Lynxyonok

Most Turkish planes land in Vnukovo airport late at night. They do have round-the-clock service, but be prepared for late arrival. Taxi is the safest way to navigate. That said, she would have to order it through her phone apps. Bring cash. Your cards would be useless. As a matter of fact, be prepared and ask that she foots the bill for your entire trip as so much is tied to Russian phones, from subway to money transfers. You can simply hand her a stack of bills. Speaking of. Clean bills. Pristine bills. Not a spot. Not a crease. Small bills. $20 and under. Fifteen unpleasant minutes spent at your bank under weird looks of tellers will be worth it. I thought I did a good job... and still, 25% of what I gave her was rejected in a Moscow bank.

I was there for a week over New Year's. It's safe, but it helps to have command of the language as English-language signing isn't present in all places, and it's really important to have your beneficiary be present from your first to last moment on land - have her wait right after customs at the airport. If you can share an itinerary, I can provide more suggestions.

Somedays it seems like I can see when a particular officer gets a new batch of cases by their RFE pattern. There's an approver. They pretty much approve every other case off the bat. There's a fan of initial evidence request sent option. There's one who rubber-stamps additional RFE to every other case in a set. But this one takes the crown - their previous case batch was from mid-September. 2290014510 Case Was Received 11/4/21 1/29/23 2290014509 Initial and Additional RFE Mailed 1/21/23 1/29/23 2290014508 Case Was Received 11/4/21 1/29/23 2290014507 Case Was Received 11/4/21 1/29/23 2290014506 Initial and Additional RFE Mailed 1/24/23 1/29/23 2290014505 Case Was Received 11/4/21 1/29/23 2290014504 Case Was Received 11/4/21 1/29/23 2290014503 Case Was Received 11/4/21 1/29/23 2290014502 Case Was Received 11/4/21 1/29/23 2290014501 Initial and Additional RFE Mailed 1/21/23 1/29/23 2290014499 Case Was Received 11/4/21 1/27/23 2290014498 Initial and Additional RFE Mailed 1/19/23 1/27/23 2290014497 Case Was Received 11/4/21 1/27/23

Finally, a definite proof to my claims that RFEs have spiked from 6% to 25% (one in three). 😅

Wow. Simply wow that in a world where information can travel at the speed of light, this is the best that is available for beneficiaries of American petitioners. Reminds me of another time in U.S. history when certain nationalities were not allowed to enter... History is cyclical and repeats every 3 generations. And like Napoleon said, those, who do not learn from history...

First of all, it's not what one does in the bedroom, it's what one does on the street. As long as your mutual behavior in public is no different than that of two girlfriends simply pairing up for safety, you should be fine in any Eastern European country. I was given a brilliant advice on a different forum for a different reason, but I will share it with you. Believe in your trip. As of this moment, you're no longer in a same-gender relationship. You're an avid student of history and culture. You want to see Krakow, the ancient capital of Poland. You want to see Auschwitz, because you heard so much about that WW2 prison camp in school. You want to see the historic castles - both Polish and Teuton ones. Create a believable itinerary, mention that you happened to find a like-minded student of history, and you have nothing to fear. :D

A letter to a Rep or Senator counts as an expedite even if not worded or intended as such.

I was told my case didn't qualify for an expedite. A very canned response. Looking at the entire span of cases, many people give up after one failed expedite or two. I made it to seven.

1 of 2.

Lucky you! What state? My state is deep blue and both my Rep and Sen were useless 😐

I don't think there's a standard one. Just write a basic letter.

P.S. Don't forget that USCIS is also handling asylum applications. And those are imploding. Time for an "aw snap?", but stronger-worded? Number of Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal By Status, Office, Month July 1, 2022 - September 30, 2022 Application Received1 Application Completed2 End of Month Pending3 Office July August September July August September July August September Total 25,272 28,393 24,369 2,843 3,363 4,028 559,656 584,686 605,027

'luck explaining that to USCIS

P.S. Here's how brutal RFEs can be. 4 cases in a row caught one. 2290011735 Case Was Received 10/28/21 1/12/23 2290011734 Additional RFE Sent 1/18/23 1/12/23 2290011733 Additional RFE Sent 1/18/23 1/12/23 2290011731 Additional RFE Sent 1/18/23 1/12/23 2290011730 Additional RFE Sent 1/19/23 1/12/23 2290011727 Case Was Received 10/28/21 1/12/23 About 2% and that's over the entire lifespan of 15+ months... where on Earth did you find 700 withdrawals?

My very best laughable moment: proof of the moment the two exchanged their vows. Um. Yeah. Let us "find" that. Oh, do ignore a much recent "timestamp" on the picture.

Recent ones were proof of intended marriage to include a thorough plan (HA), signed letters from friends and relatives, etc. USCIS wants to be made to believe that what you have is for real.

So, I don't know if they will work. Worst-case scenario, I already have an RFE response package on-hand. First Schengen visa denial is disseminated to all member-states who automatically deny any future visas for this recipient. Welcome to the digital age of biometrics.

So: With Schengen, once one goes a certain way, there's no deviation. Any non-Spanish applications will be shot down on the spot. We're literally either going to Spain or not going to EU at all. P.S. But we need to continue this in the Regional forum to avoid getting canned 😜

It hit really bad for mid-September cases (1 in 2 incidence) and has since plateaued at 1 in 3. I am seriously considering pre-sending some additional data for my case, which is on pause as my beneficiary's Schengen visa got shot down. But after that, a letter a month to USCIS sounds like a plan. Lots of pictures and such in each.

About 43K.

1 in 3 are RFE - I second that data. There's been a flood of RFEs - I wish more of impacted users would speak up and share their stories.

Thank you so much for your input - especially about checking the stamp right after New Year's! Have you cruised with any Russians after 2014 - or even after 2021?

Yikes!

And double the pride, double the fall, as Star Wars teach us. And just like this whole immigration processes teaches us, always ask questions and never assume. Because I was assuming the case is approved and closed - but it's not, all the proof still have to be brought along... ------- Dear <...> Thank you for your email. You need to present the same documents you sent us to the pier agent. Besides, you need to review visa requirements for all countries in your itinerary, which are separate from Trade Sanction Documents. For example, if you should need a Visa to go to Spain, then you would have to request that visa from their consulate or Embassy, and also bring the documents you sent us for Trade Sanctions. I hope this answers your question. Have a Royally Wonderful Day. Sincerely, Jessie Chinchilla Resolutions Project Coordinator Royal Caribbean International

Seconded. It's no Schengen, and schedules suck, but the country, the people, the planes are very nice.