Risks with Transferring a Case (Russian Fiancé - From Warsaw to somehere else) [merged]

[Cire32 10]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm a US citizen engaged to a Russian man, and in February 2022 we submitted our K1 packet and received our confirmation that they received our documents at the end of February. In September 2022 my fiance left Russia to avoid mobilization. Since then he has been living in various countries and will continue to do so. Since he can't go home, there is no way he would be able to go to a European embassy in Moscow to even attempt to acquire a Schengen visa. This means our only hope for the next step would be to have our case transferred from Poland to some other country.

 

I have several questions I'm hoping someone could provide insight on:

1. Can you apply to have your case transferred before you've received the NOA2 to schedule the interview?

2. Do you have to currently be in the country to have your case transferred there? 

3. How long could it potentially take for them to consider your request, and how soon could you schedule the interview after approval? Are we talking days, weeks, or over a month?

4. Once an interview is scheduled, how much time should we plan on spending in that country? I'm really concerned about the various unforeseen waits and delays or extra hurdles that could affect our calculations.

5. I've read that Uzbekistan, Armenia and Mongolia are known for not accepting transfer cases. Are you aware of any non-EU countries in Asia or north Africa that are known for accepting or not accepting transfer cases?

 

I know that there is so much I don't know about what's to come, so if anyone has experience with getting an interview transferred and has any insight or advice, I'd be very appreciative to hear it.

[Simplytex 387]

1 hour ago, eric32 said:

Hi everyone,

 

I'm a US citizen engaged to a Russian man, and in February 2022 we submitted our K1 packet and received our confirmation that they received our documents at the end of February. In September 2022 my fiance left Russia to avoid mobilization. Since then he has been living in various countries and will continue to do so. Since he can't go home, there is no way he would be able to go to a European embassy in Moscow to even attempt to acquire a Schengen visa. This means our only hope for the next step would be to have our case transferred from Poland to some other country.

 

I have several questions I'm hoping someone could provide insight on:

1. Can you apply to have your case transferred before you've received the NOA2 to schedule the interview?

2. Do you have to currently be in the country to have your case transferred there? 

3. How long could it potentially take for them to consider your request, and how soon could you schedule the interview after approval? Are we talking days, weeks, or over a month?

4. Once an interview is scheduled, how much time should we plan on spending in that country? I'm really concerned about the various unforeseen waits and delays or extra hurdles that could affect our calculations.

5. I've read that Uzbekistan, Armenia and Mongolia are known for not accepting transfer cases. Are you aware of any non-EU countries in Asia or north Africa that are known for accepting or not accepting transfer cases?

 

I know that there is so much I don't know about what's to come, so if anyone has experience with getting an interview transferred and has any insight or advice, I'd be very appreciative to hear it.

1. It should be at NVC, so yes, wait until then. Also, the situation is fluid so what was true 6 mo ago isn't anymore.
2. No, but it may help in some cases
3. I just transferred spousal visa from Poland to KZ, it took 1 day. It can range though, from less than a week, to maybe 2-3 weeks.
4. No once can tell you exactly. I would plan to arrive 2-3 days ahead of medical, give the medical 3-5 business days between it and the interview, then another 2 weeks on the back end to receive the passport.
5. Right now, Israel and KZ seem to be the hotspots, but again, this changes. Who knows, Dept of State may even reassign away from Poland to KZ officially, or some other post.

[millefleur 5,039]

1 hour ago, eric32 said:

 

5. I've read that Uzbekistan, Armenia and Mongolia are known for not accepting transfer cases. Are you aware of any non-EU countries in Asia or north Africa that are known for accepting or not accepting transfer cases?

Serbia is no longer accepting transfers for Russians.

[rikko 75]

Armenia told us no

Georgia told us to cancel the Warsaw interview before asking again but also that they can't guarantee a transfer

Kazakhstan told us no

 

 

[Mike20090622 45]

2 hours ago, rikko said:

Armenia told us no

Georgia told us to cancel the Warsaw interview before asking again but also that they can't guarantee a transfer

Kazakhstan told us no

 

 

Did you try Israel? I am arranging my fiancé family crossing border from Mexico in April, but I will try to call KZ and Israel first

[rikko 75]

I asked but no response yet 😭

[asplayed 0]

How do you guys ask the embassies? Is there a published email on their websites?

[powerpuff 5,990]

33 minutes ago, asplayed said:

Is there a published email on their websites?

Yes 

[Vashezzo 43]

On 2/9/2023 at 2:17 PM, millefleur said:

Serbia is no longer accepting transfers for Russians.

Do you have any further info on this? I'm expecting NOA2 in a few months and my partner has been living in Serbia for over a year. We're planning to send the NVC a copy of her residence permit and request a transfer to Belgrade. Is that not going to work?

[DK999 14]

6 hours ago, Vashezzo said:

Do you have any further info on this? I'm expecting NOA2 in a few months and my partner has been living in Serbia for over a year. We're planning to send the NVC a copy of her residence permit and request a transfer to Belgrade. Is that not going to work?

Contacting the embassy directly via email and attaching the proof of residence in Serbia is your best bet. I tried the same thing with AskNVC and got nowhere. USTravelDocs also proved useless. This is the email address on their website:  belgradeiv@state.gov

 

I'd try that. Good luck. 

[millefleur 5,039]

9 hours ago, Vashezzo said:

Do you have any further info on this? I'm expecting NOA2 in a few months and my partner has been living in Serbia for over a year. We're planning to send the NVC a copy of her residence permit and request a transfer to Belgrade. Is that not going to work?

If you live there, it should be fine. My original comment was for non-residents trying to go via Serbia.

[Vashezzo 43]

6 hours ago, DK999 said:

Contacting the embassy directly via email and attaching the proof of residence in Serbia is your best bet. I tried the same thing with AskNVC and got nowhere. USTravelDocs also proved useless. This is the email address on their website:  belgradeiv@state.gov

 

I'd try that. Good luck. 

Thanks for the tip - we're planning to request a transfer basically the moment the NVC generates a case number. It's good to know where to send the request.

 

3 hours ago, millefleur said:

If you live there, it should be fine. My original comment was for non-residents trying to go via Serbia.

I'm just concerned because their autoreply email says that they only accept transfers from "permanent residents of Serbia and Montenegro". It takes 5 years of temporary residency to become a permanent resident, so that's way out of scope for our timeline. I tried calling and emailing them earlier this year to clarify if Russians with temporary residency could interview there, but they never replied.

[millefleur 5,039]

7 hours ago, Vashezzo said:

I'm just concerned because their autoreply email says that they only accept transfers from "permanent residents of Serbia and Montenegro". It takes 5 years of temporary residency to become a permanent resident, so that's way out of scope for our timeline. I tried calling and emailing them earlier this year to clarify if Russians with temporary residency could interview there, but they never replied.

Oh huh, that seems odd to me. I know some Russians with temporary(?) residence and Serbia and they got tourist visa interviews as residents no problem. Would imagine the same rules apply for immigrant visas?

[Vashezzo 43]

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

Oh huh, that seems odd to me. I know some Russians with temporary(?) residence and Serbia and they got tourist visa interviews as residents no problem. Would imagine the same rules apply for immigrant visas?

The exact text from their email (as of March 3rd) was:

Quote

 

IV Transfer Requests from Non-Residents

Currently, we only accept immigrant visa applications from applicants who reside permanently in Serbia or Montenegro. "

U.S. Embassy Warsaw is the designated IV processing post for Russian applicants. Refer to the U.S. Embassy Warsaw website for additional information.

 

That differs from the page for visitor visas, which simply states "You should schedule an appointment for your visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the country where you live."

 

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find any good information about people in our situation. We're mentally preparing for a fight to get her transferred since we doubt she'll be able to get a Schengen with such tenuous ties to both Russia and Serbia. It's been very stressful to not have a clear path to an interview she can legally attend..

[Cire32 10]

I am a US citizen engaged to a Russian man. We are going through the K1 visa process and just (7/18/23) received notice from NVC stating our case number and that it's being sent to Poland. Poland has stated they will not let (most) Russians in and will not give tourist visas to them. My fiance left Russia in Oct 2022 after conscription was announced and has been hopping from country to country ever since. Our lawyer advised us that we can transfer the case to somewhere else and we've been planning on that ever since.

 

My lawyer just now told us that their practice had a client who was from Africa and took advantage of a program in a Caribbean country to work remotely there while waiting for his visa (not sure if K1 or CR1) and applied to transfer his case there. The transfer was accepted and he had his interview. However, at the interview they  told him they had no jurisdiction over his case a railed him for having made the transfer. They ultimately rejected his case, apparently  because of the transfer. My lawyer is now advising us to have my fiance go back to Russia and try to get a Polish visa. He's hoping a rejected visa will be a good enough reason for a new embassy to be ok with his transfer.

 

I've read about other people on this forum who successfully had their cases transferred to somewhere else and did not have residency there. I can imagine maybe Russians might have a better excuse than most other people.

 

Have you had or ever heard of problems with transfers like the story above?

Have you had any success transferring your Russian case out of Poland?

Are there and things to watch out for with doing a transfer? Any advice you wish you had known?