Warsaw Embassy, Transfer Possible? (Merged threads)

[K1Rus2024 1]

My I-129F for a K1 and K2 visa for my fiancee who lives in Russia was NOA2 on Feb 15, 2024. I sent a public inquiry to the NVC a few days ago and received an email yesterday from the NVC with my case number showing the case is being assigned to Warsaw because it starts with WRW. Poland is not issuing Schengen visas to Russian citizens. We would like to transfer the case to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Can anyone assist me with what I need to do? Do I need to wait to be contacted by the NVC to say we are Documentarily Qualified? What does that even mean? As of now Warsaw has not received our case file I believe it's still being created. I need an invoice ID to go along with the case number to create the account on the CEAC website. I do not have that yet. Do I need to fill out both DS-160 before or after I request the transfer and will I be forced to fill out the DS-160 again if it's transferred from Warsaw to Almaty? I'm just really confused about what to do. How long to wait etc. Should I wait until Warsaw receives the case file and then transfer it or have it transferred before then? I've found a few limited resources on this website about it but I still want to make sure I'm doing things correctly before I move forward.

This thread and surrounding posts were helpful but still left me confused. 

 

[K1Rus2024 1]

I tried posting on the other topic but it's been viewed 200+ times without any help and pushed back to the second page now. I currently have a NOA2 for my I-129F for a K1. I used the NVC Public Inquiry tool to get the case number and it starts with WRW so it is being assigned to Warsaw. I have not received an official letter or email with the case number and/or invoice ID so I can't create my account on the CEAC website. I don't fully understand of the processes and any help would be greatly appreciated. My understanding is Poland is not issuing Schengen visas for Russian citizens. This makes traveling to the interview nearly impossible. It seems like a lot of extra work to attempt to get a Schengen visa in another country and basically lie saying you're traveling for tourism and then sneaking off to Warsaw. I don't know how she would even accomplish it and lying for a visa is not something she wants to do because she doesn't want to have issues receiving Schengen visas in the future. Here young daughter would be traveling with her too which adds to the stress.

We would really like to have the case transferred to Almaty, Kazakhstan if possible. When should I initiate the transfer request? When do I become documentarily qualified? Is it after I submit the DS-160 or before? Do I need to wait to fill out the DS-160 after the file is transferred or if I fill it out before is the first one still good? I don't want to pay the fee four times if I only have to pay for it twice (two people). Any assistance please someone help me understand this process and get it transferred and no when to transfer it etc.

[JeanneAdil 6,203]

Seen this issue for Russians several times

if u create a timeline and flag the country as Russian ,  the post will appear in Russia portal and those going thru same issues as u will tell u what they had to do

 

I believe they contact the embassy they would like to interview and ask for embassy permission to have case sent there

then u need to inform NVC of the change

 

you are not DQ for K1 by NVC

u would fill out the DS 160 when case is sent to embassy

fees are paid per embassy instructions and not the same for all embassies so u need to know where the case will be 

 

2 people /1 a child?

K1 has derivates and children fall under the K1  visa as K2 (no fee for a child for a ds 160)

[K1Rus2024 1]

Thank you for such a fast response. I chose K1, California Service Center, and Russia. The timeline I will have to work on later. Yes, there is a K1 and K2. I thought I had to fill out two DS-160 one for each person but for the child, I do not have to pay a fee? Is there a fee for the Support Affidavit? How do I become documentarily qualified? By the embassy? So I should wait until the NVC sends the file to the embassy? They will DQ the documents they receive without me submitting anything additional? Then I can request the transfer? 

 

Sorry for all the questions but I have a ton and I'm trying to figure all this out.

[JeanneAdil 6,203]

1 hour ago, K1Rus2024 said:

Thank you for such a fast response. I chose K1, California Service Center, and Russia. The timeline I will have to work on later. Yes, there is a K1 and K2. I thought I had to fill out two DS-160 one for each person but for the child, I do not have to pay a fee? Is there a fee for the Support Affidavit? How do I become documentarily qualified? By the embassy? So I should wait until the NVC sends the file to the embassy? They will DQ the documents they receive without me submitting anything additional? Then I can request the transfer? 

 

Sorry for all the questions but I have a ton and I'm trying to figure all this out.

change the embassy per embassy  approval

NVC will send the case per your request

If already in Poland, still ask the other country for permission and get it transfered

 

depending on the embassy ,  itself,  they tell you when to do ds 160  and when and how to pay fees

needed for interview is the  I 134 and after April 15th,  2023 tax returns ,  all W2's and any 1099's,  proof of US residency like photo DL or state ID

 

DQ by NVC is only for spouse visa

embassy sees the documents prior to interview and those taken to interview  such as I 134 ,  they are in charge after  USCIS approves 

 

Check out the 2 embassies to know special interview instructions 

 

https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ru/en/immigrant-visa   for K visa

[Simplytex 386]

Hold up one second, have you sent documentation to NVC yet? It would be helpful if you were to fill out your timeline.

 

If you want to try transferring, then you need to send an email to that address I had previously provided. Give your personal circumstances, the case information (receipt numbers, DOB, etc.) and wait to see if they accept the transfer. If the embassy decides to accept the transfer, then they will contact NVC - there won't be anything you need to do yourself if they accept.

 

BTW, not an elegant solution but many people are still able to get Schengen visas. My wife was able to get one for Italy (while still living in Russia) and I know another couple who was able to recently get visa to enter into Hungary. While frowned upon (getting Schengen to enter and then leave a country for another, in this case, any country->Poland) its still pretty common to do. The risk here is if the US embassy trips up and for some reason as a delay, you might be at risk of overstaying on the Schengen visa. 

[K1Rus2024 1]

I actually have your exact email copied and placed in a draft waiting to send but I wasn't sure about what it means to be documentarily qualified. I don't have my documentarily qualified date. I also didn't know if I should wait to send it before Warsaw receives it or after. If it's been transferred already do they still contact the NVC or do they contact Warsaw for the transfer? (An update from the other thread says that being documentarily qualified is only for spouse visas so it doesn't apply to K1). I'll wait for your response but from the sounds of it, I'm good to go ahead and email the Almaty Consulate and request the transfer?

I was looking into the Schengen situation and that is one of the major concerns. If I can get a 30-60-90 day Schengen for her and her daughter that would be ideal. She doesn't like the idea of lying about tourism to one country and then leaving for Warsaw and also having her 8-year-old daughter with her in case there are any sort of legal issues. Then possibly having issues receiving a Schengen visa in the future and being able to visit Europe in the future. Also yeah if there are delays and overstaying especially in a country that isn't friendly to Russian citizens and that causes future visa issues. There is a lot of trouble with it and if it's a last resort I guess we will cross that bridge but ideally, we would like to transfer and if it delays us 1-2 months that's far better. It also seemed very complicated to pay for hotels and flights, and then cancel them while she is there and I've read where people had visas canceled after discovering the hotels were canceled etc. So I don' know how all of that stuff works but it seems like a lot of additional work which shouldn't be necessary. The U.S. Govt should assign these cases to another embassy until the situation improves. So if we do have to cross that bridge and go that route I will have a ton more questions lol.

[K1Rus2024 1]

Also I haven't sent anything to the NVC, I was NOA 2 of Feb 15 2024. The NVC has my case and is creating the case file and they haven't sent it to Warsaw yet. I'm not sure if it's done or not. I haven't received any official emails or letters. I do not have my invoice ID to create an account on the CEAC website. I only have my case number because I asked about it through the public inquiry tool. So that's where I'm at approximately in my timeline. Just in limbo as the NVC creates/processes/forwards my case.

[K1Rus2024 1]

Ok so I'm good to reach out to Almaty, Kazakhstan now to try and get the transfer? Thanks for the info. Documentarily qualified is only for spouse visas that's a huge help to know. I did reach out to the NVC Public Inquiry and they told me this "Due to your petition type, you will not receive a request for fee payment or document submission."

[powerpuff 5,907]

*** Related threads merged ***
 

It’s helpful if you either directly quote the person you’re replying to or tag them @Simplytex so they can get notified, otherwise they will not know.

 

5 hours ago, K1Rus2024 said:

Ok so I'm good to reach out to Almaty, Kazakhstan now to try and get the transfer?

Yes, you need to reach out to the Immigrant visa (IV) unit and ask. Keep in mind it’s at their discretion, so they may or may not accept your request. 

Edited March 26 by powerpuff
Typo

[Simplytex 386]

2 hours ago, K1Rus2024 said:

I wasn't sure about what it means to be documentarily qualified

So, that really only applies for spousal visas, if I understand correctly. It seems like you are doing a fiancé, so you don't actually upload documents to NVC (or, not the same amount.) Essentially, the NVC just acts like a holding point for fiance applications and doesn't actually do any paperwork (unlike for a spousal visa, when the NVC would actually require submission of financial support, civil docs, etc. (this comes later, when your fiancé is in the use, after you get married, and file for Adjustment of Status). When embassies have space/slot available, they take from the waiting list.  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/nonimmigrant-visa-for-a-fiance-k-1.html#5

 

The only way (that I know of) transferring to a different embassy, is to contact the embassy directly. So that email you have waiting to send - needs to be sent. If the deny it, then you will remain at Warsaw. If they accept, they will contact NVC, who will coordinate the transfer (it doesn't matter if it has been already given a date at Warsaw or not.)

[K1Rus2024 1]

5 minutes ago, Simplytex said:

So, that really only applies for spousal visas, if I understand correctly. It seems like you are doing a fiancé, so you don't actually upload documents to NVC (or, not the same amount.) Essentially, the NVC just acts like a holding point for fiance applications and doesn't actually do any paperwork (unlike for a spousal visa, when the NVC would actually require submission of financial support, civil docs, etc. (this comes later, when your fiancé is in the use, after you get married, and file for Adjustment of Status). When embassies have space/slot available, they take from the waiting list.  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/nonimmigrant-visa-for-a-fiance-k-1.html#5

 

The only way (that I know of) transferring to a different embassy, is to contact the embassy directly. So that email you have waiting to send - needs to be sent. If the deny it, then you will remain at Warsaw. If they accept, they will contact NVC, who will coordinate the transfer (it doesn't matter if it has been already given a date at Warsaw or not.)

Ok so I sent that email and I received an automated reply stating they no longer use that email. I needed to use one of two navigators with links. They were simple questions that progressed through and sent you to FAQs or websites and weren't the most helpful but still had good info. I found where I could select to "transfer in" my case to Almaty and it stated I had to send a new email to the same address lol but with a specific subject title and essentially all the same info from before. 

 

This was the automated reply from USAKZ@state.gov


 

Ironically soon after I sent the first email I did receive an email from the NVC stating my case is complete and they have forwarded it Warsaw and it could take several weeks.

 

There wasn't an invoice ID on the document though so that must come from the embassy itself?
If Warsaw gives me an invoice ID but Almaty accepts the transfer will Almaty provide a new invoice ID or is the one from Warsaw good?

I sent a new email following the updated instructions to the same email and this time did not receive an automated reply but I'm waiting for them to respond. I hope they accept the transfer.

[Simplytex 386]

1 hour ago, K1Rus2024 said:

I sent a new email following the updated instructions to the same email

Auto-replies don't often send back two responses to the same address within a period of time. Then again, if it requires a certain email title, that might be filtered into a specific inbox. Give it a few days to process / hear back. 

 

1 hour ago, K1Rus2024 said:

Ironically soon after I sent the first email I did receive an email from the NVC

Yep, that's just how the world sometimes seems to work. At least you are seeing progress, either way.

 

1 hour ago, K1Rus2024 said:

There wasn't an invoice ID on the document though so that must come from the embassy itself?

Someone else would have to chime in on this, but that sounds right.

[millefleur 5,037]

**Moved from US Embassy and Consulate Discussion to RUB forum; discussion is country/nationality specific**

[K1Rus2024 1]

They replied back to me today @Simplytex

They aren’t accepting the transfer. Should I contact them and try again or try a different embassy? I copied your email verbatim.