Kiev interview calendar question

[RS77 5]

16 hours ago, TastyCake said:

Ok, hold the phone guys.  I am on the verge of hanging myself here.  I'm not sure what I should be telling my fiance when she goes to her medical exam at Medikom a week from Thursday.

 

She went to her doctor and got some form with all her current vaccinations on it (is this form what you mean by 'anketa'?).  Even though it seems to have been unnecessary, we had this document translated into English.  I don't know what is on it.  I have never laid eyes on it.  So she will bring this document (and English translation for what it's worth) with her to Medikom.  They will examine her.  This much is clear.

 

Can someone please tell me what I should tell her from there?  She has to tell them she's a K-1 applicant ?????  They don't know this already ?????  I think she mentioned this when she called and set up the appointment.  Isn't Medikom one of two exclusive clinics the embassy contracts with?  Aren't they even mildly competent?

 

Should she say that she wants Medikom to administer as many vaccinations as possible (assuming any vaccinations... updated or new... are necessary)?  Like tetanus, etc.?  We want to do this so we're not raked over the coals by these shyster civil surgeons in the United States???

 

I work really well with bullets.  If there is any way someone can give me some clear, concise bullets on how to deal with vaccinations when at Medikom that would help greatly.  I then need to describe this to my fiancee who will subsequently ask me about 1,000 questions.  I gotta know what I'm talking about.

 

 

Med center processes people all day, if they recommend something you might as well go ahead and get it there.  Otherwise if you don't or you need a second shot in a series you just walk into a Walgreens in the USA pay $20 for it and take the receipt to your AOS interview.

[A.V 13]

Hi guys! 

They opened June and July so you can reschedule now. I kinda felt that would happen, cause they never opened July

Good luck:) 

[TastyCake 232]

3 minutes ago, A.V said:

Hi guys! 

They opened June and July so you can reschedule now. I kinda felt that would happen, cause they never opened July

Good luck:) 

Why am I not shocked?  And right after I booked my flight, etc.

 

I am stuck with August now.  And all because the embassy couldn't be more efficient and get calendars opened promptly.  I don't dare tell my fiancee but this is ridiculous.  Really.

Edited June 13, 2019 by TastyCake

[TastyCake 232]

1 hour ago, TastyCake said:

Why am I not shocked?  And right after I booked my flight, etc.

 

I am stuck with August now.  And all because the embassy couldn't be more efficient and get calendars opened promptly.  I don't dare tell my fiancee but this is ridiculous.  Really.

Taking it on the chin financially but rescheduled flight.  Got a new appointment in early July.

[TBoneTX 45,270]

Glad that you got the earlier slot!

[TastyCake 232]

1 hour ago, TBoneTX said:

Glad that you got the earlier slot!

It's great to have the earlier date but would have been better if the embassy had its fertilizer together on May 31 as they should have.

 

Wondering if I can take them to small claims court, sue 'em for pain and suffering.  😋

[TBoneTX 45,270]

When it's all over, an amount of anger will remain, but the pain will diminish.

I'm still white-hot spittin' mad at the ####### Guayaquil consulate for having hosed us 11 years ago.

[ImmPro 106]

Hey guys, I am excited to have found this thread, because I just want to make sure I am doing things right. I have never worked with the Ukrainian Embassy, so looking to learn quite a bit from you guys. On June 25th we received our NOA 2 Approval. I already emailed the NVC to try and get the KEV number and update my email and my fiances email. I was just wondering because my fiance is working on all the things she needs to do what can we do without that number. I guess specifically, I have two questions.

 

1)We already started working on DS-160, but do you need the KEV number to complete it?

2)Also, I know we need to pay a certain fee to the bank, and my fiance needs to do it. There is some slip we need to print out. Can I send her the money to pay it already or does she need something else like a copy of the DS 160 completed or do we need the KEV number. Thanks guys, I appreciate your help before hand. I just want to do the most we can up to this point, so we can schedule the interview as soon as possible.

[Shiran 1,134]

7 hours ago, Verteres said:

I already emailed the NVC to try and get the KEV number and update my email and my fiances email. I was just wondering because my fiance is working on all the things she needs to do what can we do without that number. I guess specifically, I have two questions.

She can get her police certificate. It can take awhile. I presume her external passport is good and current? I, personally, would wait on DS-160 and MRV fee at least until you have KEV number. You can send her money any time. I do not believe there is an option for you to pay it. We used RIA Financial for money transfer things, as I found it easier to work with than MoneyGram. US Embassy in Kyiv has a plethora of good info, including full list of needed documents, medical office locations etc.

[ImmPro 106]

@Shiran Thanks for the info I appreciate it. She already got the police certificate, so we are good on that front. Her external passport is also good. I have send her money before. I actually find Western Union to be pretty simple as well. I can send it from my phone and she receives it on her phone as well. Never having to leave the comfort of our home lol.

 

Thanks, I will definitely check out the US Embassy in Kyiv website. Just getting antsy because almost there to the finish line lol.

[ImmPro 106]

Hey guys, hypothetically if everything goes well at the embassy and get approved, from your experience how much time do you think is safe to book a flight back home from the day of the interview? After approval how long does it usually take to pick up the packet.

 

I would love to be be in Kyiv a long time, but I need to work lol. Thanks in advance for the help. 

[Shiran 1,134]

1 hour ago, Verteres said:

Hey guys, hypothetically if everything goes well at the embassy and get approved, from your experience how much time do you think is safe to book a flight back home from the day of the interview? After approval how long does it usually take to pick up the packet.

 

They hand you a piece of paper if interview approved that says visa will be ready in 5 days. While selecting where to deliver visa, pick "hub" location which should be marked as fastest location where "same day" pick up available. Have TMM hold it for pick up. Keep in mind "same day" means for when visa is approved NOT same as when interview is approved. Planning any travel without visa on hand is risky. @TastyCakehad most recent experience so maybe he can elaborate once he recovers from his trip. 

[A.V 13]

We booked a flight 20 days after interview.
I think 10 days is pretty safe.
It took 7 days to get my visa (including weekend and 1 day of national holiday), so it was like 4 working days. 

[TastyCake 232]

On 7/24/2019 at 7:20 PM, Shiran said:

They hand you a piece of paper if interview approved that says visa will be ready in 5 days. While selecting where to deliver visa, pick "hub" location which should be marked as fastest location where "same day" pick up available. Have TMM hold it for pick up. Keep in mind "same day" means for when visa is approved NOT same as when interview is approved. Planning any travel without visa on hand is risky. @TastyCakehad most recent experience so maybe he can elaborate once he recovers from his trip. 

We had our interview bright and early Monday morning.  My lady is from Vinnytsia and we had her visa in hand at the TMM office in her city that Thursday morning.  So... three business days and we were golden.  Here's the catch.  We had NO Ukrainian or U.S. holidays getting in the way.

 

A fellow Ukraine petitioner said they had their interview about 10 days before ours.  His lady is from Dnipro (further from Kiev than Vinnytsia) and she got her visa at her local TMM office in 3-4 business days.

 

Therefore, assuming no holidays or other complications, it seems 3-4 business days has been the turnaround time recently.

 

I pause in telling someone they are safe to book a flight in, say, 5-7 business days because any hiccup can cause costly flight reschedules.  You just never know.  I would counsel someone to NOT book anything until the visa is in hand and ALL data on the visa has been validated as being correct.  That's what we did.  Though probably infrequent, a name or DOB could be incorrect and then where are you?  Back at the embassy and you're rebooking flights.  As it is I cost myself hundreds through some stupid decision making because of the choppy way this whole thing works.  At least from now on I can book flights in advance with a certain degree of certainty things will be as they are.

[GP1977 288]

7 hours ago, TastyCake said:

We had our interview bright and early Monday morning.  My lady is from Vinnytsia and we had her visa in hand at the TMM office in her city that Thursday morning.  So... three business days and we were golden.  Here's the catch.  We had NO Ukrainian or U.S. holidays getting in the way.

 

A fellow Ukraine petitioner said they had their interview about 10 days before ours.  His lady is from Dnipro (further from Kiev than Vinnytsia) and she got her visa at her local TMM office in 3-4 business days.

 

Therefore, assuming no holidays or other complications, it seems 3-4 business days has been the turnaround time recently.

 

I pause in telling someone they are safe to book a flight in, say, 5-7 business days because any hiccup can cause costly flight reschedules.  You just never know.  I would counsel someone to NOT book anything until the visa is in hand and ALL data on the visa has been validated as being correct.  That's what we did.  Though probably infrequent, a name or DOB could be incorrect and then where are you?  Back at the embassy and you're rebooking flights.  As it is I cost myself hundreds through some stupid decision making because of the choppy way this whole thing works.  At least from now on I can book flights in advance with a certain degree of certainty things will be as they are.

I know others have taken the aggressive approach and booked their flights prior to having VOH but as suggested above, I would follow TastyCake's advice to wait and book it unless you are booking with points or a refundable ticket.  It just doesn't make sense as anything can happen.  For example, when my wife received her packet that said "Do NOT open"  - they decided to use a very flimsy paper and when it was delivered to her, the envelope had a huge tear on the side of it. it was a couple of inches long and you could see all the paperwork that was in there.   She had to take a 5 hour train ride each way to go back down to the embassy to have them reseal it (probably wouldn't have been an issue but after everything we went through it really wasn't worth taking a chance if you caught up a CBP agent who was having a bad day).