|||||||| Forgive the redundancy list postings in an effort to disseminate information...||||||||
I just spoke with my fiance, who has returned to Kazan from
Moscow. She is quite emotionally drained and physically exhausted
from the disappointing trip and the long train ride. Her spirits are
rather low, having returned home without the visa. Last Wednesday I
had actually extended her hotel reservation through the 24th- though
her interview was scheduled for the 18th- in hopes the embassy might
reopen and she would get in. But staying another week in a hotel in Moscow didn't seem practical.
Apparently, they have adopted a new approach and will only allow non-immigrant visas to be submitted by way of sending in the documents via certain FedEx offices in Moscow. They're saying the visa, and passport, will be returned (via FedEx) within five days if the applicant is approved. Well, we spoke about this at length and decided it was simply too risky to send in all these important documents this way. What if they were lost somehow? (My personal experiences with FedEx is ample enough to allow me valid cynicism; they've lost several of our company's valuable parcels over the last six months, and that's here in the states!) To consider losing her passport, the original interview documents, the sealed medical exam results & x-ray films, and the various personal 'proof' items would be far too devastating- especially after such a frustrating week already.
