Questions about interview for Russian citizen in Warsaw Poland

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

Hello @RogerVA8928

If you read through this thread you will find the answers to many of your questions, my wife and I recently went through this process in Warsaw and mostly due to the war in Ukraine it was a lot of extra trouble since she is a Russian citizen living in Moscow. Airline restrictions, banking sanctions, boarder policies, and timing of interview, travel, hotels and documentation are all issues you have to face. So here is what we have learned:

===

Q:If interviewing in Warsaw is the only acceptable option, I'm wondering how much time they give you to prepare for the trip when they schedule the interview? 

A: In our case, the Warsaw office got our petition and within 90 days we were contacted with the appointment date/time.  It was 3 weeks in the future.  The war had just started and airline sanctions made that date not workable for us.  My wife needed to get her Schengen visa (from Italy) and at that time there was a long line due to the imgrant surge out and around Europe and Russia.  We paid our visa service an additional fee (like $350 if I remember correctly) for an expedited service but there was still no guarantee it would come in time for the interview.  As it turned out, we got it in about 2 weeks.  The visa service insisted there was no guarantee how fast but we were very pleased.

 

Q: I've heard getting the Schengen Visa can take a few weeks and once received for whichever country (Spain, Italy, Greece, etc...) it's only valid for 30 days.

A: Depends on which country and how long the line is in that country. The Schengen visa we purchased was good for 1 year....if I remember correctly.  It may have been 2-3 years, I'll check w/my wife.  Again, we opted for the Italian visa because they offered or made available an expedite service whereas the others did not.  This expedite service was offered by the visa service we used in Russia, not by the Italian government.  A visa service is familiar with how things work, they have inside contacts and they have people to go stand in line for you...that is what you are paying for.

 

Q:  So hoping there is at least a 2 month window for planning purposes and not a 3-4 week window as that would not allow enough time for processing her Schengen and traveling.

A: I've chattted with a number of others here that went through Warsaw. Their experience seems pretty consistant with ours, you get about 3 weeks notice.

 

Q: If they schedule with a small window, does anyone know the rescheduling process?

A: Yes, we rescheduled our appointment, moved it to the first available slot in the future.  That slot was about 3 months after our initial interview date.  Availability is entirely based on how many people are applying and how many people are in queue.  There is a website that you use to reschedule your appointment.  The process was easy, we just picked a new date online and a few days later we got a confirmation of the reschedule.  Note that when we did this there was a note in the system to not reschedule untill after your appointment time had passed which I did not understand...and I ignored the note.  We were still easily able to reschedule our appointment and I hope that our slot was marked available and someone else got it.

 

Q: Can we log in to reschedule the date they provided to one maybe 6-8 weeks later or would it be months to reschedule?
A: See above.  You can login and reschedule, how long a wait or when the next slot is available depends on the current queue of applicants.

 

Some important lessons learned:

 

1. Be certain to bring every piece of documentation that you submitted, originals.  And they need to be an exact match to what you submitted. Don't get new copies or updated copies, bring the ones you submitted.  They will compare the originals you bring to the images of those you submitted at the interview.  If there is a difference, they will send you back to the hotel to upload images of the changed documents and you will wait (in our case) 6 additional days before they confirm the new documents have been accepted.

 

2. Though the instructions clearly indicated to bring your most recent IRS tax form 1040 OR your IRS tax transcript, bring both!  I submitted my original 1040 for the previous year, that I had just filed and the embassy asked for the transcript also.  I responded that the instructions said "OR" not "AND" but they insisted.  The IRS had not fully processed my return and the transcript was not yet available online.  It took an additional 6 days to work with the embassy on this item.  So by that time we had been in Warsaw 2 weeks.

 

3. There are plenty of places to stay right near the embassy.  We stayed in an AirBNB, they were great places and quite affordable.  Most of them were about $100 - $130 a night.  We stayed at 2 different properties run by "OompH "  They set a new standard!  Because of our extended stay caused by having updated documents that didn't match perfectly what was submitted, we stayed in Warsaw 3 weeks.  It's a 5 minute walk to the embassy.

 

4. You will not be allowed in the embassy.  You have to wait outside, I waited approximately 3 hours.  There is no place to sit at all and they will not let you loiter in front of the embassy.  You have to stand across the street or find another place to hang out.  There is no coffee shop or diner near the embassy.  You have to walk a bit down the street.  The interview itself took only 5 minutes.  The officer was very brief, asked my wife 2-3 questions, flipped hurridly through all the supporting documents we brought, like proof of income, proof of financial support for 5+ years, pictures together, email and text streams, etc....he was only interested in what had been submitted and they had to be an exact match. The rest of the documents he hardley even gave a glance...though it was quite relevant.

 

5. The entrance to the embassy has two service windows and a door.  You take your papers and printed interview confirmation to the window first, then you get in line for the door. If you do not have your printed original appointment confirmation with the bar code on it, you are not getting in, period.  We saw several people get turned away because of this.  There is an official at the door that checks your papers when you enter.  You can NOT take your cell phone inside. If you have a bag of any type it will be searched.  Best to just not take anything.

 

6. Below there is a map or two of Warsaw.  I have circled two resturaunts, the embassy and the red line shows the street we stayed on (Wilcza).  We stayed in 3 different places, one different each week for 3 weeks.  Had we known we would have been there for 3 weeks, we would have saved a little by booking the 1st place for 3 weeks.  As it turns out though, we got to stay in 3 really nice places.  I suggest searching out the "OompH " managed properties.  They are super nice, updated, clean, and they provide coffee, cerials, a welcome basket and are very responsive if you have any needs at all. Trattoria Rucola is fantastic Italian...it's maybe the best I've had.  Great service, the pistachio moose is a MUST TRY. Across the corner is Tran Tran asian...another great choice.  Food prices are quite reasonable and portions are generally generous.  Be sure to take your wife to Lelou jewelry store!  This is fashion jewelry, not real expensive, I bought my wife the most amazing scarf there, it's one of their signature products.  We walked by many times and saw it in the window, each time it was calling to us to go inside.  I finally did stop and invited my wife in.  It's beautiful scarf, I think her favorite now.  Great memory too.

 

7. As far as sight seeing goes...there is a LOT to see.  Near the embassy there is not much but there is shopping and plenty of places to eat.  About a 10-15 minute walk is a large park you can spend all day in and if you are up for it, a 45 minute walk down the boulevard is strongly suggested to get to "Old Town Square". The Old Town is a must see, it's going to be on your list of favorite places ever visited. There is a bus, take the walk, there is so much to see along the way to Old Town.  From where we stayed near the embassy, it's a straight walk, it would be really really hard to get lost.  Old Town is dripping with charm, there is a photo-op at every corner, it's beautiful, food everywhere and the best shopping.  Many many many gift shops filled with fine goods, not your typical Disney motif junk.  The largest deposits of amber are in Poland, so there are many amber shops with beautiful pieces made of amber.  You'll be amazed.  There is also what you might consider "downtown".  It is North and a bit west of the property we stayed at.  Not even a 30 minute walk, a straight shot.  Just head for the tallest building in town, you will know it when you see it. There is a very interesting mall there.  Just Google Hard Rock Cafe...you'll find it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

@RogerVA8928

 

I don't know if it applies to you but I believe that Poland is not currently allowing Russian citizens into the country.  The embassy was no help in trying to help us determine if she could return to complete our petition and get her visa (IR1).  They told us that we would have to contact the Polish government to see if it was even possible.  So....the US embassy system moves petitions from Moscow to Warsaw, and because of the war, they close the door to Russian citizens.

 

Now the rumor is that they are going to begin to resume processing of IR1 visas at the Moscow embassy...but this has not occured yet as far as I know.  It may never occur, but we have fingers crossed and pray.

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

Samples from Trattoria Italian resturant

 

 

 

 

[StevenInAtlanta 41]

 

Breakfast at "Relax" just across the street from Trattoria.  Seating upstairs is best!  Great pastries, casual, friendly service, comfortable.

Relax na Wilczej

 

 

 

[RogerVA8928 3]

5 hours ago, StevenInAtlanta said:

Hello @RogerVA8928

If you read through this thread you will find the answers to many of your questions, my wife and I recently went through this process in Warsaw and mostly due to the war in Ukraine it was a lot of extra trouble since she is a Russian citizen living in Moscow. Airline restrictions, banking sanctions, boarder policies, and timing of interview, travel, hotels and documentation are all issues you have to face. So here is what we have learned:

===

Q:If interviewing in Warsaw is the only acceptable option, I'm wondering how much time they give you to prepare for the trip when they schedule the interview? 

A: In our case, the Warsaw office got our petition and within 90 days we were contacted with the appointment date/time.  It was 3 weeks in the future.  The war had just started and airline sanctions made that date not workable for us.  My wife needed to get her Schengen visa (from Italy) and at that time there was a long line due to the imgrant surge out and around Europe and Russia.  We paid our visa service an additional fee (like $350 if I remember correctly) for an expedited service but there was still no guarantee it would come in time for the interview.  As it turned out, we got it in about 2 weeks.  The visa service insisted there was no guarantee how fast but we were very pleased.

 

Q: I've heard getting the Schengen Visa can take a few weeks and once received for whichever country (Spain, Italy, Greece, etc...) it's only valid for 30 days.

A: Depends on which country and how long the line is in that country. The Schengen visa we purchased was good for 1 year....if I remember correctly.  It may have been 2-3 years, I'll check w/my wife.  Again, we opted for the Italian visa because they offered or made available an expedite service whereas the others did not.  This expedite service was offered by the visa service we used in Russia, not by the Italian government.  A visa service is familiar with how things work, they have inside contacts and they have people to go stand in line for you...that is what you are paying for.

 

Q:  So hoping there is at least a 2 month window for planning purposes and not a 3-4 week window as that would not allow enough time for processing her Schengen and traveling.

A: I've chattted with a number of others here that went through Warsaw. Their experience seems pretty consistant with ours, you get about 3 weeks notice.

 

Q: If they schedule with a small window, does anyone know the rescheduling process?

A: Yes, we rescheduled our appointment, moved it to the first available slot in the future.  That slot was about 3 months after our initial interview date.  Availability is entirely based on how many people are applying and how many people are in queue.  There is a website that you use to reschedule your appointment.  The process was easy, we just picked a new date online and a few days later we got a confirmation of the reschedule.  Note that when we did this there was a note in the system to not reschedule untill after your appointment time had passed which I did not understand...and I ignored the note.  We were still easily able to reschedule our appointment and I hope that our slot was marked available and someone else got it.

 

Q: Can we log in to reschedule the date they provided to one maybe 6-8 weeks later or would it be months to reschedule?
A: See above.  You can login and reschedule, how long a wait or when the next slot is available depends on the current queue of applicants.

 

Some important lessons learned:

 

1. Be certain to bring every piece of documentation that you submitted, originals.  And they need to be an exact match to what you submitted. Don't get new copies or updated copies, bring the ones you submitted.  They will compare the originals you bring to the images of those you submitted at the interview.  If there is a difference, they will send you back to the hotel to upload images of the changed documents and you will wait (in our case) 6 additional days before they confirm the new documents have been accepted.

 

2. Though the instructions clearly indicated to bring your most recent IRS tax form 1040 OR your IRS tax transcript, bring both!  I submitted my original 1040 for the previous year, that I had just filed and the embassy asked for the transcript also.  I responded that the instructions said "OR" not "AND" but they insisted.  The IRS had not fully processed my return and the transcript was not yet available online.  It took an additional 6 days to work with the embassy on this item.  So by that time we had been in Warsaw 2 weeks.

 

3. There are plenty of places to stay right near the embassy.  We stayed in an AirBNB, they were great places and quite affordable.  Most of them were about $100 - $130 a night.  We stayed at 2 different properties run by "OompH "  They set a new standard!  Because of our extended stay caused by having updated documents that didn't match perfectly what was submitted, we stayed in Warsaw 3 weeks.  It's a 5 minute walk to the embassy.

 

4. You will not be allowed in the embassy.  You have to wait outside, I waited approximately 3 hours.  There is no place to sit at all and they will not let you loiter in front of the embassy.  You have to stand across the street or find another place to hang out.  There is no coffee shop or diner near the embassy.  You have to walk a bit down the street.  The interview itself took only 5 minutes.  The officer was very brief, asked my wife 2-3 questions, flipped hurridly through all the supporting documents we brought, like proof of income, proof of financial support for 5+ years, pictures together, email and text streams, etc....he was only interested in what had been submitted and they had to be an exact match. The rest of the documents he hardley even gave a glance...though it was quite relevant.

 

5. The entrance to the embassy has two service windows and a door.  You take your papers and printed interview confirmation to the window first, then you get in line for the door. If you do not have your printed original appointment confirmation with the bar code on it, you are not getting in, period.  We saw several people get turned away because of this.  There is an official at the door that checks your papers when you enter.  You can NOT take your cell phone inside. If you have a bag of any type it will be searched.  Best to just not take anything.

 

6. Below there is a map or two of Warsaw.  I have circled two resturaunts, the embassy and the red line shows the street we stayed on (Wilcza).  We stayed in 3 different places, one different each week for 3 weeks.  Had we known we would have been there for 3 weeks, we would have saved a little by booking the 1st place for 3 weeks.  As it turns out though, we got to stay in 3 really nice places.  I suggest searching out the "OompH " managed properties.  They are super nice, updated, clean, and they provide coffee, cerials, a welcome basket and are very responsive if you have any needs at all. Trattoria Rucola is fantastic Italian...it's maybe the best I've had.  Great service, the pistachio moose is a MUST TRY. Across the corner is Tran Tran asian...another great choice.  Food prices are quite reasonable and portions are generally generous.  Be sure to take your wife to Lelou jewelry store!  This is fashion jewelry, not real expensive, I bought my wife the most amazing scarf there, it's one of their signature products.  We walked by many times and saw it in the window, each time it was calling to us to go inside.  I finally did stop and invited my wife in.  It's beautiful scarf, I think her favorite now.  Great memory too.

 

7. As far as sight seeing goes...there is a LOT to see.  Near the embassy there is not much but there is shopping and plenty of places to eat.  About a 10-15 minute walk is a large park you can spend all day in and if you are up for it, a 45 minute walk down the boulevard is strongly suggested to get to "Old Town Square". The Old Town is a must see, it's going to be on your list of favorite places ever visited. There is a bus, take the walk, there is so much to see along the way to Old Town.  From where we stayed near the embassy, it's a straight walk, it would be really really hard to get lost.  Old Town is dripping with charm, there is a photo-op at every corner, it's beautiful, food everywhere and the best shopping.  Many many many gift shops filled with fine goods, not your typical Disney motif junk.  The largest deposits of amber are in Poland, so there are many amber shops with beautiful pieces made of amber.  You'll be amazed.  There is also what you might consider "downtown".  It is North and a bit west of the property we stayed at.  Not even a 30 minute walk, a straight shot.  Just head for the tallest building in town, you will know it when you see it. There is a very interesting mall there.  Just Google Hard Rock Cafe...you'll find it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow!  This is really great and helpful information. Thank you for taking the time to respond in such detail.    If you recall the Visa service you used in Russia that would also be great to know.  I have no issue paying the expedited service fee.. especially if the schengen visa provided is good for a year.  Thanks again...and congratulations to you both!  

[TBoneTX 43,523]

Steven, the deafenance was silencing after your various traumatic messages from over there.  I probably missed your post(s) of success (links?), so I'm thrilled to presume that you got the visa in hand and that Wife is on U.S. premises.  Your ultra-informative post above, its regional nature notwithstanding, merits enshrinement in the pantheon of All-Time Greatest VJ Posts.

[RogerVA8928 3]

On 3/30/2023 at 2:39 PM, StevenInAtlanta said:

@RogerVA8928

 

I don't know if it applies to you but I believe that Poland is not currently allowing Russian citizens into the country.  The embassy was no help in trying to help us determine if she could return to complete our petition and get her visa (IR1).  They told us that we would have to contact the Polish government to see if it was even possible.  So....the US embassy system moves petitions from Moscow to Warsaw, and because of the war, they close the door to Russian citizens.

 

Now the rumor is that they are going to begin to resume processing of IR1 visas at the Moscow embassy...but this has not occured yet as far as I know.  It may never occur, but we have fingers crossed and pray.

I had read other posts here that Russians were still able to enter Poland but had to come through another schengen country first...but may need to dig a little deeper into that.   I'm hoping to have case transferred to Turkey, KZ or Israel...but no response back yet.   Another issue is the vaccination record.  My wife and I are older and she would have had her vaccinations done during the USSR days and more than 40 years ago.  Getting vaccination records are a bit tricky for her as a result.  Do you know if they take a close look at the childhood vaccines MMR, varicella, etc during medical exam....I know she can just get some boosters for tetanus and flu if that's required.

[TBoneTX 43,523]

7 hours ago, RogerVA8928 said:

Getting vaccination records are a bit tricky for her as a result.

Idea:  Gather what records you can. Take them to a clinic.  Explain the time frame of the additional earlier vaccinations and whatever your wife remembers about getting them.  Learn whether the clinic can find those records, or if it can justify re-creating a comprehensive vaccination record for her.  If yes to the second possibility, then get at least two copies of that combined record, with official stamps/signatures.

 

If it's been longer than 10 years, it's definitely past time for at least a tetanus booster (better, the combined Tdap), so you can knock out at least that one during the same visit.

Edited April 1, 2023 by TBoneTX