rikko

Anyone have any insight or can recommend me Visajourney users who had similar experiences post interview?

I don't feel so good, visajourney. Add in the fact that I filed in February 2021 and I feel even worse. I'm not sure if links are allowed but this AP spreadsheet is quite useful, I will link it in a comment below - it is a "O1/EB-1/EB-2/L1/B1/J1/F1/H1B visa Administrative Processing statistics list" google sheets spreadsheet, and it is specifically of Russians. While I understand most of you won't be Russian, it may give you an insight as to how things are coming along. Here is the link: O1/EB-1/EB-2/L1/B1/J1/F1/H1B visa Administrative Processing statistics list

I have checked saved passwords on this device but the saved password is wrong! I've only recently set up a KeyPass password database so if I am able to change email/password on this account, I will actually know where my password is written down. If Captain Ewok has time and is willing to help, great, if not, that's fine too, it's ultimately my fault anyways. Thanks for the info!

Hello, My visajourney account is linked to my university (.edu) email account, which has since been closed - I cannot get new emails to that domain anymore. I also do not remember my password so I can't assign things to a new email. Who should I get in contact with to help me switch this account's email? I can neither reset password (don't have access to original email) or reassign to a new email domain (i don't remember my password). I'm only logged in on this device and if anything happens I won't have access to this account anymore.

Some things about Israeli passport control I wanna add for future applicants: If the Russian beneficiary is travelling alone, it may not be enough to bring the invitation and proof of intent. One of my fiancé's coworkers was trying to enter Israel for a US work visa interview, and despite showing proof of this, he was detained with laptop/phone confiscated and only allowed the phone back to purchase his own trip back to Armenia. Russians have a high rate of overstay in Israel so they often turn Russians away before entry even occurs (which doesn't count as a deportation as you never even entered.) We were stopped for 15-20 minutes while exiting Israel, which I worry may cause issues when/if we are called back to the embassy for visa/updated medical. We genuinely didn't know Bethlehem was in West Bank regarding our medical, and they really grilled my fiancé about what he was doing in West Bank, with 3-5 officers coming to make sure his story stayed consistent. Russian beneficiaries should do their best to do the medical in Jerusalem like you did to avoid any potential problems if they need to exit and re-enter Israel in the future. Also, I'm glad for the outcome! You'll be making many good memories in the US, and I'm sure I will be looking to your posts about the process once in the US for help, too. Work authorization, naturalization, etc. I'm glad my posts were of help to you, and I hope we'll continue helping those who come after us.

hoping for good news!

Yes just Russians in AP

While the screenshots I posted are of a document for O1/EB-1/EB-2/L1/B1/J1/F1/H1B APs, given that most Russian applicants are hit with education/work related TAL 221gs I imagine the wait time will be in the ballpark.

Well I'm still kind of hopeful because it seems like they're working through May 2023 APs right now, and I interviewed in June... @P3ACHY I'm glad my posts can be of help, I mostly just post here to not lose my mind while waiting lol. Many people have said that he would undergo the same investigation for a CR1 visa so that is why we haven't just abandoned, married, and re-applied yet. We've provided all of the information they asked of us, they did ask for more down the line, I think it's just slow because of the cases per officer - I don't remember the Carson Wu declaration verbatim but it's like 40 officers for 60,000+ cases, and because it's not enough officers the backlog only grows bigger. Those officers are probably assigned to certain regions of the world as well, so likely only a fraction of those are even qualified to investigate the Russian applicants. From what I understand about Russian applicants - background checks are long but most people are approved, unlike Americans with Iranian, Pakistani, etc partners who get hit with DS-5535's a lot. What's worrisome is the Ukrainian applicant in this forum who got hit with the DS-5535 questions... not a good sign, it worries me. If you are looking for more forums to browse there is Telegram and Forum Vinskogo. Feel free to message me if you want to talk.

Things I've done since 221g: Emailed the US Embassy of Jerusalem roughly every month since the interview. Every time they reply with "we're sorry, we can't tell you how long it'll take, check the CEAC website for updates" then add a random number of months I should wait. 2, 9, etc... Checked the CEAC website every day. It changed once after we sent in what was asked of us to bring in August 2023. Contacted a congressional representative for an inquiry, asked for US Department of State, they asked the embassy and got the same reply I've been getting for months. Contacted a different congressional representative for an inquiry, asked for Department of State, they asked the WRONG embassy, then after correction asked the right embassy, and got the same reply I've been getting for months. They are now ignoring my emails. Contacted the US Department of State, they told me to contact the NVC or embassy. Contacted the NVC and am now waiting for the very likely "your case is not with us right now, contact the embassy" Cheers to the 534 days of AP, and being unable to marry my fiancé to get residency in the country he lives in because it would void his application! Cheers to the 4 years of visa runs (for me) and putting our lives and his career on hold! I was really hoping a congressional inquiry would get the wheels turning so we could avoid a writ of mandamus, given the horror stories we've heard on VisaJourney. If nothing happens by early/mid-2025 we're probably going to do a writ of mandamus or even abandon the petition and marry. This has been so disappointing, and eaten up so much of our 20's. We are not even asking for an approval, a denial would allow us to move on with our lives and settle elsewhere. It should not be taking this long. I should not be 3 years, 9 months into a K1 visa process.

We couldn't legally get to Warsaw and transferred to the US Embassy of Jerusalem. How to find your representative is as TBone said. I have been emailing the embassy every month or so for status updates so I have a record of my own attempts at contact, this can help build a case when asking for a congressional inquiry, but at the same time, I wasn't asked for this and my congressmen seem to not be reading my emails/responses. Also, do not open multiple congressional inquiries all at once, apparently it slows things down and can lead to the congressmen not doing anything because they assume the other is. One at a time.

Hey, I have a Russian fiancé and have been in AP for 16+ months now. I am currently trying to get a congressional inquiry going. Remember to ask for the US Department of State for your inquiry, my representatives seem to keep asking the embassy what's going on (cases like ours are investigated by the US Department of State). There was a spreadsheet of non-immigrant APs on forum vinskogo I saw and it seems like they're working through the July 2023 interview APs right now, so hopefully my fiancé's case is approved/looked at soon. You may also want to consider a writ of mandamus down the line before abandoning the application but it may not give the decision you are hoping for.

See title. Do you guys think its likely?

no

You should go through Hungary at some point, ideally at entry to the EU. We were denied a multi-entry Schehgen visa and did not make it to Warsaw. We transferred to Jerusalem.

Get a Schengen visa for another country in the EU and travel to Poland for your interview. Anticipate administrative processing, especially if your brother or someone close to him works in IT or any other TAL field. Transfer to an embassy he can enter freely for convenience if possible.

so what happened with your visa? did you get it?

I did not go to Warsaw but there have been reports of Russians being denied entry to Israel, I simply entered with my fiance and seeing a Russian national claim to have an US visa interview in Jerusalem with his fiance physically present seemed to calm them. That being said, you should probably tell them you're going to Poland for tourism, or whatever you listed on your Schengen. Entering together is helpful.

Email Almaty and Tashkent, explain the difficulty in getting to Warsaw legally/without fraud, and feel free to email other embassies like Jerusalem and Belgrade. If it hasn't been assigned to Warsaw yet you may be able to request it go to Almaty or Tashkent directly instead of requesting a case transfer.

Any updates on either of your ends?

There's no reason for an expedite when there are other safe countries Russians can go to for draft dodging or to just not be in Russia. From my understanding, expedite requests are usually only approved if the petitioner or beneficiary has a severe medical problem. I recommend your beneficiary go to a country like Georgia or Armenia. There are other options like Kazakhstan and Serbia, too. If they work in tech I recommend buying a return ticket and hotel/airBnB stay to show during customs while exiting Russia, and just cancel the return flight and temporary booking and find something more permanent like an apartment. If your beneficiary is educated or in tech I would prepare for an extended AP post-interview.

Okay, since you are familiar with it, can you calculate how long the typical AP is for Russians/Belarusians as of late, post-interview? Because the original question of the OP still remains unanswered.

You don't need that person's timeline to answer their question. They're asking if anyone knows how long the typical Russian/Belarus/Ukraine applicants put into AP is taking as of late.

Try Israel, remember to mention your Schengen was denied and you have no legal way of entering Poland to complete your visa interview. You can try Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan/Serbia but they seem less willing to accept transfers.

When I asked Jerusalem with no reason/hardship provided, they denied my request for transfer. When I told them I could not legally get to Poland months later and spoke about my issues with Schengen (no proof, just an explanation) my case transfer request was accepted. I provided no "proof", and I tried to keep the reason as concise as possible, but still touch upon all the important points. If your fiancé has residency anywhere you should try to transfer there. We would've transferred to the US Embassy in Armenia but they denied our transfer citing their embassy is small and already overloaded with Armenian and Iranian cases. Kazakhstan is another place you should consider, as I think they handle Russian family visa cases, but they're more likely to accept CR1 cases over K1. Good luck! The process sucks, but it'll all be worth it in the end, I'm sure. (This is what I tell myself to not lose my mind) I just wanted to add - just because Armenia (or anywhere else, for that matter) did not accept a transfer, doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't try anyways. Things are always changing.