NOA2!! Need some advice!!

[billsafari 0]

I need some advice!!!! I am at CSC, Moscow Embassy, recieved NOA1 March 9, they recieved petition 3/01. Looking at the immigration timelimes(CSC and Moscow embassy, 3 month and 6 month) I am HOPING for NOA2 email around May 28. (I know, dont hope too much!!) I am leaving for Russia May 31 -Aug 31 for 3 months and (hoping) that she will come home with me. (dont laugh). Anyway, do I need the NOA2 or copy for interview?? Or any other documents from CSC or NVC??? Ideally I would like to leave about a week or so after approval but tickects jump from 1150.00 May 31 to 2050.00 June 1st, plus I miss her dearly!!! Do I need to stay until approval???? I have prepared all documents(FED EX) for any RFE scenarios. I need some advice!!!!

Met Dec 4!!

Visit Jan 23-30 2007

Visit Mar 12-27 2007

Visit May- Help!!!

[akdiver 3]

I need some advice!!!! I am at CSC, Moscow Embassy, recieved NOA1 March 9, they recieved petition 3/01. Looking at the immigration timelimes(CSC and Moscow embassy, 3 month and 6 month) I am HOPING for NOA2 email around May 28. (I know, dont hope too much!!) I am leaving for Russia May 31 -Aug 31 for 3 months and (hoping) that she will come home with me. (dont laugh). Anyway, do I need the NOA2 or copy for interview?? Or any other documents from CSC or NVC??? Ideally I would like to leave about a week or so after approval but tickects jump from 1150.00 May 31 to 2050.00 June 1st, plus I miss her dearly!!! Do I need to stay until approval???? I have prepared all documents(FED EX) for any RFE scenarios. I need some advice!!!!

Just hold your horses there hoss, you seem clueless about how the process works, at least from what I can figure out from your post. First, lets clarify our terms. Here are they, as I understand them:

NOA-1: receipt for filing from your service center, in this case CSC

NOA-2: petition approval notice from your service center, indicating petition has been sent to NVC

??? : I got a notice from NVC that said things had been forwarded to embassy in Moscow, but it was just

a plain letter. No one is referring to this as a NOA as far as I can tell

Embassy Packet: fiancee gets a packet from the embassy, indicating an interview date and some things

she needs to know, things she needs to have, and so forth

So that's the paperwork as is generally discussed on here. But you're talking about the embassy receiving NOA-1, and waiting for them to send NOA-2, and I have no idea what that may mean.

I can give you our timeline, picking up from NVC. NVC notified me they sent stuff to the embassy around the first week of March. Some time in April (at least 4 weeks later), Embassy sent financee the packet of info, and scheduled her interview for July. So that interview date is a good four months AFTER NVC sent the embassy info.

Also, the packet of stuff your beloved will get tells her she needs a police certificate. That can take some time to get. If she does not already have it, she should get on it! In some jurisdictions, she can get this without having to have the request from the embassy, but other people have said they can't get anything without the embassy request. Your mileage may vary.

At any rate, I think odds are good that it may be 4 months between when the embassy get stuff from NVC, and when your beloved gets an interview. So, assuming they got something from NVC on March 1st, then it would likely be July first or later before she got an interview. This is all just guesswork, since I can't really tell what you are talking about with the embassy receiving NOAs. What they get is stuff from NVC, not a NOA1 and NOA2 from CSC. Can you clarify what you are talking about?

In any event, your wife does not need ANY NOA from CSC, NVC, or anywhere else. All that stuff will be in the packet the embassy gets from NVC. All your fiancee needs is the stuff detailed in the packet she will receive from the embassy, once they get stuff from NVC and schedules her for an interview. Some of this stuff is stuff from you, including proof of income, NOTARIZED affidavit of support, proof you are a citizen, and other such things. If you go to the embassy website, they have a list of stuff they MAY ask for.

By the way, you will not be permitted to attend the interview, no matter how much you beg, plea, fantasize, or whatever else.

My advise is to plan your trip without regard to possible interviews. Go, have a good time, eat, drink, ######, be merry, whatever you need to do over there. However, I would gather up all your papers (see above) and so forth, and leave them with her when you are there, in the event her interview doesn't happen before you go home.

You do not need to "go and get her" when it is time for her to come over, and you do not need to buy her a 2-way ticket. You can buy her a 1-way ticket and let her make the trip by herself if you want, it will save you some money (it's also what I did).

Tip: assuming she does not have her interview before you return, use your checked luggage capacity to bring over some of her #######. She can bring more this way, or at least not to have to carry it all herself when she comes. Either she brings more ####### overall, or doesn't have to bring much ####### when she actually comes - either way, it's a good thing to do. My last visit was about 4 months before my wife's interview, and I brought back two huge suitcases full of her stuff (I didn't have any of my own checked luggage). It really helped her out a lot because she was able to travel without carrying much at all. This is a big bonus if she is traveling by herself. Also, if you DO intend to go back over there after she is approved and travel back here with her, then leave some of your clothes there - enough so that when you make the next trip, you do not have to check any luggage. Easier travel, and can increase your return cargo capacity.

Good luck!

AKDiver

[Thomas-n-Elena 0]

Bill,

You need to relax a little this isnt a sprint it is a marathon particularly with the Russian government. From what you timeline shows you are fine to go visit but your fiance will most likely not be returning with you. I filed last year about the time you filed this year and it took my wife until december to get here so be patient. You have only received notice that CSC received your petition they havent done anything with it yet. Go ahead and visit during the process, read alot of the information on this site and pass it on to you beloved, when I visited Elena a couple of months after filing we talked about all the things she would need to do and how much money it would cost to do it. When I got home a couple of weeks later I prepared a wire transfer and got her the money she needed for the medical exam, police certificate etc and all the other little things that pop up. As backed up as the service centers are right now with everything K1's are going to take awhile. Dont try to guess or estimate and make travel plans based on guesswork because it doesnt help. Be happy, be patient, and listen to the people who have been there.

AK diver knows what he is talking about and so do most of the other people here. Ask questions that what we do here is help people through this exciting, stressful and somewhat traumatic process.

[slim 1,525]

Your scenario is possible.

Probable? .... highly unlikely.

Congrats on getting the NOA I, that means you're on your way. That said, best case scenario is that she'll be done with the interview and will be able to return with you at the end of August. More likely though, you'll get NOA II in a few weeks, (your estimate may be spot on..... OR WAY OFF!) and you'll have to wait a few more weeks for it to process through NVC and get to the embassy, then for them to assign an interview date.

If all goes well, it "could" happen.

As stated by the previous posters, it's best when dealing with anything in Russia to not spend a lot of money on something that's not going to be guaranteed. The U.S., nor the Russian government have a set timetable when dealing with anything, so you're better off to be fluid with times and dates.

What I'm wondering though, if you have the ability to go to Russia for 3 months, what's an extra grand? How are you able to go there for 3 months? And since you are, can you just adjust your dates for when you find out exactly when her interview will be? That would be best. Keep in mind also that she can stay in Russia for up to six months AFTER the interview.

Give us a little more info, and maybe we could help you zone in on the best timetable.

[billsafari 0]

Your scenario is possible.

Probable? .... highly unlikely.

Congrats on getting the NOA I, that means you're on your way. That said, best case scenario is that she'll be done with the interview and will be able to return with you at the end of August. More likely though, you'll get NOA II in a few weeks, (your estimate may be spot on..... OR WAY OFF!) and you'll have to wait a few more weeks for it to process through NVC and get to the embassy, then for them to assign an interview date.

If all goes well, it "could" happen.

As stated by the previous posters, it's best when dealing with anything in Russia to not spend a lot of money on something that's not going to be guaranteed. The U.S., nor the Russian government have a set timetable when dealing with anything, so you're better off to be fluid with times and dates.

What I'm wondering though, if you have the ability to go to Russia for 3 months, what's an extra grand? How are you able to go there for 3 months? And since you are, can you just adjust your dates for when you find out exactly when her interview will be? That would be best. Keep in mind also that she can stay in Russia for up to six months AFTER the interview.

Give us a little more info, and maybe we could help you zone in on the best timetable.

I will be leaving May31 to Aug 31. I have based my timetable (assuming no RFE's) from the immigration timeables for Moscow consulate and CSC using the 3 month and 6 month statistics. If all goes well I think it will be close. It looks to be about 85 days on average from NOA1 to NOA2. That would put me around May 25 (NOA1 3/1). Then it looks like another 85 to 90 from NOA2 to interview. It will be close, I thinks its about 80% to a coin toss . Ideally I would like to leave about 10 days after NOA2, that would give about 100 days to interview.

My money is tight and tickets jump from 1158.00 May 31 to 2050 on June 1. As for my job, I will be quitting. They are nice enough to give me necessary documents for interview. They will try to hold my job for me but I have 2 other jobs lined up just in case. I dont have any bills other than my car loan and student loan and visa. I did a forbearance til Sept for my student loan and will pay my car and insurance up to Sept. I will have a co-sponser as a precaution because I was a full time student in 2004 and 2005.

As for changing the ticket, I have to have a date and it costs 200.00 to change. I just changed ticket from 5/14 to 5/31 to give me more time. Do I need a hard copy(or copy) of the NOA2 for the interview??????? I am alittle concerned if I leave before approval. I will have all documents prepared for any RFE scenario and my mom will check my mail everyday and be prepared to FED EX any RFE's.

Looking at the statistics for CSC and Moscow Embassy without doing any means, normal distributions or standard deviations, it looks like I have a high probability to be at interview assuming a NOA2 of around May 25. It seems most apps go fairly smooth with consistent time frames minus a couple of outliers. I do not believe looking at data beyond 6 months is useful. NOA2 (or copy) for interview?????? ?????????????

I would like to come home with her, but at the very least I will kill 3 months and she would be only a few weeks behind me. In addition I would like to be there for interview(i know they wonty let me in). OH yeah, she was denied a tourist visa FEb 20 2007, can this be a problem??????????

Met Dec 4 2006

Russia Jan23-30 2007 Engaged Jan24!!!

Russia Mar 12-27 2007

Russia May31- Aug 31 2007??????

[slim 1,525]

Tourist visa denial will not be a problem....

Spending all of your money on a Russian "vacation" right before you need to set up a household with a new wife will be.

Dude, think it over, this whole process of what you're doing. If money's tight right now, it's going to be SUPER tight when you come back. I know it all seems "possible" and when you come back you've got jobs lined up and everything figured out, but you're taking a HUGE chance on timing this all together correctly and not having anything to fall back on. I can tell you one of the biggest problems you're going to face when she gets here is that the two of you will not have enough money to do everything that she wants to do or to buy everything that she "needs."

Plus, you need to prove to the embassy that you make the money you make, and you're going to continue making that money in the future after her arrival. Your cosponsor can do this for you, but if you're going to be providing your stuff for the interview, you need to have your stuff for later as well. Also, don't forget, you need to submit your I-130 financial support documents with tax returns, bank statements, employer letter, etc., to her to take to the interview.

Proving all of this to the embassy is actually the easy part. Paying your rent, buying food, paying for gas, insurance, electric, and still having enough money left over to do something together is the hard part. Remember, she's not going to work for several months after her arrival, and you're going to be supporting a two person home ON YOUR OWN. That's a huge cost, especially when switching from a full-time student.

Good luck in doing it, and I'm not knocking what you're doing. If it's possible, do it! I'm just saying, step back, crunch the numbers, and if you're just barely in the + side, don't do it. If you've got several grand saved up, OK, maybe then you can go. If not..... tell her you'll see her here in August.

[billsafari 0]

Tourist visa denial will not be a problem....

Spending all of your money on a Russian "vacation" right before you need to set up a household with a new wife will be.

Dude, think it over, this whole process of what you're doing. If money's tight right now, it's going to be SUPER tight when you come back. I know it all seems "possible" and when you come back you've got jobs lined up and everything figured out, but you're taking a HUGE chance on timing this all together correctly and not having anything to fall back on. I can tell you one of the biggest problems you're going to face when she gets here is that the two of you will not have enough money to do everything that she wants to do or to buy everything that she "needs."

Plus, you need to prove to the embassy that you make the money you make, and you're going to continue making that money in the future after her arrival. Your cosponsor can do this for you, but if you're going to be providing your stuff for the interview, you need to have your stuff for later as well. Also, don't forget, you need to submit your I-130 financial support documents with tax returns, bank statements, employer letter, etc., to her to take to the interview.

Proving all of this to the embassy is actually the easy part. Paying your rent, buying food, paying for gas, insurance, electric, and still having enough money left over to do something together is the hard part. Remember, she's not going to work for several months after her arrival, and you're going to be supporting a two person home ON YOUR OWN. That's a huge cost, especially when switching from a full-time student.

Good luck in doing it, and I'm not knocking what you're doing. If it's possible, do it! I'm just saying, step back, crunch the numbers, and if you're just barely in the + side, don't do it. If you've got several grand saved up, OK, maybe then you can go. If not..... tell her you'll see her here in August.

I thought it was the I-134???? My money is tight, but not too tight. Do we really need a letter from a financial officer from my bank or can I bring monthly bank statements along with my paystubs to match my deposits for the last year??? My impression was Bank of America wasn't too interested in doing such a thing for me.

As for the timing, yeah I know it will be close, I am really not holding my breath for her to return with me. We are looking to kill 3 months more than anything, plus 3 months in the summer in Russia will be nice. Her mother has a summer house on a river with monster trout.

[Thomas-n-Elena 0]

That is great but Im a little concerned with the killing of three months. It was almost nine months from the time I saw Elena in May of 06 to when she arrived in December of 06. The waiting is hard but you get the reward of a lifetime. Personally I would save some of the money, go for a month visit, have fun, eat monster trout, whatever. Come home and have everything in order for her arrival. Plus when you go bring an extra bag that is empty and you can bring some of her things back with you so she will feel at home right away.

When Elena arrived a day after her luggage(missed a flight in atlanta) I had all of her suitcase unpacked and placed in drawers and the closet and in the bath room. She was very happy, thanked me and then moved everything to where she wanted it. We still laugh about this.

I agree with Slim and not because we both married Russian women named Elena but he speaks the truth and it is wise advice. Just be patient it will all happen soon enough.

[russ 1]

BofA didn't do it for me either. They were happy with pay stubs and statements.

I thought it was the I-134???? My money is tight, but not too tight. Do we really need a letter from a financial officer from my bank or can I bring monthly bank statements along with my paystubs to match my deposits for the last year??? My impression was Bank of America wasn't too interested in doing such a thing for me.

As for the timing, yeah I know it will be close, I am really not holding my breath for her to return with me. We are looking to kill 3 months more than anything, plus 3 months in the summer in Russia will be nice. Her mother has a summer house on a river with monster trout.

[billsafari 0]

That is great but Im a little concerned with the killing of three months. It was almost nine months from the time I saw Elena in May of 06 to when she arrived in December of 06. The waiting is hard but you get the reward of a lifetime. Personally I would save some of the money, go for a month visit, have fun, eat monster trout, whatever. Come home and have everything in order for her arrival. Plus when you go bring an extra bag that is empty and you can bring some of her things back with you so she will feel at home right away.

When Elena arrived a day after her luggage(missed a flight in atlanta) I had all of her suitcase unpacked and placed in drawers and the closet and in the bath room. She was very happy, thanked me and then moved everything to where she wanted it. We still laugh about this.

I agree with Slim and not because we both married Russian women named Elena but he speaks the truth and it is wise advice. Just be patient it will all happen soon enough.

I will never wait nine months!! NEVER! One cant use data from a year ago to determine my potential timeline. They are completely independent of each other.

[Satellite 1]

My money is tight and tickets jump from 1158.00 May 31 to 2050 on June 1.

If your money is tight, then why would you waste $450 on processing a business visa as you mentioned in another thread?

I have used optima-worldwide 2 times for tourist visa. I will send for my business visa 3/19. It costs 450.00 for 5 day return, or 350.00 for 9 day an so on up to 23 days i think. I personally do not want my passport sitting on someone's desk for longer than 5 business days so I will pay the 450.00. This includes all supporting documents. You will need a multiple entry business visa.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=63853

If you would have planned ahead as you apparently had for future timing of your interview and NOA2, then you could have easily had your fiancee get you a private visa invitation back in March for the cost of a couple hundred rubles and you would have only had to pay for visa processing at a Russian consulate for a total of $100. Quite a bargain compared to the $450 you are about to pay. Private visa gets you 90 days just like the business visa and you don't even need to order any hotels. Just do the regular post office registration for under $1. Have your fiancee who speaks Russian and lives in Russia thus knows the system handle this for you.

[billsafari 0]

My money is tight and tickets jump from 1158.00 May 31 to 2050 on June 1.

If your money is tight, then why would you waste $450 on processing a business visa as you mentioned in another thread?

I have used optima-worldwide 2 times for tourist visa. I will send for my business visa 3/19. It costs 450.00 for 5 day return, or 350.00 for 9 day an so on up to 23 days i think. I personally do not want my passport sitting on someone's desk for longer than 5 business days so I will pay the 450.00. This includes all supporting documents. You will need a multiple entry business visa.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=63853

If you would have planned ahead as you apparently had for future timing of your interview and NOA2, then you could have easily had your fiancee get you a private visa invitation back in March for the cost of a couple hundred rubles and you would have only had to pay for visa processing at a Russian consulate for a total of $100. Quite a bargain compared to the $450 you are about to pay. Private visa gets you 90 days just like the business visa and you don't even need to order any hotels. Just do the regular post office registration for under $1. Have your fiancee who speaks Russian and lives in Russia thus knows the system handle this for you.

From what I hear, private visa's are a pain in the *** and they take some time to get. Like I said, my money isn't that tight. The 450.00 and the quick turnaround for the visa is worth it to me. I like quick results and certainty. 4 nights in the hotel costs less then 100 bucks. I'm not emptying the change jar for this. Not yet anyway. lol!

[dmhweb 0]

...

I like quick results and certainty.

...

You must not be talking about anything to do with Russia!

I couldn't resist...

[Satellite 1]

From what I hear, private visa's are a pain in the *** and they take some time to get.

The invitation can be hard to get. But your fiancee deals with that, not you. But for her, all dealings with the Russian government is a pain. For example registering her car or property. Getting her passport. Paying her bills. Getting free medical service. The invitation is no more difficult or easier than those things. Just ask her.

Plus, if you have to work so hard to get her a K1 she can work a little to save you a few bucks with a private in my opinion.

But once the invitation is in hand it takes no longer to process than any other visa. Just read the Russian consulate processing times.

...

I like quick results and certainty.

...

You must not be talking about anything to do with Russia!

Couldn't agree more.

[russ 1]

I just got off the phone with gotorussia.com. 6 month, multientry visa is going to be $290. More expensive than the homestay visa (keep in mind, with the homestay visa you still pay the embassy here). If you need to stay more than 90 days or make more than one trip, it is worth the $190 more.

The invitation can be hard to get. But your fiancee deals with that, not you. But for her, all dealings with the Russian government is a pain. For example registering her car or property. Getting her passport. Paying her bills. Getting free medical service. The invitation is no more difficult or easier than those things. Just ask her.

Plus, if you have to work so hard to get her a K1 she can work a little to save you a few bucks with a private in my opinion.

But once the invitation is in hand it takes no longer to process than any other visa. Just read the Russian consulate processing times.