SpaceCat

Do you mean in terms of what we should say and do when arriving in Russia? I haven't traveled a lot, but I have been to a couple post-soviet countries. Did you need to register yourself a dozen times when in Russia, like every time you went to a different location. I'm not going to stay in Moscow but planning on Siberia, but wondering if we need to register as soon as I get there, because I assume I need to arrive in Moscow, even though it will be out of the way. Ok, we ran into a problem filling out the form already and couldn't find more details in the instructions. The form does not allow him to type his city of birth because his city contained numbers in Soviet times. Any idea if addresses should be the modern address or not? I think I remember him needing to use updated addresses (not Soviet) when he filled out the lottery application but I am not sure... But I think on his birth certificate, it will have the soviet city name which has a dash and number...

@SnowColdIce They do not complete an extensive background check or anything before giving the visa? Passport control in Russia sounds a bit scary 🙃 Thanks for the heads up. I wonder if they are looking for anything they can incriminate you on. I've heard of people being arrested for something as small as donations to broad humanitarian efforts. Glad you found it nice to visit there. I don't have any real worries about the Russian people in general and think I will like it there. I know that in the very beginning of starting this process, I read about how the cases could be checked online. I've been researching for months (the entire list of FAQs on the gov website, the steps, youtube, this forum, etc). But when I saved links to documentation on how to file, the forms themselves didn't link me to any place to fill anything out online. And I guess that's what threw me off. There comes a point when all of this is overwhelming, especially when I choose a path and end up second guessing it over and over (K1 vs CR-1..). Did you feel like you needed a lawyer with your process? My fiancé thinks they would help (particularly with bypassing Poland somehow).

Good point. I live with my mom, so she will be here to receive any mail for me and forward it.

@SnowColdIce I am planning on quitting my job or taking a leave to live in Russia with him and just not working. I don't speak Russian, but he speaks English "alright". I haven't applied for the visa yet into Russia and I am nervous because of the political situation there and things that are legal here not being legal there. I know that some Americans have been arrested there. The amount of time I would stay would depend on how much time I get with that 3-year visa, assuming I even get approved for it. It will take a few months just for me to prepare the documents and everything I need in order to live overseas, then to prepare a tiny wedding in Russia (with no help from his relatives, but we want to make it special) will take a month, I assume. I've been so stressed about all of this that I thought I'd have better luck applying this month rather than waiting maybe 5 months to even start the process. He is also not prepared for me to arrive yet. If you've gone through this process (especially with Russia), I'd really appreciate hearing even more about it. Even the Russian visa is confusing for me. (Like can I stay for 6 months uninterrupted, leave for one day, and then take another 6 months and do it all again over and over?) Then I don't know how to get my K1 or Spouse documents processed from Russia either. I know there is a packet that is supposed to be mailed to me that I am supposed to give to him, but if that will take a year and I'll be in Russia, and mail seems to go incredibly slow....

Thank you for lengthy reply. It helps. I know everyone is saying the spouse visa is better, but we are not living together and I would need to gather more documentation and go through more steps, have a wedding in a foreign country with less help, and we don't want to part after the wedding. I am already hoping to live in Russia with him soon, but I can start the K1 process now and would need to wait months to even start the Spouse visa. (Applying for Russian visa, assuming that gets accepted, getting there and buying rings, dress, ets) We are less concerned with the total time it will take and more with how soon he will be in the US with me. Certainly in this case, K1 is what I am after?

ok, but I thought a medical exam will be required in Moscow and an interview will be needed in a US embassy on both k1 and spouse visa? And I'll not have my parents to help me prepare for the wedding if it's in Russia. And then after the wedding, I will need to adjust all of my official documents once I get home again, but if I go there, I will not come back until the visa is accepted. I don't know how all of that works

thanks! When I use chatgpt to look at the pros and cons, it tells me that the K1 visa should only take less than a year while the CR-1 takes twice as long. I see that the approval percentage is slightly higher for the spouse visa. What other reasons make CR-1 the best option? Everything I see on youtube says K1 should be much faster.

I thought that would complicate things even more and we aren't able to live together at this time. I need to keep my job in the US as well unless I just give up and move to Russia, but I don't speak Russian and I'm not sure if it's safe for Americans there right now. Is it easier somehow?

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this! This is my first post and my fiancé and I are trying to make sure we have everything in order before going through the entire visa process. I would especially like advice from others who have been in the situation of applying with a Russian beneficiary. We are planning to submit the form next month if we have all of the right documentation. I'd like to clarify a few things... 1. I'm aware the embassy in Poland has been processing Russian K1 interviews. Does anyone know of anything that has changed in that regard? 2. When I send in the I-129F form, I'll need his official translated divorce certificate and signed letter of intent. Will he need to send these to me by mail or is it enough to scan and email these documents for the form? When it comes time for him to take documents to his interview, will I need to send them by mail or will I be able to send him digital copies? The same question with my US citizenship verification. Can this be a photo of my passport? 3. Are records of financial information not needed until the interview? And at that time, I need to file the affidavit of support alongside my joint sponsor? 4. One of my biggest anxieties is that I need to use a joint sponsor because I do not and will not meet the income requirement. My joint sponsor can exceed the 125% requirement. Can they still deny me for my own financial shortcoming if I have a legit joint sponsor? 5. The medical exam can be done in Moscow? 6. My fiancé's biggest concern is going to Poland for the interview. I realise that something could change as the political situation changes, but this is what I gather: He will apply for a Schengen visa to some place like Italy after he receives a date for his interview. When he is approved for the visa, or at some point, he will also buy tickets to Poland. ? 7. And lastly, if I submit the first form next month, how long until he will be able to arrive in the US? We want to meet again before he will come here. Maybe I'll stay in Russia for a couple months if I'm brave enough. But, we don't know how to time it out. I don't want to be needed in the US for something important related to the visa and be unable to do anything because I am in Russia or some other country. (Or him be in another country to meet me when he needs to be in Russia for something visa related.) If anyone has any tips, we'd really appreciate it.