably thought he had stuck it rich with all the money she brought but I am sure it was a shocker for him when the police arrived and pulled them in. Going back to the topic, I think you can find scammers anywhere and good girls anywhere including Y-O but personally I would be a little careful of Y-O. I was scammed a few times in my search. I think if someone follows the rule of never sending money to someone you haven't met it will help a lot and if you do meet and things don't seem right they probably are not. Always have a backup plan when you go for a first meeting and don't be afraid to use it. If a girl has you in the shopping mall looking at $ 400.00 shoes an hour after you arrive dump her right away. Personally I don't think there is anything wrong with helping a little if you are doing a K-1. My wife never asked for anything until we were in the later stages of our visa application when the place she was working for shut down. She offered to find another job and I told her not to so we could travel together and spend more time together. She was fine with finding another job had I prefered not to help her but it made more sense since we only had a few months left for me just to help. She was during all stages of our relationship one of the most frugal women I have ever met.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-09 12:58:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Can health issues get citizenship revoked?	Perhaps they can start passing that out at the interview the way the do information about domestic abuse. It would eliminate many of the Green Card girls faking domestic abuse and marring the record of innocent guys. Insted they can just slip a little rat poison into his beer and it would not only solve the fake domestic abuse problems but help reduce future Social Security obligations.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-26 07:00:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Can health issues get citizenship revoked?	My suggesion AK is to go ahead and die. The internet is everywhere now. If you end up floating through the clouds playing a harp or down deep shoveling coal into the fires I am sure they will let you take a break to log on the VJ and we will post if they sent her back or not so you will know. Uncertainty sucks and everyone dies sooner or later. Do it now and we can all have the answer to that question.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-25 06:27:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	I have this friend .............	I see this post, and I am curious to hear if there are any sites that have RUB girls already here in America. Tanya and I met on Elena's Model's almost 2 years ago, and it was difficult as I know all of you have experienced this as well. I would love to find a RUB girl who may already be here, and thought I would ask. Elena's has a section on the site for RUB girls in the US, but I wanted to see if there are any others. Again, I wanted to stay on topic. Thanks. I am sorry to hear that she went back. I had the same thing happen to me with my first fiancee and it was very disappointing but that is life I guess. It has been a while since I have been on Elena's but when I was active there you could do a search for girls living in the USA. Probably the best site to find FSU women living in the USA is Mamba. I only went on it once just to see what people were talking about but there were probably 1000 FSU women in the USA on the site. By the way, it is free. Edited by Turboguy, 21 June 2011 - 06:43 AM.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-06-21 06:42:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Approved in Kiev!	That is great news. Congratulations! I think for most of us it is one of the most exciting events in our lives.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-06-17 06:42:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Hotels in Kiev	Well the hotels I have first hand experience with are the Hotel Rus which I have stayed at about 6 times and it is my favorite. I have not been there for several years but I used to pay just over $ 100.00. I have stayed at the Hotel Kreshatik once and it was overpriced, small, dark and dingy lobby but very central. I think I payed $ 175 a night and that was over a decade ago. The Hotel Dneper is nice. Good staff, older rooms but updated and lots of character and central. I also stayed at an Intourist hotel in the middle of nowhere. I don't remember much about it but it was isolated. I believe I heard the Ukraina burned down but it was cheap and central. My last trips were all in apartments. I think one was from www.UArents.com. The apartment was nice, about $ 85.00 a night a few years ago. They gave me an airport pickup and kept me waiting for an hour and a half. My last two trips I arranged my apartment with Jack Bragg of www.FirstDream.com. His apartments were in the $ 65.00 - 85.00 range, very central and nice. There is also Pavel with www.YourUkrainianGuide.com. I arranged one through him but ended up in the hosptial instead of Kiev.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-06-25 22:08:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	interview language?	I would agree that speaking a little English avoids the question "How will you communicate with your new husband?" They can not deny a visa over someone not knowing Enlish but they can deny one over not enough common language to communicate.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-10-04 15:50:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Flights from Russia to the US	I have made about 25 trips to Russia and Ukraine and one each to Belarus and Azerbaijan. For Russia I always used an agency. Two that I have used were Russia-visa.com and gotoRussia.com. I think the visa situation is changing a bit. You can also apply directly to the Embassy but that is a pain. I tried it once and gave up. That however was ages ago.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-17 08:00:00
Russia, Ukraine and Belarus	Flights from Russia to the US	Try a lot of different websites and try for different days. Some websites will show the travel costs for a range of dates to give you an idea which are cheaper. My favorite sites are Kayak and BookingBuddy. Both check with a number of consolidators including Orbitz. Your best fare will probably be though Aeroflot and they seem pretty good with prices on one way tickets. Some airlines are tough on that. You might also find it is a lot cheaper to book Omsk-JFK and book JFK seperately to Detroit. My wife is flying to Barnaul RU on Wednesday. The price on Aeroflot Barnaul to Pittsburg was much much higer than booking Barnaul to JFK and Jet Blue seperately from JFK to Pittsburgh.	Turboguy	Male	Russia	2011-05-16 12:24:00