ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusName change and zagranpasport
I just got my renewed RUSSIAN PASSPORT at the consulate in Houston, they told me to travel with marriage certificate, because they do not change names in passport?what? she said it has to be close to expiration date, and they used to put a little paper in there when girls got married but they do not do that any more. The procedure is to get your internal passport changed first with correct name and than apply for new zagran passport. What a pain in the ....!so , just bring your marriage certificate with you when you travel .
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-06-21 09:26:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusAeroflot

OK, so I had never flown Aeroflot for a long-haul flight before yesterday, because I had read too many transferring-at-SVO horror stories and expected a lower-quality experience than you'd get from a Western European carrier. But I flew from SPb-Moscow-JFK yesterday, and was surprised at what I found.

First--there were a ton of Americans on my first flight (there was some kind of teenager choir that had toured Russia on the flight), and Aeroflot dispatched agents to meet our flight at the gate to make sure that the Americans transferred OK and arranged a special shuttle bus to terminal F (although I walked instead.)

Second--the plane we flew back on was hands-down THE NICEST plane I've ever been on. EVERYTHING was brand new, and the in-flight entertainment was a combination of the latest blockbusters from the US, Japan (?), and Russia, plus some Soviet classics. Everything was on time. No luggage was lost. Meals were pretty good--a main meat dish and then a side salad with a different kind of meat.

Needless to say, I was surprised at how... nice everything was. Way nicer than Airfrance or British Airways or KLM.

Is this a new thing, to not be a terrible experience? Is it Olympics-related? Has anyone had a contradictory experience recently? I recall some people here being like, "As God as my witness, I will never fly Aeroflot again!"


Honestly, I think it is just like any other airline, I have had horrible service on AA, Delta and Aeroflot, but I had pretty decent flights as well. The only wow factor I got , is since I moved to TX I fly direct flight from Houston to Moscow- Singapore airlines. After this experience I will not want to fly any other way- their coach is like first class on AA, Delta or Aeroflot.I swear! Enough leg room, personal TV and you can choose what movies you watch, food is awesome tehy even ask when you book a ticket about your menu preferences, they give you socks from Givenchy so you can take your shoes off, tehy greet you with champagne, wine or beer on a plane-this is economy class for $576.00.Can't beat that!!!
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-07-02 10:58:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusAnyone had this happen at Moscow embassy??

This is the second case I read about online from Moscow where administrative review took 6-7 months and ended positively :-) We will be at 6 months on July 9, so.. again, reason to hope :-) Thanks! Was this many years ago or fairly recently?

I think we're stopping with the letters etc, obviously it's not helping... I sent one e-mail 10 days ago and they didn't respond at all, not even the pre-canned response they send everyone. I guess administrative review after you already get a visa or before you get a visa, for them it's all the same.


This was about a year and a half ago. All was well, except that I was hoping they will come for New Years, They came during June-July when I could not take time off:(
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-06-30 19:25:00
Russia, Ukraine and BelarusAnyone had this happen at Moscow embassy??
I had same thing happen, but I just invited both my parents as guests this time. My mom has been here many times, but my step-dad had the same issue, he got a visa they showed it to him but they said they will mail passport after the administrative review was finished, and so they held it for about 6 months. But now, he gets a visa every time he wants to come visit:) I pretty sure they did it because he has military background.Unfortuantely writing to Congressman and so on does not expedite the process, they just have to do a through check, I guess.
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-06-30 10:53:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress ReportsExciting News!
Congrats! We also got ours this weekend, Friday letter from US CIS and Saturday a letter from NVC. We did not expect to hear anything until the end of July!It's awesome!

Edited by Amur, 21 June 2010 - 09:00 AM.

AmurNot TellingRussia2010-06-21 08:59:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI 130 package sent today,NOA1....

Thanks,Amur! Does my husband(in the US)receives the NOA1 or me (in Romania)? Did we have to specify that?We also send a bank check for the $355 fee,in the I130 package along with the rest of the docs.that should be ok,right??


That should be correct. You can track you bank check to see when they deposit your money. From my experience, they do that first and than send you a receipt that all is well. Petitioner (U.S. Citizen) is the one who gets NOA1 and NOA2
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-06-28 11:55:00
IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresI 130 package sent today,NOA1....
Comes by regular mail, regular size envelope. One page and it has a place for receipt number, that receipt number is actually your case number from now on:) NOA1 is fairly quick 5-7 days, sometimes 10 ( if it falls over the weekend), they just tell you that case number is assigned and they have your paperwork. Now, NOA2 is a much bigger deal and takes forever, so hang in there. Good Luck to you too!!!
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-06-28 10:58:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresK visas application fee increase?
Did any of you guys hear about this?

http://www.travel.st...press_4603.html

Am I understanding this correctly , that all K visa applicants will have to pay $350 at the Embassy when coming to an interview? That's a big jump from $131....wow, that's on top of the petition cost of $455 with I-129F?

I know it is not approved yet or anything, but since I am just now about to send the petition , by the time it is approved it will be.

I am a little confused....
Natalia
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-04-14 08:34:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresk-1 visa another question
I think the only notarized document you will need is an affidavit later on
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-04-14 08:24:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresYay Passed the interview =)
Hurrray! Congrats!!!
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-06-28 16:36:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresUSPS or FEDEX???
if you read instructions to the form it actually states not to use FedEx:)
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-06-29 21:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresconfused...
Their system is not being updated on time, due to high flow of applications. NVC ( Not NYC) will issue a number and mail you a letter. My letter got here a week ago, nearly 3 weeks after we had NOA2. When I called to see if our application has left NVC to the consulate they had no record of our case number, and operator told me the same thing - read me your letter. Consulate in Russia was more user friendly , we got and email response within hours today with confirmation and assigned interview date. I hope this helps.
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-07-07 22:51:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresconfused...
I have been calling and calling NVC myself, it seems they all have access to the same automated system , which seems to be done. I just emailed the consulate in Russia with my case Number asking to clarify if they have it , and they did:)We already have our interview date and NVC has/had no record of it at all.
AmurNot TellingRussia2010-07-07 22:36:00