Qutting your job in Russia

[elya 17]

So my fiance is working at one of those companies that actually complies with Russian labor law. He doesn't even get a monthly envelope :-)

They contribute fully to his Russian pension (and possibly some sort of supplemental retirement account). He is concerned that if he doesn't give 2 weeks notice after visa approval; they will be able to put some sort of negative mark on his permanent record (trudovaya knizhka) and/or withdraw contributions made towards his Russian pension (so in effect he looses work credits; 75% of his entire work history in Russia is at that company).

He doesn't want to quit his job before being approved (naturally), but the idea of waiting 2 more weeks after kinda sucks. Yes, 2 weeks isn't very long especially considering how long we've been waiting, but given what happened to us last time we will be sitting on pins and needles scared to answer phone calls from any unknown number. We would ideally just want to get on the next plane.

Anyone have any experience with this? I am pretty clueless on the Russian pension thing except knowing that it's pretty small (but hey, every little bit helps) Is he understanding correctly how this works? What did your fiance(e)s/spouses do?

[Harsh_77 718]

I mean 2 weeks is not bad comon you would need 2 weeks to wind down everything in Russia and pack up and leave for US.

It not that he would be visiting US for short duration and he would return back home, trust me 2 weeks are easily required to wind down everything that you have.

[Captain Hammer 113]

So my fiance is working at one of those companies that actually complies with Russian labor law. He doesn't even get a monthly envelope :-)

They contribute fully to his Russian pension (and possibly some sort of supplemental retirement account). He is concerned that if he doesn't give 2 weeks notice after visa approval; they will be able to put some sort of negative mark on his permanent record (trudovaya knizhka) and/or withdraw contributions made towards his Russian pension (so in effect he looses work credits; 75% of his entire work history in Russia is at that company).

He doesn't want to quit his job before being approved (naturally), but the idea of waiting 2 more weeks after kinda sucks. Yes, 2 weeks isn't very long especially considering how long we've been waiting, but given what happened to us last time we will be sitting on pins and needles scared to answer phone calls from any unknown number. We would ideally just want to get on the next plane.

Anyone have any experience with this? I am pretty clueless on the Russian pension thing except knowing that it's pretty small (but hey, every little bit helps) Is he understanding correctly how this works? What did your fiance(e)s/spouses do?

I don't know about Russian law, but if he's anything like my wife, it doesn't really matter. He's got it in his head that he needs to give 2 weeks notice, so for all practical purposes, it's the law. Let him give 2 weeks notice, or he will fret about it for the rest of your life. You've waited this long, waiting 2 more weeks isn't going to matter in the long run.

[baron555 934]

My wife "gave notice" when we got the NOA2 and then again when the interview was scheduled......she's an independent hair sylist that worked freelance out of a Moscow salon that received a part of her take.

Two extra weeks after waiting many months is a drop in the bucket. Suck it up or give notice now.......if you have a real relationship then there should be no concerns about the inteview and the visa...right?

[1HappyGuy 45]

You are going to have to wait about a week for the visa anyway, so you are really only talking about one extra week. He will know at the interview, if the visa will be issued. Have him give notice after the interview and then start planning to leave. Understand, he will be leaving for a long time so it might take a while for him to say goodbye to everyone.

[elya 17]

I mean 2 weeks is not bad comon you would need 2 weeks to wind down everything in Russia and pack up and leave for US.

It not that he would be visiting US for short duration and he would return back home, trust me 2 weeks are easily required to wind down everything that you have.

He has been living on the assumption that he might be out of there in 3 months for the past 2 years... he is living with his parents, has no car to sell, and can literally pack all his belongings in one suitcase. The only "wind down" issue is his job.

My wife "gave notice" when we got the NOA2 and then again when the interview was scheduled......she's an independent hair sylist that worked freelance out of a Moscow salon that received a part of her take.

Two extra weeks after waiting many months is a drop in the bucket. Suck it up or give notice now.......if you have a real relationship then there should be no concerns about the inteview and the visa...right?

This is our 2nd interview (see timeline)... after more than 3 years of real relationship :-) So we are a little on edge about it. Definitely don't want to get stuck in AP or even worse that scary phone call again; where they cancelled his visa after issuing it. I mean, we think we fixed the problem but there's no way to know for sure since we never got any official info on the returned petition (which USCIS claims they never received).

You are going to have to wait about a week for the visa anyway, so you are really only talking about one extra week. He will know at the interview, if the visa will be issued. Have him give notice after the interview and then start planning to leave.

This is true I guess... I will just have to get over the extra week of being terrified of every phone call :-) I guess it's not worth risking the pension over. I guess part of it is also him not wanting to leave his coworkers hanging too badly.

But I still hesitate. Last time we took a few extra weeks after his visa was issued so he could get his dental work done. 3 weeks after he had his visa in his hands, the embassy called and required that it be returned. It's taken almost 2 years to get back to this point (well, we're almost there - on the way to NVC now). Sooo... can lightning strike the same place twice??

In the end I guess I just have to let him o what he wants to do... Capt Hammer is right in his head it's "the law" for sure :-))

[1HappyGuy 45]

We all hope that this will be the final time and that in a short time you will be together.

Think good thoughts!

[elya 17]

We all hope that this will be the final time and that in a short time you will be together.

Think good thoughts!

Thank you!! :-)

[Captain Hammer 113]

In the end I guess I just have to let him o what he wants to do... Capt Hammer is right in his head it's "the law" for sure :-))

Ukrainians and Russians (and perhaps other FSU citizens) seem to me to be very prone to this kind of thing. My wife is a post-grad law student, and she's convinced that her grades are sent to the government and used as part of the decision to grant her 10-year green card. She read it once on one of the Russian language versions of Visa Journey, and unless I can prove otherwise she's decided that's how it is. It's one of the things that drives her to get straight A's though, so past the initial objection I've just kept my mouth shut about it. Choose your battles.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Wait the two weeks. Don't be silly. This is a lifetime commitment and 2 weeks is nothing.

Alla did not give notice at her job until she had her visa in hand and then had to give 1 month notice because she was booked for clients for that far in advance. We waited. She was worried they would fire her and wanted to be able to leave if that happened.

Good news? She actually still works for that company doing translations (she was a company representative and interpreter) and has been making pretty good money from them non-stop since she arrived.

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

It's Victor from Russia writing.

they will be able to put some sort of negative mark on his permanent record (trudovaya knizhka)

In Russia govrnment planning to stop official using of "trudovaya knizhka" in the next few years as I read.

and/or withdraw contributions made towards his Russian pension

I can't imagine how they can do it. Even if he will be fired, he still will have all credits as far as I know. And they definitely can't withdraw any contributions for past time, because these contributions had been paid to "Pension Fund of Russia" and they are non-refundable. I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I know, even if my employer will fire me today for walking around in the office without pants I will get not good record to "trudovaya knizhka", but I will not lose anything about my pension. Though, I don't know specific of your case.

[SMR 368]

He has been living on the assumption that he might be out of there in 3 months for the past 2 years... he is living with his parents, has no car to sell, and can literally pack all his belongings in one suitcase. The only "wind down" issue is his job.

This is our 2nd interview (see timeline)... after more than 3 years of real relationship :-) So we are a little on edge about it. Definitely don't want to get stuck in AP or even worse that scary phone call again; where they cancelled his visa after issuing it. I mean, we think we fixed the problem but there's no way to know for sure since we never got any official info on the returned petition (which USCIS claims they never received).

This is true I guess... I will just have to get over the extra week of being terrified of every phone call :-) I guess it's not worth risking the pension over. I guess part of it is also him not wanting to leave his coworkers hanging too badly.

But I still hesitate. Last time we took a few extra weeks after his visa was issued so he could get his dental work done. 3 weeks after he had his visa in his hands, the embassy called and required that it be returned. It's taken almost 2 years to get back to this point (well, we're almost there - on the way to NVC now). Sooo... can lightning strike the same place twice??

In the end I guess I just have to let him o what he wants to do... Capt Hammer is right in his head it's "the law" for sure :-))

I don't want to pry but I'm curious as to the details of the 'revoked' visa. I remember you talking about this case a while back and it just seems unreal. Did they give a reason for revoking the visa? What did they say about the process for getting a new visa? Was there any real substantial reason for revoking the visa?

[elya 17]

Wait the two weeks. Don't be silly.

That seems to be the consensus. My fiance thanks you :-)

In Russia govrnment planning to stop official using of "trudovaya knizhka" in the next few years as I read.

I can't imagine how they can do it. Even if he will be fired, he still will have all credits as far as I know. And they definitely can't withdraw any contributions for past time, because these contributions had been paid to "Pension Fund of Russia" and they are non-refundable. I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I know, even if my employer will fire me today for walking around in the office without pants I will get not good record to "trudovaya knizhka", but I will not lose anything about my pension. Though, I don't know specific of your case.

Very helpful, thanks!!! I will let him know. So if he does wait at least it will be about maintaining relationships and being a good colleague, not about this silly pension thing...

I don't want to pry but I'm curious as to the details of the 'revoked' visa. I remember you talking about this case a while back and it just seems unreal. Did they give a reason for revoking the visa? What did they say about the process for getting a new visa? Was there any real substantial reason for revoking the visa?

The embassy gave no reason ever beyond "inaccurate information", neither to us nor the Congressman who inquired for us. Even USCIS did not help to clarify, we never got an RFE or a NOID on the new petition; and on the old petition that was returned USCIS claims they never received it (even though NVC has a record of receiving it and forwarding it to them). So we didn't even get as much as an expiry notice indicating we could refile. At the time I just followed Gary's advice and re-filed a new I-129F without waiting for it (thank GOD - or rather Gary lol - we didn't wait to file because it took 9.5 months for approval!!).

So we are assuming it was what we finally did manage to find (with help of another lawyer) - I checked the 'no' box on the I-129F for the question about whether I had filed for any other fiance or spouse before. I had even asked our attorney's paralegal to clarify, because I was not sure if adjustment of status (my ex-husband was here on a F-1 visa) counted as having "filed". VJ could have given me this answer in 10 minutes but of course I didn't find VJ until after they took back his visa... So anyhow, attorney gave me the wrong answer. It's pretty stupid because I was so confident I had been completely open about my ex. I provided all the information in the previous spouses section and had even mentioned him in the story of how my fiance and I met being very honest that I was still married (but separated) at that time. And I had talked my lawyer's ears off about whether or not this being my 2nd foreign spouse-to-be would negatively impact our case. Even worse, the same mistake was reflected in my financial packet the attorney prepared for the interview where my prior affidavit of support was not listed. Not like I need to tell anyone on VJ to never trust a lawyer, but here it is - another shining example.

So, there was a pretty serious issue, which has been fixed in the new petition and will be fixed in the new financial packet. Is that the reason they cancelled his visa? I don't know. I still have never found another example of the visa being taken away after it was already issued, except a few weird little things where it was actually an error with the visa itself and the visa was reissued within a week.

But my prior filing seems like the most likely candidate among some of the sillier reasons I had originally considered... only weird thing is that when the embassy called his family during the investigation they asked about a couple other things but never mentioned my ex-husband. Still, at this point I am ready to stop overanalyzing and just keep my fingers crossed for our upcoming interview. (which I hope will be scheduled very soon!)

[visaveteran1 33]

My wife "gave notice" when we got the NOA2 and then again when the interview was scheduled......she's an independent hair sylist that worked freelance out of a Moscow salon that received a part of her take.

Two extra weeks after waiting many months is a drop in the bucket. Suck it up or give notice now.......if you have a real relationship then there should be no concerns about the inteview and the visa...right?

Interesting Baron...my wife owned a "beauty spa." She was a popular stylist in her city with 20 years experience. Now she can't cut hair because she has no "certificate." Cost to earn one is about $13,000 and 100s of hours in a salon in my state.

Is your wife continuing as a stylist?

[SMR 368]

Interesting Baron...my wife owned a "beauty spa." She was a popular stylist in her city with 20 years experience. Now she can't cut hair because she has no "certificate." Cost to earn one is about $13,000 and 100s of hours in a salon in my state.

Is your wife continuing as a stylist?

This is one of those things that really bothers me about government regulation. If someone wants to create a non-mandatory stylist certification that's one thing (though there's no reason that the government needs to get involved). But when the government says that you can't work without some arbitrary certification that's another.