Case Transfer to Jerusalem Worked! [merged threads]

[rikko 68]

They accepted our transfer everyone!

 

Also am I going to be emailed when the transfer is complete, or do I have to check regularly if Jerusalem has my case?

 

I want to pay the new DS-160 ASAP and get scheduled

[TBoneTX 43,124]

What great news!   

[millefleur 5,037]

I'm glad to see some good news around here!

[rikko 68]

The embassy contacted me that they've sent out the transfer request and they will contact me when it is received. Best of luck to all other petitioners of Russian beneficiaries!

[farung 0]

 

On 2/27/2023 at 11:39 AM, rikko said:

The embassy contacted me that they've sent out the transfer request and they will contact me when it is received. Best of luck to all other petitioners of Russian beneficiaries!

My fiance and I are looking into filing for K-1 later this month. Since I'm Russian, I'm stressing over a lot of things when it comes to filing and transferring our case. I know the situation changes each month, but what was the process like for you? I've read that embassy in Jerusalem doesn't accept russians at all, same story in Tbilisi. Yet people seem to be getting it somehow? Is it just on a case-by-case basis and calling each embassy separately? Thank you.

[TBoneTX 43,124]

A hijack post has been removed.

[rikko 68]

On 3/8/2023 at 9:27 PM, farung said:

 

My fiance and I are looking into filing for K-1 later this month. Since I'm Russian, I'm stressing over a lot of things when it comes to filing and transferring our case. I know the situation changes each month, but what was the process like for you? I've read that embassy in Jerusalem doesn't accept russians at all, same story in Tbilisi. Yet people seem to be getting it somehow? Is it just on a case-by-case basis and calling each embassy separately? Thank you.

Embassies were not accepting my case transfer in the beginning. It was not until after my fiance was denied a multi-entry Schengen, that I emailed the embassies again - this time saying there was no legal way for my fiance to enter Poland to complete his visa interview, despite our attempts. It was not until we had attempted the normal path to Warsaw (and failed) that we were able to secure a transfer. 

 

Just FYI, I believe Serbia, Kazakhstan, and Israel are Russian beneficiary's best bets for transfer due to size and ties to Russia. My fiance is currently in Armenia with Armenian residency, but the embassy is not accepting any transfers due to it's small size and existing backlog for citizens.

 

I strongly advise you to consider the marriage visa instead of fiance visa. 

[farung 0]

I guess, unfortunately for us, we're still looking into K-1, about to send the petition in fact. Hopefully something changes in those 15+ months we'll have to wait. Don't you only have 4 months to get an interview after i-129f gets approved? If so, then going through the whole Shengen route sounds risky still.

 

Why would you advise the marriage visa? Isn't it the same story as fiance? As far as I understand, it takes even longer on average...

[TBoneTX 43,124]

14 hours ago, farung said:

Don't you only have 4 months to get an interview after i-129f gets approved?

The consulates automatically extend petition validity for 4-month increments for up to a year.  However, it's wise to notify the consulate on your own that the petition is still active.

[Vashezzo 43]

On 3/25/2023 at 10:48 PM, rikko said:

Embassies were not accepting my case transfer in the beginning. It was not until after my fiance was denied a multi-entry Schengen, that I emailed the embassies again - this time saying there was no legal way for my fiance to enter Poland to complete his visa interview, despite our attempts. It was not until we had attempted the normal path to Warsaw (and failed) that we were able to secure a transfer. 

 

Just FYI, I believe Serbia, Kazakhstan, and Israel are Russian beneficiary's best bets for transfer due to size and ties to Russia. My fiance is currently in Armenia with Armenian residency, but the embassy is not accepting any transfers due to it's small size and existing backlog for citizens.

 

I strongly advise you to consider the marriage visa instead of fiance visa. 

Would you be comfortable sharing what you wrote in your emails to the embassies? (With personal info removed of course.)

My fiancee is living in Belgrade so we're really hoping to get her transferred there, and it might help to see what a successful transfer request looks like.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,079]

On 3/25/2023 at 11:27 PM, farung said:

Why would you advise the marriage visa? Isn't it the same story as fiance? As far as I understand, it takes even longer on average...

I think these days the processing times are pretty similar (though you need to actually get married -- and be physically together after you do so in the case of an online marriage -- before you start a spousal visa). And the difficulty in actually getting legally married in Russia can be gotten around by a Utah Zoom marriage (this wasn't the case when my wife and I did a K-1 back in 2018).

 

But basically unless you're in a legal corner case where a fiancé(e) visa is better (children who would be 18-21 by the time you got the visa and want to come with you is the most notable there) or just really, really don't want to be apart for months or years while legally married, then a spousal visa is significantly better.

 

You don't have to adjust status which means

• your spouse can work immediately (doesn't need to wait for EAD or green card)
• your spouse can travel internationally immediately (doesn't need to wait for AP or green card)
• you don't have to pay the fees for adjusting status (or EAD if your spouse wants to work before green card, or AP if your spouse wants to travel internationally before green card; these are currently free with AOS, but the new fees will be in effect before a K-1 filed today will be approved); while a few thousand dollars in fees is not, in the context of an international relationship, really a large amount of money, it's a long way from nothing

Also, it means your partner is your spouse. And as Covid travel restrictions showed, your spouse has a lot more rights than your fiancé(e).

 

And it's likely the process will take long enough that your partner can delay their entry into the US until after you've been married two years (you have about six months from visa issuance to enter the US), in which case you get an IR-1 and can skip removing conditions too.

 

Basically, when a K-1 was a lot faster than a CR-1 and there weren't Utah Zoom marriages, then doing a K-1 with a Russian fiancée made a lot of sense unless you were living together in Russia at the time. Now? Not so much.

 

 

 

[PaulMK 6]

On 2/22/2023 at 5:32 PM, rikko said:

They accepted our transfer everyone!

 

Also am I going to be emailed when the transfer is complete, or do I have to check regularly if Jerusalem has my case?

 

I want to pay the new DS-160 ASAP and get scheduled

It has been two months, how has it been for you?

My Fiance and I are in a very similar situation, so we asked Jerusalem if we could transfer our case to them from Warsaw, and they are telling us they can accept our case too.

Any other problems you have ran into?

[MishaP99 0]

On 2/22/2023 at 7:32 PM, rikko said:

They accepted our transfer everyone!

 

Also am I going to be emailed when the transfer is complete, or do I have to check regularly if Jerusalem has my case?

 

I want to pay the new DS-160 ASAP and get scheduled

Based on the case number you receive the first three letters should indicate the embassy/consulate that will process your case (JRS is Jerusalem).

My fiancée is also a Russian citizen and Jerusalem accepted our transfer and is processing our case. We just need to schedule our interview at the embassy. However, Jerusalem currently doesn't have any available appointment dates.

@rikko Have you scheduled your interview yet? How far along in the process are you? It seems like your timeline hasn't been updated in a while. 

[MishaP99 0]

Howdy ya'll,

I was wondering if there was anybody in this forum with a Russian fiancé(e), spouse, or family member that has recently done an interview at the Embassy in Jerusalem? My fiancée and I recently had our case transferred and the only thing we need to do is schedule the interview appointment date. However, the embassy doesn't currently have any appointment times available. Does anybody know what day and time the embassy usually puts appointment times out? If any of you have previously or recently done an interview in Jerusalem how long did it take to schedule an appointment? Also, how was the interview itself? In general, all the info and reviews surrounding the Jerusalem embassy are pretty positive. Finally, I know Jerusalem has Russian speaking staff, nonetheless do we still need to provide English translations for the Russian birth certificate and police record (I'm going to err on the side of caution and provide English translations regardless based on the info from the embassy)? I just would like to know personal experiences with this embassy. Any input or information would be greatly appreciated!

[TBoneTX 43,124]

A post with questions about interviews in Jerusalem has been merged into this thread, to keep experiences in one thread.