JayFromTexas

@Tex_44 Where did you try to get Schengen visas? My wife and stepdaughter got DQ'd a few days ago and we now need to make some decisions as to where we're going to go.

You are correct. I was speaking in general terms. The medical is usually conducted near the time of the interview, but not always.

Reviving this thread... My Russian wife just got DQ'd and we are waiting on our interview letter. Our plan is to meet in Hungary and travel together to Warsaw by train. When you get a Schengen visa, a short term, single entry one, what timeframe does it usually cover? Should we wait to receive our interview letter or should we start the Schengen process now? Thinking out loud, I guess we're going to have to wait because we need to show evidence of tickets and hotel reservations and for that, I need an interview date. My worry is we'll wait for the IL and there won't be enough time to get the Schengen visa and make all the travel arrangements. ONE OTHER QUESTION... What does the collective here think the current, best plan to schedule and attend a CR1 interview? Keep it at Warsaw and do whatever it takes to get a Schengen visa? OR focus our efforts on a transfer to another embassy? If so, where's the best place to transfer, at this time? Thank your for your advice!

Upon receiving a CR1 visa, you must enter the US within 6 months. Once you enter, you need to live in the US a minimum of 6 months per year in order for your wife to not lose her greencard. Like @pushbrk said, it currently takes around 18 months to get a CR1.

I filed the i130 for my wife and stepdaughter on March 13, 2023. They were both approved on February 22, 2024. Today I received word that my stepdaughter is now DQ'd! I expect my wife to be DQ'd as early as tomorrow. We're going to try to get to Warsaw and interview there. It is looking like late July or early August.

NJS, you will want to upload more than 1 picture of you and your spouse. You should provide evidence that your marriage is not a sham. I uploaded multiple pictures of my wife and me from the several times we met. I also uploaded copies of the visas in our passports that showed that we were together multiple times. I also wrote out a narrative of our when we met, how we met and a chronological list of when and where we met in person.

Definitely you should file the 129f. I've seen I130 cases get approved in 3-4 months. Was it because of the 129f? We can't tell for sure, but as others have said, it doesn't cost anything, so you might as well. One other nuance to this is, you can file the 129f more than once. I'm working with a lady who does 5-10 cases per month and she recommends all I130 cases file the 129f too and if your I130 isn't approved in 3 months, file the 129f again. She has seen several of her clients get their I130 approved in 6 months or less. If they haven't been approved in 6 months, she files the 129f a third time. I filed the 129f when I filed my wife's I130 back in March of last year, but I didn't know that I could file the 129f more than once, until October. I filed it again in October and again in late January. Our I130 was approved 2/23/24. That's 11 months from the NOA1 and not out of the ordinary for a regular I130 submission, so in my case the 129f probably didn't help. If you're like me, though, you want to do everything possible with the hopes that something might speed up the approval. Good luck!

I hope it isn't a change in the process for Russian immigrants. The 2 recent AP cases that we've seen here have both been K1 visas. Maybe they are scrutinizing them more than IR/CR1 cases? As I commented in another thread about a possible change, I'm working with a woman who helps 5-10 cases per month and she hasn't noticed an uptick in AP outcomes. My wife is currently in the NVC stage and will be interviewing soon, so I guess we'll find out firsthand.

@big_tex_69 I sent you a PM

What you describe is precisely what the B2 visa is for. From travel.state.gov: Tourism (B-2) Tourism Vacation (holiday) Visit with friends or relatives Medical treatment Participation in social events hosted by fraternal, social, or service organizations Participation by amateurs in musical, sports, or similar events or contests, if not being paid for participating Enrollment in a short recreational course of study, not for credit toward a degree (for example, a two-day cooking class while on vacation)

Yes, your military service could absolutely be the reason for the delay. Plus, your current involvement in the IT field, although there is another guy from Texas who works in IT who didn't have any AP issues, 6 or 7 months ago. But he didn't serve in the military, afaik.

I'm working with a person who specializes in preparing and assisting with green card cases. She is a Russian (or Ukrainian) immigrant located in the US and she handles 5-10 cases per month including a K1 approved yesterday in Poland, and a CR1 in Armenia a few days before and a CR1 in Kyrgyzstan the week before. She doesn't think there is a different process in place for Russians. Similar to your description above, she said AP usually appears when either the immigrant or her spouse has a technical degree or military history or something that the US wants to investigate in more detail. Maybe something in your history is triggering it, like military service?

@big_tex_69, do you think it has to do mainly with the Warsaw embassy? Maybe it would be better to try to transfer our case somewhere else?

@big_tex_69, if a blood or urine test is required and it takes several days for it to be completed that would mean a longer stay in Warsaw, correct? In this case, wouldn't it be better to do the medical test in Moscow? Btw, my wife and step daughter just had their I130 applications approved and we will be dealing with this situation soon. I love the idea of driving from Budapest to Warsaw. I see that you have to go through 1 or 2 other countries. Did you need anything other than the Schengen for these other countries?

Good luck @BenNomad. Your journey has had more potholes than most. Thanks for sharing your experiences. Keep us posted. My Russian wife's case is still 6-9 months from clearing the NVC stage. Who knows what will be the best option then.

What was it not possible for you? I have a CR1 application in the process and we will be needing to solve the interview challenge in the next few months.

I filed I-130 applications for my Russian wife and stepdaughter back in March. I hope to be cleared into the NVC stage in the next few months. I've been following all the threads discussing the final interview with great interest, as you could imagine. It seems to be getting progressively more difficult to get the interview scheduled and to travel to whatever country you've got it scheduled in. Some here went to Almaty, but they seem to be less likely to accept a transfer. Israel was an option, but with the war going on, that's not an option. I haven't heard any recent stories where someone has navigated the Schengen minefield to attend an interview in Poland. Most have made the decision to not even try to get there. With all that as a premise, where do we go now? Any thoughts?

I just checked the status of my wife's I-130 and her daughter, my step-daughter's. My wife's case is projected to be complete in 3 months, but her daughter's is projected to complete in 2 months. I've read some comments here that we can request they be linked. How do I do that?

We did both We met in Turkey and got married online in Utah.

Have you considered an online Utah wedding? It is 100% valid and gives you a US marriage certificate. My Russian wife and I got married in March and several others have used this service. Are you familiar with this option?