renewal of red passport?

[Steve S 2]

Irina's Russian passport expires next September. The effective expiration date therefore is in March because for many places you need 6 mos. valid passport beyond travel dates. Has anyone used one of the third party services to process a renewal? Irina says the consulate site states she would need to appear in person in Washington D.C. both to drop off the passport and then later to pick it up. So, two round trips/hotels/time off work (intended by Russian government to discourage this type of behavior?). But people do offer services through the mail - unsure if it is technically legal. The info is in Russian, well beyond my reading ability.

Info, please.

[baron555 934]

International or Internal passport?

[Steve S 2]

International

[jft 12]

If there's a consulate more convenient to you I believe she can also renew it there.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

FWIW Alla renewed her passport in Ukraine on one of our visits. We discussed it with the Ukrainian consulate here and it sounded like a lot of trouble. Since she goes there 1-2 times per year, she just did it on a visit. Ukraine allows people to renew passports up to 2 years early, so you need not wait until the last minute.

There is also the tactic of "Oops...I lost my passport" They give you a new one valid for another 10 years. So if you do not visit every year, maybe consider one of those options.

[SMR 368]

http://www.russianembassy.org/page/russian-consulates-in-the-u-s

This tells you which consulate/embassy you are supposed to go to based on what state you live in. Basically, if you live somewhere in the middle it's going to be inconvenient. I've never used one of the renewal services. We've lived close enough that it's a day trip which makes going in person the reasonable choice. If you had a link to the service that you are considering, there are people here that might be able to read the Russian and give their opinion.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Irina's Russian passport expires next September. The effective expiration date therefore is in March because for many places you need 6 mos. valid passport beyond travel dates. Has anyone used one of the third party services to process a renewal? Irina says the consulate site states she would need to appear in person in Washington D.C. both to drop off the passport and then later to pick it up. So, two round trips/hotels/time off work (intended by Russian government to discourage this type of behavior?). But people do offer services through the mail - unsure if it is technically legal. The info is in Russian, well beyond my reading ability.

Info, please.

Keep in mind that the "effective" date for RUSSIA is September, not March. Those "6 month rules" usually relate to applying for visas, not for entering one's home country and not for entering the US with a valid green card.

IF you will be going to Russia before next September and don't need some other visa (Shengen visa for example) then just do it when you are there. Also Sergey got got his International passport in Ukraine, when Pasha turned 16 he got his internal passport in Ukraine and this year got his international passport in Ukraine. Show the birth certificate and internal passport and pay the fee. Very simple. while there, get her dental work done, an eye exam, a year's supply of contact lenses. We even buy our toothpaste there...the huge tube of "Blend-a-Med" herbal toothpaste is 60 cents! Awesome knife sharpening, shoe and purse repair, manicure, pedicure, waxing and haircut...you got the cost of the ticket covered!

[Steve S 2]

Update, we are most likely going to use a company that expedites processing rather than go to Washington (which services our region). One of Irina's friends from a Russian forum has used them so we know they are legitimate. I can post their info with the next update.

Now, the thing is, they no longer are allowed to do by mail so she will still have to travel twice - to Chicago. Representatives from the Russian consulate set up shop there certain weekends. We will have to pay a fee for this service - $300+. The reason we will pay for this is that now Irina is working and it is extremely difficult for her to get a weekday off and we cannot do it during her next vacation week. We can get a guaranteed weekend appointment time this way.

We actually need the passport well in advance but that is good to know that the 6-month rule does not apply everywhere.

[Neonred 3,564]

DO NOT let the Russian passport expire. My wife was going to renew hers in Russia, but we made a mistake when looking at the expiration date (expired 9/10 instead of 10/9....you know how we write dates differently) and just missed going to Russia. Called the Russian embassy and they said she would not be allowed to enter Russia. Thought about using the agency in Chicago and even spoke with them. They seemed helpful and legit. The embassy said that she would need to prove she was a Russian citizen since her passport was expired. We paid the embassy and provided all the required documents, but as is typically Russian, that wasn't enough. We have tried everything we can think of here, and with influential friends in Russia but just have not been able to fix the issue. A couple of grand would probably do it, but we don't need it that bad. My wife is a US citizen now so we can go pretty much anywhere EXCEPT Russia, which is fine with her.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

DO NOT let the Russian passport expire. My wife was going to renew hers in Russia, but we made a mistake when looking at the expiration date (expired 9/10 instead of 10/9....you know how we write dates differently) and just missed going to Russia. Called the Russian embassy and they said she would not be allowed to enter Russia. Thought about using the agency in Chicago and even spoke with them. They seemed helpful and legit. The embassy said that she would need to prove she was a Russian citizen since her passport was expired. We paid the embassy and provided all the required documents, but as is typically Russian, that wasn't enough. We have tried everything we can think of here, and with influential friends in Russia but just have not been able to fix the issue. A couple of grand would probably do it, but we don't need it that bad. My wife is a US citizen now so we can go pretty much anywhere EXCEPT Russia, which is fine with her.

Do you guys ever go to Russia? Maybe it would be easier to get her a visa for her US passport, go to Russia and renew her Russian passport while there.

Admittedly the Russian (and Ukrainian) passports are of little use EXCEPT for going to Russia, but hey, if you are going anyway...why not? I never like to "take points off the board" so to speak. Better to have something and not need it.

[Neonred 3,564]

Do you guys ever go to Russia? Maybe it would be easier to get her a visa for her US passport, go to Russia and renew her Russian passport while there.

Admittedly the Russian (and Ukrainian) passports are of little use EXCEPT for going to Russia, but hey, if you are going anyway...why not? I never like to "take points off the board" so to speak. Better to have something and not need it.

Wife says we are not going back, our friends can come visit us here (and one is here right now). She says Russia is a dump compared to where we live, and totally corrupt.

Can't get a visa in her US passport. Her US passport lists her birth place as USSR, and Russia will not give her a visa unless she has renounced her Russian citizenship. We inquired about that since they cannot seem to determin that she is a Russian citizen. Their answer was, "sure you can renounce your citizenship. First step is to fill out this paperwork and submit it along with your current valid unexpired Russian passport"

I haven't given up on this, but she sure has.

[ONA 133]

DO NOT let the Russian passport expire. My wife was going to renew hers in Russia, but we made a mistake when looking at the expiration date (expired 9/10 instead of 10/9....you know how we write dates differently) and just missed going to Russia. Called the Russian embassy and they said she would not be allowed to enter Russia. Thought about using the agency in Chicago and even spoke with them. They seemed helpful and legit. The embassy said that she would need to prove she was a Russian citizen since her passport was expired. We paid the embassy and provided all the required documents, but as is typically Russian, that wasn't enough. We have tried everything we can think of here, and with influential friends in Russia but just have not been able to fix the issue. A couple of grand would probably do it, but we don't need it that bad. My wife is a US citizen now so we can go pretty much anywhere EXCEPT Russia, which is fine with her.

First of all, if the internal passport is still valid, the OP's wife is fine. My international passport expired in December 2012, I renewed it in 2013. It was not a problem at all, but my internal passport was still valid.

Second of all, proving your citizenship is very easy, even if all of your passports have expired. I know people, who have done it recently - not a problem. I don't know what you're talking about by saying that something was "typically Russian" because everybody I know, including myself, had a very positive experience dealing with the embassy in Washington DC.

I will never understand people like your wife. How can you call anything a dump if you haven't been there for years? I visited my city in July and it was amazing.

[Neonred 3,564]

First of all, if the internal passport is still valid, the OP's wife is fine. My international passport expired in December 2012, I renewed it in 2013. It was not a problem at all, but my internal passport was still valid.

Second of all, proving your citizenship is very easy, even if all of your passports have expired. I know people, who have done it recently - not a problem. I don't know what you're talking about by saying that something was "typically Russian" because everybody I know, including myself, had a very positive experience dealing with the embassy in Washington DC.

I will never understand people like your wife. How can you call anything a dump if you haven't been there for years? I visited my city in July and it was amazing.

Yes, the internal passport is expired, and that causes a major problem.

I can say the embassy has been less than helpful, and apparently just do not want to deal with the problem. After doing everything they ask, they just say sorry, we can't determine that you are a Russian citizen. We all know here about "Russain customer service"! Sorry to offend you as I know you are just defending your homeland.

We both were there a few years ago and some things have improved a little, but it is still a dump,(outside of Moscow and St Petersburg) especially compared to where we live. We have a lot of friends that come to visit us, and have one here right now, and they all are amazed at the area we live in and agree how sad things appear in Russia. You can't deny the extreme corruption and poor infrastructure, along with rapidly increasing costs for basic necessities.

We just don't need to go back. We would rather go to new and interesting places, and have trips picked out for the next couple of years.

[Abell 11]

one other option you might consider is to get medical paper from some doctor who can sign a paper saying that it is hard for you to travel because of some medical condition then you can mail docs to embasy

Update, we are most likely going to use a company that expedites processing rather than go to Washington (which services our region). One of Irina's friends from a Russian forum has used them so we know they are legitimate. I can post their info with the next update.
Now, the thing is, they no longer are allowed to do by mail so she will still have to travel twice - to Chicago. Representatives from the Russian consulate set up shop there certain weekends. We will have to pay a fee for this service - $300+. The reason we will pay for this is that now Irina is working and it is extremely difficult for her to get a weekday off and we cannot do it during her next vacation week. We can get a guaranteed weekend appointment time this way.
We actually need the passport well in advance but that is good to know that the 6-month rule does not apply everywhere.

[SMR 368]

Do you guys ever go to Russia? Maybe it would be easier to get her a visa for her US passport, go to Russia and renew her Russian passport while there.

Admittedly the Russian (and Ukrainian) passports are of little use EXCEPT for going to Russia, but hey, if you are going anyway...why not? I never like to "take points off the board" so to speak. Better to have something and not need it.

Getting a visa in the US passport to travel to Russia would be a violation of Russian law. It's illegal for a Russian citizen to enter Russia using a document other than a Russian passport. The application for a Russian visa asks if the user is or ever has been a Russian citizen. Answering yes to this question would basically ensure a denial. I can't say what would happen if you answer no (when the answer is yes), but I suspect it could end badly.

Edited October 21, 2013 by SMR