biggish data

Report on Vonage service

I was using calling cards to Russia (callingcards.com) with limited success. More often than not, I would have to dial the call 2-3 times to get a connection where we could both hear each other. I also noticed if I used a calling card to dial her home/land line, there was a significant delay that would result in us talking over each other. If I called her cell phone, there was no such delay (but the cost was quite a bit higher).

I switched to the new Vonage plan a couple of months ago and have been thrilled with it. Free calls to land lines in Russia (she's in Chelyabinsk) and inexpensive service to cell phones.

We've tried Skype in the past, but I don't think broadband Internet is all that great in Chelyabinsk, so the speed on her side makes things a challenge in that respect.

I also just added the new Vonage Mobile service. If you have an iPhone or BlackBerry (they may support other smartphones, I don't recall), it allows you to leverage the same Vonage calling plans. They have a $24.99/mo plan, which offers the same coverage as the "new" standard Vonage 60-country plan. If you have both Vonage and Vonage Mobile, they discount the bundle $10/month.

I have a BlackBerry. You download and install the Vonage application and it inserts itself into the phone dialing process. It intercepts a call and routes it through a Vonage bridge number first. So the only thing you're essentially paying for on top of the Vonage plan are the cell phone plan minutes you're using to dial another US number. I've used it with great success so far--it's very convenient. Even if I'm calling her cell phone at 8 cents a minute, it's not that much more than what I was paying with a calling card and there's a lot less hassle.

If you have an iPhone, I believe the Vonage Mobile app can also make the calls over a Wi-Fi connection.

Finally, they have a pay-as-you-go option for Vonage Mobile, where you deposit funds ($5 minimum at a time) and they deduct from that. In my case, I can't justify $25/month for Vonage Mobile as I usually make my calls from my Vonage home number. I think it's 5 cents/min for landline, 8 cents/min for mobile.

Hope this helps. I've been a Vonage customer since 2006 and am pretty happy with the service.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-01-28 01:57:00

Oh those wild and wonderful Russian Women

We all know how our Russian SO's love the heat. I'm from Alaska... I could sleep on an ice burg in my flannel jammies. Sometimes I don't want her to get too cold, so I will excuse myself to cool off.... on that always cool couch.

Oh, man, you hit that one on the head. I'd have the bedroom windows open in winter if it was my call. Instead, I'm begging just to turn on the A/C to 80 when it's swelteringly hot outside...

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-02-20 11:32:00

Fiancee In The Russian Federation

Did someone say "pie"? Glad I picked this place...

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-02-24 10:03:00

Petition sent to Moscow

After my inquiry last Tuesday (I think), I just received this.

"We've received the case and scheduled her visa interview for April 23, at 10 am ".

That's awesome--congrats! Here's to slowly lowering the population of Chely.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-03-09 09:27:00

DS-160

Yep, you're right:

http://kiev.usembass...nsular_eng.html

Edited by Salsa Shark, 12 March 2010 - 10:19 AM.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-03-12 10:17:00

On a more general note (and as a follow-up to Solnuwko's post...almost everyone we have talked to who has applied for a B-1/B-2 visa was approved. The rare cases where that wasn't the case was when the ties to Russia were clearly not sufficient (for example, one Russian had several family members already living in the US, and another did not have a job and was renting an apartment). So I think it's encouraging. I also think it's actually better to disclose the K-1 activities, even though it's not really required...in our case, we were able to state that, yes, we did have dual intent, but that we were following the proper procedures for addressing it. The only "warnings" we got were not to get married while here on the B-1/B-2 (duh) and not to get pregnant

I believe the cost ended up being just under $200, factoring in Pony Express' fees, plus the cost of getting to and from Ekaterinburg. We thought that was very reasonable for getting her acclimated to the US sooner, figuring out some of the wedding details and saving us from a significantly more expensive vacation in another country (because I'm not "spoiled rich" like a certain maroon asserts).

Anyway--the topic was started to share our experience with the B-2 and we were thrilled it's turned out as we hoped it would. Olya's been in the US for three weeks now and we're getting ready to head to Moscow in a couple of months for her K-1 interview (petition was just received by Moscow yesterday).

Good luck to everyone else who gives this a shot and just ignore the nobodies who try to discourage you--the statistics are clear: over 95% of B-1/B-2 visas from Russia are approved. Just be honest and fill everything out correctly and you don't have anything to worry about.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-23 20:01:00

What was the issue with the Canadian Tourist VISA if you do not mind my asking? I am tired of going to Europe and thinking Canada might be an easier choice for me on my end. Share your experience and what you sent in on the tourist request if you do not mind, and reasons if any they denied the VISA.

Sorry for taking so long to respond...basically, she was denied the Canadian tourist visa because they did not feel she provided enough evidence to overcome their immigration concerns. We were really bummed by that because we thought we provided more than enough data--but it goes to show how subjective the process is. In fact, it was our experience with the Canadian tourist visa application that caused us to have a lot of doubt about our chances with the US B-1/B-2 visa...but the statistics show that most people are approved for it there. I would be very interested in seeing similar statistics for Canada.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-23 19:52:00

Dude, keep your personal attacks to yourself. I am very good at insults if you want to start a pissing match anytime.

You and your Olga are lucky, and that is it. If you believe that you are God because you can throw money around at will, that is your problem, not mine. The truth is that the majority of Russians who try what you did are not so lucky, usually because they are not spoiled rich like you.

By the way, who said that being at VJ I had to "support" anybody's whims?

Insult me again and I will get you suspended.

Go for it, junior. I'll wait here. I stand by everything I've said...the statistics are clear and money has nothing to do with it. The >vast< majority of people who apply for B-1/B-2 visas are approved. FACT. Luck has >nothing< to do with it and I'm very sad to see your ignorance get in the way of what is otherwise a very good and positive message board.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-23 19:49:00

Whoever said that one consulate does not know what happens in another consulate is dreaming. That is what computers are for, and even if people change passport numbers, they research applicants by name and date of birth. I know this by experience.

Congratulations on getting the visa. Consider yourself lucky.

Dude, luck has nothing to do with it. If you're going to be a tool, then just refrain from posting and keep your misery to yourself. Jesus Christ, I have never seen such negativity on a forum where mutual support is ultimately what people are looking for here.

The refusal rate for B-1/B-2 visa applications from Russia is >ONLY< 4.9%. Luck has nothing to do with it, genius.

Sheesh...really.

Again--thank you for the people who were supportive and I hope our experience is of some help to others considering a similar course of action.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-03 23:49:00

So no action for three weeks and then a post is removed? What gives?

Sorry, I had made an update and then asked for the moderator to remove it.

Here's the deal:

She had her interview on 22 Mar 2010 and it was approved. There was full disclosure about the I-129F petition and we believe this was a significant contributor to getting the B-2 visa (multi-entry one-year).

She arrived in Chicago yesterday! No problems at customs other than long lines. Her I-94 is good for six months.

I asked for that post to be deleted because we were keeping her visit a surprise from my family and her friends.

Thank you to those who were supportive of our efforts and had the reading comprehension to understand why I started this topic. To the maroons who felt it necessary to use this as a pulpit to make ridiculously ignorant statements--well, your "reputations" are well-earned and I offer you a hearty STFU for your future attempts at unsolicited (and incorrect) advice.

Our I-129F got a touch today as well, so we're hoping that the NOA-2 is on its way next week.

We're rooting for Anna's interview later this month...go Chely!

To those who are considering a visitor visa while waiting for their "permanent" options--go for it!

-- Charles and Olga

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-02 21:43:00

Well it sounds as if you have it all figured out then and I don't know why you're posting questions here except to tell us what you have already decided and then get mad about advice that you may not like to hear.

If you want to hold back info that's your choice, if you think dancing around words is going to help you if the any kind of investigation that occurs (And I never said it would defiantly) then my friend that's your problem, not mine. I was offering advice and you took it as a judgment. Actually, I could care less what you do from this point forward.

???

I wasn't posting questions or asking for advice. I thought that was obvious in my original post when I said, "...we decided we would also try for a B-2 tourist visa...Just for the record, I'm not asking for opinions on that course of action."

So, yeah, I did take it as judgment when I expressly wasn't asking for it. The only reason I started this topic was to share my experience with the B-2 visa process. I thought it might be of interest to others who may be considering the same option, especially when there are significantly differing opinions on the wisdom of this action.

Your subsequent comments don't really help my perception here. Why do you think I'm holding back info when I have said more than one that we have chosen the full disclosure route? We sent a two-page cover letter with the B-2 package, half of which was explaining in painful detail that we did indeed have dual intent when looking at the big picture, but that the K-1 was the only path we were pursuing for immigration reasons.

I was just sharing my experience here. I thought I was clear in that intent from the beginning. I also said up front that I was taking the full disclosure route even though we were not required. I am not sure if that was the right decision.

I have no idea how this process will turn out. Maybe it goes through--in that case, I hope sharing our experience offers some useful advice. If it gets rejected (which we are realistically expecting to happen), then we will probably have some internal debate on whether or not we should have mentioned the K-1 at all. Leaving that information out is certainly not "dancing with words" and is well within our rights. I don't know which approach is the best one--so perhaps our failure (or success) adds some evidence to the question either way.

I didn't register here to argue, but I do take offense when statements are made out of ignorance.

I am here because I have gathered a tremendous amount of useful information from the VJ guides and from reading other peoples' experiences. I still have several months left in the K-1 process, so I'm also here for the comraderie and group support. Presumably, most of us are here for similar goals and I'm both a reader and a contributor.

>shrug<

:ot2:

Olga's interview is March 22nd in Yekaterinburg, so we'll see what happens in three weeks. Pony Express thinks it's a 50-50 shot, which isn't too shabby.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-03-01 10:51:00

Obviously if you've met several times in several different countries you have a little bit of disposable income. Well, more than some of us, anyway. You're proving it by "gambling" with $200 more dollars and covering your bet by "just meeting in the Bahamas if that doesn't work out." So, not only can you afford to throw away $200, you can also afford trips to the Bahamas while the K-1 visa is looming on the horizon. - You're saying f'k it at the point many of us were thinking "Where the f'k is all this money going to come from?"

Sorry, perhaps I should have given my comments broader context.

Olga and I started talking in February of 2008. We decided that we would get together in person no less than every six months--so things like airfare, hotel and all that are a moot point because that money would be spent anyway. If she doesn't come here on the B-2, then we meet somewhere else. We already tried Canada earlier this year, but her tourist visa application was denied. So for me, it's $200 and that's it.

So if the observation is that I have money to burn because we vacation together a couple of times a year, well, I guess I could understand that a bit more. I don't really know how my income compares with others on here, but I do not pull down a particularly large salary

I just basically live as frugally as I can because it's more than worth it to have that brief time together when we can manage it.

My apologies for any misunderstanding on my part there.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-03-01 10:03:00

I must say, while I was single, I'd blow $200 without giving it another thought....but now... Now I think of it as our money and that we NEED every bit of those monies.
I'm saving up, and she's encouraging me to as well.
I wanted to go visit her while we are waiting for NOA-2, but thinking that all those travel money can be spent on our AOS and then everything extra can be spent for our honeymoon, for example, makes me wanna save.

To the OP: stick it out, if you can. It's not a very long time to wait for the visa compared to a lifetime together.

Thank you.

For what its worth, Olya is actually covering the B-2 cost and hasn't given me any choice in the matter.

The reality is that we have been trying to get through the K-1 process for much longer than I care to admit and have had a lot of trouble even getting previous petitions to the NOA-1 point. Olya has essentially put her entire life on hold for two years while we solidify our plans and work to get her into the US for good. So the B-2 process, even if it fails and we're out $200, makes her feel more assured that all the waiting is going to be worth it. I didn't explain that part very well, but her frustration level is much lower than it would be if we didn't give it a shot. And that's more than worth the $200 I'll find a way to get back into her account

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-02-25 01:02:00

In the long run, after the K-1 runs its monetary course, an extra 200 bucks of none essential needed funds might be considered extra. If you got it, cool. No need to think someone is commenting above and beyond a normal giving a sh!tedness.

I just thought the comment was tacky. For the thousands of dollars we're all spending to go through these various processes, $200 is a drop in the bucket. Keeping in mind that a B-2 approval means that we end up >saving< money by not having to vacation elsewhere, I'm quite comfortable in rolling the dice on this one.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-02-25 00:58:00

I hate to be the Debbie Downer but I think you'll be wasting your time with this one ( I hope I'm wrong).

As I said in my original post, we're realistic about our chances here. There is enough evidence to convince me that it's worth the $200 to try.

On the non-immigrant visa form there is a question that asks "Has anyone filed a petition on your behalf?"

She will have to answer "Yes" to this.

Actually, the question is:

"Has Anyone Ever Filed an Immigrant Visa Petition on Your Behalf?"

So, no, she doesn't have to, and did not, answer in the affirmative here. But we do not have any intention to show deceit so we included a cover letter that explains exactly what our intentions are.

Not only that, but even if she has the visa she must convince the CBP at the PoE that she will return home.

Agreed. We are hoping that our being up-front about the K-1 and the fact that we have no intention of jeopardizing that by overstaying or immigrating on a B-2 visa will help our cause.

Again, I wasn't asking for judgment on my decision. I've taken opinions on this board into serious consideration, along with input from people who have really gone through the process (some of whom have been approved and some denied), and the statistics that show only a 4.9% rejection rate for B visa applications from Russia. I'm just sharing our experience in case in benefits someone else later--whether that is a rejection or approval.

We did not want to try for the B-2 visa before we had the NOA-1 for the K-1 because Olya clearly has dual intent. We want to show that the intent for the B-2 is >not< to immigrate, while the intent for the K-1 is to get married in the US and do AOS.

Regardless, the Yekaterinburg Consulate would have no knowledge of our K-1 petition if we were not volunteering that information. So the question we will be asking ourselves later is if we did the right thing by taking the full disclosure route or if we should have taken a more conservative approach.

"But there are plenty of approvals. Also, since Olya would be doing her K-1 interview in Moscow, but her B-2 interview in Yekaterinburg, they don't really have any details on the K-1 request at the latter. I don't know if that means people omit that information for their B-2 request or not, but we decided on the full disclosure route. Not out of any great sense of legality, but more because Olya's a terrible liar
"

One thing that concerns me about this is that you should NEVER omit or lie to the Dept. of state, USCIS, or CBP. To omit material info on the non-immigrant visa application is in fact visa fraud and will defiantly ruin your K-1 plans if she omits, bends the truth, or lies on a B-2 form. Be very careful, this is not to be taken lightly. A lack of respect for the rules and you may have to change plans to live in Russia to be together. The Dept.of State does not play around with this stuff and will have no pity on denying your petition if there are material facts left out and they know you are lying or withholding information.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-02-25 00:56:00

Sounds like you have money to burn. Not that I have a problem with that. But you seem to be spending a lot of extra money on this thing.

While $200 is not an insignificant amount of money, it's hardly "a lot of extra money" or money to burn in the context of things...so I'm not really sure where that comment is coming from.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-02-25 00:39:00

I started a tangent on the February 2010 CSC I-129F filer's thread and thought I would continue it here...

We filed our I-129F a little over two weeks ago. Now that we have the NOA-1, we decided we would also try for a B-2 tourist visa in the meantime.

Just for the record, I'm not asking for opinions on that course of action. I've read the other forum postings, we've talked to other people who have tried this and we spoke at length with Pony Express.

Bottom line is that we really don't have anything to lose by trying other than some moolah. I just wanted to share our experience here as this seems to be a topic that comes up frequently but gets bumped off the rails by several unfounded black-or-white statements.

So...that out of the way....

My fiancee is from Chelyabinsk. We've been involved for two years now and have met each other in Prague, Egypt and the Bahamas. We tried for a tourist visa to Canada a few months ago and were denied, which honestly surprised me.

While we were deciding where to meet next, I read some of the reports showing the various visa issuance/rejection statistics broken down by nation. I was quite surprised to see that a large number of B-2 visas were issued to Russians. Even cooler was the fact that the rejection rate for those visas was only 4.9%.

Olya did the online portion of the application yesterday and submitted the rest via Pony Express a few hours ago. The woman from Pony Express said that a lot of people do the B-2 in conjunction with the K-1, though with varying degrees of success. But there are plenty of approvals. Also, since Olya would be doing her K-1 interview in Moscow, but her B-2 interview in Yekaterinburg, they don't really have any details on the K-1 request at the latter. I don't know if that means people omit that information for their B-2 request or not, but we decided on the full disclosure route. Not out of any great sense of legality, but more because Olya's a terrible liar

We included a cover letter that very clearly laid out our K-1 plans and that there is indeed an eventual intent to immigrate, it won't be during a B-2 stay. Since Olya was in the US a few years ago on a J-1 that was AOS'd to a B-2 and did not overstay, we're hoping that works in our favour as well.

Normally, they do the B-2 interview within a week or two, but we seem to have had bad timing. We were informed that, due to a spike in J-1 requests from students, they only have two days scheduled in March for interviews. So Olya will go in on March 22nd or March 24th and we'll have our answer then.

We're very realistic about our chances. I planned on going to Chely before we decided to file for the B-2, so we'll go back to that plan if this fails. If the B-2 is approved, then my only concern is a possible denial at POE. To hopefully preclude that, I might route her through Nassau, which has preclearance. If she's turned away, she can stay in the Bahamas for a week or two and I'll join her there. Can think of much worse ways to handle a rejection

So--will post an update when we have something new to report.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-02-24 10:24:00

Why isn't the K1 visa issued the same day @ embassy?

I would be interested to hear from anyone else if the two weeks is an approximate time for them to affix and send out a K1 visa after successful interview. I was hoping that we could get the visa in hand within a week after interview..

Yeah, I'm interested in this as well. I think we were expecting around 3 days if we stay in Moscow and pick it up from the DHL office...

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-23 20:17:00

Interview Approval

Congrats--always happy to read a positive story.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-23 20:11:00

Visa Approved!!!

Salsa Shark.. I am just wondering how you got a June 8th interview date? Lucky dog!

You and me both, my friend. We were expecting an end of June/early July interview, based on others' timelines. We're now scrambling, trying to figure out how we're going to get the police clearance certificate in time. Due to Russian national holidays, the earliest Olya can go is May 17th. We're looking to see if the "under-the-table expedited service fee" approach might work out for us. Over two years of waiting and fretting and now things are actually moving >too< fast...ha!

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-30 13:06:00

Visa Approved!!!

Congrats--I hope we have the same success as you and AKGuy!

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-29 10:40:00

Chalk up another for an interview success!

Yes, I will have company, AND a clean house! I didn't say that.

Man, parts of my house have been cleaned in the last three weeks that haven't been touched in the last ten years...there's no stopping a Russian on a mission...

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-30 13:08:00

Chalk up another for an interview success!

Congrats (again)...Olya and I were rooting for you guys. Hopefully ours turns out just as well (I have a bottle of Tums at the ready). And if you end up anywhere near Chicago in the future, let us know...Olya is very grateful for Anna's willingness to share her experiences.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-04-23 20:13:00

POE Questions.

As a senior member of Visa Journey you should know better, but let me remind you what you agreed to when posting here:

You agree that you are responsible for any Content and communications that you Post and for any consequences thereof.
you agree that when using the Service, you will not:

Make comments in a Post either direct or implied toward another member that are purposely designed to upset, antagonize, make fun of, belittle, or otherwise instigate an argument that takes away from the personal enjoyment of the Service by other users.

I cannot count how many times you have purposely instigated me with direct insults.

Quoting you:
A true test of your "intelligence."

I find the hypocrisy of your posts hilarious.

By the way, I'm still waiting for you to get me suspended, Junior.

Two thumbs up for Gary here.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-05-24 08:59:00

Moscow Medical Exams - 2010

Hello,

I just posted our experience with MOM/IOM here:

http://www.visajourn...ost__p__3998781

I think it pretty much echoes what Tim & Olga posted.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-06-12 05:27:00

APPROVED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When's she flying to the US?

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-06-12 06:33:00

July 20th

We're doing Ekat->Helsinki->Frankfurt->Chicago for the trip back. Ugh.

Glad she's finally set to make the trip "home". Hopefully she doesn't kick my #### and Olga's at bowling tomorrow :/

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-06-14 16:00:00

We just got back from our Moscow/Chelyabinsk trip and I'll post some more details shortly, including the K-1 interview details.

For what it's worth, Olga and I both survived Anna's driving

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-06-20 07:59:00

One thing I am a little panicked about tho' ....... I was under the impression that once her interview was over the officer would pack all of the papers in the big " DO NOT OPEN " envelope and give it to her ........ PLEASE tell me this " AIN'T " the case !!!!
I talk to her this morning and was in the process of telling her how important it was NOT to open the envelope ..... when she asked " WHAT ENVELOPE ? " The officer told her Congratulations, the K-1 is good for 90 days, ... and have a nice day !
The envelope will be sent to her address along with the passport .... right ????? anybody ... right ????????

The envelope will be sent in the DHL package along with the passport and visa. According to our tracking info, the package is .5kg.

I'll confirm when we have it in our hands (hopefully Tuesday).

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-06-12 14:05:00

Can you advise me about the interval between the Interview, and when you received the DHL envelope with the visa?

Interview was on Tuesday, 8 Jun 2010. The first tracking entry on the DHL web site was around 8pm on Friday, 11 Jun 2010. We were thinking the visa+passport would be delivered to Chelyabinsk on Tuesday, but then we realized there is yet another Russian holiday (Independence Day) and that may push things out to Wednesday instead.

Here's what the DHL web site currently shows for our envelope:

Saturday, June 12, 2010 Location Time
7 Departed Facility in South of Moscow - Russian Federation, The South of Moscow - Russian Federation, The 08:17
6 Processed at South of Moscow - Russian Federation, The South of Moscow - Russian Federation, The 08:09

Friday, June 11, 2010 Location Time
5 Shipment on hold South of Moscow - Russian Federation, The 22:43
4 Arrived at Sort Facility South of Moscow - Russian Federation, The South of Moscow - Russian Federation, The 22:41
3 Departed Facility in North of Moscow - Russian Federation, The North of Moscow - Russian Federation, The 22:16
2 Processed at North of Moscow - Russian Federation, The North of Moscow - Russian Federation, The 22:16
1 Shipment picked up North of Moscow - Russian Federation, The 19:51

Edited by Salsa Shark, 12 June 2010 - 02:04 PM.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-06-12 14:01:00

Okay,

So we arrived late Saturday night and spent Sunday scouting out locations relating to the interview. Olga's medical exam was scheduled for 8:30am Monday morning at IOM/MOM. The rest of this post is probably going to be boring, but I thought it was worth posting as much detail as I could in case it helps out someone else later on. I also add the disclaimer that I'm probably not transcribing all the Cyrillic-to-Latin stuff correctly, so pardon any mistakes I made there.

The building you go to first is on Zvenigorodskaya St. The closest Metro stop is "Ulitsa 1905 Goda" a couple of blocks away. The entrance is marked by a small blue flag hanging over the door. There's also a sign that says it doesn't open until 9am >shrug<.

When you walk in, you go through a metal detector that no one was monitoring on our arrival and it didn't look like anyone would have been required to empty their pockets or anything like that. You then go upstairs to a reception/administrator and give them your name and reason for being there. They then gave Olga a one-page form that is used by everyone planning to immigrate to the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, regardless of visa type.

After filling out the form, we got sent to another waiting area where they had two windows open. There were about five people ahead of us and we ended up waiting about a half hour. We only saw two other women there for K-1 reasons, but there were about 20 people there total for immigration-related exams. When you go to the window, they take your form, passport and pictures, give you another form, then send you to the cashier to pay. They take US or Russian currency, but most of these places seem to use their own currency conversion rates. In our case, it was $160 USD or 5,040 rubles.

After the cashier, you go back to the window and they hand you a pass (for the next building), a large white envelope (big enough to hold an x-ray) and then give you directions on where you need to go next. For a woman going through this alone, particularly if she's never been to Moscow before, this has to be incredibly exhausting and frustrating. While our original "appointment" was 8:30am, they actually set the real appointment at the window--they give you an hour to get to the second location. In our case, that was 10:20am, but they said you could get there as late as noon.

From IOM administrative area, you need to walk to the "Ulitsa 1905 Goda" Purple Line Metro stop to the "Kuznetsky Most" station. You then transfer to the Red Line "Lubyanka" track and take that to "Biblioteka" (which is also one of the Metro stops that takes you right to the entrance bridge to Red Square). Then you walk down Vozdvizhenka St., take a right on Romanov Lane to Building 2. I don't recall any obvious signs/flags indicating what the building was, so we relied on the address and a small sign that pointed to another door.

Once you get inside, you take the first right and there's a gentleman sitting by a turnstile. He takes the passes, looks at your passports, writes you into a logbook, then escorts you through the turnstile. However, he doesn't take you into a waiting area. He takes you back outside and points to yet a different building altogether that you cross a courtyard to get to. This was the nicest guy we met during the entire process--he took great pleasure at me saying "spacibo, da svidanya" in what was apparently a very strong American accent >sigh<.

In the third building, you go up the stairs to the second floor, take a right and enter what appears to be the actual doctor's office. You turn in your envelope and wait to be called. When it's your turn, you go into the office and a nurse hands you a form that explains what needs to be done next and in what order, and they ask you to verify the accuracy of some personal information (name, passport number, MOS number).

After that, you go a couple of doors down in the same office and have blood drawn (arm/vein, not fingertip). From there, you go to yet another building to have a chest x-ray done. Once the film is developed, they stick everything in your giant envelope and you wander back to the office you had the blood drawn at. After some waiting, you actually get to meet with the doctor. The doctor asks for weight, height, bad habits (smoking, for example), previous operations/severe sicknesses and listens to your chest--it takes maybe 10 minutes. When all that's done, you follow the maze back out of the building and come back around 4pm to pick up the exam results.

Since we had some time to kill, we went over to the mall next to the US Embassy ("Novinsky Passage", I think) and took care of the DHL label (which you also need your MOS number for, since that's used in the Shipper's Reference field). That cost 1,517 rubles (to Chelyabinsk). We had lunch at Il Patio again because it was decent and cheap, though the service wasn't particularly friendly or English-savvy.

We went back to the second IOM building (2 Romanov Lane), through the turnstile, into the courtyard and into the third building. We got there at 3:20pm, but the results were ready anyway. We got to take the giant envelope with the chest x-ray (I'm not sure what we're going to do with it--Olga won't let me hang it in the living room for some reason) and a "normal size" sealed white envelope with the exam results.

Some closing thoughts on medical exam day:

For the exam, you only need the money, international passport, two 3x4cm pictures, and MOS number. If you have your vaccination records, bring them with and they'll review/notate them on the record--but they aren't required.

At any one time during the whole process, we were waiting with maybe 10 other people. A bit of comraderie forms as you run into the same people at each building. One elderly woman came over and talked to Olga when she heard I was from Chicago. Apparently, her daughter was already in the US, lived in Illinois and petitioned for her parents to come join her. Very nice woman and I hope everything went well for her. The "K-1 Crew" also chatted at each office--one of the women had her daughter with, though they didn't really do anything with the child except make sure the paperwork was filled out.

So--apologies if this was dull. While the exam process itself was convoluted, everything went off pretty smoothly.

Will post about the actual interview next. Sorry this post was so dry.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-06-12 05:25:00

Stating that Moscow's metro is every bit as efficient as New York's is a bit like saying that a steak is every bit as good as a hot dog. Moscow's metro has better coverage of the city, trains that come many times more frequently, a much easier to understand system (that doesn't include 6 different types of trains running on the same track), a ticket price less than 1/3 of NYC, and stations that don't look like a sewer. The several times I have been in NYC have left me summarily unimpressed.

I suppose it's all relative, then. Moscow Metro's coverage is fine if you're in "the circle", but it gets pretty sparse beyond that. With NY Metro, you have the entire island of Manhattan covered, plus easy access to several other cities. I do agree with the comment on frequency except that the NY trains start earlier in the day and run later at night. I don't think either system wins any points on "understandability"--it took me a couple of times on New York's system as well. What I think is important is that it doesn't take long to master either system and (assuming you speak the language) asking locals (Moscovites or New Yorkers) for guidance works more often than one would think.

Coming from Chicago, I would trade our public transportation for either system in a heartbeat.

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-06-12 03:51:00

The "eventful" parts are still coming

Am still getting settled in Chelyabinsk--our sleep schedules are screwed up and we're having some challenges connecting my laptop to Olga's internet provider (Chelcom). More coming soon--thank you for the kind and encouraging words. To comment on a couple of replies:

1. Going to Moscow would have been >much< more difficult for me without having Olga with. I could read the Moscow Metro signs enough to understand which stop to take, but as was already said, it was a challenge finding the right platform the first couple of times, especially during rush hour. It's not too hard to become a grizzled Metro veteran, though.

2. When I was reading up on Moscow Metro (this was Olga's first time there as well), it mentioned that the ticket fare was 26 rubles per person, but 52 rubles with baggage. We did not want to make any assumptions, so we did ask the cashiers a couple of times when we were rolling our suitcases around. They all basically said that they never actually sell "baggage fares" and no one else brought it up to us once we were past the gates.

Despite all that, I really liked using the Metro. It seemed to be every bit as efficient as New York's and it's significantly better than Chicago's. We didn't have trouble finding the stations and, even during rush hour, we were able to get around once we learned that pushing and shoving is accepted and not taken personally

Will post details on the medical exam next, though it was very similar to what was recently posted on that dedicated thread by...Tim & Olga, maybe? Navigating that whole process, though, gives me the utmost respect for every Russian who goes through it. If a Russian woman can successfully run that gauntlet, the Embassy should be rubber-stamping the K-1 visa approvals

Have some pictures I'll post, too, from while I was waiting outside for her interview...

Salsa Shark

Male

Russia

2010-06-10 08:42:00