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I knew Ankara has a backlog of cases but I thought because I am an American citizen my wife would be able to get some kind of priority. I also expected to be able to expedite my wife’s case there so the backlog would not be as much of a factor. Last October 2022, through my congressperson, I provided a Statement of Hardship about the dangerous situation my wife and I are living through by continuing to stay in Russia and the embassy in Ankara approved the request, but they would only go forward with it if my wife could prove she was in Turkey for a solid month while the process continues. I have emails stating that the expedite request for my wife has been approved. I tried to get more clarification on the matter but when my congressperson’s district was redrawn the representative I was dealing with disappeared and all I got was an auto-reply that they can’t help me anymore and that I should start the process again with a new representative. I am now dealing with my Senator and his representative is telling me my wife’s case can be advanced for medical reasons and that alone. So I keep getting conflicting information from my government representatives. So my initial expedite request was approved but for some reason now it can’t be? Also, I work for a Russian company and get paid in rubles. If I leave Russia I lose my job and access to any income that can provide for myself and my wife. And with Russia being cut off from the Western banking system, even if I left here for the U.S. and found another job as soon as possible, I would have no means to transfer my income to my wife in Russia.

I'm an American living in Russia with my Russian wife. I applied for my wife to get an immigration visa to the U.S. and I finally I got an email notification from the NVC that my wife's documents were qualified on November 7th, 2022: "The National Visa Center (NVC) received all of the fees, forms, and documents that are required prior to attending an immigrant visa interview at a U.S. Embassy/Consulate General overseas. NVC will work with the U.S. Embassy/Consulate General in ANKARA, TRKY to schedule an interview appointment for you. Once we have confirmed an interview date, we will send a notice to you, your petitioner and attorney (if applicable)" But since then, we haven't heard anything from the NVC. Currently, the usual location for Russians to have their U.S. immigration visas processed is in Warsaw, Poland, but due to the state of the world and the difficulty for Russians to get to Poland at the moment, I was able to ask my congressperson to get my wife's case transferred to Ankara, Turkey. Russians don’t need a visa to get to Turkey so we thought it would be easier to apply from there. I have tried various approaches to expedite my wife's case, including contacting my congresswoman, senator, White House helpline, and submitting a Statement of Hardship with evidence. However, nothing has worked so far, and I've only been asked to “please wait.” Things here in Russia are continuing to deteriorate and as my wife is unemployed and entirely dependent on my income for survival, I can't just go to the U.S. and wait this process out. Does anyone have any advice on how to get my Russian wife a U.S. immigration visa as soon as possible? I’ve tried every reason to show a need to expedite my wife’s case and all I’m met with is silence or just that I need to keep waiting. I’m really open to anything at this point.