DIVORCE

Answer:

Yes, I have participated in divorce proceedings with foreigners. And of cause without the presence of foreign people at court. In order to start such work, it is required you get and send me a notary power of attorney with the apostille that allows me to do work in Russia on your behalf. A template of this power of attorney, my data and address I can e-mail to you after your request. At the same time you should send me the original of your Marriage Certificate. If you don't have, I can receive a copy here. \nBut before you send originals of the documents, it's required that you e-mail me a copy of your Marriage Certificate (as image file), data of your residence, and information about your wife's residence (if she doesn't live in Saint-Petersburg - her last address in Saint-Petersburg). Also please tell me do you (and your wife) have common children, and if do, please send also a copy of Birth Certificate.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

I have big experience of dealing with divorce cases involving foreign citizens.

If you are interested in working with me I can send you a Power of Attorney document, which you'll need to notarize. Then you will need to have it apostiled by the Secretary of State. After that, the document becomes legal in Russia. After I receive the document back from you, I can start all the required actions in Russia, and in Moscow in particular.

Please let me know, who currently has the possession of your Marriage Certificate - you or your wife? If it's you then you will need to send it to me along with the Power of Attorney document. What is your opinion on whether or not your wife wants the divorce?

I am ready to start working on your case and waiting for your response.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

My colleague knows Russian law very well and has a long time experience in order to skillfully represent you in a court in Russia.

But he is not English speaking well enough to contact you for consultation.
And I have found that you don't speak Russian in order to receive the consultation in Russian language.

In this case, if you are interested in getting the paid consultation, you can prepare a list of your additional questions. Then I send you detailed and elaborated advice in written form.

Having received this advice you can decide for yourself would you divorce in Russia or in Canada.

If you divorce in Russia, you can do all communications with me and my colleague can represent you directly in court in Moscow.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Yes, I have participated in divorce proceedings with foreigners.
And of cause without the presence of foreign people at court.

In order to start such work, it is required you get and send me a notary power of attorney with the apostille that allows me to do work in Russia on your behalf. A template of this power of attorney, my data and address I can e-mail to you after your request.

At the same time you should send me the original of your Marriage Certificate. If you don't have, I can receive a copy here.

But before you send originals of the documents, it's required that you e-mail me a copy of your Marriage Certificate (as image file), data of your residence, and information about your wife's residence (if she doesn't live in Saint-Petersburg - her last address in Saint-Petersburg). Also please tell me do you (and your wife) have common children, and if do, please send also a copy of Birth Certificate.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Unfortunately, I did not quite understand the nature of your question. Who wants to get the permanent residence and Russian citizenship - you or your husband? Please describe your situation. What connections you and your husband have with Russia? Where and when were you born, where have you been living, what is your current citizenship, what was(were) your citizenship(s) in the past, where do your parents live and what is their citizenship, do you have any relatives in Russia, where do they live, do you have children? Please provide the mentioned information for both you and your husband. Please let me know of any other facts you deem important.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Because your wife is a Russian citizen and she permanently lives in Russia, and your marriage was registered in Russia, therefore, the court in Russia cannot decline to review your case, and this case can be reviewed in Russian court. In order to start divorce proceedings in Russian court you do not have to go to Russia. You can retain a lawyer in Russia and issue a power of attorney in the lawyer's name. If this power of attorney is going to be certified by US notary public, you have to do apostille for this power of attorney at secretary of you state to make this document valid outside the USA.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

The adoption proceedings in Russian courts are not difficult but there are some particulars in such proceedings with foreign citizens. The procedure will take at least six month. Perhaps, it will take some more time. It will depend on specific facts of the case, city and court where this case will be considered. If it could not be possible to receive the father's consent, in any case you can adopt your wife's daughter in court. But this procedure will be rather more difficult and longer. The necessity of presence of you, your wife and her daughter in court will be found out during proceedings. Your lawyer in Russia can try to make this case to be considered without you based on yours and your wife's power of attorney. Also court will require to know the opinion of your wife's daughter because she is older than 10. Finally, the question about the presence of your family in court will depend on court considering this case with public prosecutor.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

In accordance with Item 5, Article "f" of Vienna Convention about Consular Relations from April 24, 1963 (began action since March 19, 1967), consulates can register civil status. In other words, consulates can issue divorce certificates. You can go to Consulate of Russian Federation in your country, give them the court decision, fill out the application, and then get you Divorce Certificate.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Concerning the tax aspect. According the tax legislation of Russian Federation, for residents and non-residents of Russian Federation the tax rates are different. The residents of Russian Federation pay 13% tax, non-residents - 30%. But there is one agreement between Russian Federation and the USA of avoiding the double tax payment (the agreement of June, 17, 1992, came in to action December, 16, 1993). According to this agreement you have to pay tax only in one of these countries. It means that in case if you would like to sell this apartment it will be enough for you to write in declaration in the USA the information of selling the apartment and about the profit you've made, and pay the tax in the USA. In this case, the Russian Tax Department can not ask you to fill out the tax declaration and pay the tax again. In the case if you will give this apartment for rent, you will have to pay the tax too. In Russia this tax will be 30% from the profit. In the USA according the US legislation you have to claim about your profit filling out the tax declaration in one of the countries. The same rule refers to payment of annual tax for property.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

First of all I would like to tell you couple things: Temporary residency permit is given to you for 3 years. Only in one year after you will be able to apply for permanent residency permit. You won't be able to live with temporary residency permit all the time. Permanent residency permit allows you to live in Russia all the time and it's given to you for 5 years. Permanent residency permit allows the foreign citizen to live and work in Russia like Russian citizens and pay 13% income taxes (not 30%). As in American legislation, Russian legislation has some points to cancel your temporary residency permit and permanent residency permit. It could happen in case of getting the residence in some other country or living out of Russia for more then 6 month. You have to realize that applying for temporary residence permit and permanent residency permit in Russia, you can lose your permanent residency in United States. And if you live not in the USA for 6 month you still have a chance to save your green card (in case of submission of tax declaration in USA and in case you pay the income taxes in USA), so if you will live out of USA for more then one year you will lose your green card forever. Even if you are not in USA for more then 6 month it could cause irreversible consequences. If you still want to apply for temporary residency permit in Russia, I can consult and help you. First the shares of each spouses will be defined. And only after that the testament will start to operate. Your testament in Russia will operate until you cancel it or make a new one. It doesn't depend on place of your residence. The easiest way to cancel your testament is to go to any Russian Consulate with the application and to send the same application to the notary public who has notified your testament. I would be glad to help you at any time.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Your wife is right, Sidorov is correct spelling of your last name in Russian. That's because I looked thoroughly that no one error made in your documents. Vosstania 6 of course screwed you up. Circumstances? If you sell your property no any circumstances will be. You make your passport translation the same as your last name showed in documents for apartment and sell it. But if you don't plan to sell the apartment in this case some problem likely can be. There will be variant reading in all documents: marriage certificate, will, your wife's passport (if she changed her last name). And of something happens with you, your wife would have to prove than man with last name Sidorov is the same person as with last name Sydoroff. Often such issues are taken to court. And it's better for you to secure yourself and your folks of possible problems in future. I think you need to make correct translation of your passport and based on this make changes in Unified state registry of real estate rights. If they decline (but likely not) in this case you can force them to make changes base on court decision. Of course I can help you in this matter.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Your wife is right, Sidorov is correct spelling of your last name in Russian. That's because I looked thoroughly that no one error made in your documents. Vosstania 6 of course screwed you up.
Circumstances? If you sell your property no any circumstances will be. You make your passport translation the same as your last name showed in documents for apartment and sell it.
But if you don't plan to sell the apartment in this case some problem likely can be. There will be variant reading in all documents: marriage certificate, will, your wife's passport (if she changed her last name). And of something happens with you, your wife would have to prove than man with last name Sidorov is the same person as with last name Sydoroff. Often such issues are taken to court.
And it's better for you to secure yourself and your folks of possible problems in future. I think you need to make correct translation of your passport and based on this make changes in Unified state registry of real estate rights. If they decline (but likely not) in this case you can force them to make changes base on court decision.
Of course I can help you in this matter.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Unfortunately, to be born in Russia is not an absolute ground to get Russian citizenship. Child born in Russia from foreign citizens can get Russian citizenship by birth in one and only case (Article 12, part 1, paragraph “g” of Law of Russia “About Citizenship” – child gets Russian citizenship by birth if at the date of his birth both parents live in Russian and have foreign citizenship and the country of citizenship of parents cannot give the citizenship to child. So, in order to get Russian citizenship by birth in accordance with the above ground two conditions should be maintained: 1) Evidence that you cannot get citizenship of your country to your child; 2) Evidence of living of both foreign parents in Russia. If the above evidence is shown, a paper about citizenship would be issued to parents at place of living of their children in Russia. In accordance with Paragraph 4.1 of Direction about procedure and issuing of papers to birth certificate about Russian citizenship of child (order of MVD of Russia No 257 from April 18, 2003), in case of getting Russian citizenship by birth to child, the opinion about results of checking of conditions about availability of Russian citizenship by child is required”. Based on the above requirements, I think it’s unlikely to get citizenship to your child. About possibility of getting Russian citizenship in future -- in accordance with Article 6 part 3 paragraph 1 of Law of Russia “About legal status of foreign citizens in Russia”, without quote adopted by Russian government, a permission for temporary living can be issued to person born in Russia. After receiving of this permission for temporary living, the foreign citizen can get permanent residence in a year, and then living in Russia for required time and having permanent residence he gets Russian citizenship. But there is a requirement in this case that foreign citizen should address to proper body in his foreign country with application to reject his current citizenship. This rejection of other citizenship is not required if it’s provided in an international treaty of Russia, Russian Law about citizenship, or this rejection of other citizenship is not possible because of independent from the person reasons (Article 13, part. 1 paragraph ‘g’ of Russian Law “About Russian citizenship”).

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

The adoption proceedings in Russian courts are not difficult but there are some particulars in such proceedings with foreign citizens. The procedure will take at least six month. Perhaps, it will take some more time. It will depend on specific facts of the case, city and court where this case will be considered.
If it could not be possible to receive the father's consent, in any case you can adopt your wife's daughter in court. But this procedure will be rather more difficult and longer.
The necessity of presence of you, your wife and her daughter in court will be found out during proceedings. Your lawyer in Russia can try to make this case to be considered without you based on yours and your wife's power of attorney. Also court will require to know the opinion of your wife's daughter because she is older than 10. Finally, the question about the presence of your family in court will depend on court considering this case with public prosecutor.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

In accordance with Item 5, Article "f" of Vienna Convention about Consular Relations from April 24, 1963 (began action since March 19, 1967), consulates can register civil status. In other words, consulates can issue divorce certificates.
You can go to Consulate of Russian Federation in your country, give them the court decision, fill out the application, and then get you Divorce Certificate.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

The general rule is such that USA does not immediately grant foreign citizens with the Permanent Residency after marriage with US citizen. Therefore, the Green Card is issued for a term of not more than 2 years. Not later than 90 days before the term expires, both spouses should submit an application for a permanent Green Card -- Form I-751 "Joint Petition to Remove the Conditional Basis of Alien's Permanent Resident Status". The failure to file Form I-751 will result in termination of permanent residence status and initiation of deportation proceedings.
If you do not submit the application, your wife loses her rights to stay in the US and is to be deported upon the expiration of her Green Card (2 years or whatever term it was originally issued). It is impossible to invalidate Green Card before its expiration date. The Green Card automatically expires upon its expiration date.
The only ground for preventing a person from entering the USA can be a crime committed by that person and criminal proceedings initiated against that person. However, all these circumstances do not prevent you from applying to court to start divorce proceedings regardless of whether your wife is in the USA or not.

Karina Krasnova

Answer:

Because your wife is a Russian citizen and she permanently lives in Russia, and your marriage was registered in Russia, therefore, the court in Russia cannot decline to review your case, and this case can be reviewed in Russian court.
In order to start divorce proceedings in Russian court you do not have to go to Russia. You can retain a lawyer in Russia and issue a power of attorney in the lawyer's name. If this power of attorney is going to be certified by US notary public, you have to do apostille for this power of attorney at secretary of you state to make this document valid outside the USA.

Karina Krasnova