We did It!

[billsafari 0]

Well we did it! Got back 8/31. Married 10/26. Sending her AOS papers next week. I took a break from the whole visajourney thing. Needed a break from all the forms, worrying, the whole visa process, everything. etc.!! I'll give a brief summary of our experience. Hope it relieves some nerves for the people in the process. I'll start from the NOA2 approval.

All in all so far, everything went as smooth as possible.

- I found out 5/22 that we got approved. I was leaving May 31 to Aug 31 to stay with her and hopefully we would come home together.

- Around 6/10 I found out by calling the NVC that our interview was 8/22. The Embassy website does not update every weeek like it claims. Call the visa center and they will tell you the interview date. As for Russia, apparently the NVC sets the interview date not the Embassy. I dont know about other countries. I knew the date before the embassy site was updated.

- For me, this 3 week gap of not knowing the interview date was the most trying. Looking at other timelines it looked like on average it took about 3 months from NOA2 to the interview. I had to leave Aug 31 regardless, so everyday was crucial. I had already changed my tickets from 5/14 to 8/14 hoping the extra 17 days was going to be just enough time to squeak in the interview in and allow a week for her to get her passport back. In addition, the seats on the return flight were filling fast so we took a gamble and bought her ticket before knowing the interview date. Needless to say, I was elated to find out the interview was Aug 22 (hmm, exactly 3 months, kind of spooky!). I was a litte nervous about only having 8 days to receive her passport. I believe DHL delivered her passport on Tuesday the 28th. We left friday.

For us the medical went smoother than I ever could of hoped.

- We went to the IOM in Moscow. We made our appointment and arrived an 1/2 hour before they opened. They let all the people with appointments in first. We got our documents then went to another location for the medical. Both sites were close to the Metro, not too far apart, very convienent. At the clininc she did 3 exams in 3 rooms. she got 3 vaccinations. It was all over in a little over an hour. I've read on other posts about girls getting naked or rude behvavior by the doctors. This was not the case at all for us, she was in a gown(had her underwear on) for 1 exam. A nurse was present the whole time, every thing was very professional. No problems at all.

- After the exams were complete we were told we could pick up the results at the 1st building at 3-30pm(same day, very convienent). We did. we were done in 15 minutes. The lady said all the results were good. We recieved a sealed envelope and her xrays. As you probably know, dont open the enevlope. You dont need to bring the xray with you to the interview. In addition you get the vaccine document, I dont know the form # off hand, but you will definitely need it along with the xray in the states.

The interiew: Piece of cake!!!!!!

- I went with her to the embassy. For all that think being there at the embassy will help. It wont. At least in my case. I sat outside for about 3.5 hours. They a different entrance for U.S. citizens on the end of the embassy.

- She was the last one in the embassy of 19 . She was 12th in line for the interview. The interview lasted about 4 minutes.

Heres the exact questions (in order) they asked. I'll give her answers

" How did you meet?" ---- "internet"

" How many times has your fiance been to Russia?" -----"3"

" Does your fiance know Russia?"---- "No" " Do you know english?"------ " Yes, a little"

" Were you married before? ----"Yes" "Your fiance?" ----"No"

" What kind of job do want in the USA?" ----"Teacher or translator"

" Do you have some pictures" ------" Yes"

She said the consulate was very nice. After she said "yes" to speaking english the consulate starting speaking english. My wife said he was extremely pleased she knew english and at this point immediately started stamping documents and told her "you will have your visa/passport in 1 week" "congradulations".

As a side note, I had about 80 pictures in a little mini-album. Of those 80, maybe 10 or 12 were of us together, the rest were of her mom, grandma, cats, summer house, etc. . She just brought the whole album instead of picking out pics of us only. I thought this was more natural. The consulate looked at everyone, asked questions, he even showed another consulate the pics of her cat. This took up about 3 of the 4 minutes of the interview. So my point is: bring lots of pics, it kills time and is more convincing as well as I think they liked the wide range of pics that a normal photo album would have.

So basically the interview was 4 to 5 minutes, 3 to 4 were looking at pictures and 1 minute was asking 9 questions. Piece of cake!!!!!

POE:

POE was JFK. It took about 45 minutes!! No hassles, no problems!!! Thay said, "congrads!, you have 90 days to marry"

We married Oct 26. We will send AOS docs out next week. !!!

I hope this helps someone!!! If someone as a questions let me know!! I feel like a weathered pro now!!!1 I am sooooooooooooooooo happy this part is over!!!!! Good luck all!!!!

[mnieto 2]

Congratulations, and best of luck for the rest of your journey!!

[Igor&Elina 0]

A Big Congratulations to you Bill!!!

That is wonderfull news and thanks for a great report.

[ThaiStyleUSA 1]

Congratulations and good luck along the way.

[Chris Parker 11]

We married Oct 26. We will send AOS docs out next week. !!!

I hope this helps someone!!! If someone as a questions let me know!! I feel like a weathered pro now!!!1 I am sooooooooooooooooo happy this part is over!!!!! Good luck all!!!!

Very helpful, thank you very much!

You should get your I-485 filed soon, from the timeline seems your wife is now out of status and accruing unlawful presence...

[billsafari 0]

We married Oct 26. We will send AOS docs out next week. !!!

I hope this helps someone!!! If someone as a questions let me know!! I feel like a weathered pro now!!!1 I am sooooooooooooooooo happy this part is over!!!!! Good luck all!!!!

Very helpful, thank you very much!

You should get your I-485 filed soon, from the timeline seems your wife is now out of status and accruing unlawful presence...

I know nothing about this part of the journey. I did call the USCIS and they said as long as we were married within 90 days and the paperwork is in by the time her visa expires(2/22/08) all is good. Any insight???? We will send the paperwork out Jan 15.

Edited December 23, 2007 by billsafari

[shikarnov 7]

Congratulations! May your lives together always be happy, and loaded with good fortune.

Best of luck to both of you,

Z

[Chris Parker 11]

I know nothing about this part of the journey. I did call the USCIS and they said as long as we were married within 90 days and the paperwork is in by the time her visa expires(2/22/08) all is good. Any insight???? We will send the paperwork out Jan 15.

Their answer was correct ... for the question you asked them only.

The visa expiration date is meaningless once you enter the U.S.; the I-94 date specifies the date status expires or expired.

While your wife may be out of status, because she married you within the 90 days of entry, she forever has the right to file Form I-485 within the U.S. based on that marriage, even if out of status for years.

However, after the I-94 expire date, she is out of status. After 6 months of being out of status, she really can't leave the U.S. until she has received approval of the I-485, or she will be considered "self-deported."

Getting the I-485 filed will stop the unlawful presence from accuring, but it won't erase any unlawful presence that did accrue prior to the filing date. So, it would probably be a good idea to get that application filed as soon as possible.

Good luck!

CP

[slim 1,525]

Congratulations on getting through this part of the process. Only a little bit more, and you're done! Don't sweat the I-485 too much, you won't be penalized for filing it at any given time. As said above, it needs to be filed soon for a variety of reasons but it doesn't need to be tomorrow and you don't need to worry. Just do it as soon as possible.

That's cool the interview/visa worked out just in time for your flights!

Good luck on the rest of your Visa Journey!

[Nagishkaw 510]

Congratulations, Bill !

[ramzis51 0]

Well we did it! Got back 8/31. Married 10/26. Sending her AOS papers next week. I took a break from the whole visajourney thing. Needed a break from all the forms, worrying, the whole visa process, everything. etc.!! I'll give a brief summary of our experience. Hope it relieves some nerves for the people in the process. I'll start from the NOA2 approval.

All in all so far, everything went as smooth as possible.

- I found out 5/22 that we got approved. I was leaving May 31 to Aug 31 to stay with her and hopefully we would come home together.

- Around 6/10 I found out by calling the NVC that our interview was 8/22. The Embassy website does not update every weeek like it claims. Call the visa center and they will tell you the interview date. As for Russia, apparently the NVC sets the interview date not the Embassy. I dont know about other countries. I knew the date before the embassy site was updated.

- For me, this 3 week gap of not knowing the interview date was the most trying. Looking at other timelines it looked like on average it took about 3 months from NOA2 to the interview. I had to leave Aug 31 regardless, so everyday was crucial. I had already changed my tickets from 5/14 to 8/14 hoping the extra 17 days was going to be just enough time to squeak in the interview in and allow a week for her to get her passport back. In addition, the seats on the return flight were filling fast so we took a gamble and bought her ticket before knowing the interview date. Needless to say, I was elated to find out the interview was Aug 22 (hmm, exactly 3 months, kind of spooky!). I was a litte nervous about only having 8 days to receive her passport. I believe DHL delivered her passport on Tuesday the 28th. We left friday.

For us the medical went smoother than I ever could of hoped.

- We went to the IOM in Moscow. We made our appointment and arrived an 1/2 hour before they opened. They let all the people with appointments in first. We got our documents then went to another location for the medical. Both sites were close to the Metro, not too far apart, very convienent. At the clininc she did 3 exams in 3 rooms. she got 3 vaccinations. It was all over in a little over an hour. I've read on other posts about girls getting naked or rude behvavior by the doctors. This was not the case at all for us, she was in a gown(had her underwear on) for 1 exam. A nurse was present the whole time, every thing was very professional. No problems at all.

- After the exams were complete we were told we could pick up the results at the 1st building at 3-30pm(same day, very convienent). We did. we were done in 15 minutes. The lady said all the results were good. We recieved a sealed envelope and her xrays. As you probably know, dont open the enevlope. You dont need to bring the xray with you to the interview. In addition you get the vaccine document, I dont know the form # off hand, but you will definitely need it along with the xray in the states.

The interiew: Piece of cake!!!!!!

- I went with her to the embassy. For all that think being there at the embassy will help. It wont. At least in my case. I sat outside for about 3.5 hours. They a different entrance for U.S. citizens on the end of the embassy.

- She was the last one in the embassy of 19 . She was 12th in line for the interview. The interview lasted about 4 minutes.

Heres the exact questions (in order) they asked. I'll give her answers

" How did you meet?" ---- "internet"

" How many times has your fiance been to Russia?" -----"3"

" Does your fiance know Russia?"---- "No" " Do you know english?"------ " Yes, a little"

" Were you married before? ----"Yes" "Your fiance?" ----"No"

" What kind of job do want in the USA?" ----"Teacher or translator"

" Do you have some pictures" ------" Yes"

She said the consulate was very nice. After she said "yes" to speaking english the consulate starting speaking english. My wife said he was extremely pleased she knew english and at this point immediately started stamping documents and told her "you will have your visa/passport in 1 week" "congradulations".

As a side note, I had about 80 pictures in a little mini-album. Of those 80, maybe 10 or 12 were of us together, the rest were of her mom, grandma, cats, summer house, etc. . She just brought the whole album instead of picking out pics of us only. I thought this was more natural. The consulate looked at everyone, asked questions, he even showed another consulate the pics of her cat. This took up about 3 of the 4 minutes of the interview. So my point is: bring lots of pics, it kills time and is more convincing as well as I think they liked the wide range of pics that a normal photo album would have.

So basically the interview was 4 to 5 minutes, 3 to 4 were looking at pictures and 1 minute was asking 9 questions. Piece of cake!!!!!

POE:

POE was JFK. It took about 45 minutes!! No hassles, no problems!!! Thay said, "congrads!, you have 90 days to marry"

We married Oct 26. We will send AOS docs out next week. !!!

I hope this helps someone!!! If someone as a questions let me know!! I feel like a weathered pro now!!!1 I am sooooooooooooooooo happy this part is over!!!!! Good luck all!!!!

Awesome report----thanks---Question: Is there any option to wait a day or two in Moscow and get the visa sooner? My fiance lives about 600 mi. from Moscow and we want him to get his visa ASAP to avoid making the return trip to his city. Just like to know, thanks again for the good report

[slim 1,525]

avoid making the return trip to his city. Just like to know, thanks again for the good report

It is possible to pick up the visa directly from the DHL office in Moscow on the 2nd or 3rd day after the interview. When you pay for DHL just tell them you want to pick it up in the city office and they'll list their address as the delivery point. They should call you when it's ready, usually takes a couple days (3 days standard), and you can pick it up and leave right then.

[ramzis51 0]

avoid making the return trip to his city. Just like to know, thanks again for the good report

It is possible to pick up the visa directly from the DHL office in Moscow on the 2nd or 3rd day after the interview. When you pay for DHL just tell them you want to pick it up in the city office and they'll list their address as the delivery point. They should call you when it's ready, usually takes a couple days (3 days standard), and you can pick it up and leave right then.

Thanks, Slim----this is just the information I was hoping for!

[Nanusia & Lukaszek 0]

However, after the I-94 expire date, she is out of status. After 6 months of being out of status, she really can't leave the U.S. until she has received approval of the I-485, or she will be considered "self-deported."

Getting the I-485 filed will stop the unlawful presence from accuring, but it won't erase any unlawful presence that did accrue prior to the filing date. So, it would probably be a good idea to get that application filed as soon as possible.

Good luck!

CP

Not true on a several items. When you file the I-485, upon approval of the AP (which is included in AOS fees) she can leave the US, so you don't have to wait for approval of the I-485.

Second, any time from when the I94 expires to the time AOS is filed is forgiven due to marriage to a USC. Therefore the statement "won't erase any unlawful presence that did accrue prior to filing date" is inaccurate.

Of course the sooner you file the better, but that time will not count against you. As you can see from our timeline, we had a couple month lapse and the IO at AOS interview didn't mention it at all.

[Jason-Sasha 1]

Wow! Alot of great detailed info. Thanks for that, and good luck to you both!!