Embassy change?

[557chris 0]

My fiancee is a Russian citizen that currently is living in Ukraine. When we originally filed for the fiancee petition, I requested that our file be sent to Kiev, Ukraine embassy. Now, she will most likely moving back to Moscow. Is it possible to change the embassy from Kiev to Moscow? I believe our case will be adjudicated any day now, and I do not want to make this request if it will slow down the process or create a large amount of paperwork. If anyone has experience with this, please let me know if this possible change is worth the trouble, or if it caused additional waiting for the NOA2.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

My fiancee is a Russian citizen that currently is living in Ukraine. When we originally filed for the fiancee petition, I requested that our file be sent to Kiev, Ukraine embassy. Now, she will most likely moving back to Moscow. Is it possible to change the embassy from Kiev to Moscow? I believe our case will be adjudicated any day now, and I do not want to make this request if it will slow down the process or create a large amount of paperwork. If anyone has experience with this, please let me know if this possible change is worth the trouble, or if it caused additional waiting for the NOA2.

It will not cause an increase in waiting for the NOA2 and you need not change anything with USCIS, too late for that.

FIRST, wait to see who NVC assigns it to. USCIS does not assign the consulate, NVC does. Often enough they ignore anything on the I-129f and simply send it to the home country of the applicant. In that case, this is a non issue.

SECOND, if you do want to change it, you do that with the consulate, not USCIS. The amount of trouble varies with consulates, with Moscow and Kiev probably not too much trouble, but neither is a flight from one to the other a lot of trouble. Also neither one is a difficult consulate. From my take, Kiev is slightly easier to deal with but not much.

In any case, if she was in Ukraine for more than 6 months she needs a Ukrainian police certificate. Get it before she leaves.

[557chris 0]

That is great news! It sounds like we have about a 50/50 chance of getting the Moscow embassy anyway. She already has the police certificate from Kiev, so no problems there. We will just wait and see which embassy we get. If it is Kiev, she might just go back there for the interview rather than having the embassy transfer it to Moscow. I am not sure we want to risk any possible trouble or delays from that. Thank you very much. I appreciate the reply.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

That is great news! It sounds like we have about a 50/50 chance of getting the Moscow embassy anyway. She already has the police certificate from Kiev, so no problems there. We will just wait and see which embassy we get. If it is Kiev, she might just go back there for the interview rather than having the embassy transfer it to Moscow. I am not sure we want to risk any possible trouble or delays from that. Thank you very much. I appreciate the reply.

One thing in this process is that there are going to be some "SNAFUs". It is bound to happen. For one thing, USCIS is so ponderously slow about updating anything (our I-129f still says "initial review") and it takes 4-5 months to update an address with them. Like many government agencies (wait until you deal with DMV or SS office) they have a template to follow. If you do not follow that template, it is like ordering a Big Mac with no onions! It increases your odds exponentially of a problem...something "lost". Do NOT promote SNAFUs!

Traveling from Moscow to Kiev is easy, she needs no visa, and can easily schedule her medical for one day and the interview for the next day. Certainly no worse than traveling from Donetsk, Ukraine to Kiev...or from St Petersburg to Moscow for a Russian woman. Aerosvit and Aeroflot have some cheap airfares if you book ahead. We have almost abandoned train travel which we used to do alot because we can get very reasonable fares from Kiev to Donetsk. No longer enough difference to make up for the overnight train ride IMHO.

I agree with your idea...see where it goes and follow it there. Easier, cheaper, faster.