5 Steps to a Russian Marriage
US citizens who plan to marry Russian citizens should read this information handout. Please note that these procedures are subject to change without notice and that the information provided is merely a guideline you may find helpful. Furthermore, the procedures listed below do not apply to US citizens who intend marry other Americans or third-country nationals in Russia.
REGISTER YOUR VISA WITH YOUR RUSSIAN SPONSOR
Every foreigner is required by Russian law to have his visa registered by his sponsor through either the local or central UVIR (Office of Foreign Visa Registration). For more information about registering your visa, please our page "Russian Visa Information Sheet."
PREPARE A MARRIAGE LETTER AT THE AMERICAN EMBASSY
US citizens who intend to marry in Russia must complete the attached standard affidavit form (svidetel'stvo) in which they state their current marital status. The attached form must be completed in Russian and notarized before a US Consul. The transliteration of your name should be identical to that on your Russian visa. The American Citizen Services Unit of the Embassy offers notarial services Monday-Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., or 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.; the cost is $55 or the equivalent in rubles. Green card holders and other legal permanent residents are not entitled to this service.
HAVE THE MARRIAGE LETTER AUTHENTICATED AT THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
This service is performed by the Department of Legalization of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at Neopalimovskiy pereulok, dom 12a, approximately a twelve minute walk from Smolenskaya Metro (on the dark blue line). The hours of operation are from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m (until 4:30pm on Friday). Monday through Friday; telephone 244-3797. The procedure costs 85 rubles for a three day return and double for next day service. All fees can be paid at the Sberkass located in the waiting room of the Department of Legalization.
OBTAIN AN OFFICIAL TRANSLATION OF THE INFORMATION PAGE OF YOUR PASSPORT
The necessary translation can be obtained at any certified translation center that has a Russian notary public present. The following is a partial list of certified translation centers in Moscow:
Bureau of Interpreters
250-0317/0407/1723
Dialect
145-8956
Translation office
925-2155
Khors Service
249-8663/4645
Referat
263-1855
Uni V Tour
181-9782
GET MARRIED AT THE CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICE (ZAGS)
After completing the first fours steps, you must contact the ZAGS (Zapis Aktov Grazhdanskogo Sostoyaniya) office where your fiancee is registered and submit your documents for inspection. ZAGS officials generally will demand that you submit apostilled* copies of all pertinent US civil documents (i.e., divorce certificates, annulments) for their inspection. ZAGS will then schedule the civil service wedding 32 days from the date of registration. If your fiancee is a Muscovite, you must submit the documents you have prepared, your passport, and Russian visa to the Civil Registry Office at the following address: Palace of Weddings, 17 Butyrskaya St. Telephone 285-1960, 285-7988.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Once you are married, you may contact the Immigration and Naturalization Service at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow (telephone 728-5236) for information about filing a petition for your spouse and his/her dependents.
* Please note that the US Embassy in Moscow can neither translate nor legalize US documents for use in Russia. Certified copies of US documents must also bear an Apostille stamp to be valid in Russia - these stamps are only available in the US. For more information please request a copy of our "Notarial Services" handout.
Marriage to Foreign Nationals (Fiance(e) Visas)
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. It usually takes approximately 6-8 weeks to reach Embassy Moscow. To expedite matters, the Petitioner may also request the INS office to send a telegram to us confirming approval of the Petition.
Notifying Your Fiance(e)
:As soon as we receive the Petition, we will generate a computer name check. The name check 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 usually is 4-6 weeks. Upon receipt of the approved
I-129F petition, we 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.
Scheduling
: Visa Interview and Medical ExaminationsBefore the interview, the Beneficiary must complete a medical examination in Moscow at an Embassy-approved medical facility, information about which is included in the information packet. The medical exam costs $100 in ruble equivalent. Given the uncertainties of the post-Soviet mail system, many applicants find it easier to come straight to Moscow to pick up application forms and instructions, once they know we have received their approved petitions. In addition, applicants are welcome to set their visa interview appointment dates by calling the Information Call Center at:
From Moscow residential lines: (095)-258-2525. These calls will be billed directly to the phone subscriber at $ 1.60 per minute.
From U.S.A.: 1-866-4U.S.-VISA (1-866-487-8472). Callers will enter a credit card number and, upon acceptance, be transferred to the Moscow call center. The initial call is toll-free. Once entering the system, callers will pay the standard rate of $1.60 per minute.
Everywhere else: 1-405-552-7300. This number is for callers anywhere outside of the U.S. or Moscow, as well as calls from non-residential Moscow numbers. This is a toll call for which callers will be billed standard long-distance charges. Callers will enter a credit card number and, upon acceptance, be transferred to the Moscow call center. Once entering the system, callers will pay the standard rate of $1.60 per minute.
The system will operate 24 hours a day with operators available from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Moscow time, Monday through Friday.
Fiance(e)s may come to the Embassy any afternoon between two and four p.m. to schedule their interviews and pick up a set of application forms and instructions. 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. The fee for the medical exam is $100.00 or $150.00 payable in rubles depending on a clinic.
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 filling of an immediate relative or second preference petition would be required.
The visa application fee is $45 per person; there is no issuance fee. If the Beneficiary's interview is successful, the "K" visa will be issued on the afternoon of the day of the interview. The "K" visa is valid for a single entry during a 6-month period.
Documentary requirements for the interview:
The Beneficiary must provide:
- A valid International Passport with a photocopy of the first page.
- An original birth certificate with photocopy and translation into English.
- Applicants are required to submit police certificates in all names as well as all dates of birth that they have used. Police certificates must be submitted from each locality 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 and military service. Each certificate must state that local police records have been checked for criminal records.
MIC police certificates will no longer be accepted.
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.- If applicable, evidence of termination of any prior marriage: original, photocopy and translation into English.
- 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.
- Two photos of passport size for visa.
- Two photos of passport size for medical exam.
- There is an application fee of $45 (or the ruble equivalent) per person, payable at the Embassy on the day of interview. NO CREDIT CARDS, NO TRAVEL CHECKS, CASH ONLY!
- Documents confirming relationship: photos of Petitioner and Beneficiary together, letters to each other, phone bills, emails....
- Results of Medical Examination in sealed envelope.
The Petitioner must provide:
- 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.
Further Inquiries
For regular mail, which takes about three weeks, use the following address:
U.S. Embassy Moscow
Consular Section
PSC 77 CONS
APO AE 09721
Attn: Immigrant Visa UnitFor faster service (about two weeks), using international courier services such as DHL or Federal Express, the following address should be used:
123242 Moskva, Rossiya
Novinskiy Bulvar, 19/23
Posolstvo CSHA (USA)
Konsulskiy OtdelYou may also communicate with us by facsimile, at (7)(095)728-5247
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