Beware of the smiling lady

[baron555 934]

Well....now it's our turn to steam.

Alla was first up for her interview today. She got the woman CO. I don't have many details but Alla gave her the paperwork as instructed. Of course little Leonid was running around or crying so Alla was distracted. At one point she asked her "How much did it cost for the website? (Elenas Models) "It was free for me." "How many men did you meet?" "None, only one, Phil" She asked for our evidence of ongoing relationship and just shuffled through it without really looking at any, and kept asking for more. Alla gave her everything, the FedEx receipts, my birthday card to her written in Russian, and she kept asking for more evidence.

Alla said she was very nice and always smiling but in the end she gave her a 221g form and said they needed more evidence.

On the form she checked the boxes asking for More Emails, More Photos, More Phone receipts.

I had purposefully spared them by not printing out the mountains of emails and they did have all my phone receipt summaries. We don't really have a ton of photos together so we will most likely just print them out again and resubmit what they already have.

I told Alla to go to the Kodak print shop with the emails on her flash card and print out a couple of reams of emails.

I'll be sending to her more Skype summaries, Skype videoshots, and another longer Letter of Intent to Marry (which I'll probably get notarized).

Two upsides:

1. They did take and retained both Alla's and Leonid's passports

2. Tim's Tonya and her little one were next in line and they were approved.

Of course we're both pretty depressed right now but we will overcome. #######!

[Wildcat 0]

Damn... Sorry to hear that. Hopefully everything will be fine and she'll get her visa.

[Chris_Жанна 11]

You're still in the fight! Stay positive. I'm sorry that you got a curve ball there. I'm hoping and praying the best for you two!

[Enlighten one :) 5]

I put all my emails from my SO in a subfolder. Then I prented each page of the sub folders to show all the communication dates. Then I printed out a couple of emails a month that had a back and forth correspondence.

Good luck.

Well....now it's our turn to steam.

Alla was first up for her interview today. She got the woman CO. I don't have many details but Alla gave her the paperwork as instructed. Of course little Leonid was running around or crying so Alla was distracted. At one point she asked her "How much did it cost for the website? (Elenas Models) "It was free for me." "How many men did you meet?" "None, only one, Phil" She asked for our evidence of ongoing relationship and just shuffled through it without really looking at any, and kept asking for more. Alla gave her everything, the FedEx receipts, my birthday card to her written in Russian, and she kept asking for more evidence.

Alla said she was very nice and always smiling but in the end she gave her a 221g form and said they needed more evidence.

On the form she checked the boxes asking for More Emails, More Photos, More Phone receipts.

I had purposefully spared them by not printing out the mountains of emails and they did have all my phone receipt summaries. We don't really have a ton of photos together so we will most likely just print them out again and resubmit what they already have.

I told Alla to go to the Kodak print shop with the emails on her flash card and print out a couple of reams of emails.

I'll be sending to her more Skype summaries, Skype videoshots, and another longer Letter of Intent to Marry (which I'll probably get notarized).

Two upsides:

1. They did take and retained both Alla's and Leonid's passports

2. Tim's Tonya and her little one were next in line and they were approved.

Of course we're both pretty depressed right now but we will overcome. #######!

[LoveWaits 1]

Don't worry, everything will be okay. Thankfully she lives near Moscow so its not a big logistical hassle. She'll make her flight to the US on time

As you know Katia was there also, not sure in what order she went after Alla but she also had a woman. She said the woman asked her questions for 30 minutes and started off rather serious and emotionless. By the end though they were laughing and the woman said "you are a beautiful couple, congratulations and welcome to the United States". Katia said she started crying on the spot

As for evidence, we had our Skype call list since April. We talk for at least 4 hours a day, every single day (yes, we're crazy). So that was substantial in itself. No emails, she is a slow typer We had only 8 photos, same ones we submitted in our original packet. Also her engagement ring, wedding invitations we sent out already, letter from her father supporting our relationship/marriage. Then of course all the other stuff; financials and junk.

Again, the woman did start out "grilling" Katia with some tough questions at the beginning, things I was even surprised they knew about me. Katia said she was shocked too but of course she knows EVERYTHING about me and breezed through it all with a smile. She also asked her son if he knew English and was ready for America, he smiled "Hello. Yes, I will have a new school!" Which Katia also explained he will start on Dec. 2nd (Private school we picked in the neighborhood).

So next week she'll be here! I'm walking on air even though I got maybe one hour of sleep last night! Next month we will be married! What a beautiful Christmas this is going to be!!!

[clueless_in_usa 8]

Well....now it's our turn to steam.

Alla was first up for her interview today. She got the woman CO. I don't have many details but Alla gave her the paperwork as instructed. Of course little Leonid was running around or crying so Alla was distracted. At one point she asked her "How much did it cost for the website? (Elenas Models) "It was free for me." "How many men did you meet?" "None, only one, Phil" She asked for our evidence of ongoing relationship and just shuffled through it without really looking at any, and kept asking for more. Alla gave her everything, the FedEx receipts, my birthday card to her written in Russian, and she kept asking for more evidence.

Alla said she was very nice and always smiling but in the end she gave her a 221g form and said they needed more evidence.

On the form she checked the boxes asking for More Emails, More Photos, More Phone receipts.

I had purposefully spared them by not printing out the mountains of emails and they did have all my phone receipt summaries. We don't really have a ton of photos together so we will most likely just print them out again and resubmit what they already have.

I told Alla to go to the Kodak print shop with the emails on her flash card and print out a couple of reams of emails.

I'll be sending to her more Skype summaries, Skype videoshots, and another longer Letter of Intent to Marry (which I'll probably get notarized).

Two upsides:

1. They did take and retained both Alla's and Leonid's passports

2. Tim's Tonya and her little one were next in line and they were approved.

Of course we're both pretty depressed right now but we will overcome. #######!

I guess that I was wrong. YMMV! It seems that it is a game of luck! Some times much evidence is too much and some times even more evidence is too little.

I hope everything turns out fine ... but what a hassle!

[LoveWaits 1]

I think its more about perception. If they don't get a good feeling from the answers to their questions, if they don't get that 'love' vibe, they dig deeper and then perhaps want more documentation. Thats just my opinion and also based on the feedback I got from Katia about her interview. As I mentioned before, the woman started out rather cold and with an attitude like she was about to uncover a ruse. After Katia easily answered the questions and this woman could see/sense how we felt about each she started to back off and switched to being warm/friendly. If I worked at the Embassy doing interviews thats exactly how I would be, if I didn't have a "warm-fuzzy" I would keep going with the questions and want to see some substantial proof of a relationship.

Again, the questions were definitely not easy and we were both surprised at how detailed the woman got with her queries, but no biggy really. We know each other like we've been joined at the hip since birth

[Chris_Жанна 11]

I think its more about perception. If they don't get a good feeling from the answers to their questions, if they don't get that 'love' vibe, they dig deeper and then perhaps want more documentation. Thats just my opinion and also based on the feedback I got from Katia about her interview. As I mentioned before, the woman started out rather cold and with an attitude like she was about to uncover a ruse. After Katia easily answered the questions and this woman could see/sense how we felt about each she started to back off and switched to being warm/friendly. If I worked at the Embassy doing interviews thats exactly how I would be, if I didn't have a "warm-fuzzy" I would keep going with the questions and want to see some substantial proof of a relationship.

Again, the questions were definitely not easy and we were both surprised at how detailed the woman got with her queries, but no biggy really. We know each other like we've been joined at the hip since birth

Can you give some examples of the questions that were asked? If they are not too personal.

[baron555 934]

Can you give some examples of the questions that were asked? If they are not too personal.

Alla said that she had some trouble hearing what the woman was asking and felt she may have butchered some of her responses.

She did say that she was asked the "usual" questions, When did you first begin correspondence, when and where did you meet, where does he live, what does he do for a living. The woman did not really grill her but the questions about the website and how many men she wrote to and how many men she had met threw her for a loop. During all this she said the woman was friendly and cordial (and smiling). Everything was in English.

And of course she was distracted by Leonid also (which I can believe).

I may just seize control here and print out all sorts of documents here, reprint the photos, and I'm thinking of drafting a much longer Letter of Intent with long description of our relationship and our correspondence and our promise to want a legitimate family together. We'll probably fall behind with the holiday next week but what else can we do.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Very sorry to hear that Phil. When can she take the things back? Can she just bring them back to the consulate or does she need an appointment? If she can just bring them back it may be no more than a day or two delay. It is a good thing they kept her passport.

[AKguy 1]

Damn Barron, I'm really sorry to hear this... It's not the end of the world or anything, but delays are delays and I know I'd be all sorts of bummed out right now.

I hope it can get resolved as soon as possible for you all!!

One small silver lining thing here, you're experience will help the rest of us some day...

Best of luck on a speedy resolution!!

[1HappyGuy 45]

It seems that the CO's just have to find something to justify what they are doing and so turning down someone or making them jump through some additional hoops is their way of showing they are in charge. Just tell Alla to not be discourage since they did keep her passport.

Have you contacted the embassy to see if you can FedEx stuff directly, so Alla doesn't have to appear again?

Hang in there, it will happen! :thumbs:

[baron555 934]

It seems that the CO's just have to find something to justify what they are doing and so turning down someone or making them jump through some additional hoops is their way of showing they are in charge. Just tell Alla to not be discourage since they did keep her passport.

Have you contacted the embassy to see if you can FedEx stuff directly, so Alla doesn't have to appear again?

Hang in there, it will happen! :thumbs:

I do believe, and I'll verify with Alla tomorrow, that all she needs to do is place the documents in the 221g mailbox, per the Embassy website instructions.

One person has suggested emailing them the documents and following up with hard copies.

[LoveWaits 1]

Can you give some examples of the questions that were asked? If they are not too personal.

Well some of it was a bit personal so I won't get too specific. She started with the usual stuff that everyone reports; How we met, when I asked her to marry, did she get a ring, can she see the ring (she looked at it and said "Wow!" )

Then she started with questions that showed she obviously really read my file, and even a bit more. I'll tell you that I lived in Europe for over 10 years and had a foreign wife already of 18 years (married very young), and she of course had a green card at one point (expired now). She asked her specific questions about my ex (where they got the information from I have no idea), also about my kids. Even questions about my parents and asked her to write down my address. She asked about my work, where and what I do. She asked her son questions too about us, if we talk and if he knows me. He's my little buddy so he was excited Great boy.

We talked about it, and although it was nerve racking, we're actually happy they were so detailed. It gave the long stressfull process some worth, some validity...if you understand what I mean. I'd feel cheated if after all we went through and they'd just say "Hello, how are you? Here's your visa".

So again, this person doing the interview didn't just wing it. She obviously did her research before talking with Katia, she asked specifics that were drawn from thoroughly going through my history and I would have to guess some additional digging because I don't know where the information she had could have come from through the K1 process.

[Steve S 2]

Phil,

So sorry to hear of your delay. I am confident this is a delay, not a major roadblock. Delays are tough, I know firsthand. The evidence they are requesting will be easy to produce, and they will see that you are a committed couple. Thanks for posting this - it is prompting me to shore up and update our evidence.