ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusVisa Approved
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!
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-05-24 22:31:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusVisa Approved
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?
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-05-20 22:49:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusVisa Approved
1 hour ago. No details are known yet.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-05-19 05:27:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusPOE Questions.
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.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-05-24 23:41:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusVisa Fee increase .. it's official now !
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.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-05-21 22:48:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusNeed help bringing wedding rings from SPb to LA

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!
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-06-27 16:24:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusNeed help bringing wedding rings from SPb to LA

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!!!
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-06-27 16:21:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusNeed help bringing wedding rings from SPb to LA
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
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-06-20 17:12:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC
Called NVC. Operator confirmed that our case was sent to Moscow yesterday, 3/4/2010. Means it left "the facility" Probably means it is out to mail room. Saw a 16 lbs package on DHL website with reference EXP 04 MAR 2010A going to Moscow. Hope it has our case as well. Let's see what kind of info I will get next. I am reluctant to update our time line yet.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-05 19:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC

Sounds like you're good to go!

All the best ! :)


Thanks a lot. Will keep you posted as soon as I know what is the status of our petition. Not sure about anything right now.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-05 12:02:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC

cool ! sounds like things are moving along.

Call DOS Hotline in a few days, they'll have the 'date it left NVC' in their status thingies.

Good Luck !

(my apologies if I raised yer bloodpressure, though )


What does it mean "sent today" ? Moved the package to the mail room or have the package picked up by DHL?

Thanks a lot for your thoughts and support. One need to know the potential problems in order to even try to solve them! A friend of mine kept getting an RFE from INS (back then) for his practical training (after PhD completed on F1 visa same as me). Not a single clue why the RFE was generated. It ended up a University visa lady simply forgot to date her signature. It took three RFE to find it out!

I will call DOS today. To ask about the status. I am still confused and do not understand a thing.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-05 12:00:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC

I know of one person whose petition was APPROVED, and then she had to withdraw it because her divorce had not gone through at the time of filing, so do check this out.


My divorce had been final before the petition was filed.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-04 16:05:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC

I think it states somewhere that both parties must be "free to marry" upon filing. I'll do some digging later after work, but it would actually make sense. Since if divorce is not final it could've potentially dragged any amount of time.
What's interesting though, is NOA-2 was issued without any RFEs, so who knows.

Best of luck to you, I hope everything works out!

?????!!!


I read it again and again before filing and found out that both parties should be free to marry and intend to do so within 90 days of fiance(e) entrance into US. There is no limitation on what state the marriage should take place. I had my decree of divorce on hands BEFORE filing. It just had a limitation on when I am free to remarry in my state based on the date I filed for divorce (waiting period).
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-04 15:59:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC
Just called to NVC. An operator told me that the case is sent to the consulate today. After all I've been told be NVC and DOS I am not sure this is the correct information.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-04 15:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC

This might be the problem. You filed the I-129F petition when you were not elligible to marry in your state of residence. Hopefully that is not the issue and there is some other minor glitch.

But you did violate the rules(laws) for submitting your I-129F. It can be denied or revoked since already approved.


I worry about that too. My thoughts were that first of all, I am not required to marry in my state. I can marry at any US state. The divorce was finalized months before the petition was filed. Second, I need to marry within 90 days. Even if the visa is issued the same day I filed petition, the fiancee can come much later and there is no violation. I thought these checks are done at USCIS stage. I might be totally wrong though. I am getting more and more nervous now.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-04 14:45:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC

ah - then THE FACT you've held a military CLEARANCE is gonna SLOW DOWN the namechecks . It came up in 'first scan' - now must do 'deep check' on it.

that was IMO. sorry - it's catch-22 for ya.

Good Luck !


I thought just an opposite! They already checked me once. I had very basic military clearance that gave me access to a military base. Not the full clearance that takes a year to obtain. But still they probably ran some checks on me back then. Never thought that I'd become a suspect because I was already trusted.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-04 14:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC

AP and namechecks can occur at ANY TIME, at ANY STAGE of this process.

IMO, the fact that you two have eastern european names (Former Soviet Block, right? ) would be big indication, at least to me, that there'd be another check. also, IMO, NVC checks, when started, are DEEPER than at USCIS.


You are right. Both are pure Russian names. Very difficult to imagine a match with any known terrorist. No criminal history in US too ... yet. I came to US on F2 visa in 1996 as a grad student, and got a green card in 1998. Citizenship in 2004. Traveled a lot for scientific conferences, but only to western european countries or Japan. I even had a US military clearance as I needed access to a US military installation as we had an experiment there. Also spent two months at the most southern continent doing an experiment at a US scientific base. But there are no known terrorist groups there ... well except for penguins terrorizing humans in groups sometimes :)
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-04 13:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC

a bit of background on namechecks and AP -
http://www.usaimmigr...tiveReview.html

It does sound confusing, on yer casefile, though.


Thanks. I read all that info. Just can not imagine what could pop up a security warning at NVC stage. Our names are of Eastern European descent. So the hit is very unlikely. I'd expect all my red flags might pop up at the USCIS stage, but we passed thru with no problem and no RFE. Consulate can check her and the the bona fide relationships, but we are not there yet. And we are filing K1, not K3. So, no immigration forms and such.

How come I am fed with contradicting information every day? Also strange, that I am told either we are out of AP as of Feb 22 (case arrived to NVC Feb 19) or that we are still under AP. No other "out of AP" date was ever mentioned. Are they simply forgot to send our case to the consulate?
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-04 13:13:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC
3/4/2010 Called DOS (202)-663-1225 (options 1-0). Spoke with a a visa specialist at DOS in Washington. She informed me that our case is under "Administrative Processing" at NVC. I insisted on the time stamp of that update and she told me that it is as of 3/2/2010. She also confirmed that the case is not lost and NVC is working on it. Weird.
So, still AP or out of AP as of 2/22/2010 ? NVC is working on the case or not working on the case?
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-04 11:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC
Thanks.

I do not understand this. I just called NVC again and a lady told me that our case is out of Administrative Review as of Feb 22. I specifically asked if we are under any Additional Processing and she said NO. She said she does not see that NVC is working on our documents, but she does not see that the package is sent to consulate either. I am again told to call after a week and "maybe" the documents would be mailed to consulate by then.
So, I am getting conflicting information. Is that possible?

When I asked if the case is simply lost due to recent NVC power problems, the answer was no. I doubt this answer too.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-03 16:30:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC
Here is some additional info.

2/19/2010 NVC received approved K1 petition.
2/22/2010 a call to NVC late at night. Informed that the case is completed and will be sent to consulate.
2/24/2010-3/2/2010 - several call to NVC with controversial information. Case is under AP or completed. Last two calls - AP with no time frame.
On Feb 25-26 NVC had power outages. No info was given.

Is my previous marriage is a red flag? Age difference of 20 years? This is usual for Russia. I also filed for divorce in summer 2009. Lived apart from my ex for a long time. NOA1 on 11/23/2009. Divorce decree says I can remarry 12/22/2009. (yes, I sent I-129F before that, anticipating a delay in the petition processing. Even if she could move in on 11/23/2009, we still could meet the 90 day obligation to enter in legal marriage in US.) We met several times for 2-3 weeks each time.

NOA2 took 81 days with no RFE. My 8 yo daughter and me are dying to see her here.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-02 19:16:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsStuck in AP in NVC
It looks like we are stuck

NOA2 Feb 12.
NVC arrived Feb 19.

Additional processing... No time frame.


I have been married before. Maybe that is a red flag? She is also 20 year younger.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-02 18:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresOur case is under review after our petition was approved.

Thanks a lot! My fiancé will call them! But here is one more question (i know i have too many questions, haha :lol: )


My fiancé got I-797 today. Is it NOA2 hard copy or something else? And it says "The above petition has been approved and forwarded to the listed consulate."  But it doesn't list a consulate.  :wacko: Is it okay or we need to call USCIS or NVC?


It is OK. Do not call USCIS now. They approved you. Next step is NVC. They usually just enter the data into computer and send the petition to Moscow in your case. Sometimes they do more unexplained name checks, just to burn the taxpayers money and create the impression of them being useful. Do not worry. Even if you are both well known terrorists and are on US watch list, they are gonna miss it anyway. In any case, they should know first, so call NVC. When you hear from NVC that your petition was sent to Moscow on xx/xx/xxxx date, you can start calling DOS, who will know if the papers arrived to Moscow and somebody actually touched them (guess they must scan a barcode too when they pull out your file out of DHL delivery box and put it on the shelf or under their a$$ on the chair sit higher). I just got a paper from NVC that our papers will be forwarded to Moscow within a week. Not everyone gets this letter I guess. My impression is that at NVC stage, DOS will have the same info with about a day or so delay. At the consulate stage, you should contact DOS.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-08 22:47:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresOur case is under review after our petition was approved.

I checked my case online on March 1 and it was "POST DECISION ACTIVITY". But what is weird is that my fiancé got a letter on March 3 (or 4...don't remember) and they said that our case is under review. Now i think i understand what happened. Our case was "touched" on February 26 and on that date USCIS sent an "under review" letter to my fiancé.... but this is just my theory.  ;)


I was very surprised when he got that letter. I thought it's time for NOA2 hard copy. And my fiancé decided to call VSC and ask them what is going on. They said everything is fine and our petition was approved on March 1.  :yes:


Nastya:

The status on USCIS site will not change after NOA2 probably. Have you fiance call NVC 603-334-0700 (2-1-5) and ask if NVC received your documents. If they did, ask about the status of your case. I've heard from them that we are under AP, out of AP, under AP and so on for about two weeks. Now they say that our case was sent to consulate on Thursday last week. At least they are consistent. Once you hear that your case is sent to consulate, you simply wait for your interview date. Call DOS in few days. They will know if anyone touched your docs in Moscow.
Sveta and KoNot TellingRussia2010-03-08 20:14:00