By law, a fiance(e) petition can only be filed in the United States at an office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The petitioner must be a U.S. Citizen.

Step 1: Petition

The fiance(e) petition (Form I-129-F) can be obtained from the INS Regional Service Center or local INS office in the U.S. closest to your residence. When the INS office sends you the petition, they will also include two G-325-A biographic information forms. You must fill out completely both the petition and biographic information forms. Please note that failure to mention any previous marriages on these forms will result in the petition being returned to INS from the relevant Embassy for readjudication. Your fiance(e) can also forward to you the one he/she will receive from the Embassy once her/his case is being processed. Your fiance(e) will be required to present the supporting financial documents at the time of his/her visa interview. Form I-134 (Affidavit of Support) is not required.

When submitting the Form I-129-F for approval, be sure to include all of the following documents:

a photocopy of your U.S. passport identification page (plus a copy of your naturalization document if you are a naturalized citizen); photocopies of any death certificates of a previous spouse that you or your fiance(e) may have and photocopies of any divorce decrees terminating a previous marriage that you and your fiance(e) may have, with translations; two passport-size photographs of both yourself and your fiance(e), attached to the bottom of the G-325 biographic forms; a photograph of the two of you together to prove you have met; and

Question 14 on the I-129F asks you to list the names and dates of birth of any children your fiance(e) may have. Children up to the age of 21 may accompany their parent to the U.S., or may follow-to-join at any time up to one year after the parent receives his/her visa.

According to U.S. Immigration Law, Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e), may not be filed with, or approved by, overseas INS offices or U.S. Embassies. The I-129F must be filed with the INS district office having INS jurisdiction over the Petitioner's current or intended residence in the United States.

Petition approved:

INS will notify you and forward the petition to Moscow for all fiance(e)s residing in Russia, Kazakstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. For residents of Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia, the petitions will be forwarded to the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw, for residents of Estonia, to the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki, and for residents of Moldova, to the U. S. Embassy in Bucharest. Approved petitions usually take approximately 6-8 weeks to reach Embassy Moscow.

Note: Effectively immediately, the Immigrant Visa Unit is no longer opening provisional files for K visa beneficiaries.

Notifying Your Fiance(e) :

Upon receipt of the approved I-129F petition (approximately 6-8 weeks after INS approval), we will send a letter and information sheet to the Beneficiary outlining the steps to be taken to apply for an Alien Fiancé(e) visa, called a "K" visa. Then we will generate a computer name check. The mandatory name check procedure takes 16 working days. After the name check clears, we can schedule the applicant for an interview. Currently, the period between receiving the Petition and scheduling the interview is 4-6 weeks.

Scheduling: Visa Interview and Medical Examinations

Before the interview, the Beneficiary must complete a medical examination in Moscow at an Embassy-approved medical facility. Forms and information about this is included in the information packet. The medical exam costs between $100 - $150 in ruble equivalent, depending on the clinic. Since it takes around 40 hours to receive the results of the medical examination, some fiance(e)s choose to remain in Moscow from the time they take their medical exam until the date of their interview at the Embassy.

If the applicants must change the assigned appointment date, he/she is welcome to do so by calling our Moscow Visa Information Center at:

From Russia: (095)-258-2525. All calls $1.60 per minute.

From the U.S.A.: 1-866-4US-VISA (1-866-487-8472). Payment by credit card only. All calls $1.60 per minute.

Everywhere else: 1-405-552-7300. This number is for callers anywhere outside of the U.S. or Russia. Payment by credit card only. All calls $1.60 per minute.

Operators available from 06:00 to 20:00 Moscow time, Monday through Friday.

Note: The Embassy no longer offers public access to obtain forms that are provided in the packet initially mailed to beneficiaries of I-129F petitions. If, after a reasonable time period, it appears that that local postal systems have lost the packet, the Beneficiary should contact the Embassy through the Information Call Center to obtain instructions on how to proceed.

All children of an alien classified K-1 must be listed on the K visa petition. Failure to do so will cause a delay in visa issuance. The children (under 21 years old and unmarried) also must be at the interview. The child of a K-1 principal alien may be accorded K-2 status if following to join the principal alien to the U.S. even after the principal alien has married the American citizen Petitioner, and acquired lawful permanent resident status. The cut-off date for issuance of a K-2 visa is 1 year from the date of the issuance of the K-1 visa to the principal alien. After 1 year, and provided that the alien qualifies, the filing of an immediate relative or second preference immigrant visa petition would be required.

The visa application fee is $65 per person; there is no issuance fee. The "K" visa is valid for a single entry during a 6-month period.

Documentary requirements for the interview:

The Beneficiary must provide:

1.A valid International Passport with a photocopy of the first page. 2.An original birth certificate with photocopy and translation into English. 3.Applicants are required to submit police certificate in all names as well as all dates of birth that they have used. Police certificate must contain references to each place (the subject of the Russian Federation) in which the applicant lives or has lived for more than six months since reaching the age of 16, regardless of where he/she is officially registered. This includes localities where applicants have lived during university studies. If the applicant was on his military service, he should bring the certificate from the local draft board. If an applicant has lived abroad for more than one year a police certificate must also be submitted from the country in which he/she lived. Military records will be accepted only from local authorities and not from military commissions. 4.If applicable, evidence of termination of any prior marriage: original, photocopy and translation into English. 5.An accompanying child requires a valid passport (or may be included in the parent's passport), a birth certificate and a medical examination. If a child is 16 years of age or over, police certificates are required. 6.Two photos of passport size black and white full face for visa. 7.Two photos of passport size for medical exam. 8.There is an application fee of $65 (or the ruble equivalent) per person, payable at the Embassy on the day of interview. Only U.S. dollars cash or Russian rubles will be accepted. The bills must be clean and in good condition. The Embassy cashier reserves the right to reject dirty or damaged bills. Under no circumstances will credit cards or personal checks be accepted for payment. 9.Documents confirming relationship: photos of Petitioner and Beneficiary together, letters to each other, phone bills, emails.... 10.Results of Medical Examination in sealed envelope.

The Petitioner must provide:

1.Employment letter with salary information and/or a copy of tax returns (Form 1040) for the last year.

U.S. Port of Entry

Once found qualified for visa issuance, your fiance(e) will receive a nonimmigrant visa in his/her passport, valid for one entry into the U.S. at any time within the next six months. He/she will also receive a separate immigrant visa packet to present to the immigration officials at the U.S. border. After entry to the U.S., the Beneficiary has ninety days to either marry the petitioner or return to his/her country. If the Petitioner and Beneficiary marry, the Beneficiary may then contact INS to adjust status to that of legal permanent resident.

Communicating with the Embassy

E-mail is the preferred (and fastest) means of communication: consulmo@state.gov

Submission of Additional Documents

For regular mail, which takes at least three weeks, use the following address:

U.S. Embassy Moscow Consular Section PSC 77 CONS APO AE 09721 Attn: Immigrant Visa Unit

For faster service (about two weeks), using international courier services such as DHL or ELF-91, the following address should be used:

123242 Moskva, Rossiya Novinskiy Bulvar, 19/23 Posolstvo CSHA (USA) Konsulskiy Otdel

Home | About Russia | Fraud | Services | Who I am | SUPPORT