pavelp

Air Astana, I think? Google Flights doesn't show all airlines, for instance, they stopped showing Belavia for me a while back. I don't know if it'll be cheaper, but certainly one could cross into Kazakhstan by train/car, spend a day in Nur-Sultan or Almaty, and fly to Europe.
 
I just looked at tickets on Google Flights and the cheapest connect through Dubai but they appear to be cheaper (and more convenient layover-wise) than from Moscow. Didn't check Air Astana.

The reason I brought up Turkey at all is that at the moment there are two ways to fly from Russia to Poland: through Turkey (Turkish Airlines) or through Dubai (Emirates Airlines). I looked up this data today on Google Flights.
So I just brought up Turkey as a viable option.
Regardless of your itinerary your wife will need to get a Schengen visa.

Yes, your wife will need to have a Schengen visa to enter Poland. If Poland is not very friendly toward Russians then you can try Hungary. They are the most Russian friendly country in EU right now. They have consulates in many cities in Russia and our experience was always pleasant with their staff you can call them up and ask about visas. My wife is also Russian and we moved to Hungary. We have been here for over 2 months and so far have not experienced any kind of negativity toward Russians. People here seem to understand that Putin is the bad guy and the average Russian people are also suffering because of his craziness.

Poland has lifted COVID related travel restrictions: https://www.gov.pl/web/usa-en/covid-19-travel-to-poland
 
It looks like Russia -> Turkey -> Poland is a valid option now?

Please make a post about this, would be very helpful for others here.

We did Russia -> Thailand -> Greece -> Poland -> USA but that was more because of the war breaking out and me wanting her and my daughter to get the heck out of Russia ASAP in case they closed borders or before plane tickets skyrocketed any further.  That meant we had several weeks to kill before the interview so we did 3 in Thailand, 2 in Greece and 3 in Warsaw.
 
In my opinion, minimize your time spent in Athens, the place is a dump.  Thailand was picturesque and very inexpensive... Warsaw is gorgeous and comparatively inexpensive to the USA.

My fiancee and I are in Poland right now and had our K1 interview last Thursday (May 5th).  To answer your questions
 
1) Not so much problems, just some general "huffyness".  The woman at passport control was very nice when she saw my little daughter but then started to scowl when my fiancee pulled out a Russian passport.   A worker at Sephora refused to help my fiancee find some makeup she was looking for as she recognized my fiancee's accent, made a comment about Ukraine and said she can't help and walked away.
 
2/3) Her interview was only 10 minutes long and they focused on the birth certificate of my daughter where I am not listed.  That's because I was not a US citizen when she was born and she was born in Korea.  Long story but they kept harping on how she shouldn't be coming on a K2 visa if I am the father and I am a US citizen.  Finally they understood and all was OK but every... single... person brought it up and made a big deal about it.   I was worried about affidavit of support (I did not bring tax returns or pay stubs, just a 1099 for my side job and letter from my employer, they were fine with that).
 
4) We still have not got the visa, today is Tuesday at 1pm here.  We did have to drop off daughters medical results on Friday.  They told us the visa will be issued this week... fingers crossed, I am mildly nervous as flights are booked for this Saturday.
 
5) We said we would pick it up at the drop box, which is a Mail Boxes Etc store that's a ways outside of town, over by where the doctors office is.
 
6) She entered the EU in Greece and we stayed in Athens for a couple of weeks before coming to Poland.
 
7) FYI my fiancee got a lot of grief entering Greece.  She had an ongoing flight booked to Poland and a further flight to the USA.  Their problem was that she did not have a USA visa and her Greece->Poland flight didn't take her out of the schengen zone, so basically she had no concrete proof she was returning to Russia or that she could actually leave the Schengen zone.  They ultimately relented but in hindsight I might have tried to book a fully refundable ticket somehow from Warsaw to somewhere outside the Schengen zone that she can enter without issues (like Thailand) so they could shut up about the matter.
 
It seems things are tightening up... they are getting more strict and Poland has said they want to stop issuing schengen visas to Russians period... so just make sure you leave no stone unturned or leave any opportunity for them to deny you/her travel.  They don't give a ####### that you are here for diplomatic/embassy business at the border... they seem to be extra-scrutinizing Russians.
 

Update on my earlier post. 
I am currently in Russia with my fiancé. Everything went well. I did not have any problems at passport control. No one questioned me and everything went smooth as always. 
 
I took a flight from San Francisco to Moscow via Istanbul. Purchased my tickets directly from Turkish Airlines website. They had to change my flight twice, just some minor schedule changes, but I had the option to either cancel or change my flight with no penalty fee. So, in the end my ticket to Moscow came up to around $500 one way (2 luggage bags included). Had to fill up a health screening form and do a Covid test 48 hours prior to my arrival in Moscow. I did it at CVS pharmacy for free and got the results within 24 hours. They asked for it at SFO airport and Istanbul. Other than a longer flight from Istanbul to Moscow everything else was the same. Masks are now somewhat optional I guess😄

As of today, there has not been a single restriction to enter Russia as a regular US citizen or any other citizen, besides COVID-related policies. Considering that all docs and visas are fine, you should not have any problems crossing the border. People have not completely stopped travelling from the US to Russia, so I assume we would have heard anything by now, if someone had troubles upon arrival. I am personally going to Russia in a couple of weeks and will let everyone know how it went, if it'll still be relevant. I purchased my tickets directly from Turkish Airlines website.

Here's the answers I used:
 
45. Was the beneficiary EVER in the United States? - YES
 
46.a. He or she arrived as a (Class of Admission): B2
 
Then goes i-94 number, arrival and stay expired dates.
 
Hope that helps.
 

I had exactly the same problem.
 
You need to create a new account that will be linked to Poland instead of Russia.
Support said that account couldn't be transferred.
 
I had a problem doing that though: when you're creating a new Poland account with a passport # which is linked to Russian account, you get an error saying something like: "passport is already used blah-blah"
The way to fix it is to put letter N between passport series and number, for example: 40N1234567.
 
I'm not sure if this is a right way to do it but it worked for me. I didn't do any scheduling with this account yet though.
Please do share if you'll find another way.

I was able to send a wire transfer from Chase to Avangard Bank yesterday and the day before. So far it's working. 🤞
Wire transfers are expensive (~$50 per transfer), but it's free for Sapphire Checking although it has $25 monthly fee. Still the best offer I could find.

I had exactly the same problem.
 
You need to create a new account that will be linked to Poland instead of Russia.
Support said that account couldn't be transferred.
 
I had a problem doing that though: when you're creating a new Poland account with a passport # which is linked to Russian account, you get an error saying something like: "passport is already used blah-blah"
The way to fix it is to put letter N between passport series and number, for example: 40N1234567.
 
I'm not sure if this is a right way to do it but it worked for me. I didn't do any scheduling with this account yet though.
Please do share if you'll find another way.

*** Moved from Bringing Family of USC forum to Moving to the US & Your New Life In America forum, where similar topics are discussed ***
 
 
Check this thread --
 
 

Yes, Exactly. 

Yep, for additional context: Wells Fargo is not allowing wires to Russia anymore.

THANK YOU!!!! I've been waiting for someone to come here with this news, haha.
 
$50 for a wire transfer is standard, it's not really that bad of a fee when you consider the amazing convenience that the service is. I'm really glad to hear that Chase is OK with doing business with Russia, prior I heard negative things that they were suspicious about money transfers to/from Russia. Great to know if that has changed!

I was able to send a wire transfer from Chase to Avangard Bank yesterday and the day before. So far it's working. 🤞
Wire transfers are expensive (~$50 per transfer), but it's free for Sapphire Checking although it has $25 monthly fee. Still the best offer I could find.

I filed for my parents on Jan 15.🙂

Hello fellow VJ,
 
same here filed jan 18,2022 for my mom, processing is in texas service center. Godluck to us. 

The I-485 only needs to be filed if the beneficiaries are already living in the US. If they're living abroad, there is no need to file the I-485.