Finally good news from Moscow!!!

Today Anna told me she was finally able to call the Embassy in Moscow to schedule her interview. She has it scheduled for the first week in July. Who knows, she may even get the visas on the Fourth of July.
We are both very excited to get the news but there is still much to do. Anna still has to fill out numerous forms and gather many documents that she will need for her interview. She also needs to get a complete medical examination for her and the children. She will need to bring the results of the examination with her to the interview.
She is also getting prices for the plane tickets here. She is hoping to make reservations for the third week in July, but she still needs to wait until after the interview to make any reservations. But we are trying to plan everything as much as we can. I am trying to make arrangements to meet her in Seattle, Washington so that she does not need to try to navigate that huge airport to find a connecting flight to Boise. I plan to drive there and pick her and the children up at the airport and take her home from there.
Now we will just need to wait for her interview and it is all downhill from there. Hopefully she will be on her way here within the next month. I can't wait to see her again.

A Mountain of Paperwork.

Anna has been very busy working on gathering all the necessary documentation as well as paying all the necessary fees for the visa. In fact Anna had to pay nearly 25,000 rubles ($740.00) for 3 visas. Now she is waiting for the official receipt of payment from the U.S. Embassy so she can call to finally schedule her interview.

We are hoping she will get it scheduled this week and hopefully she can get in early this next month. But until she has her interview there are mountains of paperwork she needs to fill out and sign so she can bring them to the interview with her.

One of these forms is the Form DS-230 Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration. It consists of two parts. Part one is Biographical Information. They need to know everything about her, her parents, her children, her second cousin's best friend's sister's pet gerbil and the number of hairs on everyone's head. But seriously, she has to provide a lot of information.

The second part of the form is a sworn statement. I could not help but laugh as I read through the questions. They are 12 simple yes and no questions and of course all applicants are warned if they answer yes to any of the questions they will be denied the visa. Many of the questions are quite laughable so I am posting the questions here on the blog for everyone to get a laugh out of them.

United States laws governing the issuance of visas require each applicant to state whether or not he or she is a member of any class of individuals excluded from admission into the United States. The excludable classes are described below in general terms. You should read carefully the following list and answer Yes or No to each category. The answers you give will assist the consular officer to reach a decision on your eligibility to
receive a visa.

Except as Otherwise Provided by Law, Aliens Within the Following Classifications are Ineligible to Receive a Visa.
Do Any of the Following Classes Apply to You?

1. An alien who has a communicable disease of public health significance; who has failed to present documentation of having received vaccinations in accordance with U.S. law; who has or has had a physical or mental disorder that poses or is likely to pose a threat to the safety or welfare of the alien or others; or who is a drug abuser or addict.
2. An alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, a crime involving moral turpitude or violation of any law relating to a controlled substance or who is the spouse, son or daughter of such a trafficker who knowingly has benefited from the trafficking activities in the past five years; who has been convicted of 2 or more offenses for which the aggregate sentences were 5 years or more; who is coming to the United States to engage in prostitution or commercialized vice or who has
   engaged in prostitution or procuring within the past 10 years; who is or has been an illicit trafficker in any controlled substance; who has committed a serious criminal offense in the United States and who has asserted immunity from prosecution; who, while serving as a foreign government official, was responsible for or directly carried out particularly severe violations of religious freedom; or whom the President has identified as a person who plays a significant role in a severe form of trafficking in persons, who otherwise has knowingly aided, abetted, assisted or colluded with such a trafficker in severe forms of trafficking in persons, or who is the spouse, son or daughter of such a trafficker who knowingly has benefited from the trafficking activities within the past five years.
3. An alien who seeks to enter the United States to engage in espionage, sabotage, export control violations, terrorist activities, the overthrow of the Government of the United States or other unlawful activity; who is a member of or affiliated with the Communist or other totalitarian party; who participated, engaged or ordered genocide, torture, or extrajudicial killings; or who is a member or representative of a terrorist organization as currently designated by the U.S. Secretary of State.
4. An alien who is likely to become a public charge.
5.  An alien who seeks to enter for the purpose of performing skilled or unskilled labor who has not been certified by the Secretary of Labor; who is a graduate of a foreign medical school seeking to perform medical services who has not passed the NBME exam or its equivalent; or who is a health care worker seeking to perform such work without a certificate from the CGFNS or from an equivalent approved independent credentialing organization.
6. An alien who failed to attend a hearing on deportation or inadmissibility within the last 5 years; who seeks or has sought a visa, entry into the United States, or any immigration benefit by fraud or misrepresentation; who knowingly assisted any other alien to enter or try to enter the United States in violation of law; who, after November 30, 1996, attended in student (F) visa status a U.S. public elementary school or who attended a U.S. public secondary school without reimbursing the school; or who is subject to a civil penalty under INA 274C.
7. An alien who is permanently ineligible for U.S. citizenship; or who departed the United States to evade military service in time of war.
8. An alien who was previously ordered removed within the last 5 years or ordered removed a second time within the last 20 years; who was previously unlawfully present and ordered removed within the last 10 years or ordered removed a second time within the last 20 years; who was convicted of an aggravated felony and ordered removed; who was previously unlawfully present in the United States for more than 180 days but less than one year who voluntarily departed within the last 3 years; or who was unlawfully present for more than one year or an aggregate of one year within the last
   10 years.
9. An alien who is coming to the United States to practice polygamy; who withholds custody of a U.S. citizen child outside the United States from a person granted legal custody by a U.S. court or intentionally assists another person to do so; who has voted in the United States in violation of any law or regulation; or who renounced U.S. citizenship to avoid taxation.
10. An alien who is a former exchange visitor who has not fulfilled the 2-year foreign residence requirement.
11. An alien determined by the Attorney General to have knowingly made a frivolous application for asylum.
12. An alien who has ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people; who has directly or indirectly assisted or supported any of the groups in Colombia known as FARC, ELN, or AUC; who through abuse of a governmental or political position has converted for personal gain, confiscated or expropriated property in Cuba, a claim to which is owned by a national of the United States, has trafficked in such property or has been complicit in such conversion, has committed similar acts in another country, or is the spouse, minor child or agent of an alien who has committed such acts; who has been directly involved in the establishment or enforcement of population controls forcing a woman to undergo an abortion against her free choice or a man or a woman to undergo sterilization against his or her free choice; or who has disclosed or trafficked in confidential U.S. business information obtained in connection with U.S. participation in the Chemical Weapons Convention or is the spouse, minor child or agent of such a person; or who has ever engaged in the recruitment of or the use of child solders.

I found many of the questions quite amusing. I am curious as to how many people would honestly answer yes to any of those questions, especially knowing it will disqualify them from getting a visa.

I am confident that Anna can answer no to all those questions so I am sure she will not have a problem.
Anna will call the embassy tomorrow and try to schedule the interview.



The End is in Sight

Yesterday, Anna informed me that she finally received the package I mailed her over 1 month ago. Soon after she received the package, I was sent an email from the US Embassy in Moscow acknowledging that they received our documents from the Department of State. Within the email they gave us instructions on how to proceed.
Here is the email I received from them:

Dear Petitioner:

Please resend the letter to your fiancé(e).

Dear Applicant:

We are pleased to inform you that the Immigrant Visa Unit of U.S. Embassy Moscow has received your approved visa petition and that your case is ready for processing.

You should now visit http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ru to complete the following steps: 1) arrange payment of the $240 visa fee; 2) enter an address to which the visa will be delivered; and 3) schedule your interview appointment.  Once you pay the fee and specify the delivery address, you may schedule your interview for any available appointment slot.  Please ensure that the date you select falls within four months of the date on which the visa petition was approved.  Failure to do so may impact the validity of your visa petition.

All applicants for fiancé(e) visas must comply with the processing requirements detailed at http://moscow.usembassy.gov/iv-fiancee.html. This page provides the most accurate and complete information needed to prepare for your interview including a list of required documents.  Thank you.

Immigrant Visa Unit

U.S. Embassy Moscow

Dear Petitioner:

Please resend the letter to your fiancé(e).

Уважаемый заявитель!

Мы рады сообщить, что Отдел иммиграционных виз Посольства США в Москве получил Вашу одобренную петицию и готов продолжить рассмотрение Вашего дела.

Пожалуйста, зайдите на сайт http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ru ,  чтобы узнать как: 1) оплатить визовый сбор $240; 2) указать адрес, по которому будут доставлены Ваши визовые документы и 3) назначить собеседование. После оплаты и регистрации адреса доставки Вы сможете выбрать любую доступную дату собеседования в течение четырех месяцев  со дня одобрения петиции.

Заявители, назначенные на собеседование, должны придерживаться правил и инструкций, которые можно найти на сайте http://russian.moscow.usembassy.gov/iv-fiancee.html. Эта страница содержит наиболее полную и точную информацию, включая список требуемых документов.

С уважением,

Отдел иммиграционных виз

Посольство США в Москве

Anna and I are both very excited to get the news. In fact today Anna logged into the US Embassy's website and paid the fee for the visa. Next week she will call to schedule her interview. Hopefully she can have the interview soon and she can finally buy the airplane tickets and I hope she will be here before the end of the summer. She has a few other things she needs to wrap up in Russia before she can finally come here but she still has plenty of time to get everything done.
It is nice to finally be down to the step of our journey. It has been a long arduous process that I would not wish on anyone. But fortunately we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The wait will soon be over and Anna and I will finally be together soon.

Another obstacle tries to come between us!

After the entire ordeal with the USCIS and the time we waited for the National visa center to transfer our documents to the US Embassy in Moscow we thought we were home free. But if it wasn't for bad luck, we would have no luck at all.
It seems that anything that can go wrong will always go wrong in our situation.
Anna sent me a link to a news release about a mail embargo imposed on international mail coming into Russia. It seems our letter is among 500 tons of mail that has been put on hold. http://rbcdaily.ru/society/562949987180153. The site is in Russian so you can use google translator to translate it. Or you can read a similar article on this site http://themoscownews.com/russia/20130411/191431278/Mail-embargo-issued-at-Sheremetyevo.html
This embargo occured shortly after I mailed a package to Anna. She needs the documents in the package I sent to her for her interview at the embassy. Now it seems that package is buried at the bottom of a 500 ton pile of mail.
I only hope she gets the package soon or I will have to send the package again using another carrier. And of course it will cost an arm an a leg. We will give it until the end of this next week until I get another package ready to send her. Hopefully we won't have to resort to that option.
Once again we have to wait for things that are beyond our control. We hope this whole ordeal will be over soon so we can finally begin our lives together.

Coming Down the Home Stretch.

Finally, after almost a month of the National Visa Center(NVC) holding our documents hostage while they "processed" our documents, they informed me that they forwarded the documents to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
Unfortunately though, I can't say the same for the Russian Customs. Anna checked the tracking number of the package I sent her and it still indicated that Customs still had the package. I hope they release it soon because Anna will need it for her interview.
But at least we have made another step forward and now Anna can communicate directly with the U.S. Embassy and schedule her interview. Hopefully it won't take her too long to get an interview. We both are very excited to know that we can finally start to make preparations for her to come here.
In fact Anna has even mentioned purchasing some suitcases for the trip. But she is not certain of the color she wants to buy. She has not decided yet. Maybe you can help her decide. Just post a comment suggesting a color and I will pass the suggestion on to her.
This is the very last step of the process and we are very much looking forward to this process ending. After her interview she will finally be able to purchase the 3 visas and make reservations for her flight home. I can't begin to say how much we are both looking forward to that day. It has been almost 10 months since she kissed me goodbye at the airport in Moscow and I can't wait to see her again.

From one government bureaucracy to another.

After waiting 6 Months at the California Center of the USCIS our paperwork was transferred to the National Visa Center (NVC) which is a division of the Department of state. The NVC is supposed to "Process" our paperwork which includes putting it on someone's desk and waiting for 2 weeks to a month to transfer the documents to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
They seem to serve no other purpose than to make us wait longer. In fact, I called the NVC last week asking them if they did any actual processing of the documentation there. They told me "No, we just wait.". Here seems to be another good use of taxpayer money, NOT!!!
We hope that within the next week all our documents will be transferred to the US Embassy in Moscow so that at least some type of processing can happen. At least after that Anna can call the embassy and schedule her interview.
We are also waiting on the Postal Service to deliver all of the documentation that I was required to send Anna for her interview. I mailed it on May 2nd and the U.S. Postal Service processed it through the sort facility in Los Angeles, California on the 6th. Today I called the USPS and they told me they cannot provide tracking information for the package. Even with a tracking number they provided, they are unable to track it now for some reason.
But fortunately Anna is very resourceful and she managed to track the package down in Russia. It is currently in Russian Customs. Hopefully it will not remain there as long as Anna's letter to me. It was tied up in US Customs for over 10 days.
We hope all of this waiting will end soon and Anna can purchase the visas and plane tickets and finally come here.

The package is in the mail.

After our petition was approved, I had to prepare many documents to send to Anna.
The U.S. Government required me to sign an I-134 Affidavit of support and I had to send a copy of the entire package I submitted with our initial request.
They also required bank account information and my last year tax returns. I don't know why they require all this information but the U.S. government requires this information for some reason. Fortunately, I was able to redact any personal information because I don't have a lot of faith in the U.S. Postal Service.
Anna and I discussed the options we had to send her the papers. I had 3 options available. The first option was to send the papers using the normal postal service. $20.00 to send the entire packet to her regular mail. No tracking number and we don't know if it will even arrive. $45.00 would have given us delivery confirmation. But the U.S.P.S. would still not guarantee delivery.
For $145.00, I could have sent the package containing 20 pages of documents to her with the ability to track the location of the package but they are still unable to guarantee delivery..
After discussing it with Anna, she told me we will choose the cheaper option. Hopefully the package won't get lost in the mail and she will get it in time for her interview with the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
In fact, Anna and I have wagered a bet. I told her she will receive the package from me before the Department of State (National Visa Center) transfers the documents to the embassy in Moscow.
I hope my package arrives first because I don't want to lose this bet.

Finally our NOA2 Arrived

Yesterday I finally received our official NOA2 in the mail. It was called:

I-797, Notice of Action

Notice Type: Approval Notice 

Valid from 04/23/2013 to 08/22/2013

Consulate: KIEV (Are you kidding me? She lives in Russia not Ukraine)

The Letter said 

The above petition has been approved, and forwarded to the listed consulate. Please contact the consulate with any questions about visa issuance, or if you would now like them to forward the petition to a different consulate. The petitioner can also file a Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, to request that we notify another consulate of the petition approval for visa processing purposes. THIS FORM IS NOT A VISA AND MAY NOT BE USED IN PLACE OF A VISA.

When the person this petition is for enters the U.S. based on this visa, he or she will be admitted for ninety (90) days in order to marry the petitioner, and based on that marriage file for adjustment to permanent resident status on form I-485. The form to apply for adjustment can be obtained at any local USCIS office or USCIS forms center. Please attach a copy of this notice to the adjustment application when you file it.

 If the petitioner and the fiancé(e) do not marry within these 90 days, status will expire, and he or she will be in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Action if he or she does not depart. An extension cannot be granted. It is requested that the petitioner inform his or her local USCIS office if he or she determines that the marriage will not take place within the 90 day period. Please attach a copy of this notice to any correspondence about this case.

Notice: Although this application/petition has been approved, USCIS and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reserve the right to verify the information submitted in this application, petition and/or supporting documentation to ensure conformity with applicable laws, rules, regulations, and other authorities. Methods used for verifying information may include, but are not limited to, the review of public information and records, contact by correspondence, the internet, or telephone, and site inspections of businesses and residence. Information obtained during the course of verification will be used to determine whether revocation, rescission, and/or removal proceedings are appropriate. Applicants, petitioners, and representatives will be provide an opportunity to address derogatory information before any formal proceeding is initiated.

Anna and I were pleased when we finally received the notice. Both of us have been collecting documents and preparing for Anna's interview at the US Embassy in Moscow (Oh wait, they are sending it to KIEV Ukraine. The Federal Government at it's best!). 

We hope she will have her interview within the next few months. After that, she can purchase the Visas and plane tickets and finally come here. We will finally be together again, but this time neither of us will have to leave again. Here is a photo we took on my last day in Russia.

And now the moment we've been waiting for....

Finally, after over a year and a half of since the day we met and over 3000 pages of written correspondence between us. We waited 6 months and 2 days from the day our petition was received by the USCIS for any information from them. The letter I sent to my senator and congressman seemed to work and our voices were finally heard.
Today, as I spent my lunch hour talking with Anna, my Senator's office called me and told me they had good news regarding our petition. They informed me they received an email from the USCIS informing them that our petition was approved yesterday.
It is interesting that my Senator's office called me with the good news long before I heard the good news from the USCIS. Today after I returned home from work I waited for nearly 2 hours, At precisely 6:30 P.M. I finally received the official notification from the USCIS in an email message.
I cannot begin to describe how happy both Anna and I were to hear the news. Finally, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we can begin to plan our lives together.
Perhaps it takes an act of Congress and a fax from a Senator to finally get action from this organization or perhaps we were just getting impatient and if we waited they would have approved it anyway. I don't know which is true. I have my theory, but you can be the judge.
This is the email I received today:

***************************************
*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case

Receipt Number: ************

Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Your Case Status: Post Decision Activity

On April 24, 2013, we mailed you a notice that we have approved this I129F PETITION FOR FIANCE(E). Please follow any instructions on the notice. If you move before you receive the notice, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283.

For approved applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include USCIS sending notification of the approved application/petition to the National Visa Center or the Department of State.  For denied applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include the processing of an appeal and/or motions to reopen or reconsider and revocations.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Check Processing Times.

*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

Sincerely,
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
*******************************************

While Anna and I are pleased to hear the good news, we feel sorry for the many other couples continue to wait for any information pertaining to the case. In fact there are people still waiting after filing their petition in July of last year.
I hope the investigation continues into this organization because I think it needs to become more organized and make some improvements. Today I read a message on a forum by someone saying that they never thought they would ever find a government organization that was even worse than the DMV. I tend to agree.
Immigration reform is long overdue.

A letter to my congressman and senator.

Both Anna and I have been very frustrated with this process that seems to go on indefinitely for us while many other people who filed after us are getting approved. I tried calling the USCIS and was unable to get anywhere with them. So tonight, I decided to write letters to one of my state congressman and my state senator.
Here is the letter I sent to them.

Dear ______________,

I am writing you today because I am among thousands of other frustrated U.S. Citizens who are customers of The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Among the many other U.S. Citizens, I submitted a petition I-129F (Petition for Alien Fiancé) along with the $340.00 fee they charge for this "service".  My petition was received by the USCIS on October 22, 2012 and was subsequently transferred to the California Service Center (CSC).  At that time the USCIS advertised a 5 month average decision on petitions of this nature.

After waiting for a period of 5 months, I decided to call the USCIS to determine the status of our petition. They were unable or unwilling to give me any information on the status of our specific case and I was informed that the expected processing time had increased to 7.5 months.  Meanwhile  the CSC has advertised on its website for over four months that it has been processing petitions that it received on July 18, 2012(It is still the date they advertise today).

At the same time the Vermont Service Center (VSC) is processing these applications within 5 months. In fact many people are indicating that their petition that was filed after ours has already been approved. This is frustrating to say the least. We had no choice as to which center processed our petition.

My fiancé and I have spent many hours on the internet researching this issue and have discovered many forums that may indicate that the CSC has ceased processing I-129F petitions to focus on the "Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Process(DACA)" which was implemented due to an executive order given by President Barrack Obama. You can read more information here regarding this issue http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/421247-i-129f-delay-at-the-csc-a-comprehensive-analysis-of-the-data/.

Today I checked the average processing time for the I-821D (DACA) petition and it appears to be 6 months for CSC to reach a decision on this petition. Keep in mind this petition has existed for less than a year.

This could explain why the California Service Center has slowed down, if not ceased processing the I-129F petitions. While I have no problems with the DACA program in particular, I do have a problem with it taking precedence over other petitions. It appears that the CSC has been overwhelmed with these new applications for the I-821D petition (Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and has been unable to process the I-129F petitions.

While that may be a problem, it appears the agency has another problem. Today my Fiancé showed me a forum entry that was posted yesterday by someone that claimed their I-129F petition that was submitted in December was approved yesterday by the CSC after only 4 months and 1 day. Here is a link to the forum topic she showed me http://www.zaokeanom.com/forum/topic7887-180.html. The forum is written in Russian, but the message was translated as  “We received our NOA2 yesterday! I cannot believe we ended up waiting for only 4 months and 1 day!” “Be patient everyone and GOOD LUCK!! California worked well last week”

Today, I decided to contact the USCIS to ask them why someone who filed in December was approved before someone who filed in October. They could not answer the question and told me the average time has increased to 9 months for the CSC. So, it seems the CSC of the USCIS is not only favoring the I-821D petition. It may also be favoring people that may have deeper pockets than me or I need to find someone out there that can expedite the process, which I believe is a crime. Honestly, I don't know what is causing this delay but I am afraid I will call in 30 days and learn the average time has increased to 12 months.

I am not the only one who is frustrated with this situation. It appears that someone has even submitted a petition to the white house to intervene in this apparent rogue government organization.  You can view the petition at https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/expedite-processing-i129f-petitions-meet-current-government-processing-goals-5-months/rp6yP4Jw

I know you are very busy but I hope you will find some time in your schedule to research this problem.

If necessary, I can provide you with my case number.

Thank you so much for your consideration.

Respectfully,
Bryan