It Started

[mox 298]

You're right to be worried Slim. What with Palin stepping down and all, just who's going to keep an eye on Russia from her house? Egads!

[KGSodie 0]

Good luck on your journey, and always remember the destination!

[1HappyGuy 45]

Congratulations on your first step. Now comes the hard part, waiting. After getting your NOA1, start your projects to get ready for her arrival. You will have lots of time, so start the long term ones first, like painting, etc. I recommend leaving some area to paint, if that is your plan. You want her to have some input to make her feel it is her home too.

If you can build up some vacation time at work, do it now. You will need some of it when she arrives.

You may as well go through your closets now and start tossing those things that you really don't wear or can't fit into, because she's going to throw them out anyway. Take all of your storage and make space for more than half for her. If that doesn't seem fair, well get use to it. If you can, try to locate stores that carry Russian goods. Sometimes you have to drive quite a ways to locate a good one or two. We have a 1 1/2 hour drive just to find any, so start now, it will pay major benefits later.

Visit VJ more than the USCIS site. You will get very frustrated with the slowness of the process, so spend you idle time here asking questions and helping others pass the process you have already started.

Learn PATIENCE!!! You are going to need it.

You might want to look into ESL classes at a community college near you to help improve her English speaking skills.

This journey you are on is long, frustrating and exhilarating at the same time. The end goal is well worth the trouble.

[Brad and Vika 129]

Congratulations on your first step. Now comes the hard part, waiting. After getting your NOA1, start your projects to get ready for her arrival. You will have lots of time, so start the long term ones first, like painting, etc. I recommend leaving some area to paint, if that is your plan. You want her to have some input to make her feel it is her home too.

If you can build up some vacation time at work, do it now. You will need some of it when she arrives.

You may as well go through your closets now and start tossing those things that you really don't wear or can't fit into, because she's going to throw them out anyway. Take all of your storage and make space for more than half for her. If that doesn't seem fair, well get use to it. If you can, try to locate stores that carry Russian goods. Sometimes you have to drive quite a ways to locate a good one or two. We have a 1 1/2 hour drive just to find any, so start now, it will pay major benefits later.

Visit VJ more than the USCIS site. You will get very frustrated with the slowness of the process, so spend you idle time here asking questions and helping others pass the process you have already started.

Learn PATIENCE!!! You are going to need it.

You might want to look into ESL classes at a community college near you to help improve her English speaking skills.

This journey you are on is long, frustrating and exhilarating at the same time. The end goal is well worth the trouble.

Nicely put! I would add find a good source for cheap international calling minutes ld post, and check out some internet sites where she can see TV and movies in her native language. You will be glad you did - surprise her with them.intv

[johnj 0]

I'm just shy of 3 months out before I get to say the same thing.

AK, why don't you go ahead and file, you can always postpone the interview date

Jona.. and Zor..-congrads on joining the ride. Don't be a stranger to the Russian forum; we don't bite............often!

[mox 298]

AK, why don't you go ahead and file, you can always postpone the interview date

I second this emotion. The RU consulate is really good about accomodating these kinds of requests, and there have been members who have re-scheduled their interview 2 and 3 times, probably more. Get that packet through USCIS, because you really don't want to get stuck in one of their multi-month delay periods that often turns a 6 month wait into a 8-10 month wait. Get through USCIS as quickly as you can, the rest will take care of itself.

[slim 1,525]

You're right to be worried Slim. What with Palin stepping down and all, just who's going to keep an eye on Russia from her house? Egads!

I just heard on the radio tonight the U.S. owes Russia something like $128.4 Billion. Where'd that come from? It can't all be from arming the Afghans, can it? And isn't it funny how businessmen, no matter which country they're from, they don't care who they screw over as long as they get their money.

With the crazy world getting crazier, I think I'm going to take a cue from our government and go farther and farther into debt to buy more and more ammo. Russia will get their money back somehow!

[ZorValachan 0]

Thanks all for the welcome and tips.

I'm doing a lot of them now. Cleaning, separating out needs and wants, then further into don't need/don't want from don't need, but would still like

Cleaning out my storage room and giving clothes I don't and never will wear again to Good Will, etc.

I am either lucky (or not, depending...) on that at my job there is a whole 'Eastern Europe' community of Bulgarians, Bosnians, Russians, Belarusans, and Romanians who can give me help with food stores and ESL courses.

I did the suggestion to take pics of 'normal' stuff a great idea. I've already got Walmart and Wendy's off my list

[baron555 934]

Thanks all for the welcome and tips.

I'm doing a lot of them now. Cleaning, separating out needs and wants, then further into don't need/don't want from don't need, but would still like

Cleaning out my storage room and giving clothes I don't and never will wear again to Good Will, etc.

I am either lucky (or not, depending...) on that at my job there is a whole 'Eastern Europe' community of Bulgarians, Bosnians, Russians, Belarusans, and Romanians who can give me help with food stores and ESL courses.

I did the suggestion to take pics of 'normal' stuff a great idea. I've already got Walmart and Wendy's off my list

I'm doing the same, cleaning and throwing out junk. I have WiFi at home and have fired up the laptop with webcam and some of our Skype sessions have seen me carrying the laptop around the house and out in the yard giving live commentary. When she comes to our home, she will know where everything is, the pots and pans and dishes and towels, etc.

I too have taken pictures of and inside the food markets I go to, my bank, the gas station, Home Depot, Bed bath and Beyond, Kohls, the expressway.

Along with the documents for the interview I will soon be sending, I am also sending a bunch of sales flyers and thin catalogs that you get in the junk mail. She is concerned about how much things cost here (versus what she is used to paying in Moscow) and this way she can read for herself about what stuff costs.

So you might want to think about the same. I was going to redecorate what will become the little boy's room and she said not to so we can do that together. So I will just repaint some of the rooms (it is time to do that regardless) and I will let her redecorate the house. I have read where this is suggested so they have some connection and don't feel so foreign.

[BluesTraveler 0]

I was going to redecorate what will become the little boy's room and she said not to so we can do that together. So I will just repaint some of the rooms (it is time to do that regardless) and I will let her redecorate the house. I have read where this is suggested so they have some connection and don't feel so foreign.

Baron no matter how you decorate, she will want to change it. Accept it and move on.

[AKguy 1]

AK, why don't you go ahead and file, you can always postpone the interview date

I second this emotion. The RU consulate is really good about accomodating these kinds of requests, and there have been members who have re-scheduled their interview 2 and 3 times, probably more. Get that packet through USCIS, because you really don't want to get stuck in one of their multi-month delay periods that often turns a 6 month wait into a 8-10 month wait. Get through USCIS as quickly as you can, the rest will take care of itself.

It was due to not wanting to muck up the tourist visa app she got. We already thought it would be risky since she's a young, attractive, "single" girl coming over and that a K-1 app might make not help. Of course the stories are changing to the better about fiancees being able to come over on a tourist visa. Believe me, once she's here that damn packet is going in the mail. It's building up dust... 27 days and she's here.

[clueless_in_usa 8]

Feels good to get it finally done, huh?

Good job. Now, relax a little, read all you can here on the forum and don't hesitate to ask questions. We're here to help!

Got our NVC receipt of petition letter today including our Case number.

Here we gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...................................

Slim, I'm revising my interveiw date to Sep. 11. You gonna stay with the 15th?

And I have Barnaul and some of that excellent Portuguese and South African also. (We ARE talking NATO rounds right?)

If everything proceeds normally, your fiancee's interview should be two months after the date printed on the NVC's letter. In my fiancee's case it was two months and two days (due to the July 4th holidays).

[clueless_in_usa 8]

Nicely put! I would add find a good source for cheap international calling minutes ld post, and check out some internet sites where she can see TV and movies in her native language. You will be glad you did - surprise her with them.intv

Nice phone rates to Russia (Moscow land line), but read the fine print. I use this instead: Phone Cards

I get charged 6 cents a minute to mobile phones. Almost two cents less than the company above.

[johnj 0]

AK, why don't you go ahead and file, you can always postpone the interview date

I second this emotion. The RU consulate is really good about accomodating these kinds of requests, and there have been members who have re-scheduled their interview 2 and 3 times, probably more. Get that packet through USCIS, because you really don't want to get stuck in one of their multi-month delay periods that often turns a 6 month wait into a 8-10 month wait. Get through USCIS as quickly as you can, the rest will take care of itself.

It was due to not wanting to muck up the tourist visa app she got. We already thought it would be risky since she's a young, attractive, "single" girl coming over and that a K-1 app might make not help. Of course the stories are changing to the better about fiancees being able to come over on a tourist visa. Believe me, once she's here that damn packet is going in the mail. It's building up dust... 27 days and she's here.

Thanks AK, I had forgot about the tourist visa; I agree, send it the day she arrives.

[ZorValachan 0]

NOA1 hard copy came in the mail. So now I feel more official