US Immigration from Russia

Hello! I m a longtime visitor of this website but I ve finally got up the courage to post. I hope I can get some advice from the wonderful people here with experience.

In March 2022 I filed for a K1 Visa with my fianc who lives in Moscow (I live in California). It was approved by USCIS in July 2023 and our application was forwarded to the NVC. In September 2023 we received an Appointment Eligibility Letter from the Embassy in Warsaw, Poland. My fianc doesn t have a Schengen visa and was told that European countries don t currently issue Schengen visas and that an interview in Poland wouldn t be possible. Therefore, we would need to request an embassy change.

My immigration lawyer sent requests for an interview to various embassies around the world but hasn t heard back anything useful. During that time, our four-month window on our application expired, but my lawyer said that s common, and nearly all applications expire due to the slow processing times. As long as we re actively working with the government for an interview then it will be revalidated by the consulate officer at the time of the interview he told me. Has anybody had this happen? I just want the peace of mind in knowing that is indeed the case.

My questions are:

• Is there any way to get into Poland from Russia for an interview? I ve heard of people trying through Italy, Greece, France, etc. but I m not sure how successful they ve been conducting an interview in Poland or if they already had a Schengen visa prior to the Ukraine situation. Any tips or recommended countries would be most appreciated.

• Also, does anyone have a great lawyer they would recommend who s been successful bringing a Russian to the U.S.? Please let me know. My lawyer had good reviews and was expensive, but truthfully, he s been slow and vague. I m open to suggestions and the money is worth it if someone can get it done. I don t mind switching if I have to. I realize the situation is difficult right now regarding Russia, but an attorney with extensive experience in that area is appealing to me.

I don t want to start all over with a new application, but I also don t want to waste time waiting on a frozen application. Me and my fianc are both in our 40 s with no criminal records and no financial problems. I m hopeful that if we can just get an interview, then we have a good chance. Obviously, the situation in Ukraine is a giant issue, but I m wondering if anyone has been able to navigate a successful application.

This has been such a long and stressful journey, and I d love to hear from anyone who has made it through this and can give us hope. Thank you all so very much.

I need to renew my 3 year Russian Tourist Visa. The service I used before is unable to provide the invitation letter. Can anyone recommend a service that can provide the letter as well as procuring a new 3 year Visa?

Thanks!

Hmm, so is USCIS scrutinizing AOS's from NIVs more (not K1's)? Possibly. Hacking seems to think so.

My wife and I got married 3/3/23. She arrived in the U.S. in August of 2024. Her green card has an expiration of 8/17/2026. Should we wait until just before her GC expires to file the I-751? Or, since we've now been married 2 years, should we file it now?

It's been a bit quiet on this topic lately, and recent timelines aren't helpful since there aren't many of them in Warsaw within the last year.

We found out today, that it's nearly impossible to get a Schengen visa in the short time span from NVC informing us of our interview date, and the actual interview date (usually about a month and a half).

We spoke to a visa center today who said the absolute fastest it could take is about a month and three weeks to get the visa in hand to Spain (France is super backed up, the next appointment time at the consulate is early May, Hungary is super strict with their requirements, require the trip to be fully paid, and Italy takes 2-3 months). This also leaves almost no time for the medical exam.

Another thing, my husband has never had a Schengen visa, so maximum he could probably get is a 30 day visa being a first time applier. This gives us a potential window of 30 days to just guess when his interview will be, try to get the visa for that time frame and hope for the best? What other options could there be.

I would be so thankful to hear anyone else's stories and timelines, especially recent ones.