My God I'm about to lose it

[Gene & Milena 0]

On Christmas day my petition acceptence was 5 months ago. So yesterday I called to see what is going on. The woman would.t answer any question directly, she just said that California center is way behind on approvals. She said now that its past the 5 months I'm concidered over the time of normal process. So she said because I called I will receive an answer in 39 days. Is she friggen kiding me 39 days. This whole process has been so hard and they make everything even harder. I spent 2 days in the hospital last week from the stress of all this they thought I had a heart attack. 39 more days and God only knows how long from the approval until the interview, I might not live to see this through. All I wanted was to live a happy life with the woman I love and this has made the whole thing a night mare. We were told at Moscow embassy that from start to finish the whole process would be 3 to 6 months. So we rented an apartment in Moscow in September and enrolled her daughter in school there figureing we would have to struggle a few months. Now 5 months later I'm going broke and she is still there and no approval or interview in site. I have to go lay down just writeing this I am having chest pains.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

On Christmas day my petition acceptence was 5 months ago. So yesterday I called to see what is going on. The woman would.t answer any question directly, she just said that California center is way behind on approvals. She said now that its past the 5 months I'm concidered over the time of normal process. So she said because I called I will receive an answer in 39 days. Is she friggen kiding me 39 days. This whole process has been so hard and they make everything even harder. I spent 2 days in the hospital last week from the stress of all this they thought I had a heart attack. 39 more days and God only knows how long from the approval until the interview, I might not live to see this through. All I wanted was to live a happy life with the woman I love and this has made the whole thing a night mare. We were told at Moscow embassy that from start to finish the whole process would be 3 to 6 months. So we rented an apartment in Moscow in September and enrolled her daughter in school there figureing we would have to struggle a few months. Now 5 months later I'm going broke and she is still there and no approval or interview in site. I have to go lay down just writeing this I am having chest pains.

Iv'e seen in other regional forums and in the K1 forum where the California Service Center is waaaaayyyyyy behind. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but don't worry. Russia has a great approval rate and eventually it's going to all work out. I know it doesn't help much, but that's pretty much about it when they are running so far behind.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

On Christmas day my petition acceptence was 5 months ago. So yesterday I called to see what is going on. The woman would.t answer any question directly, she just said that California center is way behind on approvals. She said now that its past the 5 months I'm concidered over the time of normal process. So she said because I called I will receive an answer in 39 days. Is she friggen kiding me 39 days. This whole process has been so hard and they make everything even harder. I spent 2 days in the hospital last week from the stress of all this they thought I had a heart attack. 39 more days and God only knows how long from the approval until the interview, I might not live to see this through. All I wanted was to live a happy life with the woman I love and this has made the whole thing a night mare. We were told at Moscow embassy that from start to finish the whole process would be 3 to 6 months. So we rented an apartment in Moscow in September and enrolled her daughter in school there figureing we would have to struggle a few months. Now 5 months later I'm going broke and she is still there and no approval or interview in site. I have to go lay down just writeing this I am having chest pains.

Asking the consulate what USCIS will do is asking the wrong people, they have nothing to do with petitions.

Do not make any plans until the visa is in your hands.

[baron555 934]

And if you're stressed over all this.....

.....just wait until you try to teach her how to drive!'

[visaveteran1 33]

On Christmas day my petition acceptence was 5 months ago. So yesterday I called to see what is going on. The woman would.t answer any question directly, she just said that California center is way behind on approvals. She said now that its past the 5 months I'm concidered over the time of normal process. So she said because I called I will receive an answer in 39 days. Is she friggen kiding me 39 days. This whole process has been so hard and they make everything even harder. I spent 2 days in the hospital last week from the stress of all this they thought I had a heart attack. 39 more days and God only knows how long from the approval until the interview, I might not live to see this through. All I wanted was to live a happy life with the woman I love and this has made the whole thing a night mare. We were told at Moscow embassy that from start to finish the whole process would be 3 to 6 months. So we rented an apartment in Moscow in September and enrolled her daughter in school there figureing we would have to struggle a few months. Now 5 months later I'm going broke and she is still there and no approval or interview in site. I have to go lay down just writeing this I am having chest pains.

Get married in Russia and apply for a direct CR-1 visa directly from the consulate. If you've lived for an extended period in Russia you may qualify for this type of visa. It depends on what Hillary Clinton allows but in the past you could go direct if you lived in Russia and got married there. They can give you a visa VERY quickly this way. Contact the consulate and ask about this type of visa process. It can't hurt. Things change so who knows today but explore all possibilities, especially since you are basically living in Russia. The CR-1 is a better visa as she get's her green card when she arrives in the US and can work and travel right away. In the long run, it's cheaper also.

As for the time it takes for visas, my wife's son took one year. His got hung up in Texas along with a bunch of other folks. They called themselves the Texas hostages it took so long. Since it's been 5 months, contact your best senator and have them look into it. It won't be quick but they will look into it.

They might say you'll hear in 39 days but I think that's a worse case scenario.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Ok let me try to quell your pain.

First of all your RUB fiancee is not going to find anxiety attacks an attractive feature in her man. It is what it is and she is going to expect you to deal with it. Man's job (you can read more about it in these valuable threads)

Get yourself checked for any heart conditions because you need to know if your heart is healthy enough for sex with a RUB woman. Mine wasn't, and continuous acrobatic sex gave me a heart attack and I had to have bypass surgery. I can't recommend it. So get that addressed first. Beyond that, and once you have ruled out serious health problems...

Forget about trying to get an update from any government agency, it will only compound your problem, you will get it when you get, probably not too much longer. Get your mind off this beaurocratic BS and do something productive for your family in waiting.

Get all your interview documents ready now, if they are not already. Have your fiancee get her educational records, for both her and her daughter (if any) and have her get those to you, either by mail or by scanning and emailing. Get them translated, (here is usually cheaper and easier) get them evaluated (google "ECE")so she can use them for applying for education here, or for job references here.

Get school lined up for your daughter. You may need to make special arrangements for her language requirements, do that now. Check out ESL classes or other English classes for your fiancee, she is going to need them. Even if she speaks English fairly well, ESL classes cover a lot of things she never learned in English class in Russia.

Doing all this is going to take so much of your time you will never even notice the petition anymore and then HOLY MOLEY it will be approved and she will be on her way and you will be wondering where the time went.

You have lots more stress ahead of you, the visa is the easy part and that is no joke.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Get married in Russia and apply for a direct CR-1 visa directly from the consulate. If you've lived for an extended period in Russia you may qualify for this type of visa. It depends on what Hillary Clinton allows but in the past you could go direct if you lived in Russia and got married there. They can give you a visa VERY quickly this way. Contact the consulate and ask about this type of visa process. It can't hurt. Things change so who knows today but explore all possibilities, especially since you are basically living in Russia. The CR-1 is a better visa as she get's her green card when she arrives in the US and can work and travel right away. In the long run, it's cheaper also.

As for the time it takes for visas, my wife's son took one year. His got hung up in Texas along with a bunch of other folks. They called themselves the Texas hostages it took so long. Since it's been 5 months, contact your best senator and have them look into it. It won't be quick but they will look into it.

They might say you'll hear in 39 days but I think that's a worse case scenario.

Your first paragraph would be true if he had not already invested $340 and 5 months in a K-1. You have to have been legally residing in Russia for the 6 months prior to filing a DCF, he is not eligible for that now. A regular CR-1 would take much longer at this point.

He will probably get his NOA2 within 2 months and she will get her visa probably within the next 4 months, but no guarantees.

He can contact a Senator but it will probably not do much at this point. There is no indication USCIS has done anything "wrong" they are just behind in processing.

The OP has already made his visa type decision and put 5 months time into it, best to just stay the course at this point and busy oneself with productive work for his family. His fiancee will be happy to hear he has made arrangements for the child's education, etc.

EDIT: UNLESS I misread this and the OP is actually living in Moscow and has been LEGALLY for the 6 months previous to filing a DCF.

OP Please clarify ARE YOU living in Russia WITH your fiancee? This poses whole new sets of problems so please let us know.

Edited December 29, 2011 by Gary and Alla

[visaveteran1 33]

Your first paragraph would be true if he had not already invested $340 and 5 months in a K-1. You have to have been legally residing in Russia for the 6 months prior to filing a DCF, he is not eligible for that now. A regular CR-1 would take much longer at this point.

He will probably get his NOA2 within 2 months and she will get her visa probably within the next 4 months, but no guarantees.

He can contact a Senator but it will probably not do much at this point. There is no indication USCIS has done anything "wrong" they are just behind in processing.

The OP has already made his visa type decision and put 5 months time into it, best to just stay the course at this point and busy oneself with productive work for his family. His fiancee will be happy to hear he has made arrangements for the child's education, etc.

EDIT: UNLESS I misread this and the OP is actually living in Moscow and has been LEGALLY for the 6 months previous to filing a DCF.

OP Please clarify ARE YOU living in Russia WITH your fiancee? This poses whole new sets of problems so please let us know.

Your K-1 processing scenario is towards the optimistic. It could go to six months. And that assumes no other hitches.

One month and he's at 6. A DCF can be done in WEEKS. That's with a green card at the end. I only suggest this option because he's been in Russia for so long. When he applies for a DCF, they'll look at his passport visa to see when he came to Russia. His residence would be shown as Russia. Why doesn't he qualify? Anyway, I don't see why that's not worth an email or phone call. Just saying...

Yes, he tosses the K-1 fees, but in the long run he'll save money.

Edited December 29, 2011 by visaveteran1

[LvivLovers 39]

I feel your pain. My wife and I were only married for 1 week before I had to return to the US. It took 6 month to get our NOA2...the last month or two were the worst. I was contemplating quitting my job and going back to Ukraine because it was getting so unbearable.

I've also now started another visa journey to bring her mother to the USA and I'm also over the 5 month waiting period on that one. What's disconcerting to me is that when I do a timeline search here on VJ, I haven't seen a single approval for the same type of visa (IR-5) in more than 2 months. 2 months! Let me tell you why I think USCIS runs behind...because they are not working on OUR visas...they are working on someone else's visas. Most likely business-related visas. I haven't looked into it much to see if that's correct, but pretty sure I've seen them do that in the past.

Make good use of the time and think about what things your fiance will need once here. If she's anything like my wife, she's going to be looking for organic foods and even any local russian/ukrainian/european stores. We lucked out and have a really great one only a mile from our house, but we didn't know that for about 6 months to a year. So do some research. Also, if she's religious, find nearby churches for her religion. That'll mean a lot to her as well. Might as well take down all your decorations and what not as well so she can hang hers up. Your place WILL change.

I know it blows, but you are almost done with the worst part, so hang in there. Your approval should be coming any day.

[baron555 934]

So we rented an apartment in Moscow in September and enrolled her daughter in school there figureing we would have to struggle a few months. Now 5 months later I'm going broke and she is still there and no approval or interview in site. I have to go lay down just writeing this I am having chest pains.

Some things are not adding up, at least in my feeble mind.

What's up with the Filed for an F2A Visa in your profile?

And why would anyone move to the most expensive city in the world and wait for the NOA2?......even with that, there's at least three more months to wait for the interview?

Where did you both move from? Seems like you didn't do good homework.....at least you found VJ, where you can start doing this process intelligently.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Your K-1 processing scenario is towards the optimistic. It could go to six months. And that assumes no other hitches.

One month and he's at 6. A DCF can be done in WEEKS. That's with a green card at the end. I only suggest this option because he's been in Russia for so long. When he applies for a DCF, they'll look at his passport visa to see when he came to Russia. His residence would be shown as Russia. Why doesn't he qualify? Anyway, I don't see why that's not worth an email or phone call. Just saying...

Yes, he tosses the K-1 fees, but in the long run he'll save money.

OK, but it is not yet a math problem. Is the OP living legally in Moscow? I sincerely doubt it. You are aware that one does not just "move to Moscow" correct? The requirement is to be living LEGALLY in the country for 6 months immediately prior to filing the DCF. One does not have to be a permanent resident, he could be there on any sort of visa or in government service, does not matter, but it must be LEGAL and you must demonstrate that. There is no indication I see that he even qualifies for a DCF.

He has another problem IF he is living in Moscow (which he could be illegally, there are plenty of ways to do that) and that is the Affidavit of Support. What is he going to use as income? Or maybe he has a co-sponsor.

We simply do not have enough info.

My comments thus far are geared at passing the time in a productive manner rather than jumping off his horse in mid-stream, we do not even know if there is another route available to him yet

[visaveteran1 33]

OK, but it is not yet a math problem. Is the OP living legally in Moscow? I sincerely doubt it. You are aware that one does not just "move to Moscow" correct? The requirement is to be living LEGALLY in the country for 6 months immediately prior to filing the DCF. One does not have to be a permanent resident, he could be there on any sort of visa or in government service, does not matter, but it must be LEGAL and you must demonstrate that. There is no indication I see that he even qualifies for a DCF.

He has another problem IF he is living in Moscow (which he could be illegally, there are plenty of ways to do that) and that is the Affidavit of Support. What is he going to use as income? Or maybe he has a co-sponsor.

We simply do not have enough info.

My comments thus far are geared at passing the time in a productive manner rather than jumping off his horse in mid-stream, we do not even know if there is another route available to him yet

I hear you but why not email the consulate, ask about DCF and get a clear yes or no. Despite their bad reputation, the consulate staff can cut you some slack if they see your not playing games with them. The only two things I think he needs is a Russian residence address (anything but a hotel) and a dated visa in his passport to confirm how long he's been in russia. He obviously has a long-term visa, not just a tourist visa. If he needs Russian "employment records" a gratuity payment will handle that.

Like I said, worth an inquiry. He could even nose around the DCF forum and ask questions.

[Ban Hammer 13,337]

topic title edited from loose to lose. unless the op was talking about something else....

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I hear you but why not email the consulate, ask about DCF and get a clear yes or no. Despite their bad reputation, the consulate staff can cut you some slack if they see your not playing games with them. The only two things I think he needs is a Russian residence address (anything but a hotel) and a dated visa in his passport to confirm how long he's been in russia. He obviously has a long-term visa, not just a tourist visa. If he needs Russian "employment records" a gratuity payment will handle that.

Like I said, worth an inquiry. He could even nose around the DCF forum and ask questions.

Sure, no reason not to ask. email is free. I always had good results getting responses from Kiev

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

On Christmas day my petition acceptence was 5 months ago. So yesterday I called to see what is going on. The woman would.t answer any question directly, she just said that California center is way behind on approvals. She said now that its past the 5 months I'm concidered over the time of normal process. So she said because I called I will receive an answer in 39 days. Is she friggen kiding me 39 days.

In a couple of days will start 7th month since USCIS got out petition, and today it's 179 days since NOA1, and still nothing. I feel sorry for you, but 5 months really not a long time now for CSC.

We were told at Moscow embassy that from start to finish the whole process would be 3 to 6 months.

It's not true. As I could see by some forums statistics, whole process between sending petition and getting passport with visa takes in average 5-8 months in Moscow. Some people got to be lucky with just about 4-4.5 months, but some people spent 9-10 months for the whole process. So 3 months were unrealistic from the very beginning.