US Immigration from Russia

UPDATE FROM WARSAW POLAND US EMBASSY INTERVIEW COMPLETED, VISA ISSUANCE DELAYED

So we are now in Warsaw Poland, we completed the US Embassy interview last Tuesday, that was 1 week ago as I type this update. The total interview time took about 2.25 hours. Most of the time was just waiting for her number to be called once inside. The interview was scheduled for 8am, we arrived at the embassy at 7:45am there were already about 30-40 people standing in line. There was a line coordinator working the line and we were separated into two lines one for the non-immigrant visa folks, and one for immigrant visa folks. I was not needed/allowed to go inside with my wife during the interview. She was inside by 8:15. I had to wait 2+ hours on the street outside. Nowhere to sit, no coffee shop, no cafe near by.

While inside she was given a number. When called she presented her documents to an immigration officer, a woman that spoke good Russian, she reviewed the documents and said 'its all in order' gave her documents back and asked her to sit down again and wait for her number. About an hour or more later she was called to the 2nd official, a man with not so good Russian. He spent less than a minute reviewing her documents and asked her two questions:

1. How did you meet your husband

2. How long have you known your husband

Though she had every document requested in the instructions to be sure to bring with you, he asked her to return to the hotel and upload her updated birth certificate and police report and he indicated they would then process her visa quickly and she could pick it up at the mailboxes ETC. We went back to the hotel, scanned and uploaded the two documents within 1.5 hours. The need to do this was understandable since her original police certificate expired because of the long delay between moving her case from Moscow to Poland and the delay in obtaining an interview. The need for the birth certificate update was because my wife decided she wanted a brand new birth certificate that was in perfect condition, her original was partially not perfectly readable in the area for her birth city....so she got a new one and the officer noticed they were different so its understandable to upload the new one.

LESSON LEARNED: If any of your documents expire or change, its a SUPER GOOD IDEA to upload them before your interview so that they are already in the system before your interview.

Why the official couldn't just copy and upload them or put them in a folder I don't know but its not part of their process apparently. The official assured her that if she did this quickly (the upload) they would quickly process her visa and it would be available for pickup in a few days at the mailboxes etc.

THIS DID NOT HAPPEN....

We have extended our stay an additional week in Warsaw, and this has been expensive to change flights, get a hotel for an additional week, food, etc.

It's near impossible to get anyone on the phone that can tell you anything more than to just wait. We check the CEAC web site profile several times a day for an update, nothing after a week now. No email communications from the embassy, no communications at all.

The Warsaw embassy has several ways to communicate with them. This includes live online chat, Skype and web phone call.

• The live online chat turned out to just be a robot and I was unable to actually get my chat routed to a human. I wasted about 30 minutes repeating my wife's name, passport number, birthdate and email address to the robot only to at the end be told it was a holiday. It's Tuesday morning and not a holiday in US or Poland
• I got no response to the Skype message I sent even after adding the correct Skype account to my contacts, no response at all
• The web talk phone call just took me to the same voice response system that calling the number on the website provided
• Called the number on the site +48 22 307 1361 (see below)

Finally got a human on the phone this morning, talked for 20-30 minutes, he answered questions and was quite patient but could not indicate how long we might have to wait...that is how much longer we will have to wait. No indication whatsoever how much longer.

The problem is that obviously we need to get back to work, we do not have unlimited funds to stay in Warsaw for an indeterminate time. To compound the issue, the embassy has my wife's passport and she obviously can not leave Warsaw/board a plane without it.

We can get her passport back by doing a request for it to be returned, this can take 2-3 days, and if we do that we (apparently) do not have to return for an interview, BUT she will have to submit her passport again using the correct form and the support agent told me several times that the passport can ONLY be mailed from the mailboxes ETC location in Warsaw! It can not be mailed from any other location! Are you sure I asked him several times!

MY level of frustration is just off the scale, apparently you can't just walk down to the embassy and explain your situation to anyone, there is no way to expedite your request or processing, you can only get your passport back and start all over or sit and wait an unknown amount of time.

If this is what happens when you have a simple immigration case where the parties have known each other for 7+ years, been married for 5+ years and appear with all original documents as requested, I can't imagine what a hard case must be like.

At this point we are wondering if we can stay an additional week....and the only advice we have to offer is to be sure if any of your documents changed to upload the updated version to the CEAC site well before the interview. If they do not need to be updated, DON'T...they were already approved. There is no need to update documents that are not expired (like a police report) and that have already been accepted and approved.

Any sage advice would surely be appreciated.

I know this isn't directly related to Visa matters so I hope you don't mind the question. Is it possible to mail a letter to Russia from the US, at this time?

It's not in the published procedures. But it happens.

One learns about an option to request an expedited processing of their petition. One applies for it.

And gets denied. No worry, one can try again, can't one?

Except eventually there's a scornful response, whether it be after two attempts, three, four, or more.

Our systems indicate that you have previously contacted our office several times regarding this case with the same concern/question. We sent you responses to your previous inquiries on... and addressed your concern/question. Please review the previous responses you have received from us. There is no new information to provide you at this time. Our office considers this inquiry closed.

Wait, what?

The first expedite request took a week to be reviewed and procure a reaction. The second one - a couple of days. Further ones - merely 24 hours.

Merit, just cause aside - it seems like expedites requests - past the first one - are simply swept under a rug (more informed opinions welcome) or promptly dismissed.

So, how does one move on? Has anyone tried to press on past a message like this? Has anyone succeeded after being denied?

In before additional questions: Various categories of expedite request criteria were used; new evidence was presented for each request. However, it appears that past a certain point requests are auto-denied - I'd love to be wrong here?

I provided all the requested documents that the online application demands:

• 3 years of tax statements
• Marriage Certificate
• Proof of my US Citizenship
• Joint Credit Card Statements
• Joint Bank Statements
• Deed to the House
• Wife's Divorce Decree and Translation from prior marriage
• Son's birth certificate and translation

There is a section that says: "You can provide additional documents that support your application and help explain any of your responses on the application. If you want to provide additional evidence now, upload any documents below. You can also bring the documents to your naturalization interview."

I didn't provide anything there, however, when I submit the application I get a yellow Alert and it says: "You should provide evidence. If you do not provide evidence, your application processing may be delayed."

So...did you provide additional evidence, and if so, what did you provide?

Thanks!

My wife's Permanent Resident Card expired 3/24/20.

I751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence was filed 24 April 2021.

I checked the USCIS website, and it shows the Petition was received. Then on June 9, 2021, Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken.

On Nov 15, 2021, I received an extension letter of 24 months, which would extend the Perm Resident Car to 3/24/2022. But that has already expired.

Now we want to go to England in December/Jan.

What do we need to do to ensure we can travel to London and back? She currently has a Russian Passport.

Greg