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[millefleur 5,039]

1 hour ago, slavaskii said:

This point in particular is more appropriate for the B2 subforum but Warsaw will not process a tourist visa for non-Polish citizens and won't be doing so for a very long while - most likely years, I'm afraid. Trust me - been there, done that

Just curious: how'd you find out that info? Were you able to contact them and check?

[slavaskii 885]

29 minutes ago, CelloLover said:

Thanks. Do you know if it's possible to have concurrent visa applications at different embassies?

I don’t believe it’s possible solely because the account linked with the DS160 is tied to the particular country (it’s a weird system). I’d call USA TravelDocs support and see what they say, I know they can transfer for you. I know both Poland and Ukraine use the service. Note as well that this is strictly for B2 visas, other countries are forced to use Warsaw because they lack an immigrant visa unit.

6 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Just curious: how'd you find out that info? Were you able to contact them and check?

So I contacted both Warsaw and Kyiv over the summer about a very similar issue and was told by both they couldn’t accommodate non-residents, even for a renewal. There was a “rumor” going around for a while that Bucharest was allowing everyone to make appointments, but that was debunked after I managed to get in touch with the embassy directly. It appeared to be a translation error and a miscommunication with TravelDocs staff, it’s a huge problem that you often need to go through them first.

[millefleur 5,039]

1 minute ago, slavaskii said:

So I contacted both Warsaw and Kyiv over the summer about a very similar issue and was told by both they couldn’t accommodate non-residents, even for a renewal. There was a “rumor” going around for a while that Bucharest was allowing everyone to make appointments, but that was debunked after I managed to get in touch with the embassy directly. It appeared to be a translation error and a miscommunication with TravelDocs staff, it’s a huge problem that you often need to go through them first.

I see, interesting. I have not heard of anyone actually successfully going to a different embassy to get a B visa. Someone here on VJ said that Russians can go to Tel Aviv in Israel but I have no idea if that's true or not. I always assumed the applicant needed to be physically residing in that country to apply for a B there. If you ever find out that an Embassy allows non-residents to apply, let us know. I guess the best thing to do is just contact them via ustraveldocs?

[millefleur 5,039]

**Moved from  K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures to RUB regional forum; topic mostly concerns this specific region due to problems/unrest there**

[slavaskii 885]

2 hours ago, millefleur said:

I see, interesting. I have not heard of anyone actually successfully going to a different embassy to get a B visa. Someone here on VJ said that Russians can go to Tel Aviv in Israel but I have no idea if that's true or not. I always assumed the applicant needed to be physically residing in that country to apply for a B there. If you ever find out that an Embassy allows non-residents to apply, let us know. I guess the best thing to do is just contact them via ustraveldocs?

So actually before COVID this wasn’t necessary at all, the process was just called an interview for “third country nationals.” The caveat, of course, was that any such applicant would be scrutinized heavily. I read a story about a Vietnamese individual who was rejected in Vietnam and then went to Thailand to schedule an appointment. He was approved on the spot but then later was informed he no longer qualified and refused the visa. 
 

Typically, so long as you weren’t rejected from anywhere before, you were free to apply wherever. It’s my understanding that the renewal process was a lot more liberal and you could pretty much renew from anywhere, but now, sadly, that’s not the case.

[millefleur 5,039]

5 minutes ago, slavaskii said:

Typically, so long as you weren’t rejected from anywhere before, you were free to apply wherever. It’s my understanding that the renewal process was a lot more liberal and you could pretty much renew from anywhere, but now, sadly, that’s not the case.

Wow, I didn't know that! Ugh, another reason to hate Covid then. Given the non-functioning Moscow Embassy I just really wonder what Russians who need renewals can do. My MIL's B visa expires in December 2022 and I have no idea if things will be back to "normal" by then or not... 🙄

[slavaskii 885]

5 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Wow, I didn't know that! Ugh, another reason to hate Covid then. Given the non-functioning Moscow Embassy I just really wonder what Russians who need renewals can do. My MIL's B visa expires in December 2022 and I have no idea if things will be back to "normal" by then or not... 🙄

Oof, I'm sorry to hear that; don't mean to hijack OP's thread of course, but the topic is mostly similar so it's probably helpful to include nonetheless. During COVID, the first operation typically resumed by embassies were renewals; I followed Kyiv, for instance, and they began renewing B2s far before they began interviewing for fresh ones. It also used to be fine to renew in a third country. However, that's impossible now, and it's why I brought up the Bucharest rumor previously - there was a Russian poster on some forum who actually managed to get his renewed there (his original was received in Chisinau), and it led to all sorts of confusion until it became clear it was actually probably a mistake.

 

Belarusians are in a similar boat because Minsk is *technically* open but won't touch B2s or renewals for any category. I emailed them and they suggested I try elsewhere, but no other embassy would take it. I can only presume this would be the same issue for Russians. The "good" news, however, is that the new visa rules allow extensions 4 years from the expiry date, no matter what your visa says. So Belarusians only get B2s for one year max, but they have 4 years from that 'end' date to renew it. But considering 2/4 years are already gone, good luck with that if you're in my boat   I actually didn't consider Tel Aviv, but I'm a bit skeptical considering that most renewals are handled by mail and they don't like mailing foreign passports (Bucharest and Minsk were unique because the former was shipped to a UPS hanger of all places and the latter was dropped off and picked up physically at the embassy's window).

 

For OP specifically, though, if your fiancee's families have existing US visas, the process is much simpler and you can just mail those in for renewals. 

[millefleur 5,039]

4 minutes ago, slavaskii said:

I actually didn't consider Tel Aviv, but I'm a bit skeptical considering that most renewals are handled by mail and they don't like mailing foreign passports

Huh, I didn't know that either! I'm so lost with renewals because I have no direct experience with that.

 

I wish they would make it clear which consulates will take third country nationals for renewals/B visas. It would certainly help people a lot to avoid cases like the OP where he pays the fee and attempts to go to Warsaw only to later find out that it was a dead end.

[slavaskii 885]

20 minutes ago, millefleur said:

Huh, I didn't know that either! I'm so lost with renewals because I have no direct experience with that.

 

I wish they would make it clear which consulates will take third country nationals for renewals/B visas. It would certainly help people a lot to avoid cases like the OP where he pays the fee and attempts to go to Warsaw only to later find out that it was a dead end.

I've actually gone back to the Warsaw embassy's website and noticed that the wording has dramatically changed. According to this link here, Warsaw is accepting B2 applicants who are non-citizens or even non-residents. That's shocking to me, only a few months ago they had a very hard line on this. So I guess in @CelloLover's case, the interview for his fiancee's parents can continue as planned. Sorry about the confusion, that's actually very shocking to me.

 

The problem, though, is that it says nothing about renewals, so I'm not sure what the process is there. Ever since Poland entered the VWP they've taken down that wording from the website, you'd think they need to still process that but you never know. But yeah, main takeaway is that Poland will accept nonresident B2 applicants.

 

Edit 2: The USA TravelDocs page for Poland explicitly states you must be a citizen or resident of Poland to renew a visa, but allows you to apply for a new one nonetheless. It says the earliest appointments for these are January 28th but the page also suggests that, for non-residents, this could be even longer because they have to schedule under a different category. Sounds like OP figured this out just fine, but if @CelloLover doesn't mind, how long did you have to wait for an interview spot in Warsaw?

Edited December 23, 2021 by slavaskii

[CelloLover 26]

1 hour ago, slavaskii said:

I've actually gone back to the Warsaw embassy's website and noticed that the wording has dramatically changed. According to this link here, Warsaw is accepting B2 applicants who are non-citizens or even non-residents. That's shocking to me, only a few months ago they had a very hard line on this. So I guess in @CelloLover's case, the interview for his fiancee's parents can continue as planned. Sorry about the confusion, that's actually very shocking to me.

 

The problem, though, is that it says nothing about renewals, so I'm not sure what the process is there. Ever since Poland entered the VWP they've taken down that wording from the website, you'd think they need to still process that but you never know. But yeah, main takeaway is that Poland will accept nonresident B2 applicants.

 

Edit 2: The USA TravelDocs page for Poland explicitly states you must be a citizen or resident of Poland to renew a visa, but allows you to apply for a new one nonetheless. It says the earliest appointments for these are January 28th but the page also suggests that, for non-residents, this could be even longer because they have to schedule under a different category. Sounds like OP figured this out just fine, but if @CelloLover doesn't mind, how long did you have to wait for an interview spot in Warsaw?

Thanks for following up!

I applied to Warsaw for B2 visas for my Ukrainian in-laws based on 2 reasons: 1) this page on the US Embassy of Poland's web page which implies that non-citizens of Poland can apply for B1/B2 visas in Poland (as you also mentioned in your post) and 2) this was an option suggested by my friend who is an immigration attorney. One point about #2: she did ask me to verify with Warsaw before applying, but I didn't do it because of #1.

Another member did mention in a prior response to this thread that "non-citizens Poland" may be limited to only citizens of Belarus of Russia based on information in this page which states
 

Quote

Immigrant visas to the United States are processed for citizens and residents of Poland, Belarus, and Russia at the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw.

A B1/B2 visa isn't an immigrant visa but the statement above does cast some doubt.

I've raised the concerns of this post to the US embassy of Poland and will post their response as soon as I get it.
 

1 hour ago, slavaskii said:

Sounds like OP figured this out just fine, but if @CelloLover doesn't mind, how long did you have to wait for an interview spot in Warsaw?

I have not yet secured an interview spot in Warsaw. I've been refreshing the portal every day starting ~2 weeks ago. I was told by the embassy that more spots will open up "at the beginning of the year" (whatever that means).


 

[slavaskii 885]

56 minutes ago, CelloLover said:

Thanks for following up!

I applied to Warsaw for B2 visas for my Ukrainian in-laws based on 2 reasons: 1) this page on the US Embassy of Poland's web page which implies that non-citizens of Poland can apply for B1/B2 visas in Poland (as you also mentioned in your post) and 2) this was an option suggested by my friend who is an immigration attorney. One point about #2: she did ask me to verify with Warsaw before applying, but I didn't do it because of #1.

Another member did mention in a prior response to this thread that "non-citizens Poland" may be limited to only citizens of Belarus of Russia based on information in this page which states
 

A B1/B2 visa isn't an immigrant visa but the statement above does cast some doubt.

I've raised the concerns of this post to the US embassy of Poland and will post their response as soon as I get it.
 

I have not yet secured an interview spot in Warsaw. I've been refreshing the portal every day starting ~2 weeks ago. I was told by the embassy that more spots will open up "at the beginning of the year" (whatever that means).


 

Huh - that actually raises some interesting points. I think what you linked about the immigrant visas should exclusively apply to the immigrant categories (K1, CR1/IR1, etc.), although opening Warsaw up as the new 'third country national' destination for B2 visas is... weird. That is, it's a bit strange for Poland to be one of the only countries right now so liberal with their interview policy. Guess that's good for us with Slav families, though, because at least our destination embassy has everything together  Let us know what the Poles say. It was hard getting a response over their TravelDocs email, so if there's a number to call that'd perhaps be better. 

 

The "more spots at the beginning of the year" is also curious. Their website seems to imply that there's an order of priority for citizens->residents->non citizen/resident (side note: I guess a holder of a Karta Polaka isn't even a resident?). Yet, both the State Department and their own page show availability in January. I wonder if you uncovered a really, really recent change and they're only going to start accepting third country nationals starting "at the beginning of the year"? I know Belarus' scheduler did something similar, where they let you open the calendar but nothing could be selected. 

 

Did Warsaw suggest the spots had already been taken or they just weren't available, period? I guess once Poland entered the VWP they had a lot of extra people willing to take on additional tasks - again, great for us!