Fiance interview with the Australian Embassy in Moscow

[rookie37]

Hi All

just wanting to draw on the experience of others who have been through the prospective Marriage Visa process, i am wanting to know how long after your Fiance had an interview with the Australian embassy in moscow before a decision on the Visa was obtained? my Fiance has her interview this Tuesday

thankyou in advance

[Olly]

Now it is 1-3 months. But every case is different, depend of your situation and relationship.

[southernX]

rookie
no true answer to your question as the decision on a visa grant can vary depending on the information presented in each individual case ,

however 1-3 months is a usual experience,

has you fiancee had her medical ? have you been notified the medical report has been received by IMMI   & your case officer in moscow ? or has it been sent on to australia already ? do you know ? where the report is in the process ? has she any children ?have they had the medical etc ?

have you both discussed everything she will need to know before the interview ? your salary  where you will live ,your plans for the future in any great detail , how you spell your name  , your close family etc, all sounds pretty obvious ,but small things under the pressure of the interview can be important in the process,   make sure they are correct ,
can you attend with her ?  great if you can

does your fiancee need to travel to the interview ??  if so get her a good trip planned , arrive a day ahead if possible , book good accomodation , etc, it lets her relax a little , we used skype to discuss all angles of the questions they may ask ,
if you are able call her just before she goes in , and again after the interview , support her as much as possible , it is a pretty daunting thing to hang your possible future on one  interview, , so treat it as such support is vital at every stage .

in short just re check the info with each other ,
advise her to expect two people for the interview , &it will be conducted usually in her native tongue and english , they will/can mix it up a bit , swapping from one to the other , not gauranteed but it happens often

also advise her to take copies of all documents, & your relationship file /portfolio ...[letters, cards, airline tickets, meal receipts, photos , western union , flower receipts etc ] you might be told it is not neccessary , but do it anyway , if they ask she will have it all with her .  be prepared !!

it is not uncommon  for the interview people to ask for something , that they may have misplaced or lost, ask the interview persons if there is anything they are still requiring from either of you .   again it sounds obvious , but it can happen you will wait weeks  & upon enquiry with a case officer be told they need a document etc, to move your case forward,

in short keep your file at the top of the attention of your case officer , remember they are getting lots of these each week , moscow services a huge area of the FSU , the more you can do to make it easier for them the better

possibly more than you asked for , but hope it helps in some way

southernx

[I/O]

Processing standards are up to 12 months from lodgement. http://www.immi.gov.au/about/charters/client-services-charter/visas/5.0.htm

[JayH]

Hello  SX and welcome here. That is interesting run down of what is expected--I am sure that is a lot of help( hope it has not terrified anyone!)
 Those who have done it-- and are about to-- it would be interesting to see what actually happened.
One point of interest-- you mention the 2 of you attending-- would they only interview alone or would they allow you to be present also?

[southernX]

Hi All

just wanting to draw on the experience of others who have been through the prospective Marriage Visa process, i am wanting to know how long after your Fiance had an interview with the Australian embassy in moscow before a [/b] decision on the Visa was obtained? my Fiance has her interview this Tuesday

thankyou in advance

rookie , I/O  i should qualify my response above to point out i was replying directly to the question in bold in my experience ,
our visa and many others i know off in recent years have been granted in 3  months or less after the fiance interview  , some within weeks , rookie dont take that as a gaurantee , but it may well be the case it will be sooner than the OFFICIAL website time lines , to get to the interview stage of the process it may take anywhere from 1-9 months depending on the quality of your application and workload of the moscow case officers in the embassy

yes I/O the quoted times are at 12months from high risk countrys like russia /ukraine from lodgement to grant  but many are granted sooner if all the info is solid and handed in as a complete package ime ,


of course if the case of evidence supporting a good relationship is weak or poorly documented , or medicals need re working etc, documents get lost, /misplaced, case workers go on leave or are replaced it all adds to the timeline it takes to complete it successfuly , hence the recomendation to check all the simple things together at least once , if not several times just to be sure and keep copies of anything you give them for future reference , as you will need all the same info for your partner 820/801 visa applications which are lodged as one usually ime

jay   both of you can attend the interveiw  together ,, my understanding is you are able to remain together , cant be certain if this is the norm  but pretty sure of this from feedback off other couples we know who have attended together
,
 it is usual to have 2 people from the embassy conduct the interview, one is the main interviewer, the second is more a silent observer on most occassions it seems , 

southernx

[Olly]

southernX, who is your officer?

[JayH]

southernX, who is your officer?

Olly-- I think SX did this about 6 or so years ago(but has some current knowledge).I am sure he can clarify.

[rookie37]

hi all

thanks for your responses especially southenX, very detailed  and very helpful

Well we lodged our documents in June 12, then last Wednesday she had a telephone interview, apparently it went well, she was not required to travel to moscow for the interview, it was conducted by phone, the case manager advised her that she is required to have a Hepatitis B  test by a doctor that is recommended by the embassy to complete the medical tests requirement, the nearest one is in moscow, so she will travel to moscow next thursday to have it done.

they advised us that once they have the hep b test then they will make a decsion.

lets hope that i have some positive news early novemeber.

i am very anxious (((

[Olly]

southernX, who is your officer?

Oh, sorry I mixed a nickname 
I want to ask rookie37!

rookie37 who is your officer?

[rookie37]

Inga, she seems quite reasonable and friendly.

[Olly]

Inga, she seems quite reasonable and friendly.

Thanks, I have another officer.

[I/O]

SX: I've seen visas granted in 10 days - ours took 6 months. I've seen worse.

[southernX]

hi all

thanks for your responses especially southenX, very detailed  and very helpful

Well we lodged our documents in June 12, then last Wednesday she had a telephone interview, apparently it went well, she was not required to travel to moscow for the interview, it was conducted by phone, the case manager advised her that she is required to have a Hepatitis B  test by a doctor that is recommended by the embassy to complete the medical tests requirement, the nearest one is in moscow, so she will travel to moscow next thursday to have it done.

they advised us that once they have the hep b test then they will make a decsion.

lets hope that i have some positive news early novemeber.

i am very anxious (((

rookie

all sounds good news
phone interview is usually a good sign your case file is looking good , no gauarantee  of course ,this is one way the embassy will conduct interviews depends on the case officer judgement  or else your girl lives in a very remote spot  away from a major city ?

im assuming from your post she has  completed all her medical  already ?
are you sure it is hep b , not TB they wish to check rookie ?

just a caution in regards to the HEP B test /TB  ,make sure your girl does not have any kind of flue or cough cold type symptoms when she attends for her test at the approved medical clinic ,      if she does have any signs of the above ring and cancel the appointment , & re book it for  2weeks later when the symptoms are gone ,

reason is , many approved medical clinics will use the cough/ flue  as sign to re test for TB , it generates extra money for their clinic , given the FSU is a high risk TB area, they will re test for it often , this will require her attending a clinic for 3 consecutive mornings , they take a mouth /throat saliva swab each time ,  ,

even if her chest xrays and blood tests are clear of TB  they will use a path lab TB growth test to sit on completing your medical for up to 12 weeks while the spores do or dont develop , this is then a mandatory delay in completing her medical report to IMMI 
 coming up to xmas soon you dont want to get stuck in this zone if you can avoid it as the results wont be reported until end of jan 2013 .

rookie this is just a caution to check with your girl  , i thought id mention it 
re check with your case officer also , just to be sure imo


I/O i know of one partner visa that was granted same day , within 4 hours of lodgment, others can wrangle with IMMI 18 monthsa or more , it all depends on the many variables involved in each case ime

SX

[rookie37]

hi SX

thanks for your reply, i just rechecked the email that the case officer sent me and she definetely states heb B, my girl had her first medicals 3 months ago once she got her case number.

the added complexity is that she is pregnant, 3 months, so i do not know how this will affect her heb B tests.

she lives in a city that has a population of 500k and it is 12 hours by train to moscow, did your girl have to go to moscow to have an interview in person?

[Olly]

rookie37, you can ask to get interview by phon. What city she live?

[Izzet]

Hi all Im new to this website and very confused Im hoping I can get done answers because the embassy had been no help

I applied for a prospective marriage visa in Sept application was received at moscow oct 8 medical done oct 16 then interview done nov 7 them no reply from embassy, my immigration lawyer emailed them on the 21 nov for an update no reply untill the last day I had to change the wedding date at registry.

We had a wedding day booked for the 19th of dec, its now not happening and were told by case officer the application should be finalized end of feb to early march after writing that they don't require anything else from us and everything I'd in order and proceeding normally and it is due to their workloads


Just wondering if anyone else has been through this and if that's there final decision time or worst case scenario
Any feed back would be greatly appreciated

[southernX]

izzet

im guessing your from australia ?as it doesnt show in your profile ?
this  is a general reply on an average timeline it will take to have your visa application assesed

check out I/O,s  link to the australian IMMI web site above in this  thread OR THIS ONE BELOW HERE
http://www.immi.gov.au/about/charters/client-services-charter/visas/5.0.htm


it will give you the official information and timelines for visa applications and processing times at present with IMMI 

anyway , if you only had your application notification as recieved from the 8th oct ,by IMMI   id say dont be booking any wedding day until at least late march or april 2013
allow or expect at least 6 months for it to be processed , id be very surprised if it was done sooner ,
coming up now to xmas , the embassy in moscow will close/slow down their work rate , staff can change positions ,etc etc

and every day they will be geting more new applications , their work load is immense , if you set yourselfs to wait say at least another 2.5-4 months , you wont be disappointed and have to keep changing plans etc , but you might be surprised sooner ,

patience is a big key in this adventure ,use the waiting time to plan & organise other things , maybe at home , at work , etc , anything you can maybe to free up your time once the visa is granted and your lady is actually arriving in australia ,
example i worked alot more over xmas , while i waited for our visa grant to be approved , then when my wife arrived i was able to take more time of work to settle her in over the first month or so

how did you find the immigration lawyer ?? what was his fee if you dont mind me asking ?do you/have you got copys of your file and the info he sent of to immi on your behalf ??as you will need al this documentation again for your partner visa application after your married

best of luck with it ,

SX

[Izzet]

Gday Southern X
thanks for your input
yeah mate i am from australia and my fiance is from Armenia
I got the immigration lawyer from a friend who had been through the same thing
it cost me $3600 just in his fees all up about $9k with translations visa fees and getting the application sent to moscow
when i went and saw him and told him i want her here for xmas he said shouldnt be an issue and thats when i got an NOIM for the 22nd Dec and booked everything
Im just hoping the officers time frame she gave us is a worst case scenario she wrote in her last email that no other documents are required and as long as all checks are complete it will be finalised by mid Feb Mar
i dont know what they mean by checks and what do they check for ?
This is all frustrating when i look at other forums on internet and countries like phillpines and india get grants in weeks of embassies receiving them

[southernX]

izzet

id say your immigration lawyer wasnt giving you very good advice , it would be very unwise to expect to have the application submitted in early oct and then have a visa granted before xmas  , only 2 months is highly optimistic , if not bordering on outright bullshit  imho & experience

the checks  you ask about are just the simple red tape IMMI put your application through,

unlike in australia , much of the information  in regards to births deaths , marriages , divorces in FSU countries  is not all on a computer somwhere , , it will be recorded on paper in files , often with a local gov/city office , the old fashioned way ,

so its not so easy to just ring up an office or send an email , faX to check ,
for IMMI to check your partners info ,it will take time , then they must send the medical report to australia , here all the info will be checked again , you will be checked out , all your personal info will need to be verified , the stat decs, etc etc

your case officer  in moscow will be handling lots  of applications at any one time , all of this is the gov system at work , its not personal ,

so it takes time ,
given you applied in early oct , id expect you might get an answer by march /april ..it may be sooner , but it might be later also ,

all you can do is keep in touch with the case officer as clsoe as possible without becoming a pest  lol ,& keep tracking your own case as best you can to keep it on their radar

if you have given them lots of evidence of a strong relationship built over time , you should be right

has your lady done the medical ? or the interview ?

SX

gives a new perspective into boat people , their lack of docs and impatience to wait once they arrive in oz doesnt it ??   

[Izzet]

HEY MATE
Thanks for your reply ut was really helpful
Medical done Oct 16 and interview Nov 7
so im hoping for a swift desicion its getting really hard being apart this long now especially since we had planned to be here for xmas and aussie summer
if you can help me out with any other info to speed things up would appreciate it and again thank you

[Izzet]

Hi All
has anyone dealt with case officer Valerie

thanks

[southernX]

IZZET ,
dont have any experience with a ''valerie'' in the moscow office . why do you ask ??

did you give contact rights with the australian embassy to your immigration lawyer or keep it direct to yourself ?

did you get copies of your docs izzet from the immi lawyer ?



everyone will tell you the waiting time apart is not easy , if you havent already , try to set up a regular schedule with your lady for skype etc, each day /week ,

its alittle too late now to send a xmas pressy but if your quick and send it xpress it might arrive by the 7th jan for her ? always nice to recieve a small gift from loved one  i used to send choccies , tim tams , cadburys , cherry ripes ,ferro rochers etc

the time will pass , use it now while you have alot more free time izzet to set up for her arrival , as you will find your time will be consumed once she arrives after xmas , does your lady have a child ?

SX

[Izzet]

Southern X

i was just wandering if anyone has dealt with Valerie shes been taking really long with replies to my lawyer, the lawyer has the rights to the application so i dont know if im allowed to send any emails to her, dont know if affects the application, ive got copies of everything on email and with lawyer since he will do the residency papers aswell
 
im always in touch with her we speak 3- times a day and i always surprise her with gifts whenever a friend or relative goes to armenia and also surprise her with flowers and chocolates i get delivered to her work she really deserves much more but its very hard from the other side of the world
Shes got no kids and never been married we met through mutual family friends

Again mate youve been great i just hope its sooner rather than later
again mate thanks

Quickly where was your wife from and how long did your process take

Izzet

[southernX]

you will find it better if you use the lawyer you hires for the contact if you have given him the rights on your application ,
it is not unusual ime , to have to wait a few days or a week to get a reply from the embassy , you can however call them direct if you really needed to urgently , i have done that before , and spoken with the case officer ,

my wife is from siberia , when we applied our visa took 6 months  to be granted ,
it is/was the usual story , you think hope it will be sooner , but there alwasy seems to be some small thing that they need tofinish it , and even when they advise you they have it all , medical , interview done etc , you just hang in limbo , waiting !!! 

did your lady drive over there ??  has she been to australia before ?
if not  another idea izzet is to send her as many pics as possible of your local area , when you skype if you can use a laptop , walk around where you live and let her see as much as she can ?

have you though about meeting her halfway on her flight once the visa is granted , ??great way to welcome your new wife into australia , is to meet her in dubai or say singapore  &fly in with her ,if you can swing it , just dont tell her until the week before  .lol 

is your job flexible izzet ??  it helps alot in the first year if you are flexible in your work times , being able to drop anything and be there for her helps alot in the beggining

SX