NOA2

[Dima_April 9]

So, it's been a wild ride so far and I'll never be at ease until we are married and have everything squared away. Until then, I've decided to buy stock in the Rolaids company! Seriously, I think I'm getting an ulcer!
Our petition was approved on Dec. 1 st 2015 and I received the I-179 in the mail on Dec. 7. Today, I tried to call the NVC, but couldn't get through - they don't even put you on hold! Instead, a little voice comes online and tells you try again later. I think, I would rather wait patiently on the phone.
As you may know from a previous post, just a day after our approval, my fiance gets a call from someone in Vladivostock, requesting him to return there for a re interview. The person that called and sent the email, didn't explain anything, just told him not to travel to the US. Funny thing is, when they provided the phone number for the Embassy, they added an extra zero. One lawyer, says that he should call, even travel there and find out what is going on; so not to hurt the visa process later. Another, says don't go, his interview will be in Moscow only. I'm so afraid, that something bad is going to happen.
The female lawyer, wants to prepare him, says that they look at males seeking to immigrate, more harshly, at least in Russia. Is that true?

[TBoneTX 45,286]

He should not call or travel to Vladivostok. Be attentive to relevant communications later from the Moscow embassy.

[Dima_April 9]

He should not call or travel to Vladivostok. Be attentive to relevant communications later from the Moscow embassy.

I'm listening; please tell me why, you think this?

Edited December 9, 2015 by Minmenzel

[naire37 53]

First off, so sorry to hear about your troubles! Hope the issues are resolved quickly and your man can be with you soon!

Now, this is important. Do any of his friends/relatives know of his plans to travel to US? To me it honestly looks like someone's winding you up or maybe even trying defraud. For example, the Vladivostok number could be an expensive "call to" number, you call them and they start billing you like crazy.

1. You have just received NOA-2 recently. NVC takes about 20 days to go through. Nobody in Russia should even be aware of his case coming down the pipeline yet.

2. All K1 process is dealt with within Moscow Embassy. Your best guess for not is calling them directly on the official number from their website and asking for status, if you so desire. They will probably tell you he's not in the system yet, as they haven't received anything from NVC yet.

3. What is "re-interview" if you've just gotten NOA-2? You guys didn't have 1st interview yet, is that correct?

Don't call any number some shady Vladivostok dude gives you. Trust only information that you get from the official sources that you know to be official.

The female lawyer, wants to prepare him, says that they look at males seeking to immigrate, more harshly, at least in Russia. Is that true?
Fire her. Not true at all. Our process was a complete breeze.

One lawyer, says that he should call, even travel there and find out what is going on; so not to hurt the visa process later.

Actually, nvm my previous advice, fire this one. If he's pushing for you to call/travel God knows where, he may be in on the defraud schema. Sorry for typical Russian paranoia, but this could seriously well be the case.

You best game plan is try and get info from the official sources at this point. Call NVC right after they open or right before they close and don't give up. 30 calls later, you're in the wait line, and 40 min later you can talk to someone who can actually give you all the info you need. Don't worry, just keep calling them.

[Dima_April 9]

First off, so sorry to hear about your troubles! Hope the issues are resolved quickly and your man can be with you soon!

Thank you. I had just started to breathe a little easier and then this!

Now, this is important. Do any of his friends/relatives know of his plans to travel to US? To me it honestly looks like someone's winding you up or maybe even trying defraud. For example, the Vladivostok number could be an expensive "call to" number, you call them and they start billing you like crazy.

Many are aware of our plans. We announced our engagement on Facebook, during the summer. We were going to use this as evidence we intend to marry. Establishing a time line. I had a friend or so I thought she was, get angry about our relationship. She went so far, as to look up one of the women that was on his FB page, that he had correspondence with (they to had met on the dating site). At first I was angry, but then realized that a dating site is for people to meet. At the end of the day, he decided to marry me. I am the one he came to see and I am the one he gave a ring to. Anyways, this person caused problems and I told her to stop. Whatever went on was over and I viewed him as my future husband. She continued to harass and I told her I would seek an attorney against her. She threatened to call immigration. I told her to do as she pleased, we broke no law and the government requires you meet at least once. He didn't even overstay the time. He could have stayed until November, but left in July. He has to work and we wanted permission - to do things correctly and by law.

1. You have just received NOA-2 recently. NVC takes about 20 days to go through. Nobody in Russia should even be aware of his case coming down the pipeline yet.

2. All K1 process is dealt with within Moscow Embassy. Your best guess for not is calling them directly on the official number from their website and asking for status, if you so desire. They will probably tell you he's not in the system yet, as they haven't received anything from NVC yet.

3. What is "re-interview" if you've just gotten NOA-2? You guys didn't have 1st interview yet, is that correct?

Regarding "re-interview"...I have no clue. This is the embassy in Vladivostok, they issue only tourist visas. Do they want him to come there and to ban him, b/c he met me? There has been no interview, regarding this K1 visa.

Don't call any number some shady Vladivostok dude gives you. Trust only information that you get from the official sources that you know to be official.

I would think that if the embassy in Vladivostok wanted to touch base with him, they would have sent something by mail; a hard copy. Instead, he gets this phone call and a very unofficial email. There was no letter head or info., behind her name to indicate her position at the embassy. All attorneys I have called and told about this, say it sounds very shady.

The female lawyer, wants to prepare him, says that they look at males seeking to immigrate, more harshly, at least in Russia. Is that true?

Fire her. Not true at all. Our process was a complete breeze.

One lawyer, says that he should call, even travel there and find out what is going on; so not to hurt the visa process later.

Actually, nvm my previous advice, fire this one. If he's pushing for you to call/travel God knows where, he may be in on the defraud schema. Sorry for typical Russian paranoia, but this could seriously well be the case.

The male lawyer, he said, it sounded illegitimate. He was nice enough, he just didn't want anything to hurt our case later. He did say, that he would leave it to Dima's discretion. H forced no issue.

Glad to hear the female lawyer is using scare tactics regarding males immigrating to the US.

I did speak with another teacher at school today and her sister-in-law, moved here from Russia, when she was in her teens, with her mother. They said, that you want a lawyer, because it sometimes helps push things along and there is also less chance of denial. If denied, you start back at step one. Really, everyone has there own opinions on lawyers. I'm not found of them myself, but not totally convinced we don't need one.

You best game plan is try and get info from the official sources at this point. Call NVC right after they open or right before they close and don't give up. 30 calls later, you're in the wait line, and 40 min later you can talk to someone who can actually give you all the info you need. Don't worry, just keep calling them.

I started calling the NVC this morning and finally got through. The lady was very nice. She told me that they have not received anything from USCIS yet. They have up to 35 days before they have to do something. She informed me that since they only approved on Dec. 1, the paperwork probably just hasn't reached them yet. I went on to tell her that the embassy in Vladivostok was trying to get him to come and she also mentioned that they wouldn't even be aware we had applied yet.

[baron555 934]

She informed me that since they only approved on Dec. 1, the paperwork probably just hasn't reached them yet. I went on to tell her that the embassy in Vladivostok was trying to get him to come and she also mentioned that they wouldn't even be aware we had applied yet.

So there you go. Yes it is too soon to call NVC and no one, officially, in Russia knows about the case, yet.

Ignore these emails, do not call and yes be aware of scams.

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

The female lawyer, wants to prepare him, says that they look at males seeking to immigrate, more harshly, at least in Russia. Is that true?

1) Do not waste money on the lawyer to "prepare" your fiance. Everything he needs to know is written on forums many times by people who experienced it themselves and lawyers usually don't know half of it. If he is looking for more specific information about Russia, I recommend to check the forum http://tutnetam.com/ - I used it as a main source of the information for K-1 regarding Russian specifics and everything went smooth. Again, lawyer did not immigrate herself on K-1 visa and in most cases she will not know anymore than people who went through this process which is the same path for almost everyone. Even on VJ there're plenty of stories about incompetent lawyers who just screw people's immigration process. If lawyer is trying to "prepare" your fiance for the interview it sounds to me like she just wants easy money.

2) No, I don't believe that in Moscow they look more harsh at guys who want to immigrate. They look harsh at people who have red flags obviously, but I didn't hear anything specific about troubles for guys. My interview in Moscow was very easy and quick, no problems at all.

- Victor from Russia

Edited December 11, 2015 by Amy_and_Victor

[vbtwo 54]

Our petition was approved on Dec. 1 st 2015 and I received the I-179 in the mail on Dec. 7. Today, I tried to call the NVC, but couldn't get through - they don't even put you on hold! Instead, a little voice comes online and tells you try again later. I think, I would rather wait patiently on the phone.

When we did it, I didn't call the official NVC number, but there's another call line for State department. They can tell you the same thing as the official NVC one as it's all in one system and they can check it, but almost nobody calls there, so you wait maximum of like 3 minutes for an operator. I'll try to find the number that I used.

Edit: I think this is the number: (202) 485-7600 They work from 8:30am to 5pm Eastern Time. This is the Department of State visa services line. Try calling here and see what they tell you.

Edited December 11, 2015 by vbtwo

[Dima_April 9]

When we did it, I didn't call the official NVC number, but there's another call line for State department. They can tell you the same thing as the official NVC one as it's all in one system and they can check it, but almost nobody calls there, so you wait maximum of like 3 minutes for an operator. I'll try to find the number that I used.

Edit: I think this is the number: (202) 485-7600 They work from 8:30am to 5pm Eastern Time. This is the Department of State visa services line. Try calling here and see what they tell you.

vbtwo, thank you for the phone number. You were so correct! I called during my lunch time and waited only a short time to speak with someone. So much better than calling the actual number for NVC.

I did get the MOS number and was told it should be at the embassy, sometime next week. I notice on the Timeline chart here, it asks about "Case #, IIN and BIN assigned."

What does that mean? I'm not sure what to do next. I also notice on the NOA2 we had a March cut off date.

Thank you all, for the help given thus far.