champole

28 minutes ago, Simplytex said:

Best of luck, and please do keep us updated! I'm still planning to try to go the Poland route (instead of transferring) because my personal experience in EU has been that I've never had my passport checked on an internal Schengen border... I just need that to hold true one more time...

Please keep us all updated. Good luck and I hope you can make it through with absolutely no problems

4 hours ago, SoDifficult said:

I completely agree. The fact that the dept of state specifically chose Warsaw as the substitute embassy for Russian citizens blows me away that an exception has not been made. If not, then why has an alternative embassy not already been assigned to allow applicants legal access to the embassy? Bad enough we have our own border issues, but now we are intentionally forcing border issues on Poland 🤣 sounds about right.

 

Yes, she does have a Schengen visa. We plan to arrive in Warsaw February 28th for the March 2nd interview.

 

I considered changing the embassy, but prior to learning about the ban, had already paid the application fee and booked flights/hotels. Although, the additional cost of the flight change through Vienna was probably more than a duplicate interview fee.

 

I sent an email to the embassy to get their response, but I'm sure if and when they reply, it won't include any helpful information.

 

Who knows, maybe luck will be in our favor and the ban will be lifted by then.

Thank you. Definitely please keep us updated. There have been recent Russian citizens on this forum flying from a Schengen country successfully to Poland to interview in Warsaw 

18 minutes ago, PakistaniRussian said:

Good luck, I'm in the same boat as you. We got a Schengen visa to Spain and then plan to go from Spain to Poland for our interview. NOA1 Jan 3, 2022, so we are also expecting a Feb/Mar 2023 approval date. Keep your head up. I've been told to wait until your NOA2 is approved and then reach out to Embassies in other countries to try and get it transferred. 

Yep. Will keep everyone posted as it unfolds

37 minutes ago, Cheddy said:

She needed to show a ton of proof. 
 

We specified the exact dates of our trip. She needed proof of employment, proof of funds, proof of hotel reservation, proof of plane tix, and more. 

I understand 

46 minutes ago, Cheddy said:

My fiancé was just approved for a Schengen visa through Italy. Her friend just got a visa through Spain as well. 

 

My fiancé has been to Italy once before and Spain once before (both around 5 years ago), we are meeting in Italy in September for 10 days, they approved her for a one month visa. She'll be flying there through Turkey.

 

On the 30th of this month, the EU will be meeting to discuss the issue of Russian tourists visiting Schengen countries. Many countries such as Germany and Greece have come out against banning Russians, but countries like Poland, Finland and the Baltics are talking about banning Russians regardless of what the EU decides on the 30th.

 

All we can do is wait and see. If Poland starts banning Russians, I hope some other consulate in another country like Kazakhstan, takes on the Russian visa caseload quickly.

That is very helpful. Thank you. When you applied for the Italian visa, did you need to specify dates and already have travel arrangements made as evidence?

1 minute ago, Lynxyonok said:

There are numerous chats on Telegram on this very topic.

 

As long as Admins or anyone else don't mind, I can share invite links. Sending a private message is ok too.

Yes please if you can help direct me that would be fantastic. Thank you so much and I really appreciate it

9 minutes ago, Mike20090622 said:

Any updates on your case? We still can’t schedule an interview date, it always says no appointments available, we can’t even see the calendar, I emailed Traveldocs and got an email saying very limited openings for non Poland residents 

No updates from my end. Still waiting on noa2

21 hours ago, powerpuff said:

I mentioned other countries, not Poland. I imagine Poland is not a #1 tourist destination in Europe 

Do you know of any Russian citizens who have gotten a Schengen Visa recently (to any Schengen country)? I would like to touch base with them and find out about details, specifically what is the maximum length of time the Visa would be valid for that a Russian citizen can reasonably expect to get. 

17 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Can you fly directly to a Schengen country from Russia, I assumed you would need to go through a third country.

 

If you are talking about next year well who knows what the situation will be.

You are correct, you would need to fly to another country first like Turkey or Dubai for example then go to Schengen country where visa approved, then fly to Warsaw

NOA1 2.7.22. NOA2 expected March 2023 (currently California is 13.5 months processing 80% of applications)

10 minutes ago, ChristopherG said:

With U.S. Embassy in Moscow closed and Poland not issuing visa's to Russian nationals, is there any way to get the U.S. Government to change interview locations to another country that is accepting Russian nationals?
This portion of the K1 visa process for Russian nationals is broken, it needs direct and immediate action to provide services to U.S. Citizens trying to bring their family members and loved ones home!

I agree with you. Changing consulate location is our plan B. Anecdotally I've heard this is difficult. Our plan a is to get a Schengen Visa in any Schengen country , fly to that country and then go from there to Warsaw for the interview

Hi all. We plan to go to the Warsaw, Poland  US Embassy for a K1 interview once called. For Russian citizens, it looks like the most likely chance of success getting to Warsaw is getting a Schengen visa to another Schengen country and then flying from there to Poland. Has any Russian citizen recently been approved for a Schengen visa and could share your experience? Ideally we would want a tourist visa with as many entries and as long as possible and I anecdotally know of some Who Have Been to Spain and Greece and Italy recently but don't know the details of how long their visas are good for. Thank you for your thoughts and experiences.

Thank you 🙏🙏🙏

Ahhh understand. You are saying try to get a Schengen visa in another member state and then go from there to Poland, correct?

Also, re Powerpuff, Poland is not currently accepting visas from Russian citizens unless for humanitarian cases or a family member of a Polish citizen. Currently, it is very restrictive. I communicated by email with people from Polish Schengen visa applications.

Thank you all. We are working with an immigration attorney and have Dubai, Turkey and Serbia at the top of our list given that they are all Visa free and direct flights from Moscow and easy enough for American citizens to get to as well. Side note - I was told if she were to get a Schengen visa for Greece, for example, that would grant her access to fly from Greece to Poland as it is another Schengen state, and a Schengen visa allows travel between the different Schengen members as long as the initial country entered is the country that granted the Schengen Visa. Is anyone knowledgeable about this?

Hello all,

In short, my fiance is a Russian citizen, I am an American citizen, she will need to do her K1 visa interview in Warsaw, Poland. However, Poland is not issuing any Polish Schengen visas to Russian citizens (except rare circumstances and K1 interview at US Embassy doesn't count). Is anyone familiar with the process of changing consulate locations and any applicants with Russian fiancee who have done this recently?