VISAS APPROVED!

[Wayne]

Hello everyone,

I just received this short message:

"My Love, at all of us it has turned out!  We have received the visa!  I am very happy!

I love you!

Your Oksana"

I do not know any details yet.  Perhaps you remember the extremely long struggle we have had to obtain the visas.  Many unforseen problems came up that provented Oksana from getting the visas.  Too much time expired, and the US Embassy in Moscow told us we would have to start over.  I contacted both Senators and my Representive in the House.  They all three had workers trying to save the petition--to no avail!  Finally, we had to file a completely new petition.  We had to include an IMBRA request for waiver, since it was less than two years from the first petition.  It took one year and five days from the NOA1 to now. 

A few months ago, I was considering packing everything up and just moving to Russia!  At least now, we can see how it goes and if Oksana and Yana like living in America.  Perhaps we can just visit Siberia in the Summers.  You know, they have a very long, cold Winter there.

I need to clean-up my house and prepare.  Actually, last weekend I cleaned out the gargage and, now, my car can fit in.  I am thinking about installing a garage door opener. 

[catzenmouse]

Congratulations Wayne!

I don't know if you'd find much difference in the weather between Siberia and Michigan! There were several times last year we would find out it was warmer in Omsk than it was here in Wisconsin.

Sounds like you might just have an excellent Thanksgiving Day present!

Ken

[Rvrwind]

Congrats Wayne...I'm truly happy for you dewd!

[Wayne]

i live less than two miles from the 45th parallel, which means I am equal distance from the North Pole and Equator.  The 45th passes through Crimea.  Krasnoyarsk is between the 67th and 68th.  Therefore, the distance from my home to the North Pole is twice as far as from Krasnyarsk to the North Pole.  Krasnoyarsk has a very short but hot Summer.  There is only a few hours of darkness there in Summer.  Conversely, they have a very long Winter.  In the middle of Winter, there is only a few hours of daylight.  There is not much Spring or Fall weather.  It can get down to -40 degrees F in Krasnoyarsk or colder.

I live on a peninsular extending into the Great Lakes.  My county has 93 miles of shoreline, plus several large inland lakes.  This makes the Summer cooler and the Winter warmer.  It has been about 7 or 8 years since the water in front of my house has frozen over.  The largest crops are cherries and grapes.  Peaches, plums, apricots, English Walnuts, Pecans and manny other crops are grown here. Maple and Beech trees are most common.

Almost none of the plants that grow here would stand the Siberian Winter.  What I seen there was some form of Birch tree and Siberian Larch.  The Larch are very slow growing and lose their needles in the Fall. The wood is very dense and resistant to decay.  It makes better lumber for decks than any Cedar or Redwood. 

What I am getting at is, Oksana will notice many differences in nature and weather.  My county gets about 150 inches of snow per season, but some counties near here get much more!  When it is extremely cold in Siberia, not much snow would fall, and it would be very dry and fine, like dust.  Around New Year, they make many very large ice sculptures in Krasnoyarsk, and they last well into the Winter before melting.
That would not work at all here.