Russian Police Certificates for non-Russians

[bill.ashton 0]

My fiancee is from Lithuania, a former republic of the Soviet Union. Accordingly she lived for a while in present-day Russia. (For those born since 1975 you needn't be concerned about this. )

As a result she was required to obtain a police certificate from both Lithuania and Russia. Russian police certificates are notoriously difficult to obtain for citizens of former Soviet republics, with a minimum wait time of 3 months We waited twice that with no response. Finally I emailed the embassy consular section and asked what we should do since it appeared that Russia might simply choose not to respond. The consular section very graciously waived the requirement.

Some lessons learned here:

1. If you need a police certificate as a result of residency in the Soviet Union somewhere other than Russia, ask for it as soon as you file the I-129F. Don't wait until notified by the embassy that you need it.

2. If you will run out of time on your I-129F (expires six months after approval), email the consular section of the embassy and ask for an extension.

3. If it seems to be taking an abnormal time to get the certificate, email the embassy and ask them what they want you to do. Don't suggest that they waive the requirement; this will raise a red flag and make them wonder what you want to hide.

When contacting the embassy, be exceedingly polite. Remember they are not required to help you. Ask them to suggest a solution rather than suggesting one yourself.

Note that this solution was specific to our case and the embassy in Vilnius. It might not work in yours. But it can't hurt to ask, as long as you are patient and respectful.

Good luck!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

My fiancee is from Lithuania, a former republic of the Soviet Union. Accordingly she lived for a while in present-day Russia. (For those born since 1975 you needn't be concerned about this. )

As a result she was required to obtain a police certificate from both Lithuania and Russia. Russian police certificates are notoriously difficult to obtain for citizens of former Soviet republics, with a minimum wait time of 3 months We waited twice that with no response. Finally I emailed the embassy consular section and asked what we should do since it appeared that Russia might simply choose not to respond. The consular section very graciously waived the requirement.

Some lessons learned here:

1. If you need a police certificate as a result of residency in the Soviet Union somewhere other than Russia, ask for it as soon as you file the I-129F. Don't wait until notified by the embassy that you need it.

2. If you will run out of time on your I-129F (expires six months after approval), email the consular section of the embassy and ask for an extension.

3. If it seems to be taking an abnormal time to get the certificate, email the embassy and ask them what they want you to do. Don't suggest that they waive the requirement; this will raise a red flag and make them wonder what you want to hide.

When contacting the embassy, be exceedingly polite. Remember they are not required to help you. Ask them to suggest a solution rather than suggesting one yourself.

Note that this solution was specific to our case and the embassy in Vilnius. It might not work in yours. But it can't hurt to ask, as long as you are patient and respectful.

Good luck!

Corrections

1. Our son, a Ukrainian, got his Russian police certificate in less than 3 weeks. It is best if you already have your police certificate from the former Soviet Republic you lived in, in our case Ukraine. Ukrainian certificates take about 3 weeks also

2. Petition approvals expire in 4 months, not 6 months. Notify the consulate before 4 months if you need an extension

3. Emailing the consulate and being polite resulted in ??? You need a police certificate from each country you lived in. If you do not have it at the interview they will give you a 221g notice and hold your visa until you bring it.

I do not know why you would mention it is not an issue for those born after 1975? Our son was born in 1991 and needed a Russian certificate because he goes to college there. You need a police certificate from ANY country you lived in after age 16 for more than 6 months cummulative time.

Your other suggestions are good. The police certificates are valid at the consulates for 12 months, We had ours in hand even before we filed the petitions. Way too many people are sitting around checking useless online "case status" reports and not preparing for the next step, that is true.

[Oksana & Max 94]

Corrections

1. Our son, a Ukrainian, got his Russian police certificate in less than 3 weeks. It is best if you already have your police certificate from the former Soviet Republic you lived in, in our case Ukraine. Ukrainian certificates take about 3 weeks also

2. Petition approvals expire in 4 months, not 6 months. Notify the consulate before 4 months if you need an extension

3. Emailing the consulate and being polite resulted in ??? You need a police certificate from each country you lived in. If you do not have it at the interview they will give you a 221g notice and hold your visa until you bring it.

I do not know why you would mention it is not an issue for those born after 1975? Our son was born in 1991 and needed a Russian certificate because he goes to college there. You need a police certificate from ANY country you lived in after age 16 for more than 6 months cummulative time.

Your other suggestions are good. The police certificates are valid at the consulates for 12 months, We had ours in hand even before we filed the petitions. Way too many people are sitting around checking useless online "case status" reports and not preparing for the next step, that is true.

Gary & Alla,

Then I have a question.

My fiancee born, raised and live in Ukraine since 1981 (year when she was born). It still was a Soviet Union back then. But she never lived anywhere outside of Ukraine, does she still need a certificate from Russia?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Gary & Alla,

Then I have a question.

My fiancee born, raised and live in Ukraine since 1981 (year when she was born). It still was a Soviet Union back then. But she never lived anywhere outside of Ukraine, does she still need a certificate from Russia?

No. She never lived in Russia and the Soviet Union no longer exists.

Of the three Ukrainians in this house, my wife and two sons, ONLY our oldest son needed the Russian certificate because he had been a student in Russia for more than 6 months when he got his visa.

[Oksana & Max 94]

No. She never lived in Russia and the Soviet Union no longer exists.

Of the three Ukrainians in this house, my wife and two sons, ONLY our oldest son needed the Russian certificate because he had been a student in Russia for more than 6 months when he got his visa.

Got it thanks.

I was under impression she doesn't, but better be safe than sorry.

[bill.ashton 0]

Corrections

1. Our son, a Ukrainian, got his Russian police certificate in less than 3 weeks. It is best if you already have your police certificate from the former Soviet Republic you lived in, in our case Ukraine. Ukrainian certificates take about 3 weeks also

2. Petition approvals expire in 4 months, not 6 months. Notify the consulate before 4 months if you need an extension

3. Emailing the consulate and being polite resulted in ??? You need a police certificate from each country you lived in. If you do not have it at the interview they will give you a 221g notice and hold your visa until you bring it.

I do not know why you would mention it is not an issue for those born after 1975? Our son was born in 1991 and needed a Russian certificate because he goes to college there. You need a police certificate from ANY country you lived in after age 16 for more than 6 months cummulative time.

Your other suggestions are good. The police certificates are valid at the consulates for 12 months, We had ours in hand even before we filed the petitions. Way too many people are sitting around checking useless online "case status" reports and not preparing for the next step, that is true.

Hi:

First of all, I said that our case was specific to persons living in Lithuania while it was still part of the Soviet Union. Your son obviously is not in that category. Also, our case was with the Vilnius embassy and it might not work elsewhere.

As far as the police certificate, my fiancee lived in Moscow for 3 years, so she required a certificate. After six months, no response came from the Russians. The consular section has the final say on what will be required. In our case they said they would not require it.

I am not making this up, so kindly do not presume to "correct" me on this. However, I am not suggesting it will work for everyone.

Thank you.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hi:

First of all, I said that our case was specific to persons living in Lithuania while it was still part of the Soviet Union. Your son obviously is not in that category. Also, our case was with the Vilnius embassy and it might not work elsewhere.

As far as the police certificate, my fiancee lived in Moscow for 3 years, so she required a certificate. After six months, no response came from the Russians. The consular section has the final say on what will be required. In our case they said they would not require it.

I am not making this up, so kindly do not presume to "correct" me on this. However, I am not suggesting it will work for everyone.

Thank you.

Petitions expire in 4 months not 6 months, regardless of the consulate you use.

Certificates are obtained from the same source in Russia, there are not separate ones for Lituanians. If it took 6 months, you did it wrong. I had no trouble whatsoever to receive police certificates for three people in Russia/Ukraine, it was actually one of the easier things we did. I have not heard of any difficulty in this matter from other members of the RUB forum. Anyone from outside Russia that needs a Russian certificate should probably stop by RUB subforum and get the scoop

All consulates require police certificates before issuing the visas. THERE IS NO CONSULATE that will issue a visa and ask you to send the needed certificate later. Not even Vilnius. If you have failed to obtain the needed documents before the interview you have the option of extending the approval and requesting another interview OR going to the interview and get a 221g for the police certificate.

The purpose of public forums is top allow information to be reviewed and corrected if needed, otherwise public forums do not work.

[bill.ashton 0]

Petitions expire in 4 months not 6 months, regardless of the consulate you use.

Certificates are obtained from the same source in Russia, there are not separate ones for Lituanians. If it took 6 months, you did it wrong. I had no trouble whatsoever to receive police certificates for three people in Russia/Ukraine, it was actually one of the easier things we did. I have not heard of any difficulty in this matter from other members of the RUB forum. Anyone from outside Russia that needs a Russian certificate should probably stop by RUB subforum and get the scoop

All consulates require police certificates before issuing the visas. THERE IS NO CONSULATE that will issue a visa and ask you to send the needed certificate later. Not even Vilnius. If you have failed to obtain the needed documents before the interview you have the option of extending the approval and requesting another interview OR going to the interview and get a 221g for the police certificate.

The purpose of public forums is top allow information to be reviewed and corrected if needed, otherwise public forums do not work.

So, you think just because it's a public forum, it's OK to call someone a liar? You're a jerk.

It doesn't matter now and it's pointless to discuss this further because obviously you know it all. What matters is my fiancee got her visa after a 15-minute interview in Vilnius on September 29. No problems whatsoever despite a missing police certificate. Explain that if you can.

I'll gladly provide copies of the emails and visa to the forum moderator upon request.

That being said, this discussion is over.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

If any member has information that a particular consulate issued a visa in the absence of necessary documents and waived the rules established by the Federal code reagrding immigration then they should post that info in detail here, including copies of the emails with personal info redacted. Many members could benefit from that.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

come on, stop the bickering.

charles

vj moderation

[payxibka 10,045]

So, you think just because it's a public forum, it's OK to call someone a liar? You're a jerk.

It doesn't matter now and it's pointless to discuss this further because obviously you know it all. What matters is my fiancee got her visa after a 15-minute interview in Vilnius on September 29. No problems whatsoever despite a missing police certificate. Explain that if you can.

I'll gladly provide copies of the emails and visa to the forum moderator upon request.

That being said, this discussion is over.

OK..

The consulate can decide to require or not require.. It is bad etiquette to detail a one-off exception as something to be done by everyone... it sets an unrealistic expectation.

Russian police certificates are easy to get for anyone... you were lucky that they gave an exception.

[bill.ashton 0]

come on, stop the bickering.

charles

vj moderation

Fine. The point I was trying to make was it does no harm to politely communicate with the consular section if you have a problem and sometimes you can be extremely lucky. Like everyone else here (I hope) I was just trying to help. Your general information is excellent and it was very helpful. But if I want to be flamed, I can go to any Yahoo! discussion board. That being said, I will offer no more contributions.

You may remove my posts.

[Bingo 0]

OK..

The consulate can decide to require or not require.. It is bad etiquette to detail a one-off exception as something to be done by everyone... it sets an unrealistic expectation.

Russian police certificates are easy to get for anyone... you were lucky that they gave an exception.

Perhaps Russian police certificate is easy to get for Ukrainians, if you are willing to spend money to expedite it. All need to do is read the news to see cozy relationship between the two countries. Also it is well known that government officials there expect bribes. At least one poster on this thread has alluded to this elsewhere on this board.

I may be new here, but if you have never dealt with getting these documents from within Lithuania, please do not assume it is the same everywhere. It isn't. Lithuanians *must* go through Foreign Ministry, there is no other way, you will be told to wait three months. I know several persons who have had the same experience.

You speak of bad etiquette. It is also bad etiquette to be rude to anyone, especially when they are trying to help. I didn't realize the purpose of this site was to drive away people who may have useful advice.