OUR FAILED ATTEMPT TO GET TO AMERICA

I want to give an extended update on our failed attempt to move to the U.S. When I wrote my last blog, Marina and I were packing and getting ready to leave Russia. So we said goodbye to Gabriel and Oksana’s folks last Thursday morning before taking the taxi to the airport in St. Petersburg. 

Upon arrival at the airport, we soon got our boarding passes and our baggage checked and loaded. We then took the two hour flight to Moscow. It was very difficult finding our way around once we got inside. Domodedovo airport seemed huge to us. We had to get all our luggage and then find our way around. Eventually we found the right place to get our tickets for our next destination, which was Casablanca, after which we would fly to Miami. The flight was to leave at 7:35 a.m., but we were told check-in started at 4:00 a.m. I won’t go into details, but Marina was having to interpret the directions for me because the Russians who work at the airport either could not speak English at all or spoke it poorly. I wanted Marina to interpret because I did not trust my Russian for the important details.

We were able to stay in the “Aerotel,” as it is called. They have small, private rooms to allow sleep during layovers. The price was reasonable, but we slept very little. Check-in, we discovered, was actually 4:35  a.m.. We were able to get our tickets not only to Casablanca, but also on to Miami. The lady also checked our luggage to Miami. We felt great because handling the luggage was tough for the two of us. 

We assumed all was well until we tried to get through Customs. The young lady at the booth for parents and children was literally asleep on her job when we got there. We had reserved our tickets on our American passports.  They lady saw on the papers that we had traveled to and from America in 2018. She wanted to see our Russian passports. I gave her mine, but Marina has no passport. I was told children did not receive passports until they were teens. That was how it worked with Gabriel.  

At this point I need to explain that there is a big difference for Americans in the language used about passports in Russia. Russians, including myself, have two passports. The first is domestic (or internal) and functions more like an ID. You use it to prove your identity the same way we use a drivers license in America. The domestic passport in Russia proves you are here legally, and all citizens have them. (They take legal immigration seriously here in Russia.)

Some Russians also have what I call a Travel Passport. They are not mandatory. You use it to go in and out of the country. My assumption was that children did not get one of those either. I had my passports (U.S. and Russian), Marina’s U.S. passport, and I had an apostille translation of Marina’s birth certificate proving I was her father. Those had been all I needed to get the tickets and boarding passes. In fact, I never had to show my Russian passport. 

I will  not go into the long and painful interaction with the Russian Custom officials. The young lady went and got her supervisors. They said Marina could not leave Russia because she did not have a travel passport.  I explained our situation, and we even called Oksana’s mom who tried to convince the officials to let us go. Nothing  worked. 

Marina went from ecstatic that we were going to America to sobbing. I wanted to cry myself. One problem again was language. They used technical language that Marina did not understand. The officials we met also said different things. One said Marina needed a visa while others said a passport. 

Finally the man who appeared to be the supervisor came to us and explained things carefully. The problem was that even a Russian child has to have a Russian travel passport to leave the country. We had not been told this by any Russians we knew or by the airline people who gave us our tickets and boarding passes. 

We left disheartened and confused. I wrote Fr. Seraphim Bell, an American priest I have mentioned before who lives in Moscow. I told him we have no idea what to do or where to go. Fr. Seraphim asked that we let him check around for help. Marina began to feel better. She kept asking me to pray, and I did–many times. 

Fr. Seraphim got back with me after some time. He had contacted a lady named Yulia who works with a large hotel company. She was in a meeting, but called him back afterwards. He explained the situation to her. She reserved a room for us at the hotel where she works. It was a long way from the airport, but we gladly accepted. I got a taxi at the airport, and Marina and I made the long trip with our luggage. We finally figured out which hotel to enter (there were several). I don’t know if it was Yulia, but the person at the counter said she had talked to Fr. Seraphim. She had misunderstood and thought I had more children, but I told her it was just Marina and I and we did not need extra beds as she thought. She asked if a room with one large bed would be sufficient. I said yes and we would stay one night. She told me the price was the equivalent of $48 dollars a night. So I said we would stay two nights. I really wondered if we would need more. The room is very nice. I can’t believe we got this room for the price we did.

After getting into the room I contacted another person recommended by Fr. Seraphim named Sophia. Actually Fr. Seraphim’s wife sent me the contact info. He said she was not a lawyer but would probably know how to get information on what to do. 

Sophia called me as soon as I wrote to her. She told me what she believed was correct information, but she said that she wanted to confirm it with a lawyer in that area. She called back and said the information was correct. 

Marina must have a Russian travel passport. You can get those in Moscow, but she recommended we go back to Luga where we are registered. When you move to a city in Russia you don’t just change your mailing address at the post office. You go to the city office and register. They combine a lot of information on you. Sophia said it would be easier to do this in Luga, because they already have the information needed to get the application in for the passport. I would also perhaps need to provide a death certificate showing the mother is deceased. While getting a new passport normally takes at least a month, you can pay extra for an “urgent” request which normally takes 3 days. It is still not all that expensive. The lawyer she spoke with said with what documents I have, if I get the Travel Passport for Marina and the death certificate then there should be no problem. 

You have no idea how long all these events which I have just described took and the emotional toll they took on Marina and me. We had slept very little so we went to bed early last night and rested well. My little daughter is amazing. She recovered so well and began comforting me. We both did not want to have to go back to Luga, but that is the best option. My former Russian tutor lives in Moscow, and she is coming this afternoon (Saturday) to help me arrange a flight back to St. Petersburg Sunday. Then we will take a taxi to Luga. Monday we hope to be at the office where Sophia directed us to get the application in for the passport. As an aside, plane tickets from Moscow to St. Petersburg are incredibly cheap. 

It looks like I will not get my money back from the travel company for the tickets we could not use, although I paid for insurance. They say the mistake was mine, not theirs. I lost a good bit of money on this mistake. I cannot dwell on that. But in the back of my mind all this time was whether I will have enough money to get to America anytime soon. It takes so long to get money transfers now! I had sent Roman some money he needed and also some to Oksana’s mom to pay expenses for keeping Gabriel. I had given her what she said she needed before we left, but I wanted to add more to that amount. Roman was able to send me some back and so did Svetlana, but I was still unsure. My oldest son in America contacted my “guy” Marcus who handles my transfers and explained the situation. Marcus told me last night he will expedite some money within 24 hours. I hope to get the remainder I may need later next week. So I felt better about our plan to get back to Luga, get the documents, and then plan our trip to South Carolina again. 

I will write more on my reflections on these events in another blog. I am not mentally rested enough to go on. Please forgive any grammatical and spelling mistakes because of my mental fatigue and, more importantly, I have not yet had my first cup of coffee! But with all sincerity I say thank you to the many people who sent me messages of your prayers, concerns, and best wishes. I am amazed. Truly amazed. Thank you so much.