C@m

I submitted a photocopy, was approved in February 2022

Thank you!
 
I had no issues going into and out of Russia. I flew from IST->SVO->VVO on Aeroflot about 3 weeks ago. Customs in Moscow was the smoothest, quickest immigration entry I've ever been through (was nearly as quick as Global Entry!). There was absolutely no line, walked right up the immigration officer and gave her my IST and VVO tickets. She said nothing to me and I said nothing to her (aside from "hello" in Russian). She had me sign the migration card and then gave me my copy to hold on to. 
 
Leaving Russia was (strangely) slightly more difficult than entering. The immigration officer spent a lot of time looking at my passport, looking at me, back at my passport, using some sort of ruler thing to examine my passport, etc. After a while she stamped my passport she asked (in Russian) whether I was going directly onward to the USA from IST.
 
That said, I don't have much to offer for advice for going to Russia other than make sure you have FRESH, CLEAN $100 USD bills (the bank spent about 30 minutes examining ever bill and rejected on with the small staple holes in it). Also, I'd advise exchanging a small amount at the airport itself and the rest elsewhere (better rates). I had a long layover in SVO before my VVO flight and forgot to exchange cash and the terminal itself (once you're through security) has no money exchange facilities so I was unable to purchase and food/drink. My fiance finally helped by talking to someone at a cafe in the terminal and transferring them money via some phone number/account number (I guess it's like Venmo for Russia). 
 
When going to Warsaw, make sure your fiance has the appointment confirmation and ds160 confirmation page handy to provide to the immigration officer. 

Thank you!
 
I had no issues going into and out of Russia. I flew from IST->SVO->VVO on Aeroflot about 3 weeks ago. Customs in Moscow was the smoothest, quickest immigration entry I've ever been through (was nearly as quick as Global Entry!). There was absolutely no line, walked right up the immigration officer and gave her my IST and VVO tickets. She said nothing to me and I said nothing to her (aside from "hello" in Russian). She had me sign the migration card and then gave me my copy to hold on to. 
 
Leaving Russia was (strangely) slightly more difficult than entering. The immigration officer spent a lot of time looking at my passport, looking at me, back at my passport, using some sort of ruler thing to examine my passport, etc. After a while she stamped my passport she asked (in Russian) whether I was going directly onward to the USA from IST.
 
That said, I don't have much to offer for advice for going to Russia other than make sure you have FRESH, CLEAN $100 USD bills (the bank spent about 30 minutes examining ever bill and rejected on with the small staple holes in it). Also, I'd advise exchanging a small amount at the airport itself and the rest elsewhere (better rates). I had a long layover in SVO before my VVO flight and forgot to exchange cash and the terminal itself (once you're through security) has no money exchange facilities so I was unable to purchase and food/drink. My fiance finally helped by talking to someone at a cafe in the terminal and transferring them money via some phone number/account number (I guess it's like Venmo for Russia). 
 
When going to Warsaw, make sure your fiance has the appointment confirmation and ds160 confirmation page handy to provide to the immigration officer. 

Thank you!
 
I had no issues going into and out of Russia. I flew from IST->SVO->VVO on Aeroflot about 3 weeks ago. Customs in Moscow was the smoothest, quickest immigration entry I've ever been through (was nearly as quick as Global Entry!). There was absolutely no line, walked right up the immigration officer and gave her my IST and VVO tickets. She said nothing to me and I said nothing to her (aside from "hello" in Russian). She had me sign the migration card and then gave me my copy to hold on to. 
 
Leaving Russia was (strangely) slightly more difficult than entering. The immigration officer spent a lot of time looking at my passport, looking at me, back at my passport, using some sort of ruler thing to examine my passport, etc. After a while she stamped my passport she asked (in Russian) whether I was going directly onward to the USA from IST.
 
That said, I don't have much to offer for advice for going to Russia other than make sure you have FRESH, CLEAN $100 USD bills (the bank spent about 30 minutes examining ever bill and rejected on with the small staple holes in it). Also, I'd advise exchanging a small amount at the airport itself and the rest elsewhere (better rates). I had a long layover in SVO before my VVO flight and forgot to exchange cash and the terminal itself (once you're through security) has no money exchange facilities so I was unable to purchase and food/drink. My fiance finally helped by talking to someone at a cafe in the terminal and transferring them money via some phone number/account number (I guess it's like Venmo for Russia). 
 
When going to Warsaw, make sure your fiance has the appointment confirmation and ds160 confirmation page handy to provide to the immigration officer. 

It went well. We went from SVO-IST-WAW. At immigration in Warsaw they asked what my fiancé was doing in Poland and asked to see proof of our interview at the US Embassy. No issues after showing the ds160 confirmation page to them. 

It went well. We went from SVO-IST-WAW. At immigration in Warsaw they asked what my fiancé was doing in Poland and asked to see proof of our interview at the US Embassy. No issues after showing the ds160 confirmation page to them. 

My fiancé had a Greek Shengen visa that she got about a year ago.

Prayers for all who are facing these and other seemingly endless hurdles.

Good luck to you both. Two thoughts occur to me about this, is that not issuing visas, doesn't mean that valid visas will be refused (unless they have specifically said they will bar entry to Russians, which I haven't heard yet...)
 
Second thought was (and related to the first), most people (and I assume you included) travel into a different country first, so as long as you do passport control at the country of entry, then however you get to Poland from within the Schengen zone won't be checked.

The waiver appears to apply only for the medical exam.  It does not appear to apply to entry requirements.  I know it seems counterintuitive, but meeting the requirements to get the visa are not the same as meeting the requirements for travel to the US.
 
Good Luck!

This is actually incorrect. Warsaw is a self-scheduling embassy when it comes to k1s. You’re free to schedule an appointment as soon as you pay the MRV fee. That said, you’re supposed to wait until the embassy tells you to schedule the appointment.

All of this is correct. I was hesitant to answer the medical question because I didn't recall what we were asked for, but this sounds right; we were only asked for the case number. I think it is on you to figure out whether you'll have the appointment within six months.
 
When the June cancellation appointments fill up, the earliest appointments thereafter should be December 2022. Those did not fill up when I checked. And yes, you 100% need the instructions before your appointment, because otherwise it'll be cancelled and it'll be difficult to access the calendar again. I know it's inconvenient, but perhaps you could try to do everything now, including the medical, in anticipation of another cancellation in the future? 

The doctor in Warsaw didn’t care whether we had an interview scheduled or not. They asked for NVC number though. So, you can feel free to get the medical done anytime, but remember that the validity of the k1 visa is bounded by the validity of the medical exam (6 months). 
 
Also, I’ve heard that if you show up for your interview without having received the interview instructions email from the embassy, they will cancel your appointment.

The doctor in Warsaw didn’t care whether we had an interview scheduled or not. They asked for NVC number though. So, you can feel free to get the medical done anytime, but remember that the validity of the k1 visa is bounded by the validity of the medical exam (6 months). 
 
Also, I’ve heard that if you show up for your interview without having received the interview instructions email from the embassy, they will cancel your appointment.

Yeah, this is just US Travel Docs stating they've changed your location based on your request. They'll change it to whatever you ask them to change it to, but it doesn't mean that the Embassy in Kazakhstan will accept your k1 case. 

It would have to be from the consulate in Almaty as the IV unit is there (K1s are processed by the IV unit).
 
Agreed. US travel docs will change your location when you ask them but that’s just for US travel docs site. It has nothing to do with changing countries at NVC or consulate stage. When a case is officially approved for a transfer, at least at NVC stage, you would be given a new NVC case number that would start with ALA. 
 
At this point Yes because you have not emailed the Immigrant Visa (IV) Unit in Almaty to accept your case. Their email is usakz@state.gov 
You can’t ask US travel docs help desk for that, it’s unrelated.
 

Yeah, this is just US Travel Docs stating they've changed your location based on your request. They'll change it to whatever you ask them to change it to, but it doesn't mean that the Embassy in Kazakhstan will accept your k1 case. 

Try: https://cgifederal.secure.force.com/?country=Poland&language=English

C@m is correct. You can schedule the interview after paying the MRV fee, though again, Warsaw does not like people doing this. Warsaw will cancel your interview if it's coming up and they didn't send out your Packet 3; I'm not sure how far in advance they'll do this, but it has been done to other filers before. If that happens, your MRV fee is effectively lost. Because of the amount of people improperly trying to schedule interviews far in advance, there's been reports here of filers being locked out of their accounts, even, when talking to TravelDocs before NVC ships out. 
 
That being said, RapidVisa is incorrect that the DS-160 date must be later than the Warsaw date. At least, I'm 99% sure. From what I recall, I think CEAC even prompted me to do the DS-160 after they sent my packet to Warsaw. I don't really know why the DS-160 date would matter, anyway, so long as it's up-to-date for the interview. Warsaw confirmed to me over the phone they'll happily update your DS-160 up to three days before the interview. 

As an update, to all those who may stumble across this thread: 
 
After paying the visa fee, you are only then able to choose between non-resident or resident. Upon choosing non-resident, the next available date jumps to December 2023. I don't know who would schedule for over a year in advance, but there you have it I guess. Sad that the appointment fee cannot be refunded; I'm not scheduling anything yet, but that delay is hard to believe. 

Thanks! We’re so excited! This was the first, yes; I had my fiancé call them a week or so ago, however, and they did actually have my case and case number. My fiancé updated our email addresses over the phone and then today we received this email so I would advise everyone to call if they can! I’ll update my timeline now 🙂

Hey, it seems that there is a bottleneck but things are still moving forward! We received our NOA2 on February 16 and just (5 minutes ago) received an email from the NVC saying that our application is now em route to the embassy! We will all make it sooner rather than later :)

Congratulations! That's great news 👏   so it's taking about ~2 months to go from NOA2 to en-route to embassy then. Was this the first communication from NVC or did they contact you when they received the approved petition? I ask because they're supposed to email you the case information once they create the NVC case number. This also gives you time to contact them to update any contact (address/email) information for the petitioner or the beneficiary which might've changed between when you filed the I129F and when it was approved. Can you update your timeline?

This is concerning, especially since members of the "February NOA2 -> NVC" thread were receiving NVC case numbers ~3 weeks after their NOA2. I've been told that USCIS shipping of approved I-797s has been greatly delayed, and given the silence in this thread it seems to be true. My guess is that there was a surge of approvals brought on by Ukranian/Russian expedite approvals and this is causing delays. That's purely a guess though. My NOA2 was March 25th so it's only been 2 weeks for me. I don't know if USCIS has similar batch-ship dates like NVC does when they batch up the documents and mail them to embassies every 2 weeks, maybe someone can shed some light there. I do see that NVC's website says they're currently creating cases for petitions that arrived from USCIS on April 1st so it appears the bottleneck is USCIS shipping them to NVC.

I will try to answer your questions to the best of my ability, but eventually I would like to compile a complete “Warsaw guide” and request for it to be stickied here. Maybe even this post could serve as it, but here goes. Warsaw has a relatively unique (and slightly confusing) process and the information here has been compiled from other users’ experiences. I encourage them to add to, or correct, what I write below.
 
1. Once you get NOA2, your petition, like all others, will go to NVC. NVC should have your case number a week or two after your packet arrives. You may call NVC directly to get your case and invoice number, though the latter is not required for Warsaw. The best times to call NVC are 7-8am EST or 11:30-12:00pm EST.
 
2. At any point before your case leaves NVC, you may call them to report a change of address - email or physical. It is vital for all beneficiaries leaving their home countries to have a reachable and accurate address on file.
 
3. NVC will email the beneficiary when the case is sent to Warsaw. Warsaw is currently accepting new K1 petitions and they appear to be forwarded every other Tuesday.
 
4. Your packet will arrive to Warsaw within a couple days. At this stage, you will be waiting for Packet 3 - which is both physical and email. This has been the most confusing step and I’ve been a bit wavering in my answers so let me try to finally get it straight. “Packet 3” sent by email are the generic instructions telling you that you can schedule your interview, where you can do medical, and informing the beneficiary of the IMBRA rights. Warsaw, additionally, will send your original I-129F by mail to whatever physical address you have on file. It is currently unclear whether you need the I-129F in-hand in order to come to the interview, but from my understanding, only the email component is required.
 
5. Complete the DS-160. After scheduling medical yourself (see below) and the interview yourself through TravelDocs (see below), proceed to the interview. I cannot stress this following part enough: if you did not receive Packet 3 before your interview date, your appointment will be cancelled by Warsaw the day before.
 
*Notes*

Warsaw is a self-scheduling embassy. They will not provide you a K1 interview date. To make your appointment, the beneficiary must make an account on Poland’s USATravelDocs page. It will ask for her passport and other information, but *not* the DS-160 or case number. This does not mean, however, you should be scheduling anything now. Warsaw has already told someone over the phone they should not have made the appointment before getting the case number. You must also be aware that if you schedule too early and do not have time to collect everything, or Warsaw does not ship your Packet 3, your appointment will be cancelled at very late notice.
 
The DS-160 is the standard non-immigrant visa application every beneficiary is required to submit. It does not ask for your case number, though it asks for your USCIS number. After submitting your DS-160 and having made an appointment, your appointment confirmation in TravelDocs should display the DS-160 confirmation code. If it does not, or displays an outdated one, call Warsaw and request a change. 
 
There are two doctors in Poland that will do the medical exam - one in Warsaw, one in Krakow. Both require your case number for the appointment. Warsaw’s doctor has a wait of over one month, providing nobody has cancelled last I checked. 
 
Good luck, and I hope this is helpful to everyone reading.