A Russian bride sounds great, but is it really practical? You can follow your heart and be with the perfect person, but logistics can also be a challenge within your relationship. After chatting, video messaging, and maybe even visits to see her, you might be ready for a future. If you’re asking, “how can I get my Russian bride to the United States?”, there are necessary steps to take, but it’s definitely a process. We will help you understand how to get your Russian bride back to the United States.
Where Should You Marry Your Russian Bride?
Every country has different laws for marriage and immigration. This can make international marriages more difficult because you have to figure out the legal ramifications. So is it better to marry your Russian bride in the United States or in Russia? Or maybe somewhere else entirely?
Getting Married in Russia
If you’re planning on marrying your significant other in Russia, you must get the US consulate involved. You have to make sure you have the correct forms and notarizations. Keep in mind it can take up to 5 days to receive necessary documents from the US consulate. So make sure you have your travel plans set to give time for this. All of your documents must have a notarized translation into Russian and be legalized.
Once you have these fees, you will have to apply for the registration of your marriage and submit all of these documents to the proper Russian authorities. After this has all been approved, you have to wait 1 month to go through the marriage. Following the 1 month wait time, you have 12 months to get married before your registration becomes null.
It is easier to go through with the marriage process in Russia or other Slavic countries. Though, if you are planning to bring your bride to the United States, you might want to consider waiting to get married in the US.
Getting Married in the US
You can marry anyone in the US as long as you go through the proper procedures. It is a tedious process, and some would suggest hiring an immigration attorney to speed up the amount of time it may take. Completing this process includes having done intimate research of the topic and knowing exactly what you need.
If you’re looking to get your Russian bride permanently into the United States, keep in mind that other than the paperwork, there will be other measures to consider as well. You will definitely need to factor in time restraints. Whether it’s waiting on something to get processed, or making sure that you are subscribing to time restrictions, you must be ready to spend time and wait. Also, there’s a good chance you’ll have to go through an interview process to validate the marriage.
“The immigrant can be refused entry if he or she is found inadmissible, perhaps because of a medical problem, criminal history, past immigration violations, or the U.S. immigration authorities’ belief that the marriage is a fraud…” –All Law
What Kind of Documentation Will Your Russian Bride Need to Stay in the United States?
K-1 Visa – This is a visa that allows your fiance of another nationality to stay in the United States until you get married. Usually, you’ll have to go through an investigation process to verify the legitimacy of your relationship. A K-1 visa gives you 90 days to stay in the United States and get married.
K-3 Visa– This visa is a spousal visa. The K-3 visa is used when you get married in Russia or another country then come to America to live. This is another very difficult process that will take time, money, and a lot of paperwork. Usually, it’s encouraged to get married in the USA because this process can be considerably longer than the K-1 visa. This type of visa does not give you permanent status in the US. Experts say it’s generally better to wait for a marriage-based green card.
Marriage-Based Green Card – A marriage-based green card usually takes 10-13 months and makes you a permanent citizen. You must go through an in-depth interview process with character witnesses, credit card statements, insurance policies, and more. After completing the process, there is a 2 year “probationary” period. You must remain married for 2 years, to keep your green card permanently.
How Long Will It Take to Get My Russian Bride to America?
As we’ve stated, if you’re trying to bet your Russian bride to the United States, it’s going to be a long process. It generally takes 6-9 months to acquire a K-1 visa, and this is if your process is “smoothly sailing”.
A K-3 visa usually takes about 9-16 months to obtain. This is a long time, and in this amount of time, you can usually apply for a marriage-based green card.
Marriage-Based Green Card – It usually takes about 10-16 months to retrieve this permanent residency status. Then, as stated there is a 2-year “probation” period.
How Much Does it Cost to Get My Russian Bride in the US?
If you are trying to get your Russian bride back to the United States, expect some fees. Boundless, one of the leading immigration company states, that the average cost of getting your Russian wife residency in the United States was $1,760 in 2019.
