NOA2 to interview in Moscow...

[ben2 0]

Does the embassy update their webpage with listed appointments, regularly?

The last 3 updates were 2nd of Nov, then 21st and then Dec 3 (the dates are approximate, +/- day or 2)

You can also e-mail them to ask if the interview has been scheduled, or call the state department (number was posted somewhere on the forum recently)

[1HappyGuy 45]

Jason & Sasha,

You have received a lot of very good advice here. You need to understand the process to get a full picture. Your case is now in the hands of the State Department. The NVC is the first stop and the processing can be very quick 3-5 days or last for weeks if your fiancee has a name that sets off bells. Usually the processing is so quick that by the time you get the NOA2 the case is already through NVC and onto the embassy. Most embassies do not have a tracking system set up to report on the status of a particular visa application. However, you can contact the visa control office with the case number in an email and ask them what is the status and if they need any more information.

Please understand that most embassies (Moscow included) have hundreds of various visa applications being submitted. They manage the best they can with the workload, so your case is just another of those applications. I believe that fiancee visa's have a higher degree of approval since they involve a U.S. resident and usually a citizen. But, you are still only one of many and it takes time to schedule so many. Also, you may have further delays as a result of holidays of the U.S. and the host country.

I know the separation has been frustrating, but you are both on the downward slide of completion. Review the embassy reviews on VJ, visit the U.S. embassy website for Russia and get real familiar with the remaining process. You might be able to download packet 3 to get a jump on some things but you will still need to wait for the new case number. This new number carries an identifying abbreviation for the particular embassy involved. When you have that number, your fiancee will be able to schedule her medical exam (watch for time limits of the expiration of the medical exam and where it can be done).

Best of luck, and enjoy your time together. Soon you will be together forever!

[Mike&Luda 0]

Does the embassy update their webpage with listed appointments, regularly?

The last 3 updates were 2nd of Nov, then 21st and then Dec 3 (the dates are approximate, +/- day or 2)

You can also e-mail them to ask if the interview has been scheduled, or call the state department (number was posted somewhere on the forum recently)

Hey folks! I called the number given on the Moscow embassy website for information about interviews this morning, gave my credit card number and wasted a small portion of my life speaking to a nice young woman and getting absolutely NO useful information at all! It was just as meaningless as the USCIS operators that apparently read prepared responses off index cards. I was told NO information is available about our application for 3-4 weeks after leaving NVC minimum... including whether it has even been received! I was told I should not even bother calling back for an additional two weeks. I pointed out that I can find information on the internet (VJ) that others visa applications, having left NVC after our application, already have interviews scheduled! That did not put a dent in her story... she is apparently well trained. Does anyone have a backdoor method of finding out info? I see other people have updated their timelines with receipt dates at the embassy!

[slim 1,525]

Thanks alot guys!! You know, I would've spent more time in this forum, but it always seemed very slow and quiet. I actually felt like there weren't very many US/Russian couples here. I mean, compared to most other countries. But now that I am finished with VSC (until AOS) I think i'll be spending most of my time here with all of you.

It's quality not quantity here on the Russia Forum. You're right about it being slow and quiet. People don't lurk in the forum like they do in K-1 or Off Topic or some of the others. Most people do only a daily or every couple of days update. Sometimes weeks or even years. And we don't have the usual "drama" associated with those threads either. But, that's kind of what makes this forum so special. We usually keep it "strictly business" and "on topic" most of the time with whatever questions or concerns that are posted being answered in the first couple of replies. And then we take it off topic... or further into topic, however you spin that one! Sure we're not as "fun" as some of the other forums, but I like to think of it as "more bang for your buck" here in our forum, and if I'm going to be "wasting" my time hanging out in some online blog forum or whatever, I'd at least like it to be somewhat informational. (I'm one of those guys that when I'm watching TV, it's probably History or Discovery or something like that. Sure, I like the good comedic distraction like everyone else, but I like to "justify" wasting my time and getting fatter by saying "at least I was learning something.")

Slim, help me understand something, if you please.....I learned that my case has been sent to Moscow. It should be there by next week. You said that you think Moscow will send the interview date with the packet to Sasha. Cool. but can I call Moscow next week and ask them directly? I'm just a bit confused. Please excuse me. If this info can be easily found in VJ, I'm sorry for the trouble. Really, I'm just looking for the soonest way of finding this out. Thanks again....

Jas.

No trouble at all. Yes, they'll send her something like an appointment slip for her interview that will tell her exactly when to be at the embassy. However, you can find out before by logging on to the website and checking the interview dates and case numbers. You probably could call the embassy directly and find out, but that will probably only save you a few days, the time before the interview is posted on the website. They can't tell you a date if one is not assigned yet! Maybe if you called on Tuesday and they didn't update the website until Friday, sure, you could find out sooner.

I simply wanted to know the soonest way of finding our interview date. Does the embassy update their webpage with listed appointments, regularly? Seems to me that they wont set an interview date until they send packet 3 and receive the checklist back from Sasha.

Dude, once again, there's no "checklist" that needs to be sent back by Sasha before she gets her interview date or before they schedule her or whatever.

Plain and simple, it works like this:

Moscow embassy receives the packet from NVC. IT takes a week or two to get there and then a few weeks (could be two, could be 20, who knows. Usually about two or three weeks) later they assign an interview date and send the packet (ONLY ONE PACKET with nothing required to be sent back) to Sasha and update the website with the interview date.

You'll be able to check the date on the website, she'll get to see it in her packet. That's about as early as it gets. You could try calling/e-mailing, but as I said above, they have to have a date assigned for you before they can tell it to you! Keep checking the website. It will be there in a couple weeks.

My advice - Don't check it every day. Check it every Saturday morning or every Friday night or every Monday while you're watching Monday Night Football or something like that. You'll go insane checking it a couple times each day. It's going to be a few weeks, so chill out. Relax. Take some time to do some "guy" stuff that you won't be able to do when she gets here. Go drink some beer, go eat some chicken wings, go smoke too many cigarettes with your buddies while watching the game. Also, wear your shoes around the house. Pretty soon, that'll be just a distant memory! (And just think, in three months, you'll be on here like "when my fiancee went to her interview, they asked her ....." because you'll be done!)

Keep the questions coming. There are several others coming up on interview dates as well. I'm sure they have some of the same questions you do. I know I did!

Separate stuff to think about whilst passing the long time waiting.....

And I'll go ahead and tell you this too because I didn't find out until it was too late. When she goes to her medical appointment and gets all of her shots, they're going to give her a shot record in the sealed envelope that she must take to the interview. Inside, theres a form, the DS-3025/Immunization Record. ENSURE SHE GETS A COPY OF THIS FORM!!! She can ask for a copy of this form and they'll make one for her that she can keep. She'll need it for the AOS later when she gets here.

So, she needs to fill out the forms in her packet, get the police report(s), schedule and go to a medical (get that DS-3025 form), all before going to the interview. You need to assemble a "financial support" packet (I-134, employer letter, bank letter, check stubs, tax info, etc.) and send it to her.

[Jason-Sasha 1]

More great info!! Thanks again. We'll wait until later in December to start calling the embassy. I'll be going to Moscow in 2.5 weeks. so, I'm focusing on the I134 and supporting documents. We will try to relax until she actually receives packet3.

[slim 1,525]

Have fun in Moscow.... sure wish I was going back!

[Jason-Sasha 1]

Have fun in Moscow.... sure wish I was going back!

I think we'll have a very good time. Usually, we spend our "2 weeks" bouncing all around Moscow Region, from one relative to another. That's quite cost effective. And it really allows me time to get to know her family a bit more each time. But this time will be a little different. Sasha has started renting a new flat in Moscow's center. its perfect for this short period while she's waiting for her interview, seeing as her work for Sony is in the heart of the city. When she was living with her parents these past few months, it meant very long commutes and very little sleep for her. So, this trip will be more private for us. And I'll be very surprised if we leave this apartment more than 5 times during my entire trip.

[slim 1,525]

So, this trip will be more private for us. And I'll be very surprised if we leave this apartment more than 5 times during my entire trip.

Sounds like fun!

[annabob 0]

just wanted to jump in and say that we are really close in the timeline, and I'm in USA, and Anna is in Moscow. We are impatiently waiting. also, we are expecting in march and hoping that we can get her here before birth. any chances that delivery date will effect interview date???? I called NVC Monday and was told electronic files have been in moscow since the 13th, and that "whenever" the physical files will show up????? Then interview date will get set. We already have police stuff done. I was just in moscow a few weeks ago, and wanted to go back then end of the month, but have put it off thinking that soon she will be getting interview,and visa and I will be going there to help with move. seems one of us could have taken the files to moscow faster and delivered to embassy<G>.

[shikarnov 7]

I called NVC Monday and was told electronic files have been in moscow since the 13th, and that "whenever" the physical files will show up????? Then interview date will get set.

Just the idea that we're still filling out, mailing in, storing, analyzing, and shipping across oceans millions of physical documents every year is particularly irksome. In the 21st Century, waiting weeks for documents to traverse the world, get sorted and queued is ridiculous. Most of this can be done in mere seconds via email -- and with electronic signatures and encryption, security and authenticity can be at least as easily ensured as it is with paper.

Anyway -- Best of luck to you in getting your interview date as quickly as possible.

Z

[slim 1,525]

any chances that delivery date will effect interview date???? I

There's a 100% chance that if the delivery date and interview date happen to be on the same day.... the delivery date will win.

The interview can be postponed....... deliveries cannot!