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| Moscow, Russia |  Review on September 25, 2014: |
domwardbound
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Appointment set for 8am. Arrived between 7.15 and 7.30. People were already beginning to gather at an unmarked entry, so we joined the line. Try to get as close to the gate door as possible - this is where you'll go in and you definitely want to be in as fast as possible. At some time before 8, Russian police/guards took the first ~10 people's passports into the guard shack, checked something, then came back out, returned our passports, and then let us in the gate.
We walked inside and were stopped at a desk, where our passports were checked again (appeared to be an invitation list here). I had no problem going in with my wife.
We then stopped at a desk where our cell phones were checked in, and kept walking.
We then stopped at the next desk, where our passport shipping address from USTravelDocs had a barcode sticker applied. We were also given a green laminated paper saying something like 'immigrant' and were sent upstairs.
Upstairs, after following signs/directions for immigrant visa, there's a small room with 2-3 windows, and a few (maybe 10-15) chairs. Connected to this room is a hallway with interview rooms and another waiting room. However, a sign in this space says to stay here, because the speaker system is not working and you won't hear when you're called if you go into the other waiting room.
We are the first here, and sit in this small area and wait (still before 8am). The windows are closed, but I see movement behind them. The power goes out briefly, and we sit in the dark with no info or announcement. The power then returns. 8am passes with no action.
Finally at 8.10-8.15 the windows open. The woman behind the glass indicates for us to come up since we're sitting at the front. I'm not sure how the order to go up to the window works when that room is full. She tells me (American) to sit down, and speaks to my wife in Russian, discussing details and getting required documents (her original police certificate was older than 1 year at the time of her interview, so she provided the new one).
My wife then sits back down, and the woman in the window continues with other people. I go to the toilet (there is a bathroom connected to this small room). While I'm in the bathroom, I hear a pounding on the door. I finish and open it, and it's my wife saying that we've been called to an interview. I couldn't hear the announcement in the bathroom, so I would be very careful about going to the bathroom if you're by yourself.
We go to the interview room we were directed to over the loudspeaker. It's a similar window, but with a room separating us from the rest of the hallway, so it is private. An American man is very nice and patient, even though my wife is emotional at this point :P. He asks us things like how we met, where we'll live, what she'll do there, and our wedding. She answers questions, but he doesn't seem to mind if I answer something. There were no questions about her previous B1/B2 visas or the fact that she got married in the US. The whole interview took 5-10 minutes. The visa was delivered 2 days later.
We were out of there before 9am, and we were the first immigrant visa interview of the day. If your appointment is at 8am, I'd recommend getting there between 7 and 7.30. By the time we left, the small waiting room had become crowded. I can imagine that waiting times increase a lot if you got there later.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #15278