17 hours ago, Prizm123 said:

glad your fiance is safe with you. the good news is that you should now have time to decompress before making your next plans.

Thank you so much! Yes we are looking forward to some rest before we move ahead with marriage and adjustment of status

50 minutes ago, DD13 said:

Congratulations to both of you!

One question, though. My Ukrainian fiance and I are ready to give up on the K-1 process and are considering the Mexico option. I'm worried about the border scenario and, may I ask, can  you tell me the name of the church that assisted you there? I would feel better with some local assistance. Thanks very much and best of luck!

Thank you! I am pretty sure the church we got in contact with is called spring of life church based in Sacramento I believe. If you call I am sure someone will be able to answer your questions or point you in the right direction for help. There are many churches working together and offering their services to help right now. I heard there are a growing number of Ukrainians waiting at the border, so unless they have added more border guards to help process cases, you may have to wait more than a day at the border, but it could definitely be worth it if you don't want to wait for normal k1 processing times, but that of course is up to you and what you and your partner are willing to endure at the border. 

12 minutes ago, Boiler said:

DCF has been 3 or 4 months

 

May become longer with more applicants who knows

 

With the Mexican border you just walk or drive up and show your passport

 

 

My other concerns are about getting to the border and being safe while waiting. I don't want to assume the worse but I know there are issues with human trafficking and other things of that nature. Those people involved with that tend to be opportunistic, and could see this as an opportunity. I am willing to spend the money on flights regardless of whether we are allowed to cross or not, but I also want to be as safe as possible doing so. I wish there was more information and support regarding this, as I'm sure everyone else in a similar situation feels the same. Really leaning towards trying to go through Mexico but will take a little time to figure out more details. Want to say thanks again for everyone contributing to this discussion.

No decisions have been made yet but we do seem to be leaning towards flying to Mexico and trying to enter the u.s that way. We're discussing with our loved ones the logistics of it all and are also waiting to hear back from an attorney. I don't want our case to be negatively affected by this decision if we were to make it. Will post any updates on our situation here. For now, we are waiting for USCIS to hopefully reach a decision on whether or not to expedite our case after our senators office has reached out to USCIS twice. 

Thanks for sharing this. Have been seriously considering going to Mexico as an option. Still worried about how that process may look and whether the border agents would grant asylum to my fiance. But it helps to see people in a similar situation were granted asylum. Not sure if actually being married first would make a difference but also considering that as well.  

I'm also in Poland with my fiance and have thought about getting married here as well. I have even been thinking about going to Mexico because I am starting to get desperate. I can't leave her here, but also won't be able to stay much longer. I'm glad you at least got approved for an expedite. I can't seem to understand why our case still hasn't been approved for an expedite. I think 23 days is plenty of time to decide whether or not to expedite. Anyways I'm wishing the best for the both of us, and everyone else 🙂

Is anyone else here still waiting on results of expedite request? I was asked to provide evidence for expedite request, and submitted evidence on March 2nd, and was told it was sent to an officer for review. I don't know what exactly they are reviewing, as it's pretty obvious to the entire world what is going on. I have recently reached out to my state senators office to inquire on my behalf which was done on Monday March 21st. I understand USCIS tends to take there time with things, but I honestly don't understand why it's taking so long for them to say either yes or no to expedite request. I don't want to sound entitled or impatient but it's been increasingly difficult as each day passes with no response. Anyways, sorry for the rant, just wanted to hear from any others if they are still waiting for results from their expedite requests, and if so how long.

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

I know some people will disagree  but I support making it easier for Ukrainians with US ties coming here. Especially if their American relatives can provide housing and other sponsorship, I think it's logical. A lot of the refugees in Poland and other Euro countries right now are basically living in shelters, and just throwing money at the situation (such as all the "donate to Ukraine" charities) won't solve it overnight.

 

Whether or not the Biden administration actually does anything about it is another matter. USCIS being backed up as it is, seems like hiring more people/extra funding would be needed to offer any real help.

If the administration actually did decide to allow Ukrainian refugees with family ties, would that cover spouses or k1 filer's for example? I'm admittedly not very educated when it comes to rules and regulations regarding refugees. Trying to learn as much as I can about any forms of immigration that may become useful for this ongoing situation that can and has changed a lot. I've been waiting for about 2 weeks to hear if our expedite request has been approved or not and want to know all of any other options should they become available.

3 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I just saw a story about this actually:

 

A Wave of Ukrainians and Russians at the U.S.-Mexico Border Puts Pressure on Biden's Immigration Restrictions

Ukrainian woman, Sofiia, and her three children were finally allowed to cross the United States-Mexico border near Tijuana on the morning of March 11. It was their third attempt to seek asylum in the U.S.

 

The border agents that had denied Sophiia and her children had cited Title 42, an obscure and controversial public health rule that allows U.S. officials to circumvent the normal trappings of immigration procedure, including asylum interviews. Lawyers with the Center for Gender and Refugee Studies at UC Hastings eventually helped clear their way.

 

Read more here:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-wave-of-ukrainians-and-russians-at-the-us-mexico-border-puts-pressure-on-bidens-immigration-restrictions/ar-AAUX2mz

Curious to see what people's thoughts are on taking the route of crossing the u.s Mexican border vs waiting for expedition to be approved or not, and then also waiting for that to finish. I don't support illegal immigration, but desperate times calls for desperate measures I guess. I want to be clear I'm not advocating for people to cross illegally, just curious on what people's opinions are considering the extreme circumstances going on. 

19 minutes ago, Ashokanna said:

How do I know if my expedite request accepted/denied? I called on last Friday(03/04) and I have not seen any email or text message. I am wondering if I should  call again?

I am currently still waiting for my response to expedite request as well. They received on March 2nd. Keep checking your status on the USCIS website and make an account with your case attached to it if you haven't already. I know it's hard during such times but try to stay patient. Best of luck 🤞

8 hours ago, Natafaith said:

Thanks for feedback!

Does anyone have suggestions what is the better option to file expedite request, by calling or by asking Emma on USCIS website?

I can't say the better option. I personally used asked emma to start my expedition request. I can see a possibility that calling may be better, but am unsure which option is better.

18 hours ago, keystringzz said:

 

That was similar to mine, What we did, we wrote a letter explaining the russian ukraine invasion which is obvious on the news and a copy of her permanent residence with some news outlet of the ongoing situation as evidence and it was approved. 

Ok I am currently preparing something similar to send for my request. I am curious however what you mean by a copy of her permanent address? Do you mean an official document with her permanent residence? If so did you need to translate it?

Thanks again for any help and hope your case and everyone else goes well  

1 hour ago, keystringzz said:

I applied for spousal visa and expedited due to the ongoing Russia Ukraine invasion. I got a response in about 7 days and they requested. Embassy in Ukraine is suspended and not working also. 

Hello, I am in a similar situation where my fiancé was in Ukraine during all of this. I filed an expedite request, got a response a few days ago, and was told to provide additional evidence. I was wondering if you or anyone else on these forums has any experience or advice to give on what I should include for evidence to possibly get this expedited.