Interview in Moscow

[Justinc87 0]

Hello everyone!

Very happy to finally have our date of February 17th. I'm in the process of getting my Russian visa and getting our place reserved and all of that good stuff.

My question is this, what questions were you guys asked in the interview. I have found a lot of sample questions online, but I'd prefer to hear first hand what other people have experienced.

Following my wife's approval, I'd like to request the visa in person. My lawyer suggested I try so she could come home with me, has anyone here done this?
If not I'd like to have her visa sent to her cousin's address in Moscow instead of her having to return to Kaliningrad. Doe anyone know if this would be an issue?

Any answers or suggestions on these things would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Justin

[Avery Cates 1,141]

Hello everyone!

Very happy to finally have our date of February 17th. I'm in the process of getting my Russian visa and getting our place reserved and all of that good stuff.

My question is this, what questions were you guys asked in the interview. I have found a lot of sample questions online, but I'd prefer to hear first hand what other people have experienced.

Following my wife's approval, I'd like to request the visa in person. My lawyer suggested I try so she could come home with me, has anyone here done this?

If not I'd like to have her visa sent to her cousin's address in Moscow instead of her having to return to Kaliningrad. Doe anyone know if this would be an issue?

Any answers or suggestions on these things would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Justin

If you think you're getting the visa right after the interview I've got some bad news for you, if that's what you mean.

[Justinc87 0]

If you think you're getting the visa right after the interview I've got some bad news for you, if that's what you mean.

That was one of my questions yes, I am fairly certain that it won't happen. But since my lawyer said to ask I wanted to see if anyone had done this.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

That was one of my questions yes, I am fairly certain that it won't happen. But since my lawyer said to ask I wanted to see if anyone had done this.

Once the interview is had, the interviewing officer approves or denies it. If the visa is approved, it goes to processing. The thing with processing is during the process of it, it will go into AP. Sometimes AP is quick, sometimes it can take months, there's no way to tell, and once it's in AP limbo there's nothing you can do about it, but there's no way around it, either.

Do not make plans or buy any flight tickets to the US until you actually have the visa in your, or her, hand.

[Ryan H 3,818]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to Russia, Ukraine, & Belarus regional forum; OP's questions are Russia specific.

[MrsCrabs 24]

Hello everyone!

Very happy to finally have our date of February 17th. I'm in the process of getting my Russian visa and getting our place reserved and all of that good stuff.

My question is this, what questions were you guys asked in the interview. I have found a lot of sample questions online, but I'd prefer to hear first hand what other people have experienced.

Following my wife's approval, I'd like to request the visa in person. My lawyer suggested I try so she could come home with me, has anyone here done this?

If not I'd like to have her visa sent to her cousin's address in Moscow instead of her having to return to Kaliningrad. Doe anyone know if this would be an issue?

Any answers or suggestions on these things would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Justin

Hello!

Can`t you make it so passport and visa would stay at Pony Express office so you can pick it up yourself later? I think there is such option when you choose where your visa should be sent.

[Justinc87 0]

I didn't think about that, possibly, but I read of some where it takes a week or even up to a month for the embassy to actually send it. That may work though. I will have to talk to her and see if that's an option when we get there!

Hello!

Can`t you make it so passport and visa would stay at Pony Express office so you can pick it up yourself later? I think there is such option when you choose where your visa should be sent.

[Advanced Aardvark 82]

Hello everyone!

Very happy to finally have our date of February 17th. I'm in the process of getting my Russian visa and getting our place reserved and all of that good stuff.

My question is this, what questions were you guys asked in the interview. I have found a lot of sample questions online, but I'd prefer to hear first hand what other people have experienced.

Following my wife's approval, I'd like to request the visa in person. My lawyer suggested I try so she could come home with me, has anyone here done this?

If not I'd like to have her visa sent to her cousin's address in Moscow instead of her having to return to Kaliningrad. Doe anyone know if this would be an issue?

Any answers or suggestions on these things would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Justin

Our situation was a bit different since we did a K1 / K2 visa process, but we can shed a little light on our experience. First, K1 visas get the fiancee to the US much quicker; months versus a year or more wait if you marry first. This is something you already knew, or should have known, before you married. IR1 / CR1 has AOS advantages once you are in the US. The trade off is how soon your loved one arrives in the US vs. the overall cost and time to adjust status. VJ has excellent timeline information about processing intervals for different visas. The timeline info for IR1 / CR1 in Russia will help you to manage your expectations.

When Olga was interviewed in Moscow, she was asked:

- How we met.

- How many times we met in person.

- About my family - brothers, sisters, parents, etc.

- About her family.

- How how often we communicate.

- How long we had known each other.

- Do we have photos taken when we were together.

The specimen questions on VJ were VERY helpful in preparing for the interview. They provided a framework for organizing the relationship information that we already knew and had. Having the framework offered peace of mind.

K1 visas are processed relatively quickly after the interview. We asked that the visa be sent to the DHL office nearest to where Olga's apartment was located. This allowed us to do some tourist stuff in Moscow without worrying about the mail being stolen. There was no problem with the passports being sent to the DHL office care of Olga. Since you will likely have a much longer wait for your visa, this will probably not be much of an issue for you.

I went to Moscow when Olga had the interview. They did not permit me to attend the interview; but, I was there. At the interview, Olga advised that we had tickets to the US in seven days. The IO advised that the process could take up to two weeks, but they wold see what they could do to speed things up. In a day or two, the package was already at the DHL office. The US Consulate in Moscow was very helpful and accommodating. Olga was quite stressed before the interview. After it was over, she said that the staff at the Consulate were very professional and polite: It was a good experience.

Good luck.

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

Many lawyers don't clearly understand every little step in receiving immigration visa, especially about abroad part. It doesn't hurt to ask, but nobody will print your visa right away after interview. On average it takes about a week to get visa issued but like others mentioned, it may take months in certain cases and you never know ahead. I don't think there is an option to pick up your passport yourself at the Embassy unless they changed procedure, but like advised above, once your visa is issued try to give a call to the Pony Express and talk to them about pickup option at their location.

Regarding interview, I don't know if it's much different for K1 and IR1/CR1, but mine was fairly easy. I don't remember every single question since it's been a few years, but I was asked few questions about how we met and communicate, few questions about our plans to live in the US (like where we plan to live) and I was quizzed on some random fact from Amy's current biography that officer could see in the papers to check if I know detailes of her life at least on the level of our petition. He was very nice and approved me much faster than I expected, but I got the feeling that he wanted me to answer every question right away, without thinking, may be he wanted to see if we actually have discussed plans and know each other well. Moscow Embassy is knows as pretty easy, ther're not much of denials and most Russians have positive experience with their interviews so don't worry too much.

- Victor from Russia