Ineska

Hey Guys- our friend’s mom visa got approved today. On med exam they didnt ask really anything- she just got the MMR shot and xrays. She said the interviewer told her passport with visa will be ready within 3 days. I am sure your MIL will be just fine also!

Hey Guys- I know my NVC submission date is a month later than on this thread, but wanted to share some data points. Hoping everyone else will hear soon also. Submitted to NVC: 6/27/23 DQ: 7/11/23 IL: 8/10/23 (email came to the applicant only without a copy to the petioner.) for 10/24/23 interview in Almaty

Hey ITBOB- I wanted to share we know another mom from Moscow who just had her medical on 8/15 in Almaty and her interview is on 8/22. She said the medical went fine and fast. No one even asked about her covid shots. She also said they offered her the antibody test for Mums/Rubella/Measles, but the test results would have been ready a day after the interview so she just got an actual vaccine (even though she’s had one before, they thought it’d be ok). I’ll post an update after her interview once I know more. Hope this helps to ease your guys’ minds also. Good luck on the 4th! Please keep us posted.

This is great news! Thank you for the update! Good luck guys! Please keep us posted my mother’s interview is on 10/24 and the med exam on 10/16. I’ll post updates here as well.

I agree with you that their website says “What if I have already received an unapproved vaccine? - If you have already received both doses of an unapproved vaccine and in your country of residence you are denied vaccination with an approved vaccine, this will be documented during the medical examination. This will not be grounds for denial of your visa. - Revaccination against COVID-19 (booster shot) for the immigration medical exam is not needed” in our case my mother only has 1 Sputnik light dose and I asked the IMC if she needs to come earlier to receive the full approved vaccine, the IMC told me that if a Russian citizen has one or none- it didnt matter, they’ll write a waiver, but the citizens of KZ have access to the approved vaccine and should have the approved vaccine…. I did point out what the website said but they verbally told me what I said above…I am not super comfortable with a mix of info either… let me know what you guys end doing…

Hey ITBOB, I just scheduled an apt for my mom, via email and per directions you have above. Were you able to schedule it? I also asked them about covid vaccines and they told me for Russian citizens they dont require them.

Hey Guys just got an email with interview apt date for Oct 24! Would you mind letting me know how /where did you register for the passport with visa pick after the interview? I see in the pre-interview check list that I need to register for it but there is no info where/how to do it for Almaty.

Thanks again! I think I need to wait for the NVC to schedule the interview first. Right now it still has the info for the non-immigrant visa pick up in Nur-Sultan. Thank you again!

Thank you! I did look also. Over a year ago I tried to register my parents for a b1/b2 visa with Almaty, Frankfurt, Erevan and still have active accounts, but it told me I cant schedule the IR-5 apt since NVC / consulate didnt tell me to and need to wait for the NVC letter. Hey on another note, how did you figure out where to register for the passport pick up after the interview? All the links are broken and the addresses for the pick up locations are no longer there. Thank you again and good luck!

Thank you for the reply! Did you say you had to schedule the apt yourself for your MIL? I thought NVC does that. Would you mind sharing the link for scheduling apt? Everything I see is only for non-immigrant visas. Thank you again!

Hi ITBOB- I don’t have personal experience yet and still waiting for the IL, but I do remember reading lots of posts/hearing that things are constantly changing. Maybe it’s because a lot of Russian IR-5s are transfering to Almaty and the Consulate is trying to automate things with the Med center as well. It makes me think it’s a new process. Here are some other thing I heard about just in the past 90 days: 1. No more envelopes from the med exams, it’s now electronic 2. Med exam is no longer required 2 weeks before the interview, 6 days is good enough 3. Requests for moving cases from diff embassies was via email, now it’s a workflow approal, etc… Re: covid vaccine, I heard they just need to show their Sputnik vaccine or CDC says Green Card holders are no longer required to have any kind of covid vaccine. Good luck and hope it goes smoothly for you guys! Please keep us posted. Hey on another note, do you remember how long it took for the IL once you got the DQ date?

Hi ML12- not sure if you can make a note of it in the NVC docs. When I was uploading the docs to NVC it specifically had a line for each doc to be uploaded- i.e. Letter from KZ, but it also had a note box for explanations. Maybe you can try that and say that you’ll have it for the interview? Hope you can get QD’d soon. I submitted everything on 6/27/23 and got DQ’d on 7/11. But been waiting for the IL since. On another thought, you originally posted on this topic in May, did you parents get a ticket to check the status online? Maybe it’s already done? Ours had a date of March after applying in Feb and if you didnt ask for apostile 🤞🏻 Good luck and keep us posted.

Wooo hooooo! Congrats!!! And thank you for sharing your journey and keeping track of others’ progress- it‘s been so helpful to know what to expect! 🙂

I tried 3 times. Twice through an attorney, once through a congressman. Every time got a rejection. The case finally got approved in June 2023 through a normal processing times. The good thing is once it moved to NVC it’s been moving along. Hopefully your case gets approved soon as well.

Hey Guys- can anyone share how long it took you to get your passport with visa back after the interview?

Hey All- does anyone remember where you register for the courier services to pick up the passport after visa is issued? We just got DQ’d but the pre-interview checklist link for the courier registration doesnt contain such info. Does this info come in the Interview Letter? Thank you in advance!

I used usakz@state.gov email address. Good luck with your transfer.

Good luck to you guys! Hope you can figure it all and it all works out before the baby arrives 🤞🏻🙏🏻

Thank you 🙂

Glad to hear it’s processing along for you. Hoping for a quick DQ and IL for you 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 I also had all the docs submitted on 6/27/23 and still waiting for the DQ. I dont want to scare you, but I do read it as that your mom will have to have your original (or cerifified copy- issued by the same agency) birth certificate and your marriage certificate. My attorney also confirmed that. Can you mail it to her? I am waiting for the IL and planning on meeting my mother at that embassy so I can give her my original copies. Please keep us posted and hope everything goes smoothly.

Thank you so much for the quick response! Really appreciate it!

Hey All- You all seem to be pretty supportive and I was hoping someone can provide an advice. I submitted all doc to the NVC on 6/27/23. But now wondering if I was supposed to do submit more for the proof of domicile. My case is for a parent, for the AOS I submitted tax transcripts/employment verification letter, w-2s. Was I supposed to do something else to proof domicile/bring more docs to the interview? Does anyone know? Please let me know if anyone has experience in that.

Hey All- I submitted all doc to the NVC on 6/27/23 ( and emailed Almaty, they agreed to transfer the case the next day and it was moved formally within hours :). But now wondering if I was supposed to do submit more for the proof of domicile. My case is for a parent, for the AOS I submitted tax transcripts/employment verification letter, w-2s. Was I supposed to do something else to proof domicile/bring more docs to the interview? Does anyone know? Please let me know if anyone has experience in that.

Conrats! From my case and what people are saying it’s an email. I got it as a petioner. I saw approval online on 6/13, but the letter in the mail didnt come in until 6/19. The NVC welcome email came on 6/21. Good luck and hoping you’ll get it any day now

Thank you, @ZRomper for putting the table together and thank you all for sharing. It really helps to estimate the timeline better.