US Immigration from Russia

My wife had her medical examination at the IMC Almaty office on Mukanova street today for her IR-1 visa. Two things that are noteworthy that we wanted to post here for anyone about to do the same.

1) She had to receive 2 vaccinations and was charged 25,000 Tenge total for them. She paid 95,000 Tenge (70,000 for the exam and x-ray + 25,000 for the 2 vaccines). She was not offered the COVID-19 vaccine, does not have it, and is not required to as Russian vaccines are not CDC or WHO approved.

2) She was told that "family reunification visas" are not given envelopes with documents anymore and that they are now done electronically. I told her that that is not what all the paperwork we have received from the IMC and consulate has said. She actually went back to IMC and told them that she is getting an IR-1 visa and that we were told she would receive a sealed envelope to take to the consulate. They told her that it is no longer done like that and it is all electronic now.

Has anyone else experienced this? I am concerned that we may have problems at the consulate but there is nothing we can do as my wife already returned to IMC to clarify the situation.

My fianc and I are getting married online on March 3. She is Russian and we are meeting in Turkey for the ceremony. I will receive the marriage certificate back in the US about two weeks later (around March 17) and I need to get it to her in Russia. Is anyone planning a trip to Russia in late March or early April and willing to take the document? Maybe someone you know is going? Please contact me, if you know someone. Thanks!

Hi

My current green card will expire in July 2023. I applied for a new card and surprisingly it was delivered within a week after my online application to my address in USA. I am currently out of country and I wonder if my current green card is still valid. I am coming back to US in March.

Thank you

Alex

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

My beneficiary is a Russian citizen but has been living in Serbia since May 2022. Thankfully(?) after moving to Serbia she changed apartments a few times, so the only Russian address she has on our I-129F is in the additional information section of the last page, everything else is in Serbia. We also requested to be sent to Belgrade on the I-129F, but from my reading that field has basically no impact on what actually happens. We obviously would prefer to be assigned to Belgrade than to Warsaw, and with the current pace of case processing we probably have about 6 months before NOA2. Our concern is that she's been living in Serbia unofficially using the rolling 30 day visa runs, and does not have a residency permit. The permits cost $2-3k, so we'd ideally only want to get one if it helps us interview in Belgrade. On the part of the Serbian government, they don't seem to care much about the visa runs, and their policies for applying for residency seem to me to encourage people to do repeat visa-runs (they're required to have found employment and signed a 6-month lease before applying for a temporary residency permit). On the US side however, the information I've found is a little bit contradictory/confusing. Some summary below:

• The state department website says "The NVC will give you a case number and send your petition to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where your fianc (e) lives." which makes it sound like they primarily base the assignment on your address history, not your citizenship, so we may get assigned in Belgrade based off the address history.
• The Belgrade embassy said via email that "Currently, we are only accepting immigrant visa applications from applicants who are residing permanently in Serbia or Montenegro."
  • This seems to imply that even a temporary residence permit (allowing her to stay in Serbia for 1-2 years, before applying for permanent residency) would not be sufficient to interview in Belgrade, so it's pointless to get one.
  • However, K-1 visas are classified as nonimmigrant visas, so maybe the restriction they list does not actually apply?
    • BUT, the same email states "We are currently processing ALL immigrant visa categories, including K-1 Fianc and Diversity visas." so maybe the restriction does apply to K-1's.

If we can't manage Belgrade, the backup plans we have in mind are:

• Requesting a transfer somewhere else (Currently looks like Jerusalem or Almaty unless anyone has tips for other places to try)
• Applying for a Schengen visa to enter Norway (I think that's our best odds to be approved - I have friends and she has family there, she has a past Schengen visa for a trip to see her family there) and sneak into Poland after vacationing there.
• ???

Does anyone have any experience with this situation or a similar one? We'd appreciate any feedback or advice anyone has!