You may remember from my last post that we were not clear on whether agencies were able to submit their documents to Russia yet, or if Russia wasn't accepting applications. I talked to our agency and learned that when they told me our agency's documents had been "submitted" they were relying on a faulty translation from their Russian office -- what actually occurred was that they had brought their documents to the Russian Ministry of Education, where they are eventually going to be submitted, and got information/corrections for putting together their packets.
But this doesn't sound like good news - it just confirmed that Russia was not yet accepting documents. I went for a couple of days trying to come to terms with the expectation that Russia would probably not accept applications until after their holiday break. After all, they are obligated to decide on the applications within 3 months of submission, and since they'll be on vacation for almost a month they might not want to start accepting submissions until they return to work in late January.
Praise God, I was wrong!! The Russian government issued a letter yesterday that finalized the documentation requirements for agencies applying for reaccreditation (include # of photocopies, etc.) and declaring that they would officially start receiving applications on December 20. THAT'S TODAY! I talked with our agency director and he expects our representatives in Russia to submit right away, since they had already made revisions and corrections based on their discussions with the Russian government. Though I don't know if they submitted today, it should be soon. At that point, the 3 month countdown begins!
Yes, 3 months is a long time...but if we're able to travel soon after reaccreditation (say, within a month or so) we may still get our first trip in the late spring. And it's possible they will issue the reaccreditations within less than 3 months. But I suppose I shouldn't start having wild dreams here :)
This is something to be thankful for - a reminder that while things are slow, they are not completely stalled.
We'll be up north for Christmas and New Year's, so I probably won't be blogging (unless there is news). Until then, Merry Christmas!
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5 comments:
Great news Sarah. We are sooo glad to hear that things might be moving along here in day or two. It would be great if things would just go forward from here with NO delays. Have a wonderful holiday. It shouldn't be long now. :-)
Roger, Dawn and Brayden
Yay! This is great Christmas news Sarah. Congrats and have fun visiting family!
-Kate
Yeah! One more hurdle down. Merry Christmas (and stay warm)!
Congratulations, Sarah. So great to hear things are finally moving forward for you.
Have a great Christmas!
Hi Sarah, I have been reading your post and you have been helping me a lot with your break-down of what is going on. I am with the same agency and using the same rep so it is very helpful to share the excitement and WAIT with you. Merry Christmas to us and everyone who is on this great journey. Three months will go by quick!!!
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